At this time of year thousands of parents are biting their finger nails and panicking over the 11+ (and other entrance exams).
As a private tutor, I've seen first-hand how frantic this period can be for virtually every type of family. It's stressful, actually it's excruciating!
Whilst thousands of children across the UK sit these exams, (many of whom are bright, hard-working and dedicated) there are also those children who aren't quite prepared for the exams.
Parents ask me all the time: "is my child ready?"
In fact, this is probably the most common question that I get asked during this period.
So how does one know if there child is prepared?
Do children really need coaching or tutoring for the 11+ exams?
Are the exams best suited to 'intelligent' children?
These are all great questions.
Children who are prepared for the 11+ exams are hard-working! Actually let me rephrase that: children who are well-prepared for the 11+ exams are the hardest working!
The children who do well aren't just naturally bright, they're the children who work relentlessly work hard with the aim of scoring the highest marks possible.
For example, they'll repeat practice papers over and over and over and over again until they're perfect.
A prepared child will practice endlessly.
They'll make short-term sacrifices knowing that there is a long-term gain to be made.
But the most crucial factor of all is that their parents are committed, dedicated and passionate about seeing their child succeed!
That type of intense passion and dedication rubs off on children and makes them to realise that there is a purpose for their hard work.
It's so crucial that parents who want to see their child succeed in the 11+ exams (and in life) understand this.
Yes planning, practice papers, revision etc all matter but in order to get children into a cycle of preparing for their exams, you need to instil in them values that will ignite their passion for excelling in education and life!
In the comments below, tell me one thing that you could do to help your child do better in the 11+ exams (or any exam for that matter).
I'd really love to hear your thoughts!
Have a great evening,
The Tutoress