Y5 11+ Week Commencing 22nd September 2025 (week 3 of 6)
Hiya. Hope you had a good weekend?
Homework plays an important role in preparing for the 11+ test, but it doesn’t need to be overwhelming. The key is “little and often” – short, regular practice sessions help children build confidence, retain knowledge, and develop the stamina they’ll need for the exam.
We’ll provide a small amount in our booklets of work to complete at home each week. These are designed to be manageable – a focused amount that helps reinforce what we cover together. These form part of our carefully planned spiral curriculum to help with retain and improve the skills required. If you’d like, you can keep the booklet to reuse; just jot a quick note on the front to say it’s been completed.
In addition, we recommend using the CGP practice books for homework. If you don’t already have these, let me know and I’ll guide you on which ones to get. Alongside these, try to fit in two 10-minute tests each day (if possible) using the suggested timetable. This steady routine makes preparation much more effective than cramming.
It’s worth mentioning that some local tutoring centres expect children to attend over three hours of tutoring every week, alongside a heavy load of booklets. We don’t believe this approach is helpful. It can lead to stress and disengagement, rather than genuine progress. Our focus is on quality over quantity – short, consistent practice that keeps children motivated, while leaving time for them to enjoy being children.
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FOCUS SESSIONS
This term, we will be running a series of focus sessions over three weeks each, covering Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Spatial, and Maths.
NON-VERBAL REASONING
Covering the trickier aspects of the GL 11+ exam in the UK, these sessions focus on building the core skills tested in the Non-Verbal Reasoning section.
What we’ll cover in these sessions:
Identifying patterns and sequences in shapes and figures
Code-breaking style questions using symbols and diagrams
Odd-one-out puzzles
Shape analogies (finding the relationship between pairs of shapes)
The children who attend these sessions grow in confidence when tackling these challenging problems independently, giving them a real advantage on exam day.
📅 Sessions run week commencing: 29th September, 6th October and 13th October
👉 Book your place here
SPATIAL (NON-VERBAL) REASONING
Spatial reasoning in the 11+ GL test (UK) is all about how well a child can understand and manipulate shapes and patterns in their mind. It doesn’t test knowledge in the same way as maths or English, but instead looks at how children think about space, movement, and visual relationships.
In the GL Assessment papers, spatial reasoning questions might involve:
Identifying the next shape in a sequence.
Finding the hidden shape within a diagram.
Rotating or reflecting a shape in their head.
Finding a the cube face that does not fit from a net.
Spotting which shape is different or doesn’t belong.
Many children find this area the most challenging, because it is so visual. Unlike vocabulary or times tables, which can be revised in a more straightforward way, spatial reasoning relies heavily on visualisation skills—being able to “see” the shapes move or change mentally. Some children naturally enjoy this type of puzzle, but for many it takes practice and confidence to improve.
That’s why we are starting these sessions much earlier this year. By introducing spatial reasoning well in advance, children will have more time to build up these visual skills gradually, without pressure. The earlier start also means we can go over different types of questions carefully, helping children become more confident with the concepts and strategies they’ll need for the 11+.
Dates, week commencing: 20th October, 3rd November and 10th November.
🔢 WEEKLY Maths Lessons
THURSDAYS 4:30PM - 5:30PM
Cost for the next 4 weeks £80.00
Maths is another area that children often find particularly challenging. Our weekly Maths lessons are designed to build confidence and strengthen key skills that are vital for success.
The focus will be on:
Mental maths techniques
Times tables recall
Mental addition and subtraction
Problem-solving strategies
Unfortunately, much of mental maths is no longer emphasised in schools, which means these essential skills are not always committed to children’s long-term memory. Our lessons aim to fill this gap, equipping them with a solid foundation for the 11+ and beyond.
Homework
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO LINK: - VR Word Combinations before the lesson. This can replace a 10min test and children will receive 2 raffle tickets for doing so.
Need homework book? Order here
Coming to the end of the 10min test books? The next steps are the focus books. Order here
CGP Practice Books 9-10
• VR P17-19
• ENG P33-35
Finish the booklet from the lesson and return in the following week. Remember to complete the vocab in context.
REMEMBER: to mark the homework with your child and bring it to next lesson.
REMBEMBER THE HOMEWORK IS DUE IN NEXT WEEK’S CLASS.
Complete at least 3 tests from each of the 10min test books. REMEMBER to mark this with your child daily & go through mistakes. Suggested time table is available in our 11+ guide. https://www.elevenplussuccess.com/11-useful-documents
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VOCABULARY
WORD OF THE WEEK: Superfluous (Find a synonym, antonym and put it into a sentence)
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