Get your year 4 child ready now for the Kent test

Is your child at the end of year 4? Are you thinking of putting them forward for the 11+ in 2025?

Now is the time to start getting them prepared – it may seem a long way away but one whole year is the recommended length of time to allow them sufficient time to cover the content of all four subject areas - but also to allow enough time to develop their minds to solve problems, The 11+ is about knowledge – of course - but it’s also about being able to think logically to solve problems rather than just see the answer in front of them – this takes time.

Here are some tips for the summer to get them started

There are dozens of online Maths  games to keep their brains active during the long summer holidays and most importantly – they are FUN!

Times tables underpin all areas of Maths so these need to be completely sound – up to 12x table.. 

Addition – in the supermarket why not ask them to mentally add up two or three items in your trolley/basket – mental maths is extremely important – this may be hard at first especially for younger children so they might need help to write items down at first and then add them up

Subtraction – they should have learnt to subtract simple 2 digit numbers in year 4 with borrowing from the left hand column to make the top number big enough to subtract the bottom number – children can often still get this wrong by taking the top number from the bottom number  and of course the result so the wrong answer- so if this is the case – a little practice helps a lot

Division is often an area that children at the beginning of year  5 find difficult – it sometimes helps to have concrete examples like beads or buttons – e.g. 20 beads and how many piles of 4 beads can you make

By helping your child over the summer with these skills they will be much more prepared to tackle the maths side of the 11+

Problem solving isn’t just about maths – 

Verbal reasoning is also about solving puzzles and making connections between themes and words – Bond do a very good range of puzzles that help children to solve worded problems and develop logical thinking. 

Vocabulary is also key in the 11+ and they will come across many new words that thy have never seen before -  encourage your child to read as much a possible – not only is it good for imagination but it is good for  learning grammar, punctuation and of course learning new vocabulary

It is not too early to start – need expert guidance? Please get in touch