Tips for the English element of the 11+ (Kent test) 2022

The Kent Test (11+) 

As an experienced private tutor in Kent, I have coached many children for the entrance exam to grammar schools in Kent and I would say that for the child and their parents, it is one of the most significant times in their school life - to a much greater extent than GCSEs, A levels or even university. Most parents want to give their child the best opportunity possible according to their child's likes, dislikes, ability and emotional well being and whilst I support the grammar school system, I  also acknowledge it is not right for every child and many children who either do not sit the exam or do not pass go on to have very successful careers and lives.

However, if your child is going to sit the test whether in September 2022 or 2023, they need to be as well prepared as possible in order to have a good chance of passing and as has always been the case, the verbal and non verbal reasoning elements of the exam are not taught in most schools so either one or both parents have to coach your child in the above areas or  pay a professional tutor for guidance and support. your child cannot sit an exam totally blind as to what they will be tested on and this is the system  with which we need to work. However, even those subjects that are taught in schools such as Maths and English- there may be elements of their learning that are missing that might be vital for them passing the test.

Over the next few weeks I am going to take each element of the exam; English, Verbal reasoning, Non Verbal reasoning, Spatial reasoning and Maths and the tips I will be sharing will be relevant  whether your child is sitting the exam in a couple of months or whether they have the whole of year five to practice.

This article is just about the English element and I have focused on three areas which I have found in my experience to cause most problems and confusion. Apostrophes, Parts of speech and Spelling

Apostrophes 

There are only two reasons why an apostrophe is used - one to show possession and the other to indicate missing letters -  they are not used for plurals. For example

Possession - the girl's dress  - singular form of possession - the dress belonging to the girl

In plural forms of possession, the apostrophe goes after the  ‘s’ 

The girls' dresses - the dresses belong to more than one girl

Parts of speech

This includes nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, pronouns and possessive pronouns - do you know which is which?

Nouns - 4 types, Common, Proper, (year 4) Collective and abstract (tear 5)

Your child should know common nouns such as table and chair etc

Proper nouns are names of people, places and things such as Sally, Kent and England and always have a capital letter

Collective nouns - names for groups of people, things or animals

Bunch of grapes

Pack of wolves

Abstract nouns are the hardest - names for feelings

Joy

Happiness

Kindness

Children get these muddled with adjectives  which for the above are joyful, happy and kind e.g. he is kind - these words describe the nouns

Verbs are doing words e.g. running, walking and adverbs describe how this action is done e.g. quickly, slowly

Pronouns

These replace nouns when the meaning in the sentence is clear. for example;-

Susan is excited, as today she is getting a new bicycle and she is going to ride it to the park

Your  child might know this implicitly but they need to be able to identify these types of words and know how to use them too.

Your child should know most of  these by the end of year 4 or certainly by the beginning of year 5- there are many online resources a well as books on the subject if you feel your child needs some practice in these areas.

Spelling

I have found that this can be a big issue with many children and is it so important - not just for the Kent test but for life in general - too much reliance on computers and spell checks means that sometimes children don't know how to spell everyday words.

Here are some common ones:-

Is it 

Separate or seperate?

Neccesary or Necessary?

Accomodation or acommodation or accommodation?

Elegant or elegent?

What is the difference between 

Compliment and complement? or stationery and stationary?

These are very common words, but it is surprising how many children cannot spell these words and/or don't know the difference and it is possible that these words may come up in the exam in one come or another

There are lots of online free resources available today - here is just one suggestion - click on the link

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/info/preparing-for-the-11-plus-with-cgp/free-11-plus-practice-tests

Next week we will take a look at  Verbal Reasoning - happy reading

Rowena Hawtin MSc BSc PGCE 

11+ tutor since 2006