Upton HAll entrance exam
Upton Mock Exam 4th October
Paper 1 average score was 67/80
Paper 2 average score was 64/80
More really strong scores from the students with these papers! All of the hard work seems to be coming together at just the right time. Techniques have been strong and the vast majority completed the papers in the allotted time.
With only a short time to go now until the Upton Hall exam we would advise that focus now goes onto vocabulary and boosting confidence with that. Try to get your daughter to provide a 'higher level' word for words you provide. For example: dangerous becomes perilous. In addition, practice things like 'names of baby animals', 'types of trees' etc.
Upton Mock Exam 20th September
Paper 1 average score was 63/80
Paper 2 average score was 66/80
Scores looking really positive overall and students now seem to have the techniques sorted that are enabling them to score really well with the Upton Hall test papers.
Speed seems to have settled with the majority of girls completing the papers and overall they should be looking forward confidently to the exam.
Between now and the final Upton test we would continue to advocate regular reading more than anything so as to broaden the vocabulary as much as possible.
If doing test papers we suggest the '3...is the magic number' approach'. Simply complete the first three questions in each section to confirm that your daughter is going to approach the paper confidently.
Upton Mock Exam 7th September
Paper 1 average score was 60/80
Paper 2 average score was 65/80
Scores are now starting to creep up and I feel that for many students this is a direct result of being back in class and responding so positively to the timed challenges that we have introduced. (15 minutes in every lesson in the run up to the final exam). We always look for a score in the 60s for indication of success and preferably one at 65 or above.
When reviewing the paper can you make sure that there is visible working out on the page, especially for number/letter sequences and code breaking. We consistently find that students who are not scoring well in these areas are being careless with their workings or simply not doing them at all. This has a direct effect of causing them to guess and losing marks that should otherwise be secure.
We are currently exploring options for running tests in one of the centres as the final step to fully prepare the girls for the exam. We will update everyone as soon as this is confirmed.
Upton Mock Exam 23rd August
Paper 1 average score was 61/80
Paper 2 average score was 55/80
Since being back in the classrooms we have been able to more closely analyse the techniques students are using with papers in terms of working out answers. Although we regularly demonstrate this in lessons we have found that many of them are choosing to try to do everything mentally. This is causing them to slow or make mistakes.
When completing things like letter sequences and codes there should be pencil lines and notes about the size of the gaps. We can correct this now before the exam and this should add further scores to the papers.
When looking through the paper, if your daughter seems to be making significant mistakes with anything that is technique based as opposed to vocabulary, please get in touch. The tutoring we have provided always concentrates on the technique aspect as this should secure marks (the vocabulary tends to build more through regular reading).
Moving forward, the weekend free Upton tutoring will need to remain online due to numbers/social distancing, however we have more practice papers available which can be accessed through the website.
When doing the practice papers it is a priority that areas of weakness are identified. The best way to do this is to work through a section at a time. Scores of 5+ out of 7 should be achievable. The only question type we don't believe analysis needs to happen with is the 'numbers in the middle 4 (12) 3 as although a GL question, we have never heard of it appearing in the Upton exams.
Upton Mock Exam 9th August
Paper 1 average score was 56/80 (68%)
Paper 2 average score was 65/80 (81%)
The next step now is regular practice. It seems that students are confident with the techniques required and just need to improve the speed that they are able to complete questions at.
There are free verbal reasoning papers available for download from the website as always and if possible, printing these before completing them will enable the girls to develop the speed necessary to finish the Upton Hall test in time.
The Upton examination is based on the GL assessment style of papers and so anything that GL provide for verbal reasoning will be useful.
From next week we will also be increasing our practice paper range and further details will be provided over the weekend.
Upton Mock Exam 28th June
Paper 1 average score was 53/80 (66%)
Paper 2 average score was 59/80 (74%)
Paper 1 was found to be harder for students than Paper 2. Much of the feedback said that the vocabulary was particularly challenging.
Boosting Vocabulary
We are looking at activities to further boost vocabulary and shouldhave additional resources available on the site by the weekend.
In addition to this we would hope that girls are regularly reading (a minimum of 15 minutes at day).
There are also daily booster packs being made available. We would suggest that all girls who are thinking of taking the Upton exam ensure they do the comprehension and vocabulary activities that are available there. (These are accessed via the blue bar on the website).
Support from ELC
As has been the case throughout the year, there are free Upton sessions on Saturday and Monday with Tanya or Rodge.
These provide a perfect opportunity for the girls to go through papers and reinforce confidence.
Additional support
Please review the papers and if a particular section that involves technique (e.g codebreaking/sequencing) as opposed to vocaubulary strength has proven to be a problem, please email admin@elctutoring.co.uk with the paper number and the question section e.g Paper 1, Q8-14).