What on earth are we going on about? Have we lost our minds? How on earth can Wirral 11+ tutoring be compared to a regional bowl of meat and vegetables?
Well, it all comes down to the preparation required for success in the final exam. Ultimately, like with a bowl of scouse, the more that you put in...the more that you get out! Working with our students it quickly becomes apparent who is 'putting the most in' by the huge strides of progress some of them make in a matter of a couple of weeks. What is then important is that they keep this going over the rest of the year.
This 'keeping it going' is easier said than done. The preparation for the 11+ exam is not a sprint but rather a steady and structured progress involving the development of many different academic skill sets that cover literacy, numeracy and non-verbal reasoning. These may often start out as a little wobbly, but with the correct application can be developed and brought together into a quite astounding array of ability.
As part of our tutoring for our students we provide them with a weekly learning platform that enables them to pace and structure their learning journey. In addition we actively encourage them to build a regular reading commitment of 10-15 minutes into their evenings. What we often find that at first this reading plan can be slow to get going, but ultimately, the majority of students end up wanting to read more than 15 minutes. As a result their vocabulary broadens and a positive effect is then not only seen in their preparation for the Wirral 11+ but also in their all round school work.
One of the key points of preparation comes during the summer holidays. In the same way that you wouldn't leave a well seasoned and carefully prepared bowl of scouse alone for weeks on end, the same approach should be held with regards 11+ tutoring. When those glorious summer holidays arrive, ELC offers several options to ensure that the final steps are positive and strong ones. We have 11+ booster days, evening tutoring and also, for students who attend tutoring in the week, access to a daily booster pack of resources. If students fully commit to this they get 30 different packs of literacy, numeracy and non-verbal reasoning to complete during those long 6 weeks...and then go back to school in September with their brains fully engaged and ready to tackle the 11+ exam.