English

The real 11+ Verbal Skills test assesses English in line with the current English
National Curriculum. The areas assessed typically include aspects of reading
comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning (VR) mainly involves reasoning with words. This includes the
production of words, use of words and relationships between words. Some VR item
types also involve reasoning with letters and numbers; these question types are not
testing mathematics, but use letters and numbers as symbols to predict, for example, a sequence or relationship.

About the Familiarisation Test

The Verbal Skills Familiarisation Test is designed to familiarise your child with the
type of content in the real 11+ test. The test is presented in a very similar way
to many of the test papers used for selection at 11+. It will provide practice in
answering different types of questions used in real 11+ tests (although these may not necessarily be exactly the same question types that will come up in the real test your child will sit) and practice in recording answers on the separate answer sheet. The papers may not be exactly the same difficulty level as the real tests, as the difficulty level varies between schools.

Working through the Test

For the real 11+ test, your child will need to: read the instructions on the front of the
test booklet; listen carefully to the instructions read out by the invigilator; observe
the instructions at the bottom of each page telling them to go on to the next page
or to stop; and check/fill in the details at the top of the answer sheet.
Give your child the test at an appropriate time, when they are both physically and
mentally alert. Choose a suitable area for them to work in – make sure they can
work comfortably and free from any distractions.

Before your child takes the familiarisation test, discuss with them the reasons why
they are doing the test. Also explain that they might find some of the questions
difficult. If they get stuck on a question they should not waste time on it, but move
on to the next one. At the beginning of each section, the solution to the example
question has been provided, so you may work through the question with your
child, so they understand how to answer the particular question type and mark
their answer on the answer sheet. Where there is more than one question in a
section, your child may then work through the remaining questions in each section
independently.

Your child should mark their answers on the separate answer sheet provided. The
real 11+ test will be marked by computer, but it is important for your child to learn
how to use the answer sheet properly in preparation for the real test. They should
mark their answer in the appropriate box by drawing a clear line through it with a
—. Mistakes should be rubbed out completely, not crossed out,
pencil, like this * since in the real test this would not be recorded correctly by the computer. You can ignore the boxes at the top of the answer sheet marked CANDIDATE NUMBER, SCHOOL NUMBER, DATE OF BIRTH and DATE OF TEST. Your child will be required to fill in or check these details in the real test, but it is not necessary for familiarisation purposes.

Timing the Test

The familiarisation test should take around an hour to complete. The real 11+ test
is timed, but for familiarisation purposes, it is important that you work through
the solutions to the example questions in each section with your child prior to
them completing the remaining questions within a section. The time taken will be
dependent on your child.