Is it too late to start preparing for the 11+ exams?

It is never too late to start preparing. In the ideal world, a year before would be perfect, but don’t let that make you feel it’s too late and for your child to not bother at all. Work on core skills as the heart of last-minute preparation.

· Children should be reading every day and talking to an adult about what they have read: many children can read perfectly well, but are they comprehending what they are reading and making intelligent inferences?

· Encourage your child to read for pleasure, write imaginative stories and debate at the dinner table.

Children should be doing plenty of mental maths: this could be incorporated into everyday life:

· Whilst cooking, use proportions and ratios to make correct calculations for each ingredient. For example, if you have a recipe with a list of ingredients for two people, how much would you need for four people?

· When you are out shopping. For example, if there is a sale on in the local sport shop, ask your child to work out the price of some football boots that are reduced by 20%.

· Ask them to work out which is better value, a bag of 500g flour for 40p, or 1.5 kg of flour at £1.10.

· Calculate lengths of journey in your car by asking if you travelled at an average speed of 30mph to get to the next town, 10 miles away, how long would it take to get there.