Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

13+ and 11+ Common Entrance exams are designed by the Independent Schools' Examination Board. Students sit the exams in their prep schools (or at Branodn for Hong Kong students), and the scripts are sent to individual senion schools for marking. The decision about whether 13+ exams will be issued is made by the ISEB. So far, the ISEB has indicated that they will be producing the summer 2020 papers. With UK schools closed though, the bigger question is where our students will be taking their exams! Individual senior schools may decide that they do not require their 2020 candidates to sit the exams, or may opt for home 'open book' testing. If this is the case, they will contact parents individually and through their schools. Most girls' schools sit the 13+ or 11+ exams in January, with boys' and mixed schools normally opting for the June dates. Eton has made all 2020 offers now unconditional but their boys can choose to sit the exam where p

One of the challenges a number of our children appear to be encountering when they are taking the ISEB and other pretests is runnning out of time. The maths section in particular can present problems as students try to extract the problem from the test. Try this: Give you child a sheet of word-based maths problems (e.g. three boys bought a six litre bottle of orange squash which they divided equally amongst them, how much did each boy receive?) and ask your child to write out the resultant sum. As your child becomes faster, increase the complexity of the arithmatic. Include: fractions, percentages, measurements. Allocate time to completing the sheet. Use a large kitchen timer which rings when "time is up" so your child gets used to working to time constraints. Talk to them about how they are going to be dividing his time. You can use the timer technique are you practice verbal/non-verbal reasoning.

As our Brandon students count down to the 13+ exam (most of our girls sat the exam in Spring but we have a very determined group of Harrow candidates who will certainly do well!) I would like to offer some advice on the English paper. The first English paper ('Literary prose') offers a prose comprehension followed by a structured writing task. Candidates have the option of writing a directed piece (speeches/magazine articles/diaries) or reflecting on literature. The majority of our students choose the first option and this advice is directed towards them: 1: Read the question carefully, underline the key words. 2: Be aware of the structure of the piece you are being asked to write. Make sure that you have the correct format in mind (e.g. if you are writing an article, have you included an introduction and conclusion?) 3: Think about the level of language you need to maintain: a diary entry can be informal language whereas a letter to a Head needs to be formal. Speeches