Find an 11+ maths tutor

Give a prospective tutor the school name, entry year and current test information. An 11+ label alone does not settle the content or format: GL Assessment explains that local tests can differ in their timings, subject combinations and question counts.

Preparing for a GL-based test

Use GL’s free familiarisation materials to explore question styles, then compare them with the admissions authority’s instructions. A useful practice task is to solve a sample maths question, explain the calculation and record the answer exactly as the local instructions require. Treat a practice booklet as preparation material, rather than a promise of the real paper’s length or topic balance.

Preparing for the ISEB Common Pre-Tests

The ISEB Common Pre-Tests are online, adaptive multiple-choice assessments used by participating independent schools. Adaptive means the questions respond to the pupil’s answers. The maths framework covers content through the end of Year 5, combining arithmetic with problems that may draw on several topics.

Pupils cannot return to change an earlier answer. Practise checking the target quantity, units and selected option before moving on. ISEB’s walkthrough, linked from its family guidance, lets children explore the interface and answer selection. For example, after finding how many tickets remain, check that the chosen option gives the tickets left, rather than the tickets sold.

For another school or test provider, share its own guidance with the tutor. The examples here explain particular routes; preparation should follow the requirements of your child’s school.

England’s Year 5 maths programme offers a useful starting point for reviewing number, calculation, fractions, decimals, percentages, measurement, geometry and statistics. Use it alongside the named test’s content guidance. A child may know a method but need help recognising when a problem calls for it.

These constructed practice examples show how an explanation can uncover an error and lead to a more complete answer.

Fractions: answer “how many remain?”

Question: A school has 240 tickets. It sells 3/8 of them. How many tickets remain?

A child might calculate 90 and stop. That calculation finds the tickets sold, so there is still a step to complete.

1. Divide the whole into eight equal parts: 240 ÷ 8 = 30 tickets in each eighth.
2. Three of those parts are sold: 3 × 30 = 90 tickets.
3. Subtract the sold tickets: 240 − 90 = 150 tickets remain.

A strip divided into eight equal parts gives another explanation: if three parts are sold, five remain. Finding 5/8 of 240 also gives 150. Label each result “sold” or “remaining” to keep the calculation attached to the question.

Try a changed example: If 2/5 of 150 tickets are sold, how many remain? Each fifth is 30 tickets, so 60 are sold and 90 remain. Explaining why three fifths remain shows more understanding than repeating the first calculation.

Measurement: count complete pieces

Question: A ribbon is 2 metres long. How many complete 35 cm pieces can be cut from it, and how much ribbon is left?

First put the lengths in the same unit: 2 metres = 200 cm. Five pieces use 5 × 35 = 175 cm; six would need 6 × 35 = 210 cm. The answer is five complete pieces, with 25 cm left.

Rounding up to six pieces would require more ribbon than we have. The word “complete” tells us how to interpret the amount left over. Comparing multiples of 35 solves the problem without needing a long-division method.

Try a changed example: With the same 2-metre ribbon, make each piece 40 cm long. Five pieces use all 200 cm, so there are five complete pieces and no ribbon left. The number of pieces is unchanged, but the remainder is different.

Here is a suggested approach to discuss with a tutor. Begin with an untimed calculation and a word problem from your child’s recent work. Keep the original attempt: it can show whether the difficulty lies in the arithmetic, a word such as “remaining”, or choosing the next step.

Look for experience relevant to the named test and an approach your child can follow. In Latimer’s free introductory meeting, discuss the recent work you have collected, how the tutor would choose the first lesson’s focus, and how they would show you what your child can do independently. The introduction is a conversation about fit and arrangements, rather than a full teaching lesson.

If reading a long question is difficult, a useful starting task is to have the child say what it asks in their own words. If fractions are the difficulty, a diagram may make the equal parts clearer. For a child who loses track of several steps, try a shorter problem first and add one step at a time. These are possible adaptations to agree after the tutor has seen the child work.

For a confident mathematician, look for richer problems that require choosing and explaining a method. Moving to later-year topics is not the only way to add challenge. Keep attention on secure understanding and reasoning that will also be useful in secondary-school maths.