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Learning Centre Sutton, Ruskin Road, London (2026)

24/08/2025

The 11-plus exam governing body is constantly looking to improve the processes. They are discussing changes that are fairer, more inclusive, and focused on real thinking skills, with less reliance on memorisation or private tutoring.

Here is a summary for the parents whose kids will be taking 11-plus exams in the near future.

1. 📖 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀

* More focus on problem-solving, reasoning, and applying knowledge
* Less focus on memorising facts
* Children are tested on how they think, not just what they know

2. 💻 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝘀

* Many exams may be moving to digital/online formats
* Some tests may adapt in difficulty depending on answers
* Goal: fairer testing, though concerns around tech access is being considered

3. 🚫 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗧𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴

* Tests redesigned so private coaching has less impact
* More use of timed tasks (like comprehension and reasoning)
* Fewer past papers may be released, reducing over-practice

4. 🌍 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝘀

* Questions may be written in neutral language for all backgrounds
* More support may be provided for children with special needs or English as an additional language
* Options may include extra time or alternative formats

5. 🏫 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗕𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁

* Some schools will consider more than exam results
* Factors like teacher reports, schoolwork, and extracurriculars may play a part
* Aim: a fairer picture of each child’s abilities

6. 🔎 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

* Clearer details on how tests are marked will be encouraged
* Better explanations of how results affect admissions may be provided
* Builds trust and confidence in the system

7. 📅 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

* Discussions about using continuous assessment (Year 5 & 6 work)
* Would reduce pressure on a single exam day
* Still under debate, not yet universal

While the changes haven't been confirmed yet, parents do have the opportunity to get ahead. We recommend that paretns start thinking about how the child can spend more time in increasing their understanding on fundamentals of the papers they will be tested on rather than focussing on solving past and online papers alone.

It will be good to hear your thoughts on whether these may be a positive move towards fairness.

18/06/2025

Let's analyse a typical GL style maths question today.

An electricity supplying company uses a formula to find the cost in Pounds (C) it should charge a customer who has used n units of electricity. A customer who used 200 units of electricity is charged £25. Circle the formula below that could link C and n.
A. C = n/100+23
B. C = n/10+18
C. C = 30+n/100
D. C = 100n + 23
E. C = 10n+15

The question is trying to see if you can:
a. Understand the relationship between the units used and money charged
b. Work out as quickly as possible the answer from one of the 5 options given to you

There are several ways of solving this question. Students with good algebra skills may be tempted to start writing a formula based on the information provided. However, the quicker way to solve this question is to substitute 200 for n in each of the 5 options and calculate the cost incurred. The option that gives the result as £25 will be the answer. In this case, it is option A.

Sometimes, creating a table like the one below helps keep track of the value of the cost for each option.

Trick question - one of the costs in the table below is incorrect when n = 200. Which one is it? Post your responses if you could identify it 🤔

14/06/2025

To improve comprehension skills:
1. Read and Discuss – Choose age-appropriate books, refer to a dictionary for word meanings, and use a thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms. Start small and build up gradually.
2. Read the Introduction – Helps in understanding the main idea of a passage.
3. Highlight Key Information – Underline important words, phrases, and dates for better understanding.
4. Visualise the Text – Picture the content while reading for quicker comprehension.
5. Make Inferences – Keep interpreting while reading and take side notes to strengthen understanding, e.g., when a line in a comprehension passage states: ‘The first buds of the daffodils have started to shine through.’ The inference on the scene of the passage would be that it is set around Spring
Consistency and persistence are essential for comprehension success. For 11+ exam preparation get in touch with us.

29/11/2024

I hope you all are well and the current Y5's who are sitting the 11+ exam next year have started to time themselves while taking the test papers and are revising the mistakes diligently. Good vocabulary is essential not just for 11+ but for life. Learn / understand the full meaning of words and use them appropriately. e.g. the words sad and disappointed are both negative emotions but the meaning are different.

Sad means when you have lost something that you possessed while disappointed is loss of promise or hope.

Sentences:

Sad: I am sad that I couldn't play football due to bad weather.

Disappointed : I am disappointed that I couldn't make it to the county football team even after scoring 3 goals in the trial.

06/10/2024

Let's review this interesting question on number machine. I am giving here 2 ways to solve it. You can either work from front to back or combine working backwards and forwards.

It says x=y and that the final output is 145. We will use the provided information.

We will start with working backwards from 145. Since 4x is subtracted in the last step we will add it. So, we get 145+4x. Next we will subtract 3y to it. But, since x=y, we will subtract 3x instead. Now, we have 145+4x-3x or 145 +x.

At this point, we will stop and start working from the front. We will multiply x first by 3 and then by 2 to get 3x and 2x. As per second step we will multiply 3x and 2x to get 6x squared. This, however, must be equal to 145+x ie. 145+x = 6x squared. For the remaining steps, look at the attached picture as it is easier to show it there.

If you need any further clarification please let me know.

23/09/2024

Tip for creative writing:

Always SHOW and not TELL especially in a descriptive writing task.

Tell: The trees were scary. This is telling as you explicitly say what the trees are.

Show: The tree waved menacingly and his lips went dry. This is showing, as you are implicitly saying they were scary. The reader will be able to tell that the trees are scary.

16/09/2024

Good luck to everyone taking the SET exam tomorrow.

Read the questions carefully. Stay calm and focused. Soon it will be over, never to come back.

Make the most of this opportunity.

Best wishes👍

30/08/2024

Back to school, next week – studying may just get even more challenging.

Coming back from school after a 6-hour day and being asked to do a 50-minute paper can be overwhelming! This is only natural.
Just keep at it.
Remember to:
1) Revise old and learn new spellings and vocabulary daily (may be 10-15 minutes).
2) Read recommended books –infer text while reading helps with the comprehensions. If you don’t understand a particular word, try to infer the meaning by reading a few lines above and below it, this to get the full context.
3) Revise the formulas to calculate, areas, surface area of geometrical shapes (every alternate day for maybe 15-20 minutes).
4) Revise unit conversions (e.g. cms to metre, every alternate day may be for 15 minutes). You can alternate between the two above.
5) Revise times tables up to 15 and roman numerals frequently.
6) Do as many 10 / 50 minutes papers as possible and do the corrections before moving on to the next paper/task.
7) Go over the papers recently completed and focus on the answers that were incorrect. Make sure to revise the steps. You can go a step further by finding out better ways of doing it as compared to how you did the first time. Avoid repeating the same mistakes

Don’t forget Creative writing.

‘The last mile will always be the hardest, but the most fruitful. Most importantly enjoy the 11-plus journey. Remember, it will never come back to you. ‘ – Learning Centre Sutton

Good luck!

28/08/2024

Maths tips and tricks for 11-Plus preparation - #2

My son reminded me of this trick that I taught him and he says it helped him a lot. This is about performing a 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication. In the exam, there will be several questions that will require this operation. Let's see how we can use some clever age-old Vedic mathematics to perform this quickly.

Imagine multiplying 23 by 46. The standard way would be to follow the steps as shown on the left-hand side of the image.

On the right-hand side, we perform the same multiplication but in just 1 line. So to do that:

Step 1 - multiply units place by units place. Any carry-over is added to the next step
Step 2 - cross-multiply i.e. units place to tens place and vice versa. Any carry-over is added to the next step
Step 3 - multiply tens place by tens place and add the carry-over.

This will need some practice but when mastered, it will reduce the time you will spend performing such multiplications.

27/08/2024

Maths tips and tricks for 11-Plus preparation

Maths does not have to be long-winded, monotonous or boring if we spend some time initially looking at smarter ways of solving the questions. Today I am going to start to talk about some of those ways and look at examples to apply those tricks.

***** Learning times table to 15 (if not 20) - every maths teacher tells us to memorise our times tables and for a good reason. Students who do this are always at an advantage since they can find answers to multiplication or division questions quicker and more importantly, accurately.

Let’s look at an example. Suppose, we have to solve 115 times 12. Here, I give 2 examples of solving this problem. Let’s remember that this is only part of a bigger problem so we will be saving time for sure.

The left one shows the standard multiplication that involves 3 steps. The right one uses just one step as we can easily multiply 115 by 12. As in, 12 times 5 is 60, we write 0 and 6 is carried over, then 12 times 1 and then add the carried-over 6 and so on.

Keep tuned for more tips.

26/08/2024

Answers (in Red) to this week's 11-plus Maths questions are available.

Hope your child enjoyed solving these. If you need steps for any of the questions, do let us know.
LCS is here to help with Y4 and Y5 topics in particular.

We are based in Sutton and we specialize in the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) preparation. If you have a child in Y4 preparing for SET tests next year, we are around to help and support the child.
We pride ourselves on starting with the basics and keeping a tab on the progress with regular monitoring and tests.

Feel free to take our first 3 classes and see if you would like to continue.

24/08/2024

Maths 11 plus starter questions for this week are here.

11 plus exams are approaching. These questions can be used as a refresher or as a revision exercise. Encourage your child to solve these and post their working and answers.

Learning Centre Sutton is happy to help children with their KS2 development in Maths and English. Ask if you need help.

We will try to answer any questions or queries. Answers will be posted on Sunday.

Hope the kids enjoy solving these.

Learning Centre Sutton

24/08/2025

18/06/2025

14/06/2025

29/11/2024

06/10/2024

23/09/2024

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30/08/2024

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24/08/2024

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