11+ and 13+ Preparation

Support for Senior School Entry

Holmwood House has a long and proud record of sending children to a wide range of senior independent schools across the local area, Eastern region and nationally. We provide a 4-13 structure working ultimately towards an assessment framework at 13+, which includes the Holmwood House Certificate and Scholarship routes for the majority of pupils whose preparation for senior school entry is catered for within normal curriculum time.

Whilst our primary focus is on preparing children for 13+, we do provide support in preparation for 11+ for those families who wish to move their child to a senior independent school at 11 for Year 7 entry. We are proud of our pupils who gain places at Colchester Royal Grammar School or the County High School for Girls every year via the highly selective 11+ assessment process, which typically targets the top 4% of the national cohort.

Whilst Holmwood delivers a strong programme of teaching and learning that fulfils the requirements of senior independent school entry, in the ongoing spirit of supporting and working closely with all our families in their senior school choices, we are keen to provide additional support for those children sitting entrance exams.

The following two documents aim to support parents in the process:

The support we offer

Parents are invited, in Year 5, to meet with the Headmaster to discuss future school options. Parents may wish to discuss options in Year 4 or even in Year 3 and are encouraged to contact the Headmaster if they wish to do so. He will be able to guide parents in terms of suitability and provide a broad assessment of their child’s options.

Whether the entry point is at Year 7 or Year 9, a number of senior schools operate entrance exams in the spring term of Year 6 or Year 7.

As part of the Activities Programme in Year 5, we offer a weekly 11+ practice session for Grammar school entry assessment. These sessions will build upon the current schemes of work and will focus on the format of the 11+ papers. An element of verbal reasoning will also be covered. The 11+ practice classes will continue in the September of Year 6 until the examination is taken later that month. Parents should note that these sessions are aimed at giving the children exposure to the types of questions they are likely to face in the entrance exams and are not individual tutoring sessions. Entry to the sessions above will be by agreement between parents and the Headmaster.

As part of the Activities Programme in Year 6, we offer a series of senior school entrance exam practice sessions leading up to the senior school exams, normally in the spring term of Year 6. These sessions will build upon the current schemes of work and will focus on exam technique and, where we have access to examples of senior school papers, these will be worked through. An element of verbal reasoning will also be covered. Parents should note that these sessions are aimed at giving the children exposure to the types of questions they are likely to face in the entrance exams and are not individual tutoring sessions. Entry to these sessions will be by agreement between parents and the Headmaster.

These additions to our strong academic provision are intended to be helpful to pupils preparing for senior school entrance exams and the small number of parents each year whose children have a reasonable chance of achieving a place in the 11+ process and for whom a Grammar School education might be suitable.


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Holmwood House Nursery

151 Coach Road, Great Horkesley,
Colchester,
Essex CO6 4DX
T: (01206) 273 827
E: nurserymanager@holmwood.house

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Holmwood House School

Chitts Hill, Lexden,
Colchester,
Essex CO3 9ST
T: (01206) 574305
E: office@holmwood.house

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