The process of applying and preparing for Salisbury Grammar School entry is something of a long-term campaign. Parents can seek advice and support on any aspect of the programme below.
| Year 3 | • Your child is doing well at their Primary or Preparatory school. The assessment data and feedback from their school suggests they might thrive within a competitive grammar school environment. • You support your child’s regular school work with extension work and they respond well, laying firm foundations for an 11+ campaign. Your child excels in reading, vocabulary, times tables and four basic Maths operations. • In the meantime, you are researching Salisbury’s two grammar schools and planting positive motivational seeds with your child. |
| Year 4 | • It is extremely important to develop competence and confidence in all the core skills for Maths and English during this school year in order to avoid playing catch-up during Year 5. • During the course of Year 4 your child will start honing their Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning skills, with increasing intensity in timed test practices. |
| Year 5 September | • You involve your child in planning a schedule of work for the Year 5 programme of 11+ tuition, practice and test preparation. • You visit the target grammar schools with your child to aid motivation. |
| Year 5 October through to July | Your child enjoys a really well-balanced schedule of 11+ preparation involving: • Weekly tutorial sessions out of school targeted at the 11+ syllabus. • Weekly 11+ homework adopting, “A little-a-lot” philosophy. • Assessment tests of increasing intensity phased in throughout the year. • Unashamed, genuine periods of relaxation and distraction from 11+. |
| Year 5 August | • All families approach this final month of preparation differently. I usually suggest a two-week break at the start of the month, allowing a realistic final period of practice to sharpen the mind before the actual test in September. |
| Year 6 September | • It’s 11+ Test time, as administered by your son or daughter’s school. There are lots of sensible tips for how to prepare your child on the day and then you and he/she can breathe a sigh, sit back and wait for the results. |
| Year 6 October through to March | • Results are issues, usually via your child’s school • Parents MUST complete a Common Application Form listing school choices. In the event of passing the 11+ test, parents can list their chosen grammar school as first choice. If an 11+ pass has not been secured, parents can either select from a local non-selective school, or you can still list a grammar school, whilst lodging a formal appeal application for the following March. |
OPTIMIST EDUCATION 