A parent's guide to offline summer 11+ test prep

Offline Prep for Online Tests

Navigating motivation, time management, and increased screen time while preparing your child for 11+ online assessments can be tricky, especially during the summer break. Our six top tips for offline test preparation are designed to help parents and families implement a simple, effective routine, and to support children in their learning journey without sacrificing their holiday.

In this article, you will find advice on:

• How to use past papers as structured practice for online tests, including the ISEB Pre-Tests.
• Preparing for English and verbal reasoning tests by reading with your children.
• Using household games as practice for English, maths and non-verbal reasoning assessments.
• Turning outdoor activites into effective and fun test preparation, even trips to the shops!
• Products and resources, including test preparation platforms, directly from ISEB.

Utilise past papers for structured practice

Did you know that our Common Entrance (CE) 11+ papers are a fantastic, offline way to practice for 11+ online assessments, including the ISEB Pre-Tests? Both tests follow the National Curriculum and match the content that your child has already learnt at school. 

The ISEB Pre-Tests English section and the CE 11+ English Reading paper both focus on a child’s comprehension skills. Preparing for the Pre-Tests with CE 11+ English past papers can help your child practice reading a variety of texts, familiarising themselves with new vocabulary and demonstrate their abilities. 

Similarly, CE 11+ mathematics has a variety of question types that train students to process information and work through steps to reach the solution. This process can be practised offline using CE 11+ mathematics past papers and then utilised during the Pre-Tests, where students can use the process of elimination to support their answers to multiple-choice questions. 

For more information from our experts,  read our detailed guide on how to use CE 11+ past papers as prep tools for the ISEB Pre-Tests. 

Lean, mean reading machines

Every 11+ entrance assessment will include segments on English and verbal reasoning. Reading books is an excellent way to supercharge your child’s comprehension, vocabulary, and grasp of grammar. Encourage your child to read in their downtime before bed or, even better, have them read to you. Become an avid bookworm yourself and have conversations with your child about plot and characters, and encourage them to verbalise their opinions on what they read. 

For an added bonus to their learning journey, give your child the power to write their own stories. Keeping journals or diaries, writing letters to relatives and even penning thank-you notes can help your child practise their comprehension, and help to improve their confidence and capability with language. 

Monopoly madness

We get excited about games night for a reason! Games are a wonderful way to playfully reinforce key concepts. Monopoly, Sudoku and Chess are accessible games that promote arithmetic skills and logical thinking. For quiet Sunday afternoons, jigsaw puzzles, tangrams, memory games and construction toys are excellent tools for practising non-verbal reasoning, another key part of some 11+ assessments. Scrabble, Boggle and Hangman are excellent games for enhancing vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension abilities. 

If you do not already have these games in your home, we recommend exercises as simple as running through times tables to improve your child’s maths skills. Our verbal reasoning expert, Chris Pearse, recommended puzzle games from The Happy Puzzle Company to develop your child’s confidence in arithmetic and problem-solving.

Get out and about

Wherever you are this summer, your family can enjoy days out while fitting in light and efficient English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning practice. Museums provide excellent opportunities to tailor test preparation to your child’s interests: make a note of which exhibits excite and interest them, explore the wonderful displays together, and then ask them to teach you about what they learned. Visiting libraries would allow your children to find books that interest them and expand their tastes. Exploring scenic gardens, zoos or local parks and pointing out the patterns in nature can be a great exercise for non-verbal reasoning. Even a trip to the shops can be helpful: there is no better game for developing mathematics than budgeting, or helping a parent find the best price for a product. 

Making time for these activities could also help your child in their senior school interview. Assessments are important, but they are only part of the admissions process. The interview is designed to help the senior school get to know your child personally, and students who have active, busy holidays may have more opportunities to talk about their interests. 

The School Run features a useful guide on Holiday learning in theme parks, museums and on the move, including ideas on incorporating non-verbal reasoning at the beach. 

Use paper-based activities and resources 

Sitting down with paper and a pen is another great opportunity to practise focused activity, as well as to build and develop the key skills required for tests like the Pre-Tests. In our new Pre-Tests (11+) Prep Pack, we provide a range of downloadable and printable activities that can be completed offline at a desk or table. The pack includes 10 activities for Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, as well as a great set of resources that parents can complete with children to help them process things like change, test anxiety and potential outcomes and prepare mentally for the potential pressures of the admissions process. It also includes 16 sets of past CE 11+ English and maths papers, as well as a range of other items. Explore the prep pack now. 

Celebrate your child’s progress and have fun together

Preparing for 11+ online assessments can be simple, accessible and rewarding for you and your child when balanced with fun and effective methods. These tips for offline test preparation can help you foster a healthy learning environment in your home and deepen your family bond, without prolonged screen exposure.