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My child is struggling with comprehension. Do you have any ideas of how to help them improve?

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Comprehension is one of the areas of English where students struggle the most.

There are several reasons for this such as:

  • Not understanding the passage

  • Having a limited vocabulary 

  • Not using the right techniques

  • A lack of interest in reading 

And more.

These days, schools place a huge emphasis on Maths which is great but the unfortunate effect of this is that an increasing number of children dislike Literacy. Quite often, when I’m teaching, I ask my students what their favourite subject is and Maths is always the preferred choice.

To combat this and help your child increase their enthusiasm for English and comprehension, in particular, there are a few things you can do.

These include:

Taking them to the library and making it a proper day or afternoon out where you choose books. You could even organise a trip to a famous or large library that’s outside of your local area. There are some beautiful libraries across the country and they’re great for helping children to ignite their passion for reading.

Help them to use comprehension techniques when doing ‘fun’ things. For instance, while watching a movie, you could ask them who the protagonist is. That’s a big word but if your child is a student of our Clever Comprehension Academy programme, they’ll know what it means. You could also ask them to write a summary of what happens in the film as this is a great way to check their retention skills. 

When it comes to reading passages and understanding them better, here are some great tips.

Visualise the text.

When reading, it’s important to create images of what’s happening. This enables you to paint a picture of the story and to answer questions more easily. Visualisation is really powerful!

When reading, ask your child to picture what they see.

Focus more on the questions than on the passage or text.

Students often make the mistake of focusing heavily on the passage and it causes them to worry about big words they don’t know the meaning of, events that don’t quite make sense and tiny little details that are confusing.

Often enough, the questions in the exam don’t always assess these things and students who focus on the passage too much can find themselves losing marks. 

Instead of being passage-obsessed, focus on the questions that are being asked. Read them carefully and find the answers in the passage. 

Think like a detective

Instead of worrying about understanding the meaning behind every detail within the passage or text, focus on thinking like a detective who searches for answers.

Highlight and underline the answers as you find them in the passage; some students choose to write the question number next to the answer or highlighted word/phrase which is another great thing to do.

The key is on shifting your thinking from worrying about understanding everything to focus on finding the answers.

Be mindful of inference.

Examiners are constantly checking to see if students understand how to infer. What does this mean? It’s testing their ability to read between the lines of any text and draw conclusions. 

Inference is about thinking strategically and using the clues within a text to understand what’s happening on a deeper level. For example, if in the text it says that the character beamed with joy, we can interpret that the character is happy

If on the other hand, it says that a character hung their head and dropped their shoulders, we can infer that they’re sad, withdrawn or possibly even ashamed.

Do you see how inference works now? It’s a wonderful skill to develop.

Learn to PEE.

For students sitting multiple choice exams such as the CEM, they don’t have to worry about this but for those sitting standard exams such as those popularly used by independent schools, learning to PEE is really important.

What’s PEE? It stands for point, evidence, explanation. Put simply, when answering questions, students need to be able to write detailed answers where they firstly make a point (which answers the question), back that point up using evidence from the text (such as a quote) and finally, explain the relevance of the quote to the point and the answer that’s been set. 

Here’s a quick example.

Question: How is George described in the passage? (3 marks)

Answer: George is described as being a tall, baby-faced man who is highly likeable. In the passage, he is described as “having the countenance of a King” which suggests that he is naturally likeable and commands respect in the same way a king or monarch would. 

In the example above, the first line focuses on making a point that answers the question. The second line provides a relevant quote and the third provides the explanation which is linked to the question to show relevance. 

I hope this article helps you and your child to see that comprehension doesn’t have to be difficult.

It can be broken down so that it’s easy to score higher marks. The key is in focusing on building inference skills, knowing what examiners are looking for and learning to search for the answers rather than worrying about understanding every little detail in the text.

Do you have any other comprehension tips you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them.

Leave them in the comments below. 

Ps. If your child still needs help with comprehensive, check out our online course which can be accessed 24/7. It’s called Clever Comprehension Academy.

Here’s to your child’s success!

The Tutoress Team.








How To Start Preparing For The 11+ Exam

“My child’s 11+ exam is next year, how do I start preparing for it?”

This is a great question and one I hear often.

In fact, I wrote a guidebook on this very topic almost a decade ago. It’s rather dated now, especially as the CEM was only introduced in 2013, but I’m hoping to produce an updated version of the book in the nearby future.

In the meantime, here are some tips to help guide you through starting your child’s 11+ prep. These tips are also somewhat applicable to the 7+, 8+, 9+ and 10+ exams.

Be Honest

I know we all think our children are perfect but the unfortunate truth is that not every child is suited to the 11+. Some children don’t have the drive or determination to study for what can feel like hours on end. Some would rather watch TV all day or take part in tons of activities after school than to spend their evenings or holiday periods studying for an exam. Before you even begin to consider the 11+, think about whether your child is naturally bright and be honest with yourself. Does your child have natural academic potential or are they lagging behind academically? Does your child want to sit the exam? Do they want to go to a grammar or independent school? Think about these things and be honest with yourself. Don’t hesitate to ask your child questions and discuss whether they’d like to go through the 11+ process.

Start early

I know that not all parents are fortunate enough to have discovered the 11+ early, but as a general rule of thumb, early preparation makes a tremendous difference. If you can, start laying the foundation for your child’s educational success as early as possible and avoid leaving exam prep to the last minute. Even before you begin working through 11+ books, strengthen your child’s academic foundation by teaching them new vocabulary words and help them to build their English and Maths skills. For instance, it’s a great idea to pick up books that cover topics such as SPAG, arithmetic, mental maths and comprehension.

Begin with research

Research which schools you’re applying for and if possible, consider visiting them as early as possible. Sometimes parents start 11+ preparation and then find out months later that the school they’re applying for doesn’t even test a certain subject so it’s best to know where you’re applying to first. Then you can plan accordingly. It’s also worth reaching out to your target schools and confirming which format their exams are in and which subjects your child will sit exams in. For example, some schools require students to only sit exams in Maths and English, whilst others assess Reasoning as well. Generally, the main exam types are the CEM, GL Assessment, ISEB, CSSE or the standard exam (for independent school entry).

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Start small

The Bond books are a great starting point. Start with the lower age bracket (e.g. 7-8) and then work upwards. Go through questions that your child is struggling with most and check the ones they got wrong so they don’t repeat mistakes.

Get focused

Focus on improving your child’s overall vocabulary, English and Maths skills. These skills aren’t just important for the 11+ but for life. The stronger their English and Maths, the more likely they are to do well.

Find a routine

Get into a routine. This is important so that it becomes a habit for your child to study every day and it helps them to manage homework alongside 11+ work.

Don’t solely D.i.y

Although you don’t have to hire a tutor for long periods of time, it’s definitely a good idea to book a few sessions or at the very least, an assessment. Ideally, if you’re thinking about hiring a tutor on a long-term basis, it’s best to see which tutor your child clicks with and then to join their waiting list early so that your child can have a few lessons with them closer to the time of the exam. Some parents don’t use a tutor at all and that’s fine, but it’s good to have a second opinion from someone who has a strong track record of getting children into the particular school(s) you’re applying for. If you don’t want regular lessons, just book a few sessions or assessments with them and they should be able to give you a report of their observations.

Stay calm

Stay calm and don’t panic because children pick up on these things. Try to encourage your child to have a positive mindset about exams and education in general.

Recommended 11+ Revision Books & Resources

When it comes to preparing for the 11+ exams, it can be very daunting figuring out which materials and resources are best. Here are some of our favourites.

For Early Preparation (Ideal For Years 3 & 4)

The Bond 11+ Bundle (Ages 6-7) - The bundles include all four subjects (English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning)

The Bond 11+ Bundle (Ages 7-8)

The Bond Bundle (Ages 8-9)

The Bond Bundle (Ages 9-10)

For Generation Preparation and Revision (Years 5 and above)

The Bond Bundle (Ages 10-11)

Practice Papers For CEM

Practice Papers For GL Assessment

Quick Practice Tests For GL Assessment

Bond No Nonsense English

Rapid Tests NVR

For ISEB & Independent School Exam Preparation

Bond Verbal Reasoning (age 11-12)

Galore Park (English) (ISEB)

Galore Park (Maths) ISEB

Recommended Vocabulary Books

The Cadwaladr Quests by SL Ager (Tangled Time)

The Cadwaladr Quests by SL Ager (Race For Gold)

Vocabulary Flashcards

Here’s to your child’s success!

The Tutoress Team.

3 Fun Ways To Build Your Child’s Vocabulary In Preparation For The 11+

3 fun ways to improve your child’s vocabulary in preparation for the 11+

3 fun ways to improve your child’s vocabulary in preparation for the 11+


Vocabulary is one of the most important areas of  11+ preparation as it’s a skills that’s assessed in Verbal Reasoning and English exams. Furthermore, research shows that children who possess higher levels of vocabulary tend to outperform those with limited vocab. 

Vocabulary is extremely important and creates the foundation for outstanding academic standards in the 11+ and beyond.

To help your child improve their vocab, check out these three tips. They’re based on my experience of teaching hundreds of students in preparation for school entrance exams.

Use higher level vocabulary when talking to your child. 

Children learn vocabulary best when hearing advanced words in context. It’s therefore more effective to speak to your child in a way that they’ll understand, but will also challenge their knowledge of more complex words. For instance, you could throw in a ‘big’ word when asking a question or when talking about your day. You can also encourage your child to respond back to you using the same word.

Have a word of the day or week. 

In the 11+, SATS, ISEB and GCSE Facebook group that I’m an admin of, we have a Word of The Day. I love the concept and have seen it used successfully for helping children improve their vocabulary skills. You can choose a WOTD or WOTW (word of the week) and really get involved by making a big deal of that particular word. For instance, you could create word posters or cartoons with that word - an activity that visual learners love. I actually started implementing this in my lessons and was amazed to see that one of my international students still remembered the words several months later. It made me realise how powerful it is to incorporate images and pictures into English and Literacy lessons.

Put down the “baby”books. 

No offence to certain authors, but I often observe my students reading books that limit their vocabulary. For instance, some of the most popular children’s books of the moment are filled with lovely cartoon pictures but very limited vocabulary-building words. I won’t name the books in question but they’re extremely popular and they’re great as light reading but when I see students ONLY reading those books, it makes me wince. Your child should be reading a wide range of books including reputable newspaper articles and magazines, novels and autobiographies.

Choosing to read just one type of book or books by one author and never branching out, is a recipe for limited vocabulary so I highly recommend encouraging your child to read slightly outside of their comfort zone.

But my child hates reading “smart” books, can I just let them read the “baby” ones?

The answer is NO!

Yes, it’s hard to get them reading some of the more difficult texts but you can branch out a little by encouraging them to read a small snippet of a newspaper article or a page or two of an autobiography and then build up from there. Diversifying the types of books they read will pay off later down the line, trust me.

Do you have any additional tips for boosting vocab? If so, share them by leaving a comment below.

If you enjoyed this blog, share it on social media or forward it to a friend or family member.

Here’s to your child’s success!

The Tutoress.

Do you have any additional tips for boosting vocab? If so, share them by leaving a comment below.

If you enjoyed this blog, share it on social media or forward it to a friend or family member.

Here’s to your child’s success!

The Tutoress.

Expat Children and the 11-Plus Exams: Advice For Expat and International Parents

Many of the students that we teach are from expat, diplomatic and international backgrounds.

As the child of an ambassador, politician, CEO or public figure, you're often expected to move from country to country, city to city with hardly any prior notice. It isn't an easy life and it becomes harder when you're expected to sit some of the most challenging school entrance exams in the world.

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If you're the parent of an expat child, it's important that you understand many of the complexities that your child may be facing. 

These include:

  • Feeling lonely (because your child's friendship circle changes every time they move schools)
  • Feeling as if they don't belong
  • Lacking in confidence about their appearance, accent or mannerisms because they are 'different' from that of other children.

However, it's important to note that your child's unique international upbringing has many benefits that make them unique and therefore, you should encourage them to embrace the following qualities.

  • They have an innate ability to get along with people from every culture because they are a third culture kid.
  • They might speak multiple languages to a fluent or conversational level.
  • Your child might be more confident because expat life has given them the chance to see more of the world and use public speaking speaks on a regular basis.
  • Your child is likely to have a more varied and diverse perspective of the world because they have visited and lived in a variety of places. This also means that they have wonderful stories to tell; stories that make them stand out from the crowd.

To help your child with the 11+, SATs and other important exams, instil pride and confidence in them. Let them know that they have some incredible gifts that are unique to them because of their third culture background. Encourage them to embrace every aspect of who they are.