13 Plus Exam (13+exam)
What is 13 Plus Exam (13+exam)?
The Grammar schools and independent schools have historically maintained rigorous selectivity, admitting primarily the most academically gifted students. The 13 Plus Exam (13+exam) is generally seen as a second opportunity to secure admission to a grammar school and is accessible in specific UK regions. Students can sit for the 13 Plus Exam (13+exam) in Year 7 or Year 8. Since it occurs after the 11 Plus Exam (11+exam), students benefiut from additional time for preparation and revising challenging topics. It's worth nothing that the 13 Plus Exam (13+exam) is not as widespread as the 11 Plus Exam (11+exam) and isn't universally accepted by all grammar or independent schools.
As the name implies, the 13 13 Plus Exam (13+exam) is typically taken at age 13, during Year 8, oftern reffered to as a late transfer test. Its purposes is to determine eligibility for entry into Year 9 at the school.
Unlike the 13 Plus Exam (13+exam), participation in the 13 Plus Exam (13+exam) necessitates registration with the school of your choice. Meanwhile 13 Plus Exam (13+exam) takers for entry to grammar schools are students who previously sttempted the 11 Plus Exam (11+exam) but didn't pass, students can ONLY choose either 11 plus exam (11+exam) or 13 plus exam (13+exam) entry for the same independent school.
Most 13 Plus Examw (13+exams) are administrated by the Independent School Examinations Board (ISEB) through the Common Entrance Exam...
Why are there both 11 Plus Exam (11+exam) and 13 Plus Exam (13+exam)?
The historical reason for the existing of both 11 plus exam (11+exam) entry and 13 plus exam (13+exam) entry is that people believe that girls grow mature earlier than boys, Therefore, girls can enter secondary schools earlier than boys. As a result, nowadays most girls' senior schools accept students starting at age 11 while boys' senior schools accept boys at age13 or admit them to their lower schools at age 11.
Difference between: 11 Plus Exam (11+exam) and 13 Plus Exam (13+exam)?
Selecting the right senior school and deciding when your child should take entrance exams can be a complex process. If transitioning to a state selective grammar school or moving from a prep school that ends at age 11, the 11+ stage is natural. Independent schools now offer entry flexibility at Year 7 or Year 13, demanding a strategic choice. Exam formats vary widely, with computerized testing, multiple-choice, and written exams. Both the 11+ and 13+ stages assess resilience, adaptability, academic abilities, and potential. Beyond historical gender considerations, the exams differ in components. The 11+ (Year 6) covers English, Maths, and Reasoning, while the 13+ (Year 8) includes additional subjects like history, geography, science, or a second language.
What does 13 Plus Exam (13+exam) look like?
13 plus exam (13+exam) consists of Maths, English, Science and other Arts and Humanity subjects such as Geography, History, Religious Studies, and a modern European Language other than English. Some schools will even have Science Experiment exam to test on students' academic abilities in Science.
13+ Maths:
For 13 plus exam (13+exam), students need to sit three papers in Maths: Calculator, Non-calculator and Mental Arithmetic. Just like other entrance exams, maths exam usually test on contents beyond the national curriculum. The Mental Arithmetic paper will be delivered via audio.
13+ English:
The 13 plus exam (13+exam) English test is designed to assess students' reading, comprehension and writing skills. In order to show comprehension skills, students need to read a long passage and answer the following questions briefly, which also shows their ability to express their understandings and compose short passages. For the writing test, students need to write grammarly correct paragraphs while delivering their own creative ideas.
13+ Science:
The 13+ Science exam in the UK is part of the admission process for independent schools and assesses a student's scientific knowledge and understanding. Typically taken in Year 8, the exam covers a range of scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, and biology. Students may encounter a variety of question formats, testing their ability to apply scientific principles and solve problems. The exam aims to evaluate a student's readiness for the science curriculum at the secondary level. Preparation involves reviewing key scientific concepts, conducting experiments, and practicing problem-solving to demonstrate a solid grasp of scientific principles.
13+ Interview:
There will be several questions that come up in the 13 plus exam (13+exam) interview. Detailed questions might vary from different schools, but there are usually some topic categories that most schools prefer:
Personal Questions: this is usually about student's hobbies, personal interests, and extracurricular activities. Through these questions, students can present their personality and confidence, which helps the school know more about the student quickly.
Current Affairs and General Knowledge: this category usually serves as a way to gauge student's cirtical thinking skills and knowledge about the nowadays world. Students may find these questions challenging to answer, but it is an ideal opportunity to show their ability to analyze and structure a thoughtful response (especially in Point-Evidence-Explain structure).
Academic Related Questions: These questions are used to test on student's understanding of the subjects, which may include verbal analysis of a passage or mental maths questions.
How to prepare for 13 Plus Exam (13+exam)?
13 plus exam (13+exam), as the entrance exam to senior school, requires student to behave well in their academic study and interview. They would look for students with excellent academic performance and interview performance.
13 plus exam (13+exam) Maths test, students need to have a good grasp of current year as well as more advanced maths knowledge. Students need to practice numerical and problem solving abilities. Therefore, it is better that students have regular practice.
13 plus exam (13+exam) English test, as the main focus should be around comprehension and story-writing skills, students can keep the habit of reading and applying solid techniques and vocabulary into their own creative writing. Students can also practice their logical progression of ideas, use of paragraphs, and powerful and attractive first and last lines.
13 plus exam (13+exam) interviews, students can prepare some questions beforehand and follow up current hot topics. Parents or tutors can also lead the students to think more comprehensively in order to maintain an as complete as possible logic structure. Besides, learning about interview etiquette will also help student stay confident and polite during the interview process.
In order to make students more used to the 13 plus exam (13+exam) , students can also have several mock exams before the exam day.
Top UK Private Schools
13 Plus (13+) Exam Days for 2024 Entry
Online ISEB Pre-test:
October 2, 2023--November 24, 2023
Assessment:
January 8, 2024
Interview:
January--June, 2024
St. Paul's School
13 Plus(13+)
Online ISEB Pre-test:
October--November, 2023
Interview:
Mid-December, 2023
St. Paul's Girls' School(2027 Entry)
13 Plus(13+)
Online ISEB Pre-test:
By the end of November, 2023
Entrance Exam:
November 30, 2023
Interview:
January, 2024
City of London School
13 Plus(13+)
Assessment:
December 2, 2023
Interview:
January 18,19,20,22, 2024
Godolphin and Latymer School(2026 Entry)
13 Plus(13+)
Assessment:
December, 2023
Interview:
September/October, 2023
Merchant Taylor's School
(2027 Entry)13 Plus(13+)
Online ISEB Pre-test:
October 1, 2023--end of November, 2023
Harrow Test:
Spring Term of Year 6, 2024
Harrow School
(2026 Entry)
13 Plus(13+)
Assessment:
January 13, 2024
Interview:
January 23, 2024
Dulwich College
13 Plus(13+)
Assessment:
November 4, 2023
Interview:
November 24, 2023
HarrodianSchool
13 Plus(13+)
Assessment:
November, 2023
Interview:
January, 2024
Royal Russel School
Assessment:
January 9, 2024
James Allen's Girls' School
Assessment:
April 16, 2024
Sevenoaks
School
(2025 Entry)
13 Plus(13+)
Assessment:
December 9, 2023
Interview:
January 17,18,19, 2024
St. Benedict's School
13 Plus(13+)
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