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ElevenPlusGenius

11+ tutor, online tuition or home preparation?

You do not need a tutor to sit the 11+. A tutor is worth paying for when you cannot run a steady weekly routine yourself, or when your child keeps getting stuck on the same thing and needs a person to watch them work. Find out where your child is first, with a free check, then decide.

A tutor or home preparation

Both can work. What changes is who explains mistakes, who keeps the routine and what it costs.

What mattersA human tutorHome preparation with a course
Explaining a mistakeA person watches your child work and explains it in the moment.Questions come with worked explanations. Your child reads one and tries a similar question.
Keeping the routineThe weekly session sets the rhythm.You set it. A dated plan tells you what each session is.
Written answersA tutor can read and mark your child's writing.Model answers and a checklist to compare against. No person marks it.
Timed practiceDepends on the tutor.Timed mocks in your test's format, marked straight away.
CostHourly rate × hours × weeks, plus books and mocks. Work out your quotes in the tutor cost calculator.One payment for the course, shown before you pay.

When a tutor is worth it

  • You cannot run the routine

    Work, siblings or a child who will not work with a parent. A weekly booking makes the sessions happen.

  • The same gap for weeks

    Your child has seen the explanation and still gets that topic wrong. A person can spot where the method breaks.

  • Writing needs a reader

    Your child's test has a written paper and you are not sure what good looks like. Start with the written-answer sample.

When home preparation is enough

  • You can give 30 to 90 minutes a week

    Short, regular sessions matter more than long ones. The free Year 5 plan fits the time you choose.

  • Your child can read an explanation

    If a worked answer makes sense to them, they do not need someone to say it out loud.

  • You want to know where they stand

    The free check takes about 15 minutes and gives you a report: where to start and three short sessions.

Decide in four weeks, not on a guess

  1. Take the free check

    About 15 minutes for your child, then a report for you: where to start, by skill. No account.

  2. Run the four-week plan

    The free Year 5 plan: 30, 60 or 90 minutes a week, to print or use online.

  3. Review with your child

    Ten minutes at the end of each week. Which topics moved? Which did not?

  4. Then choose

    Most topics moving: keep going at home. One topic stuck: a few tutor sessions on that topic. Routine not happening: a weekly tutor.

Online 11+ tuition and online courses are different things

Online tuition is a tutor on a video call, live, at a booked time. It is the same as home tuition without the travel.

An online course is self-study: lessons, practice and mocks your child does at any time, with explanations written in. ElevenPlusGenius is an online course. We do not provide tutors.

Questions to ask a tutor before you book

  • Which test does my child sit, and have you taught for that test's format and papers?
  • What will a session cover, and what work will my child do between sessions?
  • How will you tell me what has improved and what has not?
  • Do you charge for school holidays, and what is your cancellation notice?
  • What is the total for the year, including books and mocks?
  • Will my child sit timed practice in the real format before the test?

Start with your test

Each area tests differently. Pick yours for its dates, format and free practice.

  • Kent Test

    English, maths and reasoning, with a writing task.

    Kent Test

  • Buckinghamshire

    The Secondary Transfer Test.

    Bucks 11+

  • London grammar schools

    QE Boys, Henrietta Barnett, Tiffin and the Sutton test.

    Which test is mine?

  • Birmingham, Trafford, Essex and more

    Every area with its own page and course.

    Find your school

When you want it all in one place

The 11+ Family System: every course on your route for one child, a two-week plan from their own answers, a weekly parent view and every timed mock. No tutor.

Questions parents ask

Do you need a tutor for the 11+?

No. Children sit the 11+ without a tutor every year. What matters is regular practice in the format of your test and knowing which skills to work on.

When should 11+ tutoring start?

Most 11+ tests are sat in September of Year 6, so families who use a tutor usually start during Year 5. Whatever you choose, a free check now tells you how much there is to do.

How much does an 11+ tutor cost?

Multiply the hourly rate by hours a week and weeks, then add books and mocks. The tutor cost calculator does it with your own quotes. We show no average, because no survey we could check exists.

Is online 11+ tuition as good as in person?

It is the same tutor on a video call. Choose the tutor, not the format: their knowledge of your test and how they report progress matter more.

Does ElevenPlusGenius provide tutors?

No. We make online courses: lessons, practice, timed mocks and a parent view, built for each test. If you want a person, use the questions above to choose one.