Level - Year 4
Our successful 11+ course is designed to prepare students for all aspects of the GL Assessment.
Year 4 Foundation Course
(Beginning after February half-term)
Our Year 4 course is designed for children who would benefit from an earlier introduction to 11+ skills.
We deliberately begin after February half-term, when pupils are more settled in school, more confident, and better able to gain real value from lessons. This ensures preparation is calm, purposeful and confidence-building, never rushed or unnecessary.
Many pupils begin their 11+ preparation with us at the start of Year 5, and we are always happy to advise parents on whether Year 4 is needed.
Year 4 Early Start Preparation Pack
Families who enrol for our Year 4 Foundation Course by September receive our Year 4 Early Start Preparation Pack to use at home while children settle into the school year.
This pack provides a calm, structured introduction to the core skills that underpin 11+ success, allowing children to build confidence gradually and at their own pace throughout the Autumn term, before lessons begin in February.
The pack includes a carefully selected range of 11+ style materials across reasoning, English and maths, along with clear guidance on how and when to use them. The aim is not to accelerate learning, but to help children become familiar with key question types and develop good working habits in a relaxed way.
There is no expectation to complete large amounts of work; short, regular practice is more than enough.
We check in once each half term to ensure families feel comfortable using the materials and to provide gentle guidance where needed.
The Preparation Pack is sent to families at the start of the Autumn term in September, ready to be used gently alongside the beginning of Year 4.
This preparation period helps children arrive in February feeling familiar, confident and ready to benefit fully from their Year 4 lessons.
Does my child need to start 11+ preparation in Year 4?
Not always.
For many children, the ideal time to begin 11+ preparation is at the start of Year 5.
Whether a child benefits from starting in Year 4 depends on their confidence, academic foundations and individual needs, not simply their age. For children who would benefit from an earlier, gentle introduction, our Year 4 course begins after February half-term, when it is much clearer that early support will be helpful.
We are always happy to advise parents honestly on the right starting point for their child.
Course Dates
Year 4: February half-term – end of Year 4
Why enrol your child on a Tops 11+ course?
Personalised Attention
• Small class sizes in each session ensure individualised attention
• Tailored instruction to address specific needs and learning styles
• Homework marked in-house
Experienced and Qualified Tutors
• Extensive knowledge and vast experience from years of tutoring the 11+
• Highly-qualified teachers (DBS approved) who give students lots of encouragement and support
Assessments and Feedback
• Termly assessments with detailed feedback
• Parent-tutors meeting to discuss individual progress
• Comprehensive mock feedback
Comprehensive Preparation
• Thorough and effective preparation for the GL Assessment 11+ exam, covering all sections in depth and detail
• Special techniques and strategies taught to fully prepare students
Exclusive Resources and Course Material
• Unique 11+ resources written in-house
• Exclusive course material created for students
• Vocabulary, comprehension, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and problem solving course books provided
Additional Services
• Optional workshops and courses offered throughout the year
• Optional sessions are offered weekly throughout the summer
• Online summer review course to keep your child ticking over during the long summer break.
Our Other Services
11+ Preparation (Year 5)
Specialising in 11+ preparation for all grammar and independent school admissions, we ensure that every child understands, masters and perfects the techniques to tackle the exam. Teaching in small groups of six students maximum in Year 5 allows for individual attention and provides children with the best chance of success.
12+ Late Entry Test
Our 12+ covers all aspects of the Late Entry test including numeracy, literacy and reasoning skills for the online 12+ Bucks GL exam and Dr Challoner’s and The Royal Grammar School tests. We focus strongly on teaching comprehension skills, building vocabulary and developing problem solving skills. This ensures students are confident and fully prepared for the exam.
13+ Late Entry Test
Our 13+ covers all aspects of the Late Entry test including numeracy, literacy and reasoning skills for the 13+ online GL Bucks exam and Dr Challoner’s and The Royal Grammar School tests. We focus strongly on teaching comprehension skills, building vocabulary and developing problem solving skills. This ensures students are confident and fully prepared for the exam.
Summer Classes
Our summer classes have been designed to maintain momentum over the long summer break. Experience has shown that without the right approach and support, some children can withdraw during the summer and become unmotivated. Our classes are all about keeping our students motivated and enthused and we will be working with each one of them to consolidate techniques, improve timing issues and tweak exam strategies where necessary. They will also have the opportunity to complete practice papers under timed conditions.
Problem Solving Skills Course
Our successful problem solving course helps students to understand how to apply the maths concepts taught at school to solve worded maths problems. The course content is suitable for the GL Assessment exam. Strong problem solving and reasoning skills are crucial to success in the 11+/12+ and national assessments including SATS. Our problem solving course is ideal for students sitting all entrance exams including GL Assessment and CEM Durham.
Comprehension Skills Course
The course helps learners comprehend text at literal, inferential and evaluative levels, to approach all comprehension questions with confidence and is ideal for students studying for the 11/12+ exams.
What Our Parents Say
Coral is more than a tutor. Not only is the academic side of her service excellent, Coral is also an invaluable advisor to parents and children throughout the 11+ process. Coral is so experienced. She literally guided us through the whole system from beginning to end. Always on the other end of the phone to provide calm assurance on the best way forward.
As parents it is so hard to know what the best course of action is when it comes to past papers, working with your child at home, mocks, 121s. But Coral literally held our hands throughout what is a stressful process. Our daughter comfortably passed, attaining a score not possible without Coral’s support and guidance. Thank you!
Anish
Parent
We feel very well supported by Coral and her capable team at TOPS. The weekly sessions have eased us back into the revision regime (after a four year break), with a range of stimulating and engaging resources. With a couple of mock papers under our belts, Coral’s detailed analysis and feedback has helped focus the family on how we can best support our son in the final weeks before the big day.
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Parent