Why do a mock exam?
When children sit the grammar school entrance exams, they are still at a stage in their school life where they have not done an external exam before. The opportunity to undertake mock exams gives children a chance to gain this experience in an unfamiliar and potentially overwhelming environment but without the pressure of the actual exam. As with any new experience, confidence grows with familiarity and thus mock exam experience can only advantage a child when they face the actual exams in September.
During the mock exams, we feel it is important to guide the children with regards to exam conduct and exam technique. Throughout the morning, the invigilator in charge of the exam will give the children tips which may help them deal with the actual exams in a more confident manner.
As a company, we are very proud of the product we deliver and have a firm belief in helping children to reach their potential.
What happens on the day?
The mock exam experience starts with registration of your child (usually around 9:00am) with one of our invigilators. One of our staff will then show your child into the exam room after checking whether they need a visit to the toilet.
Once all the candidates are in the exam room, exam conditions prevail. The staff from Newell Tuition are presented to the children and a short talk follows about the real entrance exams. This short presentation allows your child to settle in and hopefully control their nerves! A short explanation is then given of how the mock exam will be conducted.
The children are asked to check they have stationery (pencils and a rubber), which we can provide if these have been forgotten, and to check they have the correct paper in front of them. They are then instructed to write their name on the front of the question paper. Finally, the instructions on the front of the paper are read out and the children begin the test. They are given the time when the test begins and then are given time warnings half way through the test and also when five minutes are left (this is slightly different with the Non-Verbal where there is half time warning and a minute warning, although this will probably not happen in the actual exam). Once the time is up, we end that test and collect the papers. This procedure is repeated for all the papers.
There will be a short break during the mock exam, which usually takes place half way through. During the actual exams, there will be a break but this varies from school to school depending upon their time schedule.
We ask parents to be present by the notified time to collect their children.
What happens after the exam?
One of the main aims of the exams is to provide as much information as possible to allow forward planning of your child’s preparation for the actual entrance exams.
After the exam day, the papers go through a rigorous marking procedure. Once this has been done, the scores are then entered into our exams database where we calculate the average for the group and then standardise the scores.
We aim to provide a full report on your child’s results within four days of the mock exam. This report is emailed to the email address provided to us, together with a copy of the marking schemes and an explanation of standardisation.
After each mock exam, your child’s papers will be taken home to enable you/your child’s tutor to go over the errors and improve on the necessary areas.
We have a no refund policy on our mock exams, you have a 7 day cancellation period from the date you make your booking. If you wish to cancel please contact us on 07889524034 or bookings@newelltutors.co.uk
