There are quite a few 11 Plus Guided Courses around and in this instance we felt it would be beneficial to specifically recommend a supplier. We have deliberately gone for a paper based supplier because we know that children learn better on paper (online question banks have their place but not as a whole solution to 11 Plus preparation).
Time is very tight every week and there isn't enough time to ferry children backwards and forwards between tutors or tuition centres.
Families live in rural areas or areas where there are not any available tutors or tuition centres.
Where the decision has been made to do preparation at home (which is what most families do) but parents want the reassurance that they are doing the right thing at the right time.
Where parents are nervous about designing a preparation process themselves and buying the right books.
Where parents want to give children in years three and four a boost prior to using a tutor for preparation during year five (tuition provision for younger children is very rarely available).
Occasionally parents may want to go for a tutor but find they cannot really afford it and see an 11 Plus guided course as the next best thing because of the help and advice provided.
Why we have chosen Lessons in the Post over other suppliers.
We are recommending Lessons in the Post having reviewed other options because we simply think it's the best option for parents for the following reasons.
1/ The majority of their work is delivered on paper.
2/ A useful assessment is carried out to start the process so you can understand what your child's current performance level is.
3/ Work can be scheduled individually to suit your situation (some families apparently do more work in the holidays than term time due to other commitments).
4/ The work is organised and set out so that children do the right work at the right time, there's no scheduling work for parents to do.
5/ The work delivered varies between ½ hour and an hour per day (with marking and feedback on top).
6/ All answers are provided (this is an advantage because some English books do not provide answers).
7/ There are no decisions for parents to make about what materials to buy, all the materials you will need are supplied to you.
8/ There's a good mix of learning and practice questions with revision of key areas built in.
9/ They have experience dealing with all the different Grammar School areas and most of the best Independent School entries so hopefully will understand your situation.
10/ They have been going for over 20 years so have a good track record of helping parents.
11 Plus guided courses are always more expensive than buying books and doing them at home, but they tend to provide a more complete preparation for children. Where families are struggling with finding out what the exams involve, what books to buy and what order to do things in, it is sometimes useful to use a guided course as a different route forwards.
Remember that each of the four main preparation routes (Private Tutors, Tuition Centres, Guided Courses, Books) have their own strengths and weaknesses and all will require children to do quite a lot of work at home with parental help and supervision. Some preparation routes will suit some families better than others regardless of cost. There are plenty of families who use books each year and are very happy with the process and do well.