English Test Papers 1 - 4

Introduction
These English Test Papers have been
designed to be suitable for children preparing
for 11+ selection examinations for grammar
and most independent (private) schools. It is
essential that you check with your LEA or
school before setting out on any course of
study and this is particularly the case with
English tests as there is a good deal of
variation between tests set by different
schools across the country.
Working through these tests will provide
your child with a realistic experience of
formal testing. It will also help them to
become more familiar with the range of
question types commonly seen in English
tests. The best preparation for taking tests of
this type is to have spent several years
reading for pleasure. Doing this develops
comprehension skills and an instinctive grasp
of grammar, spelling and punctuation which
will make these tests very straightforward for
your child. The books dont have to be
classics even books (not comics) which
will probably be forgotten in ten years time
will do the job. If you have just purchased
this pack then your child is probably within 6
months of taking the 11+. Its not too late
it will still help if your child spends a lot of
time reading but if there are younger siblings
then the advice is, the sooner the better.
The Tests
These tests are in a mixed format with both
multiple choice and standard format
questions where the child writes down the
answer. For ease of marking, we have
designed them with space on the question
papers for the answers. Each test has 60
questions to be completed in 50 minutes.
Because the tests will usually be marked by a
parent or guardian we have avoided the type
of question which might read Describe in

your own words how the heroine was feeling

when . . . as those marking may lack the
skills necessary to assess the answer. Such
questions have been presented in multiple
choice formats but, if you are confident in
your own language skills then it is a good
exercise when going over the childs test, to
ask them to write a suitable answer for
themselves. In this exercise you should think
about how much will need to be written and
give your child a suitable length limit
usually a couple of lines for their answer.
Much of the difficulty in answering questions
in this format is to compose suitably concise
yet informative answers.
Creative Writing
Most English tests will include a writing task.
Sometimes this will be a separate test and
sometimes it will be a section at the end of
the main test. In either case there will be at
least 30 minutes allowed for the task.
Creative writing does pose a problem for
tests which are going to be marked at home
as few children will have their work assessed
by someone familiar with what is required.
We have included a writing task at the end of
each test. It should be undertaken after a
break of 10 minutes and should take no more
than 30 minutes. Typically this will mean 1
2 pages of writing.
In assessing the work you should look for
evidence of good planning (introduction,
development of narrative and
resolution/conclusion) your child should
spend at least 5 minutes on the planning
stage. A good guide is to close your eyes and
ask yourself if you can visualise the scene
being described. The work should be
imaginative / persuasive as appropriate, and
should reach a suitable ending. The most
common problem is that children try to
compress the plot of a whole book into a
couple of paragraphs keep the plot as
simple as possible.

Finally, you may find it easy to spot spelling

mistakes and punctuation errors. Although
the writing should be in good English there is
much more to good writing than simply
avoiding mistakes and marking schemes
generally reflect this.
Administering the tests (incl. timing &
marking)

Ensure your child is fresh and alert.

Exams are normally held in the morning
or early afternoon and this will be the
best time to practise.

Try to simulate actual test conditions a

quiet place (no distractions), a desk or
table and chair, good posture, feet on the
floor and make sure to supervise them to
ensure they stay seated throughout the
test.

You should dedicate 50 minutes for each

test paper. The amount of time allowed
for these tests can vary but 50 minutes is
the most likely scenario. In the beginning,
timing may be a considerable challenge
for your child but with practice this will
improve.
Ensure there is a simple analogue clock
in the room so that your child can get
accustomed to managing their time. Time
management is an important skill to hone
and with your help, your child must learn
to strike a balance between speed and
accuracy. An inexpensive digital watch
with a timer function would be a good
investment.
The entire test should not be a guessing
game! However timing is a significant
factor; for tricky questions, encourage
your child to narrow down their options
using their knowledge and reasoning
skills and then, if necessary, to take an
educatedguess. They should then circle
the question number so they can return to
it if time permits, once they have
completed all the other questions. Make

sure they understand that if they do not

follow this course of action, they risk not
finishing within the allocated time and
missing out on marks for easier questions
later on. Never leave a blank! It will still
count as a wrong answer. It is always
worth taking a guess Nothing
ventured, nothing gained.

If your child does not finish the test

within the allowed time, then draw a line
to indicate where they have reached on
the paper at that time and let them carry
on. This will enable you to identify
whether your child is having difficulty
with some of the question types and/or
their time management.

If your child finishes the test in less than 50

minutes, still allow the full time and
encourage them to go through their work and
check their answers again carefully.
Using the results
The purpose of the practice papers in this test
pack is to build up your childs confidence
and help them to prepare and do well in their
11+ examinations.

Encourage, help and support your

child. If the scores are low, look
through the paper with them and try
to identify the question types they are
finding challenging and difficult.

Set aside some time to go through

the papers together.We cant
improve if we dont know where we
are going wrong.

If the results indicate that your child

is striving to be a perfectionist and is
working too slowly, then try to
introduce some time management
targets to help them speed up and
find a compromise between speed
and accuracy.
GOOD LUCK!

Test 1 Answers
Section 1: Homophones
Q1

heard

Q2

grate

Q3

plain

Q4

herd

Q5

beach

Q6

roar

Q7

Beech

Q8

great

Q9

plane

Q10

raw

Section 2: Spelling mistakes

Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Section 3: Best word

Q16

yet

Q17

loaves

Q18

echoes

Q19

peered

Q20

Despite

Section 4: Parts of speech

Q21

Noun

Q22

Verb

Q23

Adjective

Q24

Adverb

Q25

Pronoun

Section 5: Idioms
Q26

Q27

Q28

Q29

Q30

Q31

Section 6: Pronouns
Q32

whom

Q33

We

Q34

who

Q35

Q36

Whose

Section 7: Capitalize

Q58

Q37

Q59

Q60

Everybody greeted President Barack

Obama with great love and respect.

Q38

I live north of the village of Keston.

Q39

We ate French food at the Italian

restaurant.

Q40

Kate has a new Nintendo games

console.

Q41

Joanne is the only female member of

her political party.

Section 8: Abstract nouns

Q42

imagination

Q43

bitterness

Q44

bravery

Q45

maturity

Q46

success

Section 9: Comprehension
Q47

Q48

Q49

Q50

Q51

Q52

Q53

Q54

Q55

Q56

Q57

Test 2 Answers
Section 1:Comprehension
Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Q16

Q17

Q18

Q19

Q20

Section 2: Definite articles

Q21

Q22

an

Q23

an

Section 3: Plurals
Q24

fairies

Q25

cowboys

Q26

leaves

Q27

cliffs

Q28

videos

Q29

aircraft

Section 4: Collective nouns

Q30

galaxy

Q31

battery

Q32

ream

Q33

anthology

Q34

pinch

Section 5: Pronouns
Q35

Who

Q36

whom

Q37

Whose

Q38

yours

Q39

mine

Q40

his

Q41

himself

Q42

Section 6: Best word

Q43

Whenever

Q44

Unless

Q45

Since

Q46

Whether

Q47

While

Q48

Although

Section 7: Missing words

Q49

cautiously

Q50

expensive

Q51

exclusive

Q52

lock

Q53

reassured

Q54

casually

Q55

scent

Q56

summers

Q57

strawberries

Q58

woken

Q59

attack

Q60

desperately

Test 3 Answers
Section 1: Best word
Q1

fewer

Q2

much

Q3

since

Q4

stationary

Q5

excess

Section 2: Spelling
Q6

Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Section 3: Pronouns
Q11

that

Q12

I / myself

Q13

it / their

Q14

my

Section 4: Parts of speech

Q15

D: adverb

Q16

C: adjective

Q17

A: noun

Q18

B: verb

Q19

E: pronoun

Section 5: Plurals
Q20

countries

Q21

species

Q22

roofs

Q23

giraffes

Q24

geese

Q25

buses

Section 6: Idioms
Q26

Q27

Q28

Q29

Q30

Section 7: Abstract nouns

Q31

reality or realism

Q32

accuracy

Q33

criticism

Q34

anger

Q35

generosity

Q36

obedience

Section 8: Compound words

Q37

bystander

Q38

hopscotch

Q39

highlight

Q40

wheelbarrow

Section 9: Comparatives / superlatives

Q41

funnier

funniest

Q42

more childish most childish

Q43

more

most

Q44

drier

driest

Q45

more brilliant most brilliant

Section 10: Comprehension

Q46

Q47

Q48

Q49

Q50

Q51

Q52

Q53

Q54

Q55

Q56

Q57

Q58

Q59

Q60

Test 4 Answers
Section 1: Comprehension

Section 3: Suffixes
Q25

custom -ary

Q26

secret -ive

Q27

sorrow ful

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Q6

Q7

Q8

Q9

Q10

Q11

Q12

There is no clear right or wrong concerning

whether commas, full stops etc. should be
within speech marks or outside

Q13

Q32

Im

- speech mark

Q14

Q33

cold, dark

- comma

Q15

Q34

me?

- question mark

Q16

Q35

Japanese

- capitalise

Q17

Q36

its

- apostrophe

Q18

Q19 (the thought) was as if a sweet clear

spring had begun to rise
Q20

Section 2: Abstract nouns

Q21

attention / attentiveness

Q22

popularity

Q23

grace (gracefulness)

Q24

security

Section 4: Parts of speech

Q28

adjective

Q29

verb

Q30

adverb

Q31

noun

Section 5: Punctuation, capitals

Section 6: Feminineforms
Q37

niece

Q38

hen

Q39

goose

Q40

wife

Section 7: Adjectives
Q41

comfortable / comforting

Q42

malicious

Q43

harmonious

Q44

scientific

Section 8: Comparative / superlative

Q45

heavier

Q46

tallest

Q47

more valuable

Q48

best

Section 9: Missing words

Q49

which

Q50

her

Q51

me

Q52

my

Q53

them

Q54

who

Q55

that

Q56

his

Q57

whose

Q58

him

Q59

their

Q60

this