How Can Three Short Sessions Help with Caterham School's 11+?

When an admissions process has more than one stage, it is tempting to create a different practice plan for every part. That can quickly fill the week. A simpler approach is to use three short sessions with a clear purpose, then adjust them from what you actually notice in your child's work.

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What the current page asks families to plan for

These details were checked on 14 October 2026. Confirm them on the official page for your child's intake before making arrangements.

For September 2027 entry, Caterham School lists an application deadline of Monday 2 November 2026 and says informal interviews take place in mid to late November.[3]

The school says applicants take the ISEB Common Pre-Test in English, Maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, either at their current school or at Caterham on Saturday 14 November 2026.[3]

Caterham's EDGE Experience Day is listed for Saturday 9 January 2027 and includes a Maths assessment and an EDGE paper with writing, critical-thinking and problem-solving tasks.[3]

The school says it also seeks a confidential school reference and takes a holistic view of the information gathered during admissions.[3]

Those stages do not need to become one long weekly test. English and Maths are natural foundations for home learning, while the school's own information should guide familiarisation with the wider process.

Session one: teach one small thing

Pick a single skill that would make several questions easier. In English, that might be finding evidence in a passage, organising a paragraph or checking sentence punctuation. In Maths, it might be secure multiplication facts, fraction equivalence or deciding which operation a word problem needs.

Keep the explanation brief, work through one example together and let your child try two or three fresh examples. Stop while attention is still good. A focused twenty minutes is often more useful than an hour that drifts between unrelated worksheets.

Session two: return to it in a new form

A day or two later, bring the same skill back with different wording or numbers. Do not begin by announcing that it is a test. Ask your child what they remember, then offer a hint if the method has disappeared.

Notice what changed. Perhaps the arithmetic was correct but the question was misread. Perhaps a good idea was hidden inside an unclear paragraph. Write one plain note for yourself, such as “slow down for the final sentence” or “plan three points before writing”. That note should decide the next practice, not become a label for your child.

Session three: mix, check and choose

Finish the week with a small mixed set: a short reading task, a little writing and a few Maths questions. If the underlying methods are secure, you can add a gentle time boundary to part of the session. If accuracy or confidence collapses, take the timer away and teach the troublesome step again.

End by choosing no more than two priorities for the next week. One might be English and one Maths. This prevents every mistake from turning into extra homework and gives your child a clear sense of what success in the next session looks like.

Keep the wider process in proportion

The official page describes reasoning assessments, an interview, the EDGE day and a school reference as parts of admissions.[3] At home, keep preparation simple and manageable: build steady English and Maths foundations, then use the school's information to decide what familiarisation may be helpful closer to each stage. Conversation can also help your child speak naturally about interests, books, school work and questions they genuinely have.

For an overview and links to the latest admissions information, visit the Caterham School guide. For your next three-session cycle, choose one manageable skill from a Maths lesson or English lesson, and leave room to revisit it later in the week.

Sources

[3] 11+ Admissions - Caterham School