Year 6 after the 11+: what to do before secondary school

The 11+ exams are over. For many Year 6 children, that means months of practice papers are behind them. So what now? The answer is a healthy mix: rest, have fun, and keep English and Maths ticking over. A little regular work now makes Year 6 SATs and the start of Year 7 much easier.

First: take a proper break

After weeks of test practice, your child has earned a rest. Take one or two weeks with no extra work at all. Let them sleep, play, see friends and do things they enjoy. A rested brain learns better later.

Try not to talk about the result every day. Whatever happens, your child worked hard, and that effort is not wasted. The skills they built for the 11+ (reading, vocabulary, arithmetic and problem solving) help at every secondary school.

Make time for hobbies

Year 6 is a great time to start or restart hobbies that were put on hold. For example:

• Sport: football, swimming, cricket, gymnastics, martial arts.
• Music: learn an instrument or join a choir.
• Creative things: drawing, cooking, building, crafts, photography.
• Clubs: Scouts, Guides, drama or chess.
• Coding: simple projects with Scratch or a beginner coding kit.

Hobbies build confidence, friendships and focus. They also give children something to talk about when they meet new classmates in Year 7.

Then: a light, steady routine

After the break, aim for 20 to 30 minutes a day, about five days a week. Short and regular beats long and rare. Keep it relaxed. This is not 11+ practice any more.

English: the most important habit is reading

Good reading helps in every subject at secondary school, including Science and Maths word problems.

• Read for fun every day. Novels, non-fiction, comics, magazines, newspapers for children: it all counts.
• Read a bit harder sometimes. Try a classic or a book slightly above their level.
• Keep a word book. Write down new words with their meaning and use them in a sentence.
• Write for fun. A diary, short stories, a blog or letters to family. Aim for one short piece a week.
• Check spelling, punctuation and grammar. Year 6 SATs include a spelling, punctuation and grammar test, so this helps straight away.

Maths: keep the basics sharp

Most secondary Maths is built on number skills learned in primary school. Keep these strong:

• Times tables up to 12 × 12, quick and without thinking.
• The four operations: written addition, subtraction, long multiplication and long division.
• Fractions, decimals and percentages: convert between them and find amounts.
• Mental maths: quick five-minute daily challenges.
• Word problems: read carefully, pick the method and check the answer.

If your child is confident, they can look ahead to Year 7 topics such as negative numbers, simple algebra and ratio. A small head start gives a big confidence boost in the first term.

A simple weekly plan

Remember Year 6 SATs

Year 6 children in England still sit SATs in May: reading, maths, and spelling, punctuation and grammar. Steady English and Maths practice through the year means SATs are no stress.

Getting ready for Year 7

In the summer term, focus on practical things too:

• getting organised: a bag, a pencil case and a simple timetable,
• learning the route to the new school,
• a bit more independence, such as managing their own homework time.

In short

Rest first, then enjoy hobbies, then build a light daily routine with a focus on reading and writing in English and number skills in Maths. Children who do this start secondary school confident, whichever school they go to.