The exams in April, May and June were unable to proceed. Parents were given the option to rebook or offered a full refund. The vast majority of refunds were issued within 1-2 business days.
Each SDE 11+ Mock Exam Session was limited to 15 candidates.
There were special hygiene measures (such as hand washing) at Registration.
PPE was made available free of charge at the Registration Desk for staff and students. Staff were required to wear a mask if they need to move within 2 metres of others. In line with DfE Guidance for 9-10 year old children, candidates were not required to wear masks but were welcome to do so.
Desks and chairs were disinfected at the beginning of the day and between each use.
All exam papers and answer sheets were placed on the candidate’s desk before they entered the Exam Hall or classroom.
Candidates were sat at least 2 metres apart in the Exam Hall or classroom (an enhanced measure taken by SDE over and above the requirements of the Government Guidance at the time). Please see our example Tuition Centre diagram and Tuition Centre photos (SDE Burkes Court, Beaconsfield).
Comprehensive details of the steps we took to keep everyone safe at the SDE 11+ Mock Exams were seen by the policy team at the DfE who are responsible for Out of School Settings, who commented that the plans “seem[ed] very sensible”.
While we hope for a ‘return to normality’ this year, we are resigned to the fact that special measures are highly likely to be necessary. The exact arrangements will depend on the circumstances nearer to the time and the latest Government Guidance to the Out of School Sector. At the present time, all SDE 11+ Mock Exam ‘bubbles’ are being limited to 15 candidates and accommodation has been booked so that we can adhere to 2 metres distancing between candidates while the children are writing their tests. It may be possible to relax these arrangements if the pandemic subsides.
As well as being provide with access to comparative data for the children attending the Session with your child, you will also be able to access our All Time Lists of Scores which include the results of all candidates who have written the same test papers in past years. The All Time Lists of Scores are likely to contain the most comprehensive and reliable 11+ Mock Exam comparative data available.
‘Achieving Excellence’ on a Susan Daughtrey Education Course
SDE provides 11+ Courses in Amersham, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire (for GL 11+ candidates), Bushey in South-West Hertfordshire (for GL 11+ Maths and VR candidates, with a separate option for those preparing for other 11+ exams), Langley, Berkshire (for GL 11+ candidates) and Earley, Berkshire (for GL and Reading Boys 11+ candidates) – please click the links in the table at the bottom of the page to find specific information about the Courses we offer in each area.
Besides being a successful author, Susan Daughtrey M.Ed is a qualified teacher who has since 1987 run courses under the banners ‘Susan Daughtrey Education’ and ‘SDE’ with outstanding success. Since then many children have benefited from her tutorage: her thorough, concise yet simple explanations and strategies, and the caring and concerned way in which Susan and her teachers approach the needs and worries of all of the SDE students and their parents have always been the hallmarks of the SDE success.
Course Objective
The objective of all SDE Courses is quite explicit – to offer a first-class quality Course where every effort is made to address the student’s weaknesses, to maximise his/her examination performance and to extend each student to his/her fullest potential so the child has the best possible chance of success in the 11+. Everyone who works at Susan Daughtrey Education is striving for excellence and every possible effort is made to achieve it.
Course syllabus, lesson plans and materials
All SDE 11+ Courses are designed specifically to prepare the child for the local 11+ tests in the area where the Course is held.
Each class is delivered by a fully qualified teacher to a detailed lesson plan which has been prepared by Susan, ensuring standardisation of the SDE 11+ Course. The majority of the material used in class has been written by Susan specifically for the Course and is unpublished.
Many classes start with a ‘mini test’ which takes about 5-8 minutes to complete. The mini test is our way of checking up on your child’s progress, as we test the vocabulary which was set for homework and often the Maths and VR covered during the previous lesson. A short homework review is also conducted giving us the opportunity to address any common problem areas at the start of the lesson, before the Week’s topics are taught following Susan’s lesson plan and using the materials she has written and selected for use in the lesson.
SDE’s teachers have all been recruited by Susan because of their teaching ability, experience and reputation. We adopt a “technique-orientated approach to learning for the 11+” which means that our teachers actually teach your child how to tackle each type of question on the 11+ tests, before working through several examples together as a group in class.
At the end of each class, each child is given a Parent Homework Pack™ (PHP) and Student Homework Pack™ (SHP). The PHP contains a list of the homework to be completed that week, together with the answers to Susan’s homework sheets. The SHP also contains the weekly list of homework, together with the homework sheets for the child to complete that Week. Reference is also made to various published books which are given to the child at the start of the Course in an SDE-branded Prep Bag™.
The vast majority of the homework is ‘specific’ in so far as it is set to practice the topic(s) which were taught in the preceding lesson, as well as regular vocabulary and mental arithmetic practice. Homework takes approximately 2-3 hours per week to complete in Year 4 and 3-4 hours per week for children in Year 5. Additional Holiday Homework is also provided to continue practice and consolidation.
All homework is provided in hard copy format (so children can use a pencil and write their working out) and we deliberately do not utilise any online testing platforms as the child is preparing for a written test (paper/pencil) and completing questions on an electronic device can help to garner bad habits (such as quickly answering multiple choice questions on screen without undertaking any working out).
“GL Assessment” is an official 11+ test provider. We are not affiliated with and we do not represent either organisation. SDE 11+ Courses are, however, designed to prepare your child for the known elements of the these commonly used 11+ tests. Further information is provided on your local SDE Tuition Centre’s dedicated page which you can access using the table below:
Course Locations
Buckinghamshire
Hertfordshire
Berkshire (Earley)
Berkshire (Slough)
Courses for the 2022-23 academic year
Venue
Group
Time
Prospectus
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The SDE Tuition Centre
SDE House,
150 Station Road,
Amersham,
HP6 5DWMap
Prospectus
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