7 Habits of Highly Successful Students, According to EPP Experts

Stephen Covey famously outlined the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, changing the world of business and self-improvement forever. But Mr. Covey never had to identify the ‘odd one out’ in a sequence of rotating hexagonal shapes while a clock ticked loudly in the background!

However, saying that, our habits are linked to his ‘Law of the Farm’ concept where planning, cultivating skills and putting in consistent effort over time leads to success.

So, without further ado, here are EPP’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful 11+ Candidates:

Table of Contents

Habit 1: ‘Little and Often’

Successful students don’t rely on panic-induced cramming sessions on Sunday afternoons. They understand that the brain retains information better through spaced learning and repetition.

The Action

As far as possible, replace the dreaded weekend slog with 30 minute ‘power bursts’ on weekdays. 4 days of this gives you 2 hours in the bag. Great work!

Short, focused bursts keep engagement high and frustration low. Consistency beats sporadic intensity. (And if you have to skip one session, a missed 30 minutes is not the end of the world. Just make sure you don’t make skipping a habit!)

Habit 2: The Active Reader (English)

It is a truth universally acknowledged in the 11+ world that readers represent the highest achievers. However, successful students don’t just read; they read actively. They are constantly curious about new words to fuel their creative writing and comprehension skills.

The Action:

Implement a ‘Rule of 5’. If your child reads a page and encounters more than five words they don’t know, the book is probably too hard for them to read alone. This is one they should be reading with you (or their tutor) and actively discussing. When they find a new word, they shouldn’t just skip it – they must discuss it with you, define it and maybe write it down in a vocab book. Make it into a game and ask them to use it in a sentence at dinner.

Conversely, if they’re reading a book and they find no tricky words, it’s probably too easy. Time to go to the library or bookshop for something new.

If you’re interested to learn the benefits of guided reading and get great book recommendations for different age groups, read our article!

Habit 3: Showing Workings (Maths)

In the 11+, speed is important, but accuracy is more so. A common pitfall – even for bright children – is trying to do complex multi-step problems entirely in their heads to save time. It often doesn’t. Successful students use their rough paper or allocated working out space.

The Action:

Enforce a ‘No Workings, No Mark’ rule during certain practice papers, even for some multiple-choice tests.

This is especially useful when they are still trying to get to grips with a topic because by externalising their thinking, students make fewer silly mistakes and can retrace their steps when checking answers. And you will know if they’ve fully mastered it or not.

Habit 4: Making Connections (Verbal Reasoning)

As a general rule, a Verbal Reasoning question paper is often 40% logic, 40% vocabulary and 20% maths. The most successful students understand the connection between VR, vocabulary acquisition (English) and certain areas in maths like sequences and letter substitution calculations. Plus, they understand that VR requires shifting letters, spotting synonyms and cracking codes rapidly under pressure.

The Action:

Play games to make it fun and reinforce quick thinking. For example, synonym/antonym ‘Ping-Pong’: you say a word (‘rapid’) and they must instantly fire back a synonym (‘swift’) or an antonym (‘sluggish’). Or how about ‘The Value of Words’ game? Assign values to the alphabet (A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.) and then ask ‘What is the value of the word CAB? (3 + 1 + 2 = 6).

It’s important to help build this rare kind of cognitive flexibility in your child, training their brains to stop seeing subjects in isolation and start seeing the underlying logic that can connect them.

Habit 5: Systematic Elimination (Non-Verbal Reasoning)

NVR can be daunting because it is unfamiliar and not taught as part of the National Curriculum. It relies on spatial awareness and pattern recognition. Whilst it is true that some people (children included!) can ‘just see’ NVR and Spatial Reasoning patterns, they are firmly in the minority! Most successful students don’t just look at the shapes and the answer ‘pops’ out; they use a careful process of elimination.

The Action:

Here’s a helpful mnemonic you can teach your child: SPOM (Shape, Position, Orientation, Number). When stuck on a pattern, remind your child to cycle through these variables. ‘Did the Shape change? No. Did the Position move? Yes.”

This turns guessing into a logical process and provides a reassuring method for any child to fall back on when they are panicking because they feel they don’t know something. It enables them to make a calculated choice rather than a random guess, and gives them the confidence to proceed to the next question.

Habit 6: Using Mistakes

This is arguably the most important differentiator. Average students complete a practice paper, look at the score and move on. Highly successful students (with their parents/tutor) spend almost as much time – probably more – reviewing the paper as they did sitting it.

The Action:

Here’s one thing you can do in your effort to track incorrect answers. When a question is answered incorrectly, cut it out and stick it in a dedicated notebook or flag it in a way that works for you. Re-visit these ‘bumps’ a week later.

The best learning happens in the review, not the testing. The next step is then to isolate tricky question types and spend some time focusing on these individual questions to nail them before going back to a full practice paper where they will be encountered again, but as part of the whole.

Habit 7: Being able to Switch Off

A tired brain cannot problem-solve. The most successful students enjoy regular downtime. They play sports, see friends and sleep well. And their parents understand that anxiety blocks cognitive function.

The Action:

Maintain distinct boundaries. If the plan is that study time finishes at 6:30pm, it finishes then. Don’t move the goal posts, but instead agree on a cut off and then let their brain process and archive what it has learned during quiet, stress-free time.

We hope you find these habits useful!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should my child study for the 11+ exam each day?

According to the ‘Little and Often’ habit, consistency is more effective than panic-induced cramming. The article recommends replacing long weekend sessions with 30-minute ‘power bursts’ on weekdays. Doing this for four days accumulates two hours of high-quality, focused study time while keeping engagement high and frustration low.

How do I know if a book is at the right difficulty level for my child?

You should apply the ‘Rule of 5’. If your child reads a page and encounters more than five unknown words, the book is likely too difficult for independent reading and should be read with an adult. Conversely, if they find zero difficult words, the book is likely too easy, and they should choose something more challenging to help build their vocabulary.

My child tries to do Maths problems in their head to save time. Is this okay?

Generally, no. While speed is important, accuracy is crucial. The article suggests enforcing a ‘No Workings, No Mark’ rule. Writing out the process helps prevent silly mistakes, allows the student to retrace their steps if they get an answer wrong, and helps parents see if the child has truly mastered the topic.

What can I do if my child struggles to spot patterns in Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR)?

Since NVR is not taught in schools, it can be daunting. Instead of guessing, encourage your child to use the SPOM mnemonic: check for changes in Shape, Position, Orientation, and Number. This turns the question into a logical process of elimination rather than relying on a pattern to simply “pop out” at them.

What is the most effective way to review practice papers?

Don’t just look at the score and move on. The article states that the best learning happens during the review. You should cut out or flag incorrect answers and re-visit these specific questions a week later. This allows you to isolate tricky question types and master them before they appear in a full practice paper again.