The Power of 10-Minute Tests: Your Secret Weapon for 11+ Success

As experts in 11+ preparation, I’d like to explain how our 11 plus 10-Minute Tests are valuable tools for your child’s preparation. They’re mini workout sessions for the brain: short, focused and highly effective.  What makes them even more beneficial is that they are school specific, ensuring your child only practises what is relevant, without wasting time on unnecessary material. They serve as an excellent complement to the best 11 Plus practice papers available online.

10-Minute Tests By School

How Do These Quick 11 Plus 10-Minute Tests Help?

They Build Consistency…but Without the Overwhelm

The 11+ exam covers a wide range of subjects, including Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning. Trying to tackle all of these areas in long study sessions can lead to burnout and frustration. 11 Plus 10-Minute Tests allow your child to practise regularly without feeling overwhelmed. By breaking study time into manageable chunks, it’s easier to maintain consistency and steadily build skills over time.

Sharpen Time Management for 11+ Exam Success

Regular practice with 11+ 10-Minute Tests will help your child to develop an innate sense of timing. They’ll learn to pace themselves naturally, a crucial skill needed for their 11+ exams. With a strict time limit of 10 minutes for each test, they will learn to work quickly, accurately and make decisions under time constraints. Furthermore, all of our 11 plus 10-Minute Tests contain the correct number of questions per test to reflect the time allowance per question that your child will experience during their actual exam.

Help to Build Confidence for the 11+ Exam

Success in small, frequent tests can give students a sense of accomplishment and they can feel less overwhelming to deal with than full 11 plus test papers. As your child successfully completes these micro challenges and sees their scores improve, they’ll gradually gain confidence, feel more prepared and less anxious about the 11+ exam.

I’ve seen so many students transform through this approach. One young girl I worked with started out dreading any kind of test, but after a few weeks of these bite-sized challenges, began reminding her parents it was ‘quiz time’ as she became more relaxed with the idea of regular test taking. It became the norm.

That’s the advantage of breaking things down into manageable pieces – the mountainous whole suddenly becomes scalable. These short tests will gently build your child’s test-taking muscles without the pressure of having to complete a full 11 plus practice paper every time. And, as they collect these small wins, you’ll notice they’ll start approaching practice questions with an “I can do this” attitude instead of anxiety.

They Identify Weak Spots and Reinforce Key Concepts

Quick assessments are excellent diagnostic tools. Short, focused tests are an effective way to reinforce key concepts and identify areas that need improvement. By regularly practising specific topics and question types, students will solidify their understanding and build confidence. All our tests allow for the practice of mixed skills and question types, but each question is tagged by topic in the answers, so you can identify any areas that need further practice. You can then move on to a relevant EPP topic/skills pack to reinforce understanding of weaker areas and complement your child’s learning.

Boost Focus & Stamina, 10 Minutes at a Time!

Ten minutes is the perfect duration for maintaining sharp focus, especially for younger children. It helps train their concentration muscles without causing undue mental fatigue. Nearly every child will be able to give their absolute best for this short period, making the practice highly productive. As they develop their mental endurance, you can cluster a couple of tests together to extend the time they need to concentrate, thus building stamina.

They Encourage Active Recall and Spaced Learning

Active recall and spaced learning are proven learning techniques; and  11 plus 10-Minute Tests are perfect for cultivating both of them! By actively engaging with the material, little and often, your child will be applying their knowledge in a practical context and strengthening their memory retention.

They Can Reduce Procrastination

Let’s face it – long study sessions can be intimidating for your child, and, as a parent, it’s easy to put them off! An 11+ 10-Minute Test feels much more approachable. Knowing that the task is short, manageable and time-limited, can help you overcome procrastination and keep your child motivated. And they’re great for days when you’re pushed for time but still want to do something towards your child’s 11+. 10-Minute Tests are flexible and easy to fit into busy schedules. Whether it’s during breakfast, after school or before bed, these quick sessions ensure that preparation stays on track.

How to Use 11 Plus 10-Minute Tests Effectively

Here are some practical ways that you can use to make the most of our 10-Minute Tests:

Morning Brain Boosters – Start the Day Strong!

Start with ‘Morning Mind Warm-Ups’. Ask your child to tackle one 10-Minute Test before school – perhaps while having breakfast or on the commute! Young minds are typically fresh and alert in the morning, so it’s an opportune time to brain train and will set a positive tone for the day.

The After-School ‘Sweet Spot’

Yes, this time does exist! Create an agreeable routine where your child does one 11 Plus 10-Minute Test about 30 minutes after getting home from school. I suggest a snack and a short break first – no one does their best work when they’re hungry or tired – and then getting stuck in! This timing works well because they’re still in ‘learning mode’ but will have had a chance to decompress.

Weekend Challenge

Make it fun – for all the family! At the weekend, try turning it into a family activity. Set a timer for 10 minutes and while your child does their test, you could read a chapter of your book, do a quick crossword or a Sudoku alongside them. This helps to normalise test taking and creates a supportive atmosphere. I’ve seen children respond really positively to this “we’re in this together” approach.

11+ Study Guidance: Build a Supportive Learning Routine

Keep a simple schedule that rotates through different subjects. For example,

I would advise tackling the subjects they find harder earlier in the week, when energy levels are higher. If they’ve had a really productive week, or conversely, a tiring week, then Friday could also be a rest day. Balance, and knowing when enough is enough, is key. Our 10-Minute Tests fit in well here, as they give your child a chance to have a go at a range of question types, mixing those they find more enjoyable with those they find more challenging.

Review the effectiveness of your 11 plus study timetable regularly and adjust as needed. If you’re finding your child is nailing one subject but needing more time to grasp another, then you can vary the structure and regularity of the specific subjects and utilise skills packs as needs. Don’t be afraid to change your routine based on how your child develops and learns. In fact, the pick and mix nature of EPP resources lends itself to creating a bespoke learning programme for your child.

How to Use 11 Plus 10-Minute Tests to Track Your Child’s Progress

Track Progress Over Time

Regular 11+ 10-Minute Tests provide a clear way to track progress. By comparing results over weeks or months, you will see which areas have improved and those which still need work. This feedback loop is invaluable for staying on track and adjusting your child’s study routine to support them. All of our 10-Minute Test packs contain a progress chart at the back where you can record when the test was taken and the score achieved.

Here’s a straightforward but effective way to track your child’s progress with 11 Plus 10-Minute Tests. This will help you to stay organised without getting overwhelmed.

Record Achievement

Use the progress chart in the back of each of our 10-Minute Test packs or a separate notebook dedicated to tracking these tests if you prefer. Note down:

• Date
• Number of questions attempted and correct
• Types of questions that were challenging
• Time taken
• A quick mood emoji to gauge how your child was feeling – this not only gives you insight into how your child was feeling that day, which often affects performance, but it also allows you to track any underlying pattern in their mood which might need to be supported or addressed.

Top Tip: Note if they finish early. This could indicate rushing, boredom or confidence in a particular area. Use this knowledge to adjust their preparation routine.

Weekly Review

Set aside 15 minutes every week to review the results together. Look for patterns:

• Which subjects are improving? Celebrate these wins!
• Where are they consistently scoring well? This builds confidence.
• Which areas need more attention? Set these as focus areas for the week ahead.
• Is timing improving? This is a skill that develops (ironically!) over time.

Make this a positive experience – perhaps over a favourite snack. This routine helps your child see their progress and stay motivated.

Monthly Check-In

At the end of each month, take a step back and review the bigger picture. Create a simple chart showing average scores. Use different colours to differentiate progress and annotate with stickers or stars. Children often get really motivated when they can see their progress visually. And maybe set a challenge – can they do better next month and beat their current personal best?

What Makes EPP 11 Plus 10-Minute Tests Special?

Our 10-Minute Tests are school specific, adhering to the types of questions and difficulty level you will find for that school.

We have made sure to adjust the number of questions per test to reflect the time allowance per question of the actual tests for that school.

Each question is tagged in the answer section so you will know which question type is which. This will allow you to identify questions which need more work and find corresponding topic packs that you can use for further practice.

Our Eleven Plus 10-Minute Tests for grammar schools include answer sheets which pertain to the correct style of the real 11 plus exam papers.