Short answer: the final 11+ week is for reducing avoidable uncertainty, protecting sleep and keeping familiar skills active—not attempting to relearn the entire syllabus.
A calm final week does not mean abandoning preparation. It means choosing actions that are still useful when time is short. Confirm practical details early, use brief familiar practice and avoid turning every conversation into a performance review.
Seven days before: confirm the official details
- Check the date, arrival time, venue and entrance using the official message.
- Confirm permitted and prohibited equipment.
- Review identification, candidate-number or registration requirements.
- Plan the journey and a realistic backup route.
- Check the current illness, lateness and special-arrangements procedures.
Do not rely on another parent’s recollection or an old forum post. Procedures vary and can change. Use the school, consortium, assessment provider or local-authority information relevant to the actual test.
Four to six days before: keep practice narrow
Choose one or two short sessions that reinforce familiar methods and common error checks. Avoid stacking several full papers together. The purpose is to maintain confidence and notice a final manageable pattern—not to produce a last-minute admissions forecast.
- Review concise subject reminders.
- Complete a small mixed set.
- Check timing on one familiar section.
- Correct errors while the reasoning is still fresh.
Two to three days before: remove decisions
Prepare what can be prepared: clothes, permitted stationery, water if allowed, travel details and the morning schedule. Keep normal meals, movement and bedtimes where possible.
If a final practice set goes badly, do not automatically increase the workload. Fatigue, unfamiliar material and ordinary variation can all affect one result. Review only the clearest error, then stop.
The evening before: close the revision loop
- Finish formal revision at an agreed time.
- Check the packed items once.
- Set alarms and confirm the journey.
- Choose a calm, familiar evening routine.
- Avoid promises, threats or repeated score discussions.
On the morning: keep instructions simple
Use a normal breakfast the child tolerates, leave enough travel time and keep reminders brief. Useful prompts include reading every instruction, moving on when stuck and checking the answer required—not trying to remember dozens of new rules.
The one-page parent checklist
- Official time and venue checked
- Journey and backup route planned
- Permitted equipment prepared
- Final practice kept short and familiar
- Normal sleep and meal routine protected
- Illness or special-arrangements process understood
- Post-test plans avoid immediate interrogation
After the test
Start with food, rest and a neutral question such as “How are you feeling?” Avoid reconstructing every answer immediately. If official next steps or result dates are unclear, return to the relevant admissions guidance rather than relying on speculation.
The ReviseRight 11+ Revision Toolkit includes a concise exam-day guide alongside four subject cheat sheets and 50 adult-supervised practice prompts. The current launch offer shown on Payhip may reduce the £16 base price with code FIRST25 while availability and the stated deadline remain valid.
ReviseRight is an independent educational resource. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by a school, local authority, exam board, GL Assessment or CEM. Always follow the current official instructions for the relevant examination.