11+ and GCSE Tutoring in Leicester
Leicestershire has no state grammar schools at all
So when a parent here says 11+, they mean an independent school entrance assessment. That changes what preparation should look like, and most 11+ material sold online gets it wrong for this county.
Why generic 11+ material misfires here
Pick up an 11+ workbook in a shop and it has almost certainly been written for a county with a shared state grammar test. Those counties publish a format, so a book can target it.
Leicestershire publishes nothing of the sort, because there is nothing to publish. Entry to Leicester Grammar School, to the Loughborough Schools Foundation and to the other local independents runs through each school's own assessment.
The practical effect is that a family can spend a year on non verbal reasoning drills for a school that barely tests it, while the written English paper that carries real weight goes unpractised.
So the first job here is narrower than teaching. It is working out which school you are actually aiming at, finding out what that school's assessment contains, and building backwards from there. Then the maths teaching goes on top.
Schools Leicester families apply to
Leicester Grammar School is the most common target. It is independent, sets its own entrance assessment, and assesses at later entry points as well as at 11+.
The Loughborough Schools Foundation draws applications from across the county and also runs its own assessments.
For families staying in the state system, and that is most of them here, the work is GCSE Maths, English and Science, plus Maths resit preparation post 16.
Leicester's state secondaries feed into an 11 to 16 and 11 to 18 mix rather than a selective structure, which means the pressure point for most local families is GCSE rather than entry at 11.
What we actually do
11+ entrance preparation
Matched to the individual independent school's own entrance assessment, because Leicestershire has no county grammar test to prepare for.
GCSE Maths, English and Science
Weekly one to one or small group sessions built round the topics costing your child marks, not a march through the whole specification.
Self guided Maths Mastery Lessons
Interactive topic lessons that teach the method first, then test it. Answers are built in so you can check work quickly. Some lessons regenerate their questions so the same topic can be practised again.
Mock exam marking
Papers marked by an experienced teacher, returned with written feedback showing where the marks went and why.
Not sure where your child actually stands? A diagnostic assessment finds the gaps before you spend anything on lessons, and free past papers are on the exam resources page if you want to test that yourself first.
GCSE results these methods have produced
Real students, real timeframes. These are GCSE grade movements, including students already inside grammar and independent schools, where getting in was the easy half.
Groundwork started in Year 9 or Year 10 produces those numbers far more often than a panic started in Year 11. Nothing here is a promise attached to a booking.
On the entrance exam side, which is a separate job entirely, three students have won scholarship places at grammar or independent schools.
What it costs
One to one tuition starts from £40 per session, priced on level and exam focus.
Tutoring with Friends is the group option. Bring one or two friends and the price starts at £20 per student per session. Same lesson, same teacher, split cost.
Mock exam marking starts at £39.99 per paper, rising to £69.99 and £99.99 for faster turnaround and a one to one review. Bulk rates for schools on 20 papers or more.
Self guided lessons are the cheapest route in, priced per topic with no subscription.
If you are not sure which of those fits, a free consultation sorts it in fifteen minutes. Booking one does not commit you to anything.
How the online sessions run
Every session is live and one to one, or live with the friends your child brings. Nothing is pre recorded.
Sessions run with a shared interactive whiteboard, so your child works through questions while the teaching happens rather than watching someone else write. Work is saved and sent over afterwards, along with short targeted practice for the week.
Parents get progress updates rather than having to ask. If something is not landing, you hear it from me first.
Common questions
Is there an 11+ exam in Leicestershire?
Not a county wide state one, because there are no state grammar schools here. What people mean locally is an independent school's own entrance assessment, and those vary school by school.
Should we buy an 11+ practice book?
Check what your target school actually assesses first. A general workbook will cover some of it and waste time on the rest, which is a poor trade when you have one year.
Do you teach students in Leicester in person?
No. Sessions are live online, one to one or with friends your child brings. That is how every student is taught, wherever they are.
Start with a conversation, not a contract
Tell me your child's year group, the school or exam you are aiming at, and where they are getting stuck. If I am not the right fit for Leicester I will say so and point you somewhere better.