Start with the summer, and treat six weeks as the floor
The plan I give every Year 5 student begins on the first day of the six week summer holiday, and it is built to run for at least those six weeks. That is the minimum, not the target. A plan shorter than that does not survive contact with a real family's timetable.
The reason the summer carries so much weight is simple arithmetic. Children sit the West Midlands test at the very start of Year 6, in September. The summer between Year 5 and Year 6 is the last uninterrupted block of time before it, and it is the only one where school work is not competing for the same hours.
What a study plan actually is
A study plan is not a timetable of subjects. Most of the ones parents show me are, and that is why they fail by week three.
The plan we use does three jobs at once:
- It directs. A specific action for the day and for the evening, so the child is never deciding what to do, only doing it.
- It reflects. A short journal entry from the child on how the session went. This is the part parents want to skip and the part that makes the rest work.
- It accounts. An honest record of how the time was actually used, which is rarely what was planned.
Over a term, the reflection column tells you more than the scores do. It is where you see a child avoiding non-verbal reasoning three weeks running, long before that shows up as a mark.
Why the same plan cannot be given to two children
A plan has to be built around the gaps that particular child has, and those change as the year goes on. A child who is fluent in reading but slow on mental arithmetic needs a different summer from one who is quick with number and stumbles on inference.
That is also why a plan should be revisited each half term rather than written once in April and followed to the letter in August.
Use every holiday, not just the long one
I advise families to start as early as Easter and to treat the school holidays as the backbone of the year. Term time is for maintenance. Holidays are for progress.
| Holiday | Roughly | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Easter (Year 5) | 2 weeks | The honest starting point. Diagnose, do not cram |
| May half term | 1 week | Reasoning question types, the ones school never teaches |
| Summer | 6 weeks | The main block. Full timed sections, the whole format |
| October half term (Year 6) | 1 week | Only relevant if a child is retaking a later cycle |
Counting it up, a family that uses Easter, May half term and the summer has roughly nine weeks of clear time. That is a serious amount of preparation, and almost none of it requires taking a single evening away from a school night.
What a week in the summer looks like
The shape that works is short, daily and boring. Two hours on a Saturday is worth less than thirty focused minutes a day, because the reasoning question types need repetition rather than immersion.
- Every day, without exception: reading. Twenty minutes of something slightly above their comfort level. English and verbal reasoning together carry 50% of the marks, according to the partnership's entrance test page, and both rest on reading.
- Four days a week: one reasoning type. Rotate them. Do not spend a week on non-verbal because it is the interesting one.
- Two days a week: maths, worded not mechanical.
- Once a fortnight: a full timed section, under the real conditions.
- One day off. Genuinely off.
Practise the conditions, not just the questions
A plan that ignores the format wastes half its own effort. From the partnership's entrance test page, the real test is two papers of roughly 50 to 60 minutes, and each paper is split into individually timed sections. A child cannot revisit an earlier section or move ahead, which removes the skip-and-come-back strategy schools teach.
The equipment rules matter for the same reason. Two HB pencils, an eraser and a sharpener, in a clear pencil case. No rulers, no highlighters, no watches or timers. Working out goes in the booklet, because there is no scrap paper, and only the separate answer sheet is marked.
The line between preparation and cramming
The partnership is blunt about this on Preparing for the Test: intensive coaching or tuition, in its words, is not in the long term best interests of your child. I run a tuition centre, so weigh that how you like, but I think it is right, and a good plan is how you stay on the correct side of it.
A routine that is habitual, disciplined and unremarkable beats a frantic August. It is also the only version a child will still be doing in week five.
For when to begin all of this, see our guide to when to start preparing, and for how to test whether the plan is working, our guide to mock exams.
Papers are coming
GrammarPath practice papers for the West Midlands test are on the way, written to the real two-paper format. Join the list and we will email you the moment they launch.
The plan starts on the first day of the summer holiday, and the reflection column is the part that works
Out of years of teaching the 11+ and sitting the examination process alongside families, we formulated an extensive study plan for all our Year 5 students, and it normally begins at the start of the six week holiday. It is a journal and a directive plan at the same time: it gives them an action plan for the day and the evening, and it also gives them self-reflection and accountability for how they actually used that time.
It delves into the strengths and weaknesses in the subjects and topics they run into across the year, and it is tailored, because two children do not have the same gaps. In essence a Year 5 study plan should be six weeks at minimum.
There are many other holidays through the year, the Easter holidays which are a couple of weeks, Christmas a couple of weeks, and the half terms. I do advise starting as early as Easter, so take advantage of all the free time they have. A good clean study routine, habitual and with discipline, is what gives your child the better chance of succeeding.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
How long should a Year 5 11+ study plan be?
Six weeks is the realistic minimum, and the summer holiday between Year 5 and Year 6 is the natural block to use, because children sit the West Midlands test at the very start of Year 6. Families who also use Easter and May half term get roughly nine weeks of clear time without touching a single school evening.
What should a Year 5 11+ study plan include?
Three things, not just a subject timetable: a specific action for each day so the child is never deciding what to do, a short reflection from the child on how it went, and an honest record of how the time was actually spent. The reflection is the part parents skip and the part that makes the rest work.
How many hours a day should a Year 5 child do?
Short and daily beats long and occasional. Around thirty focused minutes a day, plus twenty minutes of reading, does more than two hours at the weekend, because the reasoning question types need repetition rather than immersion. One full day off a week, genuinely off.
When should we start the study plan?
Easter of Year 5 is a sensible starting point, with the summer holiday as the main block. Starting at Easter means you can diagnose gaps calmly rather than discovering them in August, and it leaves May half term for the reasoning question types that school never teaches.
Should the plan be the same for every child?
No. A child who reads fluently but is slow at mental arithmetic needs a different summer from one who is quick with number and stumbles on inference. A plan should be built around that child's gaps and revisited each half term, not written once in April and followed to the letter.
Is a daily study plan the same as cramming?
No, and the difference matters. The partnership states plainly that intensive coaching is not in a child's long term best interests. A habitual, unremarkable routine spread across the holidays is both gentler and more effective than a frantic August, and it is the version a child will still be following in week five.