
The Blue Coat School’s 7+ entrance exam is coming up on Saturday 1 February 2025.Â
Sitting exams can be daunting and stressful, particularly at age 7. So we have compiled a series of tips for sitting an exam.Â
1. Revision is revisiting what you have already learnt
If you want to revise learning with your child, make sure you are covering something they have already learnt, rather than what they are currently learning or will be learning soon. New content needs to be taught. At The Blue Coat School Birmingham, our curriculum is carefully designed to enable mastery of learning, so the pace of new content is purposeful and critical to achieving this.Â
2. Unleash CreativityÂ
One aspect of our 7+ entrance exam is creative writing, therefore, be creative with your preparation. Find fun and engaging ways to learn new words and practise putting them into sentences to diversify your child’s written work. You could challenge your child to use the new word at least five times in a relevant sentence that week, keep a chart somewhere visible and add a sticker each time they use the new word correctly.Â
3. Gradual Endurance Building
The adrenaline of an exam will naturally increase your child’s endurance during an exam, however, you do want to prepare them adequately for sitting and concentrating for a period of time.Â
However, balance is key, be careful not to cause burnout before the exam! Gradually build up the amount of time spent concentrating and intersperse longer sessions with quick-fire revision. Try and build up to 40-minutes of quality concentration in each of the three key areas: maths, writing and comprehension.Â
4. Writing Mastery
Help your child develop both physical and mental stamina for writing.
Many young children will not be used to writing whole stories at the age of 6 or 7. It takes both physical and mental stamina to create and write a story so give your child time to practise at home. Start by building up physical stamina before adding in mental stamina.Â
Ask your child to write 300 words on their favourite character, listing the best things about them, their favourite scenes from the book / tv series / film they feature in and the questions they would like to ask them. Writing for longer periods of time will also improve children’s fine motor skills and build hand strength.Â
When reflecting on their work, make sure they have used correct spelling and grammar, try and get them to self-correct before giving them the answer.
As they get more used to writing, introduce the art of story-planning and harnessing their own imagination. Start by getting them to describe and write down the structure of a story, ask questions like:Â
- Where will your story take place?
- What does that place look like?
- What characters will be in your story?
- How will you introduce those characters?
- What happens at the end of your story?
- What needs to happen in the middle of your story to get to that ending?
- What emotions will your characters feel during your story?Â
Then you could get your child to write an alternative ending to their favourite story using these questions and techniques.


5. Mindful Language
Eliminate the stress associated with the word ‘pass.’ Remind your child that exams showcase their knowledge, not just an ability to pass.Â
Instead use open-ended phrases such as ‘taking the test,’ ‘show them what you know,’ and ‘just do your best’ to promote a positive mindset.
Importantly, the pass mark is relative to the results of the whole cohort. As a result, any feeling of doubt over an answer will cause the pupil to agonise over every single mark. This may mean they spend too long on one question and do not attempt the whole paper.Â
6. Use different methods of learning
Combat revision fatigue by diversifying revision platforms. For example, to practise mental arithmetic you could try:Â
- Verbal quick-fire Q&A
- Online times tables games
- Written questions on a piece of paper and they must say the answer or hold up number cards with the correct answer
- Have 30 items in front of them e.g. lego blocks and ask a series of questions where the answers are all up to 30. To answer the question, the child must connect the right number of blocks as quickly as possible.
Differentiating learning between verbal, written and digital mediums will help keep their focus and engagement.Â
7. Be open and honest about learning support needs
If your child requires learning support, be open and honest with the School. We offer reasonable adjustments, such as additional exam time or coloured paper for those with special educational needs.
However, this requires parents to be open and honest about what needs their child has, please be assured, this does not put your child at a disadvantage or mean they are less likely to succeed in obtaining a place at the School. In fact, the opposite is true, they are more likely to thrive and perform at their best if they have the support they need in place.Â
8. Read Comprehensively
Enhance your child’s ability to decipher meaning by encouraging extensive reading.
Practise understanding instructions, cooking recipes, or their favourite author’s latest book. Proficient reading is crucial for success, as exam questions often rely on conscientious reading and precise interpretation.
Good luck to all the pupils who are sitting the 7+ entrance exam for The Blue Coat School on Saturday 3 February 2024. Hopefully these tips for sitting an exam have given you some new ideas for revision.
Year 3 is a wonderful time to join the School as pupils move from Pre-Prep to Prep and with that transition, they are assigned to one of the six Houses for the first time giving a new sense of belonging to both returning and new pupils.