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Mock strategy for 10-year-olds
At ten, a mock should be a short experiment with a clear review. Protect concentration, label the practice conditions and never pretend that an undisclosed QE paper has a known clock.
Set up a fair practice sitting
- Tell your child the one thing the sitting is checking: for example, careful transfer or moving on from a stuck question.
- Use original course practice or a clearly labelled familiarisation set, not a claimed QE past paper.
- Prepare a pencil, a separate answer grid and a quiet surface. Remove a calculator for Mathematics practice.
- Choose a GL familiarisation practice clock only if you label it as GL observation, not QE timing.
Teach a simple pacing rule
| Moment | Child's action | Adult's job |
|---|---|---|
| First pass | Answer the questions with a clear route | Do not interrupt with hints |
| Stuck | Mark the item, choose a review sign and move on | Praise the decision to protect time |
| Review | Return to flagged items and check the grid | Ask what new evidence changed the answer |
| Finish | Check unanswered practice items and transfer | Record one useful change for next time |
Do not set a child a made-up QE per-question target. The local question count and duration are not published. A GL familiarisation observation can be used to practise a routine, with its label kept visible.
Make guessing a reasoned last step
- First cross out an option that conflicts with the wording, units or passage.
- If the route is still unclear, mark the item for review rather than staring at it indefinitely.
- On the final practice check, choose one answer for every item because the course practice basis has no penalty for a wrong answer.
- Record a guess separately from a confident answer, so review can investigate the decision rather than shame the child.
Worked example Review the decision, not the child
A child chooses an answer after crossing out two options, then changes it without checking the passage. What is the best review question?
- Why did you not know this word?
- Which sentence or rule would justify the change?
- Why were you slow today?
Why this works: The second question asks for evidence and builds a repeatable review habit.
Why the tempting route fails: The other questions turn one decision into a judgement about ability or speed and do not identify the missing check.
Keep the review to four labels
| Label | What to ask | Next practice |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Which rule or fact was missing? | Learn it, then answer two fresh examples |
| Reading | Which word, diagram or unit was missed? | Underline the evidence before calculating |
| Pacing | Did the route cost too much time? | Use a stop-and-return drill |
| Transfer | Did the grid match the chosen answer? | Practise one separate answer-sheet line |
Sources
QE Barnet FAQs. The school's published marking and local-format boundaries. Read the FAQshttps://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/secondary-transfer-entrance-test-faqs/
QE sample test papers. The school's published sample-paper boundary. Check the sample pagehttps://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/sample-test-papers/
GL free familiarisation materials. The source for the optional GL practice observations. Open GL materialshttps://11plus.gl-assessment.co.uk/pages/free-materials
A practice mark is evidence for the next practice decision. It is not a QE standardised score, conversion or offer prediction.