Year 5 is when 11+ preparation becomes deliberate and structured. The decisions made in Year 5 determine how Year 6 will feel — relaxed and confident, or anxious and pressured.
The year in shape
A typical Year 5 routine: 30 minutes of focused 11+ practice four to five days a week, plus one full timed paper every fortnight from the spring term onwards.
The first task in autumn term of Year 5 is a baseline assessment. Sit one full paper in each subject under timed conditions. The result is not a grade — it is a diagnostic that tells you which topic areas need the most work.
Term-by-term plan
Autumn term. Through autumn term, focus on topic-by-topic work to address the baseline weaknesses. Use a workbook for each subject (Bond, CGP and Letts all produce competent ones), 20 minutes per subject per session.
Spring term. In spring term, introduce timed practice. Start with shorter sections (15 minutes) before working up to full papers. The goal is to build pacing discipline alongside subject knowledge.
Summer term & holiday. Summer holiday is the heaviest practice block: full timed papers fortnightly with the off-week dedicated to topic review. Six to eight full papers across the holiday is a reasonable target — more becomes counterproductive.
Topics to prioritise
Key topics to prioritise in Year 5: ratio and proportion in maths, comprehension inference in English, the harder VR question types (codes, complete-the-sum), and folding/rotation in NVR.
Common mistakes parents make this year
The most common Year 5 parent mistake is excessive paper-sitting without sufficient time to digest mistakes. A child who sits four papers a week without reviewing them learns nothing; a child who sits one paper and spends two hours analysing it improves rapidly.
Signs to look for
By the end of Year 5, the child should be scoring within five marks of the qualifying threshold on practice papers in the right format. If they are well below, the issue is almost always pacing or format unfamiliarity rather than knowledge. If these signs are present, the year is going well; if they are absent, the issue is rarely intelligence — it is usually pacing, format unfamiliarity or the wrong tutoring relationship. Identify which and adjust deliberately.
Where to go next
Plan the Year 6 sprint over the summer: book any tutor sessions, identify the two highest-leverage weaknesses, and decide on the schedule for the final 12 weeks before the test. Read across the related guides on this site — the guides index groups them by category for easy navigation.