The course exposes students to all genres of texts. It includes all levels of Reading Comprehension and all types of questions that are required for the selective test (Cloze, fill in the gaps, comparing texts and extracts questions). In addition, students expand their vocabulary and learn grammar and punctuation in a structured format.

Writing is a significant part of the English class. Students learn all the genres that may appear in the test including writing an advice sheet, narrative, persuasive, discussion and information and news report. In addition, the open-ended stimuli may be interpreted from different angles. Students are exposed to the marking rubric and how their writing gets assessed and hence how to improve it. They learn how to dissect and analyse a question and a given stimulus, so they write with confidence and to the point achieving high scores.

The test has moved from Maths to Mathematical Reasoning. Mathematical reasoning is subtly different to maths. Students need to not only know formulas and perform some calculations. They need to problem-solve, analyse and reason correctly. Our unique strategy of problem solving, the UPSL  strategy (understand, plan, solve and learn), gives students an advantage and a higher level of knowledge that can be applied to any setting or situation.

Thinking skills has two main components: problem-solving and critical thinking.

Problem solving consists of mathematical or logical problems embedded in a practical context. To solve them, students need mathematical knowledge, analytical skills and the ability to differentiate between redundant and essential information.

Critical thinking – when we analyzed these questions, we found that they consisted of inductive and deductive reasoning.

• The inductive reasoning questions involve students being asked to evaluate the impact of additional information on a given conclusion. They involve reasoning from common sense and general knowledge.
• The deductive reasoning questions can be solved and taught using mathematical diagrams such as Venn diagrams and tree diagrams. While these questions may look like English questions, they require a mathematical type analysis.

Weekly program throughout each term of Year 5. Includes 5-Days intensive preparation over the January Holidays and 5 weeks in Year 6 Term 1.

Each term, your child will receive their own GEA Selective Program books. The program includes 8 mock tests (3 hours each) and each with comprehensive feedback.

Exam Techniques

• 8 mock tests with comprehensive feedback to become familiar with the test
• Time management
• MCQ tips
• Maximising marks
• Work with the writing criteria to maximise marks

Cognitive Load Techniques

• Stress management
• Boosting students’ self-esteem
• Building independence and mastery