Everyone asks this. The answer is almost always shorter than parents expect.

15 minutes a day beats 2 hours on Saturday

Every time. This isn't a gentle suggestion - it's genuinely how children this age learn. Regular retrieval is how things stick. If your child does 10 verbal reasoning questions Monday and 10 Tuesday, Tuesday's session reinforces Monday's learning. If they do 70 questions on Saturday and nothing until next Saturday, most of it has already faded.

There's also the practical issue that nobody wants to sit down for two hours of 11+ prep on a Saturday. Nobody. Short daily sessions have a much better chance of actually happening - and of your child being in a reasonable mood during them.

What a realistic week looks like

20–30 minutes of focused practice per day, five days a week, is the right target during the main prep period (Year 5 onwards, ramping through Year 6). That's 100–150 minutes a week - roughly one tutoring session's worth - spread out sensibly.

Mon – Fri 15–25 minutes of app or worksheet practice, after school or before dinner
One weekend day One slightly longer session (30–40 minutes) on a practice paper or timed section - not both days
One day off Actually off - not "I suppose you don't have to do the paper if you do 20 minutes of verbal reasoning instead"

In July and August before a September sitting, some families nudge the intensity up. Going from 20 to 30 minutes a day is fine. Going from 20 minutes to three hours is not.

Signs your child is doing too much or too little

Too much - scale back
  • Active avoidance or meltdowns at the mention of practice
  • Getting slower or making more errors than weeks ago
  • They've started saying they don't want to go to the school anyway
  • Not sleeping well or stressed out of character
Too little - gentle nudge
  • Sessions regularly get skipped with no real pushback from you
  • Same errors week after week with no improvement
  • They've never done a timed practice paper
  • Seem completely unbothered when the exam is close

The summer holidays

Keep roughly the same daily rhythm as term time - 20–25 minutes a day, five days a week. This keeps the material fresh without turning the summer into a bootcamp. Mornings work well: get it done before activities, before it's hot, before anyone's tired.

Build in one genuinely exam-free week. A week of no practice is fine - children often come back to it more engaged. Then in the final 4–6 weeks before the exam, do a few timed practice papers under realistic conditions. Not every day, but often enough that the format isn't a surprise on the day.

The bottom line

Consistent beats intense. The goal is to arrive at the exam with the questions feeling familiar, while still being a child who hasn't been ground down by the process. If in doubt, do less - and do it more often.

About PipPrep: Built by a parent who went through 11+ prep with their own child and wanted something better than photocopied workbooks. 70,000+ questions, instant explanations, and a fox called Pip to keep kids motivated.