How it works - ISEB Common Pretest | London Consortium and Chigwell Mock Exams | Bespoke Practice

Tell us who you are

Planet BOFA's bespoke online teaching provides outstanding Pre-Test, 11-plus, London 11+ Consortium, and KS2 support for teachers and pupils

Proud to be different, Planet BOFA tests, teaches, retests and tracks student progress; personalising the process with formative learning that accelerates success.

A UNIQUE ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM

BOFA is a unique online learning platform, where every question comes as a triplet. Initially a summative assessment, followed by differentiated explanations and practice, then a formative assessment, creates detailed subject reports to compare learning needs across existing and historical cohorts.

Our three stage process is unique to every child

In their Initial Test, pupils answer questions designed to test their current knowledge across a range of topics at a specific level. This is marked instantly, informing both you and the pupil, and their parent if you wish, the current knowledge in a summative assessment.

The pupil then moves onto a practice and explanation stage, where the pupil receives bespoke explanations and teaching identified in the initial test. A similar practice question is supplied to aid learning. This comes with further explanation and teaching if necessary.

After about a week, so that the pupil is not just testing their short-term memory, they move on to the Retest, which contains the final question in the triplet. The errors at this stage are placed into the pupil reports.

Individual and group reports

BOFA then emails the teacher (and potentially the parent too) to let them know how much improvement the child has made. The Report is then generated on the individual pupil's tests page. This report includes the questions that they answered incorrectly during the retest, with corresponding answers and explanations sorted by topic. Teachers can export a spreadsheet detailing learning needs, by topic, across their entire cohort.

Mock ISEB Common PreTest structure

The BOFA Pre-tests have been specifically requested by our Prep Schools to try to replicate the experience of the ISEB Common Pre-Test. This includes the style and functionality including the inability to see the question numbers or to pause/skip questions. The Pre-tests are done online, either in class or for homework and at least one is used as a Mock exam. The practice and explanations can be done independently, or for those pupils with learning support in one-to-one time. The following week, pupils do similar retest questions to reassess their learning to pinpoint weaker parts of the syllabus. This allows complete differentiation.

There are 21 BOFA Pre-tests, 3 or 6 are often used by teachers to help prepare pupils for the exam and mop up areas for improvement. The remaining BOFA Pre-Tests can be offered to parents to purchase, this also allows schools to monitor and track the learning needs identified by these additional Pre-Tests.

Attention to detail

Planet BOFA saves pupils time, by only teaching topics that pupils need to learn; pupils enjoy the independent learning with regular praise. Teachers relish the time saved marking and preparing lessons and can use their valuable time only teaching pupils topics they do not understand.

This is what makes BOFA so special, the attention to detail that allows us to nurture the potential in every child.

Someday, everyone will learn the BOFA way!

Curriculum and Syllabus

The BOFA Pre-Tests try to cover the curriculum and syllabus specified by the ISEB as closely as possible. We update the content after receiving and checking the accuracy of any updates available in order to supply the best resource BOFA can to your pupils.

SOAR TO SUCCESS!

Take a free demo test now:

Ready to blast off with BOFA?

It’s brilliant, I’m ready to subscribe

The unique benefits of using Planet BOFA

Access to an unbeatable personalised learning tool that will propel your child to ISEB Common Pretest success (created by million-plus selling Bond Assessment author Andrew Baines).
Planet BOFA is as unique as every child. No test question will ever be repeated during a pupil’s education with us.
You'll be in good company. 4 million Planet BOFA tests have been done and counting...
Faster results. Marking and feedback is instant. We quickly identify where children need the most help, and then zoom-in on their potential. Planet BOFA doesn't waste time teaching topics they already know.
See happy, motivated pupils who are keen to learn. Confidence and scores sky-rocket as children feel independent managing their work, yet supported by our personalised approach. Customising the colours and text is helps too.
Flexible, inclusive teaching that fits around family life. No one gets stuck learning with Planet BOFA. Explanations are easy to digest. The tests can be paused to help manage pupil study time. And each answer will be marked and tracked whether it’s within the time limit or not. A child is guided through weaker areas until they’re ready to move on.
High-flyers are stretched and pupils with greater learning needs are encouraged to nurture their academic potential.
Feedback is at your fingertips. Emails with key information arrive at the end of each test stage, so you're always up to speed on progress. When one learning cycle is complete (after the 'retest'), you'll receive a summary email report with links to the full reports. These show the questions the pupil didn’t get right, with answers and explanations; organised into topics to help teachers and tutor focus future learning.
Hassle-free account management. We are constantly adding in new functionality to help all users access information as easily as possible. We always welcome suggestions to help us improve BOFA.

Find out how parents use Planet BOFA with our Get Started Guide

Skip to the quick start guide

Below are some useful video tutorials to help you get started.

Questions?

How much are the BOFA Mock Tests?
Just £55 for 3 mock tests, the more you buy, the more you save.
How much extra studying will my child need to do?
The actual exams take about 2 1/2 hours split into 4 subject tests. A pack of 3 BOFA mocks, with all the learning takes about 12 hours.
Are the BOFA Mock Tests all of the same difficulty?
Yes they are, but every pupil is different, so don't expect the same score on each mock, but you should see a steady increase as their knowledge increases.
Can I retrieve historic test data when we have finished all the tests?
All pupil data is stored ready for later analysis unless the pupil account is deleted.

Questions about the ISEB Common Pretests?

In brief, what is the ISEB Common Pretest?
The ISEB Common Pretest is a selection test used by a group of independent schools who manage their admissions process collectively in order to reduce the number of assessments sat by pupils.
What’s the big deal about the ISEB Common Pretests?
Competition is extremely high and the pupils only have one go at the exam. The format of the exam is alien to the vast majority of people; no clock, cannot skip questions, cannot go back e.t.c.
Why should children prepare for the ISEB Common Pretests?
Good question! In theory children shouldn’t need to prepare, because the ISEB Common Pretest isn’t meant to benefit anyone who has practiced. In reality it’s impossible to set an exam for which no one can prepare. In which case, the quality of the preparation makes a big difference.
How can I take the stress out of ISEB Common Pretests process?
Simply let your children do the ISEB Common Pretests mocks.