11+ Comprehension, North London Collegiate School (NLCS): Practice Papers & In-Depth Guided Answers

Are you seeking the perfect exam preparation material for North London Collegiate 11+ entrance exams?

This essential resource includes four bespoke comprehension papers designed to mirror the school's unique exam style. Accompanied by model answers and thorough explanations, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the skills necessary to excel in these critical assessments.

Accolade Press equips students with the tools and strategies required to secure top marks in the competitive environment of North London Collegiate 11+ exams. Accolade Press ensures students have every tool at their disposal to emulate these point-scoring techniques and tactics.

• Four comprehension papers crafted to reflect the distinctive style of North London Collegiate, ensuring thorough preparation for exams in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
• A diverse range of extracts to ensure a range of skills are tested.
• Comprehensive model answers provided for every question, frequently accompanied by alternative solutions to illustrate how students can achieve high marks through various approaches.
• Detailed explanations accompany each model answer, not only clarifying how the responses fulfil examiners' expectations but also guiding students through complex concepts and vocabulary found in the answers.
• Authored by a skilled tutor with an exceptional history of success in 11+ admissions.

Sample Extract:

Paper One

In this extract, set in a small rural town in Ireland, two police officers, Sergeant O'Toole and Constable Keating, take on the task of painting their police station in a way that will make it invisible to the naked eye in an effort to perfectly camouflage it.

Sergeant O'Toole surveyed the police station with a keen and discerning eye, contemplating the grandiosity of the task at hand. Constable Keating, towering above him like an ineffectual beanstalk, scratched his rather prodigious head.

"Now, Constable," began Sergeant O'Toole, "if we are to make this provincial police station invisible to the naked eye, we must employ a technique heretofore unknown to the realms of ordinary camouflage. Aye, we shall embark upon a journey of artistic endeavour that shall baffle the mind and bewilder the senses!"

Constable Keating, who harboured no previous inclinations towards the arts, stared blankly at his superior. "Well now, Sarge, just how do we go about paintin' the station in such a confoundin' manner?"

Sergeant O'Toole, inspired by the surrealist musings of a dream he'd had involving bicycles and fish, cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "We shall transform this dull edifice into a parade of chaotic colours and confounding patterns. When the unsuspecting citizen looks upon our station, their mind will reject the impossibilities and conclude they are staring at thin air."

Constable Keating smirked hesitantly, still none the wiser. "And you believe this will work, Sergeant?"

"Constable, would an Irishman ever be wrong about art?"

With a sceptical shrug, young Keating resigned himself to what seemed like an artistic adventure on the precipice of madness. Sergeant O'Toole, armed with a vast array of brushes and rollers, led him forth into a whirlwind of paint and chaos.

As they embarked upon their masterpiece of camouflage, they left no stone of their beloved station unpainted. A cacophony of colours danced wildly across the walls and windowpanes, the once plain brickwork now a tortuous tango of hues, each more absurd than the last. The effect was staggering.

For hours they toiled, sweat dripping from their brows as they blurred the lines between the police station and an otherworldly dreamscape. Upon completion of their labour, they stood back to admire the bizarre fruit of their efforts.

And lo! The station became an unrecognizable jumble, as if reality had been stretched beyond all tangible comprehension. It shimmered and rippled with unseen energies, presenting the illusion that it was, indeed, on the verge of becoming invisible.

Sergeant O'Toole beamed with utmost satisfaction. "Behold, Constable Keating, the invisible police station! No ne'er-do-well shall ever lay siege to our humble abode again."

Constable Keating nodded slowly, attempting to reconcile his surroundings with the boundaries of logic and reason. "Indeed, Sergeant. It's just as you envisioned."

As the sun set upon their bewilderingly camouflaged station, the two policemen allowed themselves a moment of triumph before returning to their duties. Little did they know that their kaleidoscopic creation would only make their station the most conspicuous building in the county - a beacon of confusion and bewilderment, shining brightly under the Irish sky.

Extract from The Unseen Station by Brian O'Sullivan.

1. Why do you think the author chose the names "Sergeant O'Toole" and "Constable Keating" for the two characters, and what could these names imply about their roles or personalities? [2]

2. Why do you think the narrator refers to Constable Keating as an 'ineffectual beanstalk'? [2]

3. How does the writer convey Sergeant O'Toole's excitement and determination at the outset of their task in the passage? [2]

4. Looking at the description of the painting process and its results in paragraphs 7-9 ('With a sceptical shrug' to 'bizarre fruits of their efforts'), what do you find interesting about the language and sentence structures in these passages? [6]

5. In the 10th paragraph, how does the description of the completed police station contribute to the overall atmosphere of the passage? [2]

6. What implications might the term 'ne'er-do-well' have for the police officers' perception of their role in the community, and how does this notion connect to their task of camouflaging the station? [2]

7. Explore the impact of the phrase 'a beacon of confusion and bewilderment' in the last paragraph. What does this imply about the success of the police officers' endeavour, and how does it contribute to the mood of the passage? [4]

1. Why do you think the author chose the names "Sergeant O'Toole" and "Constable Keating" for the two characters, and what could these names imply about their roles or personalities? [2]

The author likely chose these names to give the characters an authentic Irish identity, as the setting is a small rural town in Ireland. The use of the names "O'Toole" and "Keating" lends a sense of locality and helps to create a distinct atmosphere in the story. Additionally, the ranks of "Sergeant" and "Constable" convey the hierarchical structure of their roles within the police force, with Sergeant O'Toole being the senior officer and Constable Keating being the subordinate. These titles suggest that O'Toole might be more experienced and assertive, while Keating might be more passive or dutiful in following orders.

End of Sample