How to Help Your Child Handle Time Pressure in Entrance Exams (ISEB, CAT4, 11+)
- Sebastian Arvanitakis Jones
- Nov 25
- 3 min read
Many children struggle with time pressure in entrance exams like the ISEB Pre-Test, CAT4, 11+ and Common Entrance.
This is one of the most common issues — and the good news is that it is entirely fixable with the right training approach.
Here are three tips for helping your child to cope better under time pressure.
Step 1: Learn the Content First (Without Time Pressure)
If a child does not fully understand the question type, adding a timer only makes it worse.
Attempting:
Non-verbal reasoning
Synonyms and analogies
Speed-based maths
Word problems
Spatial or pattern questions
while still trying to figure out what to do can feel overwhelming.
So the first stage is:
✔️ Learn the techniques
✔️ Understand the logic behind each question type
✔️ Practise without rushing
✔️ Build accuracy and confidence first
A child should feel comfortable with the majority of questions before time becomes part of the picture.
This is the stage where tutoring, walkthroughs, and step-by-step examples are most effective.
It’s far easier to speed up once the method is secure.
Step 2: Introduce a Timer – But Generously
Once the student understands the question types and can work accurately, it’s time to add a timer.
But this is where many parents make a mistake:
They set full exam timing immediately.
This creates stress and panic, especially for sensitive students.
Instead, we introduce the timer slowly and generously.
For example, a fractions question but with 2 minutes instead of 30 seconds.
The goal is not speed yet — the goal is familiarity with the feeling of working against time.
Children need to:
✔️ get comfortable seeing a clock
✔️ practise deciding whether to move on
✔️ experience timed working without pressure
Over a few weeks, most students begin to feel:
calmer
more structured
more aware of pacing
more confident under the clock
Only once this foundation is built do we move to the final phase.
Step 3: Gradually Increase Realism (Less Time / Harder Questions)
Now we start reducing the time to bring practice closer to real exam conditions.
This can happen in several ways:
same number of questions, slightly less time
same time, slightly harder questions
mixed timed sections that require switching gears
eventually a full timed mock test
For example:
Week 1: 12 minutes for 10 questions
Week 2: 10 minutes for 10 questions
Week 3: 8 minutes for 10 questions
Week 4: a realistic timed section, just like the exam
At this stage, children should already:
✔️ understand the question types
✔️ know when to skip
✔️ know when to return
✔️ build consistency
With these habits in place, the timer becomes a tool — not a threat.
What Parents Usually Notice
When this staged approach is followed, parents often report:
Improved confidence
More finished papers
Better decision-making under pressure
Fewer panicked guesses
Steadier performance across tests
Most importantly:
Time pressure becomes a skill, not something mysterious or stressful.
And like any skill, it improves with structured practice.
Why This Approach Works
This method aligns with how cognitive load works.
If a child is:
learning the method
interpreting the question
reasoning
checking
and racing the clock
all at the same time, their working memory overloads.
But if:
The method becomes automatic
Timed practice becomes normal
Exam conditions are introduced gradually
then children free up space in their thinking — and perform at their true ability.
Final Thought
Entrance exams like the ISEB Pre-Test, CAT4, 11+ and Common Entrance don’t just assess knowledge — they assess performance under pressure.
Instead of expecting children to simply “work faster,” we can teach them:
how to stay calm
how to pace themselves
how to skip and return
how to manage the clock intelligently
Start without pressure.Introduce the timer with generosity.Then build towards realism.
Contact me today for a free 30-minute consultation: mrsebastian.co.uk/start
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