BANCROFT'S SCHOOL

Woodford Green, Essex, IG8 ORF

Telephone: 020 8506 6761
Email: admissions@bancrofts.org

ENGLISH
SAMPLE PAPER

11+
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION

BANCROFT'S SCHOOL
11+ ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS
GUIDANCE NOTES FOR PARENTS

ENGLISH
Candidates will take an English test in two sections. There is no separate
Scholarship paper.

Section A:

Reading and Understanding (45 Minutes)

The children will be asked to read two or more passages in a reading booklet
and then answer questions on what they have read in a separate answer book.
There are a few questions, which call for longer answers. There will also be a
few multiple-choice questions. The design of the answer book indicates the type
of answer required.
Questions will test a variety of comprehension skills, such as the understanding
of the vocabulary, sentence structure and inferred meaning.

Section B:

Writing (5 Minutes planning + 15 Minutes writing)

The children will be given an essay title asking them to take some of the ideas
from the extract or poem in the Reading Booklet and develop them into their
own story or description.
Marks are earned by writing relevantly and showing originality and accuracy;
punctuation, spelling and grammar are all important here. They are also
awarded for how well the essay is organised and how interesting it is in content.

Preparation:
Children who are familiar with the format of the Key Stage Two tests should
not need any preparation other than working through the two sample papers.

ENGLISH SAMPLE PAPER 1

Reading Booklet

Saturday Mornings
And

Plug In, Turn On, Look Out

This booklet contains two pieces of writing:
On pages 2 and 3 there is a passage about the place where a girl's father works.
Read this passage and then answer the questions in Part 1 of your answer book.
On page 4 you will find a poem about machines.
Read the poem and then answer the questions in Part 2 of your answer book.

Read the passage and answer the questions on it in your answer book.
Saturday Mornings
1

10

On Saturdays we get into the car with our father and drive down to the
place where he works. It is actually the Zoology Building, but we don't
call it that. It is just the building.
The building is enormous. Whenever we're there it's almost empty,
because it's Saturday; this makes it seem even larger. It's of darkbrown weathered brick, and gives the impression of having turrets,
although it has none. Ivy grows on it, leafless now in winter, covering
it with skeletal veining. Inside it there are long hallways with
hardwood floors, stained and worn from generations of students in
slushy winter boots, but still kept polished.
In one room is a cement pool filled with thick-looking greenish water in
which large turtles sit and blink or clamber ponderously up onto the
rocks provided for them, hissing if we get too close.

15

20

25

30

We dont find any of the things in the building repulsive. The general
arrangements, though not the details, are familiar to us, though we've
never seen so many mice in one place before and are awed by their
numbers and stench.
Some of the upstairs rooms are labs. The labs have vast ceilings and
blackboards across the front. They contain rows and rows of large dark
desks, more like tables than desks, with high stools to sit on. Each desk
has two lamps with green glass shades, and two microscopes, old
microscopes, with heavy thin tubing and brass fittings.
We've seen microscopes before, but not at such length; we can spend a
lot of time with them before getting tired of them. Sometimes we're
given slides to look at: butterfly wings, cross-sections of earthworms,
flatworms stained with pink and purple dyes so you can see the
different parts. Or we pull hairs out of our heads to look at them, hard
and shiny like the bristles that grow out of the hard skins of insects,
with the hair roots at the end like tiny onion bulbs.
We look at earwax, or snot, or dirt from our toes, checking first to see
that there's no one around: we know without asking that such things
would not be approved of. Our curiosity is supposed to have limits,
though these have never been defined exactly.

It's from the building that we watch our first Santa Claus Parade.
35

We've never seen a parade before. Some people climb up onto the
horse statues to get a better view. We don't have to do this as we can
sit on the window-ledge of one of the main labs in the building,
separated from the weather by a pane of dusty glass, with blasts of heat
from the iron radiator going up our legs.

40

From there we watch as people dressed like snowflakes, like elves, like
rabbits, like sugar plum fairies, march past us, strangely truncated
because we're looking down on them. There are bands of bagpipers in
kilts, and things like big cakes, with people on them waving, that slide
past on wheels. It's begun to drizzle. Everyone down there looks cold.

45

Santa Claus is at the end, smaller than expected. His voice and his
loudspeaker jinglebells are muted by the dusty glass; he rocks back and
forth behind his mechanical reindeer, looking soggy, blowing kisses to
the crowd.

50

55

I know he isn't the real Santa Claus, just someone dressed up like him.
Still, my idea of Santa Claus has altered, has acquired a new dimension.
After this it becomes hard for me to think of him without thinking also
of the snakes and the turtles and the pickled eyes, and the lizards
floating in their yellow jars, and of the vast, echoing, spicy, ancient and
forlorn but also comforting smell of old wood, furniture polish,
formaldehyde and distant mice.

Read the poem and then answer the questions on it in your answer booklet.

Plug In, Turn On, Look Out

10

15

20

25

30

Run for your lives, take to the hills,

The machines are on the march:
This morning my electric razor launched
A vicious and unwarranted attack on me It came at me, snarling through its
Thirty-four rotary teeth and
Flicking its flexy tail
(Fortunately I fought it off
With my dad's old cut-throat*).
Do not tum your back on toasters,
The machines are taking over:
The talking weighing machines at Waterloo
Told me today in no uncertain terms,
Where I could stick my threepence I was trapped in the lift doors twice today,
Don't tell me it's coincidence;
So steer clear of vacuum cleaners, it's
The Mechanical Revolution:
I turned the telly on tonight and it
Turned itself off again . . .
If necessary, we must resort to
Underhand tactics Keep your electric lawnmower securely tethered*,
Cut down supplies of food to your refrigerator,
Kick your car at regular intervals
(That's why the Lord gave you legs).
And above all, don't let them find out
Who's winning . . .
Meanwhile, I intend to lead
A picked band of desperadoes*
In a death-or-glory attack
On the I.C.T. Computer Installation
(We must destroy
The brains behind this uprising).

Cut-throat - an old-fashioned razor; tethered - tied up; desperadoes - criminals

who will risk anything in a fight.

Bancroft's School
Sample Entrance Examination
Section A

Reading
And
Understanding
First Name .
Last Name .
School

Mark

..
1

In this answer book there are different types of questions.

The space for your answer shows you how you need to answer
each question.
For some questions you must write only one word or phrase.
Other questions need longer answers in one or more sentences.
A few questions ask you to write at greater length.
Work through the booklet until you are told to stop.
Try to answer all the questions.
Write neatly.
You have 45 minutes for this test.
If you finish within the allocated time, go back and check your
answers.
A new answer booklet will be issued for the Writing,
Section B.

Part 1
These questions refer to the passage called Saturday Mornings
which is on pages 2 and 3 of your reading booklet.
The narrator is the girl who is telling the story.
You should spend about half an hour on this section.
1.

At what time of year is this passage set?

.

2.

(1)

Using your own words, write down two things you

learn from lines 4-10 about the appearance of the
building.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. ..
. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. ..
. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. ..

(2)

3. Which of the following phrases is closest in meaning

to "clamber ponderously" (line 13)? Tick one.
Jump down
Walk around thoughtfully
Scramble awkwardly
(1)

Stand threateningly

4. According to the fourth paragraph, how do the

children feel towards the things they find in the
building? Use your own words.

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. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . .
. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . .

(2)

5. What is meant by "Our curiosity is supposed to

have limits, though these have never been defined
exactly" (lines 32-33)?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)

6. Why don't the children have to "climb up onto

the horse statues" to watch the Santa Claus
parade?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

7. Which of the following phrases is closest in

meaning to "strangely truncated" (line 41)? Tick
one.

Bizarrely shortened
Oddly silenced
Artificially still
Beautifully bright

8.

(1)

What do the following sentences suggest about the

narrator's feelings towards the spectators on the
street: "It's begun to drizzle. Everyone down there
looks cold" (line 44)?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . .. . ...... .. ..... ....... .. ..... ... .. .. ... . ... .. . ....

(4)

9. Give one word of your own for "muted". (line 46)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

10. According to lines 45-48, how does the

narrator feel about Santa Claus when he appears?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)

11. What is meant by "has acquired a new

dimension" (line 50)?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)

12. Look at lines 53-55, from: "vast, echoing, spicy ..."

to the end of the sentence. What do they tell you
about the narrator's feelings towards the building?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)

Part 2
These questions are about the poem Plug In, Turn On,
Look Out on page 4 of your reading booklet. You should
spend about 15 minutes on this section.

13. Why are the readers being advised, "Run for

your lives"?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

14. Write down a word of your own which means the

same as "unwarranted". (line 4)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

15. What impression is created of the electric razor in

lines 5-7?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)

16. What sort of personality do the talking weighing

machines seem to have?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)

17. Which of the following is closest in meaning to

"underhand tactics" (line 22)? Tick one.
Armed warfare
Open battle
Cheating methods
(1)

Official policing

18. What does the speaker in the poem intend to do whilst

his listeners fight off the machines? Use your own
words.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2)

19. Do you think that this is a nonsense poem, or that

there is a serious message behind it? Give reasons
for your answer.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)

Bancroft's School
Sample Entrance Examination
Section B

Writing

First Name

Last Name

School

Mark

You have 5 minutes to make notes and plan your writing. Do

this in the planning box below. You then have 15 minutes to
complete your writing.

You will be awarded marks for organising your writing well and
making the essay interesting.
Be careful with spelling, punctuation and paragraphing: you will
earn more marks if your writing is accurate.
Use all of the time allowed.
Do not begin your essay until you are told to do so.
2

Imagine you are one of the machines/gadgets

mentioned in the poem. Write about why you are
rebelling against the human race and how it feels.

Put your hand up if you need more paper.

5

ENGLISH SAMPLE PAPER 2

Reading Booklet

Outdoor Games
And

I Told A Lie Today

This booklet contains two pieces of writing:
On pages 1, 2 & 3 there is a passage about Outdoor Games.
Read this passage and then answer the questions in Part 1 of your answer book.

On page 4 you will find a poem called I Told A Lie Today.

Read the poem and then answer the questions in Part 2 of your answer book.

Read the passage and answer the questions on it in your answer book

Outdoor Games

It was still too hot to play outdoors. They had had their tea, they had been washed

and had their hair brushed, and after the long day of confinement in the house that
was not cool but at least a protection from the sun, the children strained to get out.
Their faces were red and bloated with the effort, but their mother would not open
5

the door. Everything was still curtained and shuttered in a way that stifled the
children, made them feel that their lungs were stuffed with cotton wool and their
noses with dust and if they didn't burst out into the light and see the sun and feel
the air, they would choke.

At last, they faced the afternoon outside. It was too hot. Too bright. The white
10 walls of the veranda glared stridently in the sun. No life stirred at this dry time of
day - the birds still drooped, like dead fruit, in the papery tents of the trees; some
squirrels lay limp on the wet earth under the garden tap. The dog lay stretched as
if dead on the veranda mat, his paws and ears and tail all reaching out like dying
travellers in search of water. He rolled his eyes at the children and attempted to lift
15 his tail in a wag but could not. It only twitched and lay still.

The children felt released. They began tumbling, shoving, pushing against each
other, frantic to start. Start what? Start their business. The business of the
children's day which is - play.

"Let's play hide-and-seek."

20

"Who'll be It?"
"You be It."
"Why should I? You be -"
1

"You're the eldest - "

"That doesn't mean -"

25

The shoves became harder. Some kicked out. The motherly Mira stepped in. She
pulled the boys roughly apart. There was a tearing sound of cloth but it was lost in
the heavy panting and angry grumbling and no one paid attention to the small
sleeve hanging loosely off a shoulder.

"Make a circle, make a circle!" she shouted, firmly pulling and pushing till a kind
30

of vague circle was formed. "Now clap!" she roared and, clapping, they all
chanted: "Dip, dip, dip - my blue ship -" and every now and then one or the other
saw he was safe by the way his hands fell at the crucial moment - palm on palm,
or back of hand on palm - and dropped out of the circle with a yell and a jump of
relief and jubilation.

35 Raghu was It. He started to protest, to cry, "You cheated - Mira cheated - Anu
cheated -" but it was too late, the others had all already streaked away. There
was noone to hear when he called out, "Only in the veranda -the porch - Ma said
- Ma said to stay in the porch!" No one had stopped to listen, all he saw were their
brown legs flashing through the dusty shrubs, scrambling up brick walls, leaping
40

over compost heaps and hedges, and then the porch stood empty in the shade and
the garden was as empty as before; even the limp squirrels had whisked away,
leaving everything gleaming, brassy and bare.

Only small Manu suddenly reappeared, as if he had dropped out of an invisible

cloud or from a bird's claws, and stood for a moment in the centre of the yellow
45

lawn, chewing his finger and near to tears as he heard Raghu shouting, with his
head pressed against the veranda wall, "Eighty-three, eighty-five, eighty-nine,
ninety ..." and then made off in a panic, half of him wanting to fly north, the other
2

half advising south. Raghu turned just in time to see the flash of his white shorts
and the uncertain skittering of his red sandals, and charged after him with such a
50 blood-curdling yell that Manu stumbled over the hosepipe, fell into its rubber coils
and lay there weeping, "I won't be It -you have to find them all - all - All!"

"I know I have to, idiot," Raghu said, casually kicking him with his toe. "You're
dead," he said with satisfaction, licking the beads of perspiration off his upper lip,
and then stalked off in search of worthier prey, whistling spiritedly so that the
55

hiders should hear and tremble.

Ravi heard the whistling and panicked. He felt himself too exposed, sitting on an
upturned flower pot behind the garage. Where could he burrow? He could run
around the garage if he heard Raghu come - around and around and around -but
he hadn't much faith in his short legs when matched against Raghu's long, hefty,
60

hairy footballer legs. Ravi had a frightening glimpse of them as Raghu combed the
hedge, trampling delicate ferns underfoot as he did so. Ravi looked about him
desperately, swallowing hard in fear.

Read the passage and answer the questions on it in your answer book

I Told a Lie Today

I told a lie today

and it curled up inside me
like a steel hard spring.

It was quite a clever lie,

no one guessed the truth,
they believed me.

But I've carried the twist of it

at the centre of my body, all day,
and I think it's expanding,
filling me up,
making my eyes feel red.

12

Perhaps it's going to uncoil suddenly

and burst me open,
showing everyone what I'm really like.

15

I think I had better confess,

before I'm completely unwound.

BancroftsSchool
Sample Entrance Examination
Section A

Reading
And
Understanding
First Name .
Last Name .
School

Mark

..
1

In this answer book there are different types of questions.

The space for your answer shows you how you need to answer
each question:
For some questions you must write only one word or phrase.
Other questions need longer answers in one or more sentences.
A few questions ask you to write at greater length.
Work through the booklet until you are told to stop.
Try to answer all the questions.
Write neatly.
You have 45 minutes for this section.
If you finish within the allocated time, go back and check your
answers.
A new answer booklet will be issued for the Writing,
Section B.

Part 1
These questions refer to the passage called Outdoor Games
which is on pages 2 and 3 of your reading booklet.
You should spend about 20 minutes on this section.
1. What do the children want to do at the beginning of the
extract?
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1)

2. Using your own words, write down two things which

are making the children feel uncomfortable.
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.

(2)

Which of the following phrases is closest in meaning to

"glared stridently" (line 10)? Tick one.
Stared aggressively
Provided comforting shade
Reflected very bright light
Glowed threateningly

(1)
3

4.

Write down two things which the animals are doing in

this very hot weather. Use your own words.

. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .

(2)

5. What is meant by "Start their business. The business of

the children's day which is - play"?
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . .

(2)

6. What happens to one of the children's shirts when

Mira stops the fight?
. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .

(1)

7. Which of the following phrases is closest in meaning

to "crucial moment" (line -32)? Tick one.
First instant
Final second
Deciding point in time
(1)

Last move

8. Look at the paragraph starting: "Raghu was It." What

does this paragraph suggest about the other children's
feelings towards Raghu?
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)

9. Give one word of your own for "whisked". (Line - 41 )

(1)

10.

What sort of child does Manu seem to be?

. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. ... . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . ... . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11.

(4)

What is meant by "in search of worthier prey"?

(Line - 54)

. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12.

(2)

Look at the last paragraph. Do you think Ravi is

enjoying the game of hide and seek? Why/why not?

. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)

Part 2
These questions are about the poem I Told a Lie Today on
page 4 of your reading booklet. You should spend about 10
minutes on this section.
13.

Look at the first three lines of the poem. How do you

think the lie is making the speaker feel?

. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14.

(2)

Why does the speaker describe the lie as "clever"? Use

your own words.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15.

What do you think the speaker means by the word

"twist" in line 7?

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. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
7

(1)

16.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . (2)
What is the lie doing to the speaker in lines 9-11? Use
your own words?

. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .

17.

(2)

Write down two things which you think the poet might
mean by the phrase "completely unwound".
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .

18.

(4)

How do you think the speaker might answer the

question, "What are you really like?"

. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .
8

(4)

Bancrofts School
Sample Entrance Examination
Section B

Writing

First Name

Last Name

School

Mark

You have 5 minutes to make notes and plan your writing. Do

this in the planning box below. You then have 15 minutes to
complete your writing.

You will be awarded marks for organising your writing well and
making the essay interesting.
Be careful with spelling, punctuation and paragraphing: you will
earn more marks if your writing is accurate.
Use all the time allowed.
Do not begin your essay until you are told to do so.
2

Imagine you are one of the unnamed children in the extract.

Describe the place where you choose to hide and your
feelings as you hear Raghu looking for you.

..
Put your hand up if you need more paper.
5