The BBC have a site dedicated to 11 year-olds preparing to sit their ‘finals’. Joy Chamberlain takes a look.

The BBC’s ReviseWise is aimed at 11 year olds, who are preparing to sit the Key Stage 2 exams. The tests are considered crucial because they mark the end of junior school. After that it’s secondary school, a big jump for most children.

The test results are less relevant, if you’re aiming to get your child into an independent school. Almost all private schools have entrance exams, which are given greater weight than the Key Stage test.

But if you’re like 93% of parents in the UK and are aiming for a state school, the Key Stage test result will be significant. The results are like a first impression. Secondary schools are more impersonal than primary schools, and teachers need measures and benchmarks, in order to aid the assessment process.

If you’re anxious that your 11 year-old make a good impression, this is the site for you. But be warned: there’s no need to overwork. It’s an easy route from being anxious to being overzealous. Teachers base their final assessment on more than the test results.

ReviseWise is extensive and it covers all bases. Every subject on the syllabus is indexed, together with an exhaustive list of activities and tests children can do in their own time.

The details are presented in a simple, uniform fashion, and the style is highly instructive, if monotonously so sometimes. There’s also an odd tension between the tone and the content. The tone and pitch of the language works really well for 11 year olds, but adults would do better at understanding the content. In other words, this is not a site for children to tackle alone. They’ll need guidance, so be prepared to set aside some quality revision time.

Once you’ve settled into ReviseWise, you’ll find some brilliant learning tools. In the English section, for instance, ‘Planning a Story’ has a clever, memorable way to get someone to think of how to write a story. It ends with the hope that, ‘when you’ve gathered all your ingredients, you can organise them so that your story will virtually write itself’. It’s fun because you can mix and match the ‘ingredients’ to come up with an endless range of stories.

ReviseWise makes a bold claim: ‘Discover that revision can be fun, and find the way to top exam grades with our revision activities. Just select the exams you're working towards on the left, then choose your subject.’ This is certainly the case with English, and the same is true of Maths – this section has a great sense of humour. I love the crocodile in ‘Wise up to Angles’.

But the fun stops when you get to the serious stuff, which is a shame. Go to the section on preparing for exams, and you’ll get a stern explanation about exam day: ‘Your teacher will cover up any wall displays that may give you clues. The furniture in your classroom might be re-arranged. Any equipment you need will be laid out for you. After you've all settled at your desks, your teacher will read out the special instructions.’

Under Exam Technique, you’re helpfully told to remember this: ‘Most important: Don’t Panic!’

Yeah, right.

I can’t see many 11 year olds taking a blind bit of notice. But they will enjoy the lively activities and tests so long as you’re prepared to join in the fun as well.

Take a look at ReviseWise