ABC Education · 11+ Practice

Week 15 · English Practice Paper

Reading: 20 marks · Writing: 15 marks · Suggested time: 1 hour.

Reading Passage

Casper has gone out with his grandfather to check the traps and snares in the birch wood near their cottage, and has decided to spend his first ever night camping outdoors, alone in his own little tent, while his grandfather sleeps close by.

The Birch Camp

Casper had never meant to fall asleep so deeply, but the birch camp had a way of insisting upon its own rules, and that first night out of doors, his body simply gave in to it. He drifted down into sleep the way a stone sinks through still water, turning slowly, in no hurry to reach the bottom. For a long while he seemed to hover somewhere between waking and dreaming, aware of the enormous wheel of stars sliding overhead, and of the birch leaves clicking together in a wind he could not feel. Small sounds reached him from the undergrowth — a rustle here, a soft thud there, the papery scrape of something moving low through the bracken — and each one tugged gently at his attention, as though asking to be noticed. At first they made him wary, and he half opened his eyes to search the darkness for whatever was moving. But nothing showed itself, and gradually he stopped minding, trusting the woods to keep their own secrets, until even that thin thread of watchfulness slipped from his grasp and he sank away entirely, down into a warm, dreamless dark that smelled of woodsmoke and crushed fern.

It had taken him an age to settle, what with the owls and the unfamiliar hardness of the ground beneath his roll mat, but once sleep had properly claimed him, nothing could shift it. Dawn came and went without so much as a stir; the light through the leaves grew from grey to gold and back to grey again as clouds passed over, and still he did not wake. It was gone nine o'clock, his grandfather said afterwards, by the time Casper finally rolled onto his back, opened his eyes to a sky gone milky with morning, and sat up all at once, entirely alert. He was ravenous.

Section A: Reading

Question 1

[2 marks]

Explain, in your own words, where Casper has slept.

Question 2

[7 marks]

How does the writer convey Casper's experience of falling asleep? You should use words or phrases from the extract to support your ideas.

Question 3

[6 marks]

What is your impression of Casper's character in the passage? Look at the detail from the passage to support your answer, but use your own words as much as possible to describe him.

Question 4

[5 marks]

Write a short continuation of the passage from: 'He was ravenous...' Think about what might have happened next and try to keep the same atmosphere and style of the original.

Section B: Writing

Choose ONE of the following:

Choose ONE of the following to write about.
Whichever you choose, use interesting descriptions and details in your writing to make it a good read.
Pay close attention to your spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Option 1: Imagine you have woken up in a natural outdoor setting. Write a description of your experience.

Think about the senses — what can you hear, smell, or feel before you even open your eyes?
Consider how your feelings change as you become more properly awake.

Option 2: Write a descriptive piece called 'A Mysterious Place.'

Choose specific, unusual details rather than generic ones.
Think about how the mystery could involve sound and smell as well as sight.