Before you start
If the 11+ feels confusing, you’re in the right place. This page explains what it is, how it works, and how to get ready without the stress. No jargon, and nothing you need to know already.
In this guide
What the 11+ is
The 11+ is a test some children take in Year 6 to apply for a place at a selective secondary school. It’s called the 11+ because children are usually around eleven when they sit it.
It isn’t part of the normal school curriculum, and most primary schools don’t teach it directly. That’s often what makes it feel unfamiliar to families: it’s a separate thing, sat outside of normal lessons, for entry the following September into Year 7.
Taking the 11+ is a choice, not something every child does. It’s one route into one type of school. Plenty of children never sit it, and that’s completely normal.
Grammar schools and independent schools
The 11+ is mostly linked to two kinds of school. They’re easy to mix up, so here’s the difference in plain terms.
Grammar schools
Funded by the government, so there are no fees. They select pupils by ability, and the 11+ is how they decide who gets a place. This guide is mainly about these.
Independent schools
Charge fees and set their own entrance exams, and these vary a lot. Different schools use different tests, with different fees, and some have more than one stage. Always check directly with each school you’re considering. The skills overlap a lot with the grammar-school 11+, so this resource still helps either way.
Not every part of the country has grammar schools. Whether they exist near you, and which ones, depends on your area, so that’s the first thing worth checking.
What’s on the test
The 11+ usually draws on five areas. Not every area tests all five, and the mix is set locally, but these are the building blocks:
- Verbal Reasoning — word and language puzzles.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning — shape and pattern puzzles.
- Maths — number, shape, data and problem solving.
- English — reading, comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar.
- Spatial Reasoning — 3D shape puzzles including rotation, folding and block counting. Used in some areas since 2015.
Each of those has its own area in this resource, broken into small topics with a plain explanation, a worked example and a go yourself. You can look up exactly which subjects your area tests on your local council’s admissions pages.
The different test styles
The papers your child sits are written by an exam provider, and different areas use different ones. You don’t need to memorise the names, but it helps to know two things.
First, some styles are quite predictable, using familiar question types that come up again and again. Others deliberately mix things up and lean harder on a wide vocabulary, so they feel less predictable. The most widely used provider is GL Assessment, with some areas using their own or other tests.
Second, and more importantly: the thinking skills are the same either way. Knowing how to break a word into parts, or turn a shape in your head, helps whatever the paper looks like. That’s what this resource builds.
To find out which test your area uses, check the admissions pages for your council and the specific schools you’re interested in. They’ll usually say which provider they use and often link to a familiarisation paper.
What the scores mean
11+ results aren’t given as a simple mark out of a hundred. Your child’s raw score (the number of questions they get right) is converted into a standardised score, which adjusts for how old they were on the test day. This is so a summer-born child isn’t at a disadvantage against an older classmate sitting the same paper.
Standardised scores usually run from around 69 to 141, with 100 being exactly average for a child’s age. As a rough guide:
| Standardised score | Roughly what it means |
|---|---|
| Below 100 | Below the average for their age |
| 100–109 | Around average |
| 110–119 | Above average |
| 120–129 | Strong, and competitive for many grammar schools |
| 130+ | Excellent, roughly the top tenth nationally |
Whether a score is high enough for a place depends on your area and the year. In competitive counties the qualifying mark often sits around 121 or so, but each school sets its own bar depending on how many places are available. Some areas use a fixed pass mark, others rank children for the spaces, and a few combine or weight the papers differently.
Two things worth holding onto. A score below 120 is not a failure, it’s simply how one morning went, and plenty of children go on to thrive elsewhere. And try not to fixate on a single target number: aim for steady, confident understanding, then check how your own area allocates places so you know what you’re working towards.
The rough timeline
Exact dates are set by your area, but the shape of the year is fairly consistent. Here’s the usual order of things.
- Year 5, often spring to summerRegistration for the test usually opens. You sign up in advance, and there’s normally a deadline well before the test itself, so this is the one not to miss.
- Start of Year 6, usually early autumnThe test is sat, often in September. Some areas test over one day, others across two.
- Autumn, Year 6Results come back, usually in October, before secondary school applications are due.
- 31 OctoberThe national deadline to apply for a secondary school place. You list your choices with your council by this date.
- 1 March (or the next working day)National offer day, when families find out which secondary place they’ve been offered.
Always confirm your own area’s dates on your council’s admissions pages. Registration deadlines in particular vary, and they come round earlier than most families expect.
Getting ready calmly
The biggest difference you can make isn’t hours of drilling. It’s simply making sure the questions aren’t a surprise. A child who has seen the question types before walks in far calmer than one meeting them for the first time, which is exactly why this resource exists.
A few things that tend to help:
- Little and often beats long, tiring sessions. Short regular practice sticks better.
- Understanding over speed, at least to begin with. Getting the method right comes first; pace comes later.
- Mix the subjects up rather than grinding one for weeks. A bit of each keeps it fresh.
- Protect their confidence. A wrong answer is information, not failure. Keep it light.
It’s also worth saying plainly: the 11+ is one path, and a result either way doesn’t define a child. Plenty of brilliant futures don’t go through a grammar school. Keeping that in view takes the pressure down for everyone.
On the day
By the time the test comes, the preparation is done, and the job is just to turn up steady. A calm morning, a decent breakfast and a reminder that they only have to do their best goes a long way.
In the room, children are usually told how the test works before it begins, and the questions are timed. If your area offers a familiarisation paper, doing one beforehand means the format holds no surprises, which is the single most settling thing on the day.
Now you know the shape of it
That’s the whole picture. From here, the practice lives in the five subjects. Start wherever you like, dip in and out, and remember nothing is being marked or counted.
Tom Sanderson Tutoring 