The 11-plus is the entrance exam used by state grammar schools, and by some independent schools, to select pupils for Year 7 entry. It is a source of enormous anxiety, much of it avoidable once you understand how the system actually works.
What the 11-plus is — and is not
It is a selection test, sat in September of Year 6, used to allocate places at academically selective state schools. Grammar schools are free, state-funded and academically selective. There are around 163 of them in England, concentrated in a small number of areas.
It is not a national exam. There is no single 11-plus. Different areas use different tests, set by different providers, with different content and different rules. Preparing for one area's test does not automatically prepare a child for another's.
It is also not compulsory anywhere. In wholly selective areas like Kent and Buckinghamshire most children sit it as a matter of course; elsewhere it is a deliberate choice.
What the tests cover
Most 11-plus exams assess some combination of:
- English — comprehension, and often spelling, punctuation and grammar
- Maths — problem-solving at Key Stage 2 level
- Verbal reasoning — logic and pattern recognition with words
- Non-verbal reasoning — patterns, sequences and shapes
The exact mix depends on the region and the test provider. Some areas test only English and maths; others weight reasoning heavily. Some use multiple choice with a separate answer sheet, others standard written papers.
Crucially, verbal and non-verbal reasoning are not taught in most primary curricula. That is deliberate — they are meant to assess potential rather than taught content — but it does mean a child who has never seen the question types is at a disadvantage that has nothing to do with ability.
Find out which test your area uses
This is the first practical step, and it matters more than any amount of general preparation. Contact the school or the local authority directly, or check the school's published admissions arrangements, which will specify the test format, the provider and the date.
Do this in Year 4 or early Year 5, not Year 6.
How grammar school admissions actually work
The distinction that trips up most families: passing the test and getting a place are two separate hurdles.
Qualifying. Most selective schools set a standard — a score threshold, usually age-standardised so that younger children in the year are not penalised. Meeting it makes a child eligible.
Being ranked. Among qualified candidates, places are allocated on the school's published oversubscription criteria. This is usually where distance, catchment area or sibling links come in. In a heavily oversubscribed school, a child can qualify comfortably and still not receive an offer.
A minority of schools — often called superselective — admit purely in rank order of score with no distance element. These are genuinely open to candidates from anywhere, and correspondingly competitive.
Read the individual school's admissions policy for the relevant year. It is a published legal document and it sets out exactly how places are allocated. If you live outside the area, see applying to grammar schools out of area.
Key dates
The timeline runs earlier than most parents expect.
- Spring or early summer of Year 5 — registration typically opens. Deadlines are strict and there is generally no second chance.
- September of Year 6 — the test is sat, usually at the school or a test centre, often on a Saturday.
- October of Year 6 — results are normally issued, deliberately ahead of the national preference deadline.
- 31 October — the national deadline for submitting secondary school preferences to your home local authority.
- 1 March (national offer day) — offers issued.
The October results timing is helpful: in most areas you know whether your child qualified before you have to rank your preferences.
Supporting your child without over-tutoring
The reasonable version of preparation has three parts:
Build the basics early. Wide reading, fluent times tables, mental arithmetic and confidence. This is done over years, not months, and it is by far the most valuable thing you can do — it also keeps paying off long after the exam.
Familiarise them with the format. A child who has never seen a verbal reasoning question, or used a separate multiple-choice answer sheet, loses marks for reasons unrelated to ability. A modest amount of practice removes this entirely.
Practise working to time. Being able to sit still and concentrate for the length of a paper is a skill in itself, and one many capable ten-year-olds have never had to use.
The unreasonable version — months of intensive drilling, several tutors, papers every weekend — is worth resisting. Our article on whether your child needs a tutor looks at where the line sits.
There is also a practical argument against over-preparation. A child coached over a threshold they cannot comfortably sustain will spend five years in the bottom set of a fast-moving school. That is a genuinely hard experience, and it is not a favour.
Managing the pressure
Some things that help:
- Keep your own anxiety out of earshot. Children read this accurately.
- Be careful what you say the result means. If your child believes the exam determines whether they are clever, or whether you are pleased with them, that is a heavy thing to carry into a Saturday morning.
- Have a genuine plan B, and speak about it warmly. If the alternative school has been described all year as the disaster option, an offer from it in March is devastating rather than fine.
- Remember the alternative is usually good. Most children who do not get a grammar place go to a good school and do well.
If it does not work out
Options include the waiting list, an appeal, or a review of the test result where the area offers one — see waiting lists and appeals. Waiting lists in selective areas do move, particularly over the spring and summer.
It is also worth remembering that a great many children who narrowly miss a selective place go on to excellent outcomes elsewhere, including at sixth form, where entry to selective schools is often much less competitive — see changing school for sixth form.
Is a grammar school right for your child?
Selective schooling suits some children and not others. A fast pace and a cohort of similarly able peers is energising for some and demoralising for others.
It is worth visiting both grammar and independent options before deciding. Our grammar school guide covers the trade-offs in detail, and private school vs grammar school compares the two directly.
Next step: see which grammar schools are near you on grammar schools by county, or look at the top grammar schools by results.