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The 11+ Guide: Everything Parents Need, in One Place

The 11+ is not one exam. It is a different test, in a different format, on a different date, run by a different organisation in almost every part of the country — wrapped inside an admissions process that decides places on distance as much as on score. This page is the map: what the exam is, where your region fits, every subject and board, the timeline, and an evidence-based route to preparing. Every link below goes to a full SharpY Mind guide.

1. New to the 11+? Start here

If you have just started looking into this, read these three first. They give you the whole shape of it before you go near a practice paper.

• When Should I Start 11+ Preparation?
  The realistic Year 3–5 term-by-term timeline.
• 11+ vs KS2 SATs
  How they overlap, and how to prepare for both at once.

2. Your region & grammar schools

The single most important thing to get right early: which schools you are actually aiming for, and what that specific area requires. Start with the national map, then your area.

• UK Grammar Schools by Region & Exam Board
  Which board applies where — the national overview.
• Super-Selective Grammar Schools
  Ranked by score, no catchment, 12–15 per place.
• Kent: The Kent Test
  ~32 grammar schools, one route in.
• Medway: The Medway Test
  Its own authority next to Kent, its own test.
• Sutton Zone Grammar Schools
  How the Sutton SET and Stage 2 really work.
• Sutton: Why a Higher Score Can Lose
  When living in the borough beats a higher mark.
• Essex: The Complete CSSE Guide
  The 10 consortium schools plus FSCE Chelmsford.
• Birmingham: King Edward VI Foundation
  Eight schools, one free entrance test.
• Warwickshire Grammar Schools
  Five schools, one shared test — now GL, not CEM.
• Gloucestershire Grammar Schools
  Seven schools across Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud.
• Buckinghamshire: The Opt-Out System
  The one county where your child sits it by default.
• Wirral: The Quest Assessments
  On neither GL nor CEM — switched to Quest for 2027.
• BCP (Dorset): One Test, Four Schools
  A GL test with no Non-Verbal Reasoning paper at all.
• BCP: Should You Apply to All Four?
  One test, four doors — but not always the best play.
• BCP: Results Day & What Happens Next
  Score in October, place in March — the gap explained.
• Moving House for a Grammar Place
  How catchment and distance rules actually work.

3. Exam boards & formats

The format your child will sit — multiple choice vs written answer, adaptive vs fixed — shapes how you prepare. Match practice to the real thing.

• CEM vs GL Assessment (2026)
  Why this comparison is now outdated — and what replaced CEM.
• CSSE 11+ Exam Guide
  What Essex consortium schools actually test.
• The Essex 11+: CSSE Paper Format & Test Day
  Timings, what to bring, morning vs afternoon.
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test
  One online adaptive test, shared across independent schools.
• CEM and the 13+ Exam
  What CEM became, and how the 13+ route works.

4. The subjects

Free practice questions with worked answers in each guide, plus which boards test which subject and how to split preparation time.

• 11+ Verbal Reasoning: Full Guide & Practice
  Every question type, with answers.
• 11+ Non-Verbal Reasoning: Full Guide & Practice
  Odd-one-out, sequences, matrices, coding.
• Verbal vs Non-Verbal Reasoning
  What each measures, and which exams test each.
• 11+ Vocabulary: Build It, Don't Cram It
  The spaced-repetition method that sticks.
• 11+ Comprehension for Full Marks
  The answering method examiners reward.
• 11+ Mental Maths Shortcuts
  Percentage tricks, times-table shortcuts, estimation.

5. Dates, admissions & the CAF

Miss a registration date and a strong result is worthless. The test result and the school place are decided months apart — know both timelines.

• 11+ Dates 2026: Every Area's Deadlines & Test Dates
  Registration windows, test dates, results dates — one table.
• National Offer Day & the CAF
  The 31 Oct deadline and 1 Mar offer day are four months apart.
• Grammar School Appeals: What Actually Works
  Real success rates and the grounds panels accept.
• The September Countdown: The Final Weeks
  What to do, and stop doing, before exam day.

6. How to prepare

Evidence-based preparation — what cognitive science says actually moves scores, and how to keep a child on side through a long year.

• The Study Techniques That Actually Work
  Five methods that beat re-reading and highlighting.
• How to Motivate a Child for the 11+
  What motivation research says about rewards and streaks.
• Do You Need a Tutor?
  A balanced framework: tutor, class, app or DIY.
• 11+ App Comparison 2026
  Free vs trial vs subscription, by feature.
• Are Mock Exams Worth It?
  How many, when to sit them, how to read the score.
• 5 Mistakes Parents Make
  Each paired with a concrete fix.
• Managing 11+ Exam Anxiety
  Evidence-based strategies, and when to seek more support.
• Screen Time and the 11+
  Active vs passive screen time during prep.
• Should Your Child Use ChatGPT?
  Where AI helps prep, and where it quietly undermines it.

7. Exam-day technique

Marks are lost to mechanics, not just knowledge. These are the habits that recover marks a child has already earned.

• The Marking Rules That Cost Free Marks
  No negative marking — so guessing beats blanks.
• Common Careless Mistakes That Cost Marks
  "Not" vs "except", 45 vs 54 — and how to stop.
• Time Management: Use Every Minute
  A pacing plan for Maths and English separately.

8. The numbers, honestly

Pass rates, competition ratios, scores and cost — with sources, and without the scaremongering.

• What Is a Good 11+ Score? SAS Explained
  100 is the average by design — what beats it.
• The 11+ Pass Rate Is Only ~30%
  What that actually means for your child.
• How Many Children Compete Per Place?
  Competition ratios, and how to check your school's.
• CSSE Pass Marks & Scores Explained
  Why 303 is only the floor in Essex.
• The Real Cost of the 11+ in 2026
  DIY vs apps vs tutoring, itemised with sources.

9. Results & next steps

• Results Didn't Go to Plan? What Helps
  A genuine loss to process — what helps in the days after.
• Appeals: What Actually Works
  Deadlines, grounds, and what genuinely helps.

10. 13+ & independent schools

• What Is the 13+ Exam?
  The truth about "13+ grammar" entry.
• 13+ Common Entrance Explained
  What CE tests, and how pass marks work.
• 13+ vs 11+: Which Route?
  Same destination, very different journey.
• How Scholarships Actually Work
  Usually 5–25% of fees, not a free place.
• Scholarships vs Bursaries
  Where the real fee reduction is.

11. What's changing in 2026

The 11+ landscape moves every year. These track the changes that affect current cohorts.

• Trafford Is Changing the 11+
  Year 5 test and a new paper from 2029 admissions.
• Test Providers Are Shifting — Check Yours
  Chelmsford moved CEM→FSCE; Trafford is following.
• Why the 11+ Just Got More Competitive
  VAT on private fees and the knock-on effect.
• The 11+ Tutoring Divide
  Sutton Trust 2026 data on who gets tutored.
• Grammar Schools Are Expanding
  Why more places doesn't mean an easier 11+.
• Fewer Children, Fiercer Competition
  Falling birth rates, rising 11+ demand — why.
• Access Arrangements & Extra Time
  What's changing this admissions cycle.
• Government AI Tutoring Trials 2026
  What it covers — and what it doesn't.

Frequently asked questions