"11 plus exam" is searched by parents in Year 4 and Year 5 trying to work out what the test is, because the honest answer is that it is not one test. It is a family of entrance tests for grammar schools and independent schools, set by different bodies, sat on different dates, with different subjects and different pass marks, and the first job is to find out which one your child will sit. This page explains what the 11 plus is, who sets it since CEM withdrew, what each region tests and when in 2026, how scores are standardised, and the timeline from Year 4 to the offer, with a printable. The papers themselves, and where the free official practice is, are in 11 plus exam papers and practice papers.
Download the 11 plus exam region-by-region sheet and timeline (PDF) (the regions with their provider, subjects, dates and pass marks on one page, how scores work, and the timeline from Year 4 with tick boxes; two pages, free).
What the 11 plus is
A selective entrance test taken at the start of Year 6 (age 10 to 11) for entry to Year 7 the following September. Two kinds of school use it:
- Grammar schools: 163 state schools in England, free to attend, concentrated in Kent, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Essex, the West Midlands, Trafford, Gloucestershire, Wirral, and parts of London (Sutton, Kingston, Bexley, Redbridge, Barnet, Enfield). Entry is by the 11 plus test, and then by the admissions criteria (distance, catchment, siblings) among children who pass.
- Independent schools: most selective fee-paying schools test at 11 (and often at 13 and at 7), with their own papers or shared ones, usually between November of Year 6 and January, with interviews.
There is no national 11 plus, no national syllabus and no national pass mark. What is common is the age, the subjects drawn from a set of four, and the format: multiple-choice or standard answer papers, timed, usually two or three papers in one morning.
Who sets it
| Provider | Where | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| GL Assessment | The majority of grammar school areas: Kent, Buckinghamshire, Birmingham and the Shropshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton partnership, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Trafford, Wirral, Slough consortium, Redbridge, Sutton, Bexley, Kingston (Tiffin), Henrietta Barnett since the CEM withdrawal | Papers in verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and English, usually multiple choice; each area chooses which papers, the timings and the weighting |
| CSSE (Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex) | Essex: King Edward VI Chelmsford, Colchester Royal Grammar and County High, Southend, Westcliff and others | Its own English and maths papers (standard answer, not multiple choice), plus a creative writing element in some years |
| The schools themselves | Many independent schools; some grammar schools (for example in Kingston and Barnet) write their own | Maths and English papers in the school's style, plus reasoning or an interview |
| ISEB Common Pre-Test | Many independent senior schools, sat in Year 6 or 7 | An online adaptive test in English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, taken once and shared with every school applied to |
| Cambridge Select Insight (formerly CEM Select) | About 20 to 25 selective independent schools | An online test; the successor to CEM's independent-school product |
| CEM (Durham University) | None since 2022 | CEM withdrew from 11 plus testing after the 2022 round; Birmingham, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Slough, Henrietta Barnett and others moved to GL |
The practical consequence of CEM's exit: the old distinction between "GL areas" and "CEM areas" (where CEM was said to be uncoachable) has gone. Nearly every grammar area now tests on GL papers, which have defined question types that can be learned.
What is tested
| Subject | What it is | Who tests it |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal reasoning | Working with words and letters: codes, hidden words, word pairs and analogies, odd ones out, letter sequences, completing words, logic from statements; about 21 question types on GL papers | Most GL areas; CSSE within its English paper; ISEB |
| Non-verbal and spatial reasoning | Shapes and patterns: sequences, odd ones out, matrices, codes, nets and 3-D views, reflections and rotations | Most GL areas; ISEB; some independents |
| Maths | The Key Stage 2 curriculum to the end of Year 5 plus some Year 6, with problem solving at speed: number, fractions, decimals and percentages, ratio, algebra, measure, geometry, data | Every area |
| English | Comprehension of a passage (fiction, non-fiction, poetry), vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar; some areas and most independents add a piece of writing | Every area; writing in CSSE, Kent (used in appeals), and the independents |
Region by region, with the 2026 dates
Dates are for the tests sat in 2026 for entry in September 2027, from the councils' and schools' published timetables; confirm each on the council's or school's admissions page, which is the only official source.
| Area | Provider | Papers | Registration | Test date 2026 | Results | Pass or qualifying mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent (the Kent Test) | GL | English, maths, reasoning (verbal, non-verbal and spatial), plus a writing task used by panels | 1 June to 1 July 2026 (no late registration) | Thursday 10 September (Kent primary pupils); 12 or 13 September for out-of-county | 15 October 2026 | 2025: an aggregate of 332 across the three standardised scores, with a minimum on each; set each year |
| Buckinghamshire (Secondary Transfer Test) | GL | Verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths | 1 May to 2 June 2026 (Bucks state primary pupils registered automatically) | Practice test Tuesday 8 September; test Thursday 10 September | 9 October 2026 | Qualifying score 121 (combined standardised); schools then apply their criteria |
| Essex (CSSE) | CSSE | English and maths, standard answer | Spring and summer | September or October 2026 (check csse.org.uk) | October | Ranked by score; each school's cut-off differs |
| Birmingham and West Midlands consortium (King Edward VI schools, with Shropshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton on the same paper) | GL | Verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths, English | Spring and summer | September 2026 | October | Ranked; the King Edward schools fill in score order with a share of places for pupil-premium children |
| Lincolnshire | GL | Verbal and non-verbal reasoning | Summer | September 2026 | October | Qualifying standardised score set each year (around 220 across two papers in recent years) |
| Gloucestershire | GL | Verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths, English | Summer | Saturday 12 September 2026 | October | Ranked by score |
| Trafford | GL | Varies by school; most use verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths | Summer | September 2026 | October | Each school sets its own |
| Sutton (SET) | GL | English and maths, with a second-stage test at some schools | June | Tuesday 15 September 2026 | October | Ranked; second stage for the top |
| Redbridge | GL | Verbal and non-verbal reasoning, maths | To 15 June 2026 | Friday 18 September 2026 | October | Ranked |
| Bexley | GL | Verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths, English | Summer | September 2026 | October | Qualifying score set each year |
| Henrietta Barnett (Barnet) | GL since 2023 | Round 1 reasoning and maths; round 2 English and maths for the top | Summer | 2 to 4 September 2026 (round 1), 5 October (round 2) | Autumn | Ranked |
| London and national independents | School's own or ISEB | English, maths, reasoning, interview | Autumn of Year 6 | November 2026 to January 2027 | January to February | School's own |
Two dates are the same everywhere: the Common Application Form for state schools, submitted to your own council by 31 October 2026 with the grammar school listed, and National Offer Day on 1 March 2027.
How the scores work
Raw marks are not reported. Each paper's mark is standardised: adjusted for the child's exact age in months (a child born in August is compared with other August-born children) and scaled so that the average is 100 and about two thirds of children score between 85 and 115. The papers are then combined, either added (Kent's aggregate of three scores; Buckinghamshire's combined score) or weighted (some areas count verbal reasoning or maths more). What the number means depends on the area:
- Qualifying areas (Buckinghamshire's 121, Kent's aggregate, Bexley, Lincolnshire): a child who reaches the mark is "qualified" and is then admitted under the school's criteria (distance, catchment, siblings). Qualified does not guarantee a place at an oversubscribed school.
- Ranked areas (Birmingham, Sutton, Redbridge, Gloucestershire, CSSE): every child is ranked and places go in score order, so the mark needed is whatever the last child offered scored, which changes every year and is published afterwards.
- Appeals and the writing task: Kent's head teacher assessment and most areas' appeals use the writing task and school evidence for children just below the mark.
Two useful facts for perspective: because of standardisation, a younger child in the year is not disadvantaged by the arithmetic; and in the most sought-after areas (the London super-selectives, the King Edward schools, the top Kent and Bucks grammars) the last child offered a place usually scored above 120, so a qualifying mark is the floor, not the target.
The timeline from Year 4
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Year 4 (age 8 to 9) | Decide whether the 11 plus is for your child: top groups at school, enjoys puzzles and reading, and a grammar or independent school within reach. Read widely. No test practice yet |
| Year 5, autumn | Find out which test your area or target schools use (the table above), and the papers, format and pass mark. Start taught preparation: maths a year ahead, verbal reasoning question types, a book a week |
| Year 5, spring | The free official familiarisation papers for your area; a first timed paper to see pace. Visit the schools' open days (most are in the summer term of Year 5 and autumn of Year 6) |
| Year 5, May to July | Register (Buckinghamshire by 2 June, Kent by 1 July, others by their dates; no late entries). Two timed papers a week in the last half term |
| Summer holidays | Little and often: a paper a week, reading, vocabulary. Nothing in the last week |
| Year 6, September | The test. Then nothing until results |
| Year 6, October | Results; the Common Application Form by 31 October with the schools in order of preference |
| Year 6, November to January | Independent school tests and interviews, if applying |
| 1 March 2027 | Offers. Appeals and waiting lists follow |
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class for the 11 plus with a tutor who holds a master's in mathematics and teaches the GL and CSSE question types as methods, with a qualified English teacher for comprehension, vocabulary and the writing task: maths a year ahead from Year 5, verbal and non-verbal reasoning one type a week, timed papers from the spring, and the area's own format and timing. UK after-school hours and weekends, every class recorded, £8 to £10 an hour, which is about a sixth of a London 11 plus tutor; what tutors cost in the UK has the comparison. The free 30-minute first class is a timed ten-question set marked with the child.
Download the 11 plus exam region-by-region sheet and timeline (PDF)
Questions parents ask
1What is the 11 plus exam?
2When is the 11 plus exam in 2026?
3Who sets the 11 plus exam?
4What is a good 11 plus score?
5Can my child sit the 11 plus from abroad?
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Shobha
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Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.