AskThena
Try free

The 11+ exam, explained

The 11+ is the test for a grammar school place in Year 7. There’s no single test: each area, and some schools, set their own. Here’s who sets it where, what’s in it, the year from Year 4 to results day, and how to get ready without the stress.

Try the free mini-mock
Thena, a marble statue of a young Athena

What the 11+ is

Grammar schools choose their Year 7 pupils by a test, and the 11+ is that test. In most areas it’s sat in September of Year 6, a few weeks into the school year; from 2027, Gloucestershire’s moves to July of Year 5. Northern Ireland has its own, the transfer test, sat in November.

What’s in it depends on the area. Most tests have English and maths, and many add verbal reasoning (puzzles with words and letters) and non-verbal reasoning (puzzles with shapes and patterns). Most are multiple choice, answered on a separate sheet. Scores are standardised for age, and each area or school decides what qualifies.

Who sets it where

Each area’s page has its test, papers, registration, dates, results and qualifying scores, from the council’s or the schools’ own pages.

AreaSet bySubjectsTest sat in 2027
KentQuest Assessments, from 2027English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
BuckinghamshireGL AssessmentEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningEarly September 2027 (day not published)
BirminghamGL Assessment (West Midlands test)English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
LincolnshireGL Assessment; Caistor sets its ownVerbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
EssexCSSE; Chelmsford County High uses FSCEEnglish, mathsNot published yet
Southend-on-SeaCSSEEnglish, mathsNot published yet
BexleyQuest AssessmentsEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
SuttonThe schools’ own testEnglish, mathsSET expected Tuesday 14 September 2027
TraffordFSCE, from September 2027Verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, mathsSeptember 2027 (day not published)
WirralQuest Assessments; two schools set their ownVerbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, mathsSeptember 2027 (day not published)
MedwayGL AssessmentEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
GloucestershireFSCE, from July 2027English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningSaturday 3 July 2027
WarwickshireGL Assessment (West Midlands test)English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
Lancashire and CumbriaGL Assessment or FSCE, by schoolEnglish, maths, verbal reasoningNot published yet
BromleyThe schools’ own testsEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningSt Olave’s: Friday 17 September 2027
Kingston upon ThamesQuest Assessments (Tiffin School); its own (Tiffin Girls’)English, mathsNot published yet
BarnetThe schools’ own testsEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
EnfieldThe school, with GL Assessment papersEnglish, maths, verbal reasoningNot published yet
RedbridgeGL AssessmentEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
SloughQuest Assessments, from September 2027English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
ReadingFSCE (Reading School); GL Assessment (Kendrick)English, maths, verbal reasoning (Kendrick), non-verbal reasoning (Kendrick), science and other KS2 subjects (Reading School), creativity task (Reading School)Not published yet
Wiltshire (Salisbury)Quest Assessments or GL Assessment, by schoolEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning (Bishop Wordsworth's only)Saturday 25 September 2027
Wolverhampton and WalsallGL Assessment (West Midlands test)English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningSaturday 11 September 2027 (Queen Mary’s High School)
Telford and Wrekin (Shropshire)GL Assessment (West Midlands test)English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
North Yorkshire (Ripon and Skipton)GL Assessment (Ripon); FSCE (Skipton)English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
Calderdale (Halifax)FSCEEnglish, maths, creative writingNot published yet
Kirklees (Heckmondwike)FSCEEnglish, maths, creative writingMonday 20 September 2027
LiverpoolCEM, for the schoolEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoningNot published yet
Devon, Torbay and PlymouthGL Assessment (Torbay); Quest Assessments (Plymouth, Colyton)English, mathsPlymouth girls’ schools: Saturday 18 September 2027
Bournemouth, Christchurch and PooleQuest Assessments, from September 2027English, maths, verbal reasoningSaturday 25 September 2027
Northern IrelandGL Assessment, for SEAGEnglish (or Gaeilge), mathsNot published yet

Looking for a school? All 228 grammar schools by county.

The year, from Year 4 to results day

As most areas in England run it. Each area’s page has its own dates.

  1. Year 4

    Nothing to register for yet. Find out which test your area or school uses, and keep reading widely and practising arithmetic: most tests check English and maths up to the end of Year 5.

  2. Year 5, spring and summer

    Open evenings, and registration with the council or the school: from January in Lincolnshire, March in Bexley, May or June in most areas. Gloucestershire’s test moves to July of Year 5 from 2027.

  3. Year 6, September

    Test day in most of England, often at their own primary school or at a grammar school. Northern Ireland’s papers are in November.

  4. Year 6, October

    Results, in October in most areas. Then the council’s secondary school application, due by 31 October in England, naming the schools you’d like.

  5. Year 6, 1 March

    Offers from the council. Appeals for a place follow in the spring.

How to get ready, calmly

  1. Start with your test

    Each area’s test is different: find out what yours has in it, how long it is and whether it’s multiple choice before buying anything.

  2. Keep reading and maths strong

    Most tests check English and maths up to the end of Year 5, so wide reading and confident arithmetic carry a long way.

  3. Learn the question types

    Verbal and non-verbal reasoning aren’t school subjects. Learning how each kind of question works takes away the surprise on the day.

  4. Little and often

    Short practice most days does more than long sessions at the weekend, and keeps time free for everything else.

  5. Go over every mistake

    Working out why an answer was wrong teaches more than another paper. The slip matters more than the score.

  6. Save the clock for later

    Practise against the clock in the last few months, once the questions are familiar.

  7. Keep it in proportion

    It’s one test, on a day or two. Talk about it as a chance to show what they can do, whatever the result.

With Exam Prep, Thena sets practice papers in your child’s test’s style and goes over every mistake with them on her board: £49 a month with the Solo plan.

Practise

Independent schools: the ISEB Common Pre-Test

Many independent senior schools use the ISEB Common Pre-Test: an online, adaptive, multiple-choice test in English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

When

Usually once in Year 6 for Year 7 (11+) entry; some schools, such as Eton and Harrow, use it as a first step for Year 9 (13+) entry, and ISEB says it is designed for Years 6 and 7. For the 2026-27 session the Guardian Portal opened for registration on Tuesday 9 June 2026, live testing began on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and testing ends in late May 2027. A child sits it once in an academic year, usually at their current school or another invigilation centre, by deadlines each senior school sets.

How long

About 2 hours 15 minutes for the four tests, which can be sat on one day or split across several days. Pupils with SEND can be given 25% extra time where the senior schools agree.

What’s in it

English: several passages of 300 to 500 words with multiple-choice questions, plus grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary. Maths: National Curriculum topics up to the end of Year 5, both arithmetic and problem solving. Verbal reasoning: letter, word and language-based questions. Non-verbal reasoning: 2D figures and diagrams (patterns, completing diagrams, code matching). Because it is adaptive, each pupil gets their own path and may see a different number of questions, and cannot go back to change an answer.

Scores

Age-standardised scores (Standardised Age Score, average 100) against a sample of pupils applying to independent schools, with stanine, percentile rank, group rank and mean SAS. Results go straight to each senior school the family shares its Applicant ID with, as soon as the tests are finished, and the first set of results stands if a child sits more than once in a year. Each school uses them as one part of its own admissions process.

Not confirmed yet

  • The length of each separate test (ISEB gives only the 2 hours 15 minutes total).
  • Testing window: ISEB's test framework page says tests can be taken between the beginning of October and the end of June, while its 2026-27 timeline says from 1 September 2026 to late May 2027.
  • A full list of schools that use the Pre-Tests (ISEB does not publish one on the pages read).

Check these on the official page: iseb.co.uk/assessments/common-pre-tests

Questions about the 11+

What is the 11+?

A test some children sit for a place at a grammar school in Year 7. There’s no single 11+: each area, and some schools, set their own, with their own papers, dates and scores. Most are sat in September of Year 6; Gloucestershire’s moves to July of Year 5 from 2027.

Who sets the 11+?

It depends on the area. GL Assessment sets the tests in Buckinghamshire, the West Midlands, Lincolnshire, Medway and Redbridge, among others. Quest Assessments sets Bexley’s, Wirral’s and Plymouth’s, and Kent’s from 2027. FSCE sets Trafford’s and Gloucestershire’s from 2027, Reading School’s and the Halifax grammar schools’. CSSE sets the test for Essex and Southend, and some schools set their own, such as Sutton’s, The Tiffin Girls’ School and St Olave’s.

What’s in the 11+?

Most tests have English and maths, and many add verbal reasoning (puzzles with words and letters) and non-verbal reasoning (puzzles with shapes). Lincolnshire’s is reasoning only, and CSSE’s and FSCE’s tests have no non-verbal reasoning. Most are multiple choice, answered on a separate sheet; CSSE’s papers have written answers.

What score do you need to pass the 11+?

Scores are standardised for age, and each area or school decides what qualifies. For 2027 entry it was a score of 121 in Buckinghamshire, a total of 345 in Kent with no score below 111, 205 in Birmingham and 220 in Lincolnshire. Many schools set theirs only after the test, and qualifying doesn’t always mean a place: a school with more qualified applicants than places follows its own rules, such as distance or score.

When do you register for the 11+?

Usually in the spring or summer of Year 5, with the council or the school, months before the test. For the 2026 tests, Lincolnshire’s registration ran from January to March, Bexley’s through March, Kent’s from 1 June to 1 July and Sutton’s to the end of July. Children at state-funded primary schools in Buckinghamshire are entered automatically.

When do 11+ results come out?

In October in most of England, before the 31 October deadline for secondary school applications: 9 October 2026 in Buckinghamshire and 15 October in Kent. A result isn’t an offer: offers come from the council on 1 March 2027. Northern Ireland’s results come out on 23 January 2027.

Can my child sit more than one 11+?

Where the tests are different, yes, and each counts only for its own schools: the Kent Test is for Kent’s grammar schools (Chatham Grammar in Medway accepts it too), and Medway and Bexley have their own. Some areas share one test: the West Midlands test is used in Birmingham, Warwickshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Telford, and families can share one result between them.

More on the 11+

Sources

Every fact here comes from each area’s official 11+ page and from ISEB’s pages, below. Dates and scores change from year to year, so check them there before you rely on them.

Checked 2 November 2026.

Thena goes over every mistake with them

After a practice paper, she puts each question they got wrong back on her board, finds the slip and works it through out loud, then gives them one like it to do alone.

Try 3 lessons free
Thena waving hello