The 11 Plus, explained
The 11 Plus is an entrance exam for selective secondary schools in England, sat in Year 6. That sentence is where most parents start, and it raises about a dozen more questions. This guide answers them in the order they usually arrive.
Nothing here assumes you already know what GL is, what a standardised score means, or why your neighbour's child sat a different paper. If you have half an hour, read it in order. If you have five minutes, the pass marks page is the one most parents wish they had read first.
What is the 11 Plus exam?
Who sits it, when, what is on the paper, and what happens with the result. Start here if the whole thing is new.
GL, CEM and what changed
Two names every parent meets, one of which has largely gone. What the difference used to be, what replaced it, and how to find out which paper your child will actually sit.
11 Plus pass marks explained
Why there is no single pass mark, what a standardised score is, how age weighting works, and why the number moves every year.
When to start preparing for the 11 Plus
The registration and exam timeline in the year it happens, what is worth doing before that, and the honest answer to "are we too late?".
Grammar schools explained
What a grammar school is, how it differs from a private school, where they are, and what catchment and oversubscription actually mean.
The short version
Selective state schools, called grammar schools, choose their intake by exam rather than by catchment alone. The exam is sat in the September of Year 6, when most children are ten, and registration usually closes months earlier, in the spring or summer of Year 5. That deadline catches more families out than the exam does.
What is on the paper depends on the area. Maths and English are close to universal; verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning appear in most regions and not all. The paper is set either by a national provider or by a local group of schools, and which one applies to you is decided by where you live rather than by anything you choose.
There is no single pass mark. Scores are standardised for age and the qualifying score is set each year by how many children applied and how well they did, which is why last year's number is a guide and not a target.
That is the whole thing in three paragraphs. Every one of them has a page below with the detail, the exceptions, and what to do about it.
Practice, once you know what you are preparing for
120 real 11 Plus questions free in your browser, across maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning. No sign-up, no download, no card.
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Keep reading
The detail, on the pages that already answer these questions.
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- CAF Explained: Your Guide to Filling Out the School Application Form Filling out the Common Application Form (CAF) is a crucial step when applying for a school place in the UK. This guide …
- 5 Best Rated 11 Plus Study Apps on iOS and Android Discover the top-rated 11 Plus study apps for iOS and Android, offering tailored features, interactive lessons, and eng…