What is the 11 Plus Exam?

The 11+ exam is an entrance exam taken by students between the ages of 11 and 12, who wish to attend a grammar school in the UK. In this exam the subjects that are tested are: Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, English and Mathematics. 

Although English and Mathematics are taught in schools, students will need lots of additional practice as the Non-Verbal Reasoning questions that are asked are not part of the curriculum. For many students, this will also be the very first exam they ever sit. It is therefore highly advisable that they practise using mock papers, in order to familiarise themselves with the different types of questions.

What is tested in each subset of the 11+?

In the English and Maths section, the questions will be based on the KS2 national curriculum; these questions are designed to assess the student’s knowledge of the year 6 content. However, some content may not have been taught in their classes yet since the exam is taken in mid September of year 6.

The Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning subtests, on the other hand, may be less familiar to students as they’re not usually taught in primary schools. Some students may complete reading comprehensions as part of their English classes in schools. However, the Verbal Reasoning subtest is a little bit more challenging and will require a deeper level of understanding of the text. Therefore, these two subsets aim to assess the critical thinking and problem solving skills of the student.

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How can your child prepare for the exam?

Some may argue that these types of exams are impossible to prepare for. Nonetheless, with the right resources and practice of certain techniques and skills, your child will have a better chance of passing the exam.

The exam board will vary depending on your location and the grammar school you have decided to apply for. The two exam boards are: CEM (Centre for evaluation & monitoring) and GL (Grenada learning). GL includes Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning subtests. Meanwhile, the format of CEM changes every year; typically English and Verbal Reasoning are grouped as one subset, and Maths and Non-Verbal Reasoning are another subset. The exam duration of both is usually 45 minutes. 

Therefore, when practising using mock papers, it’s crucial to use a timer to have a rough idea of your child’s pace and find out whether this is something which needs improvement.

As well as two different exam boards, there are also two different formats; there’s a standard format, where the answers are written directly onto the test paper, and a multiple choice format, where the answers are written in a separate booklet.

What score does your child need to score to guarantee a place at their target grammar school?

For the 11+ exam, there is no cut off score or pass mark. Instead, individual schools will have their own selection process. For example: some schools will decide to offer a place to the top 5-15% of scoring students. The number of places a school decides to offer is also determined by the number of applicants in that year and its location. If there are many grammar schools in that area, they may decide to offer more places.

Generally, if your child is scoring 80% or above constantly in their mock tests, this is an indication that they will likely do well in the 11+ exam.

Should your child sit the exam?

• Are your child’s grades at school above average (usually between level 5 and level 6) ? 
• If you think they may need lots of tutoring for this exam, will they be able to manage the academic demands and pressures of the grammar school if they’re accepted?
• If you’re still unsure, it may be a good idea to speak to their teacher about it. They will understand your child’s strengths and weaknesses and may be able to help you make a decision.

What steps should you take after you have decided your child should sit the 11+?

Once you’ve decided that your child should take the 11+ exam, you should look into the different grammar schools you think your child should apply for. This is essential to research since each area/school will have a slightly different structure and/or format to the exam. So the first step to take is to decide on a target grammar school before your child starts their preparation.

When researching the grammar school, note down: the date of the 11+ exam, the subjects tested, the format of the exam, as well as the exam board. This will give you an overview of the tasks your child needs to complete before their exam date and will save you lots of time down the line.

What is the difference between the two exam boards?

If your child is sitting a GL assessment, the best method to prepare is to use plenty of practice papers. This will allow the student to become more familiar with the different question types in each subset.

If your child is sitting a CEM assessment, these assessments are a lot more unpredictable since the formatting changes every year. So the focus here is to work hard on developing the skills required from each subset. One of the most important skills in the 11+ for this exam board is vocabulary. This skill can be improved by additional reading, practice using a thesaurus to look up synonyms, or maybe even encouraging your child to complete crosswords.

For more tips and resources on how to increase your 11+ exam score, visit our blog page.

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