How to apply for the 11 Plus (11+) exams

Research and shortlist schools

Start by working out which grammar schools are realistic options: near enough to reach, and a good fit for your child. On each school’s official admissions page, before committing to an application, look at:

• Priority criteria. Many schools give priority to children in a catchment area, or with a sibling already at the school.
• Published Admission Number (PAN). How many Year 7 places the school has.
• Ethos and facilities. What the school offers day to day, alongside its exam results.
• Clubs, societies and trips. The extracurricular side matters for a good fit as much as the academics.
• Past results and inspection reports. Ofsted or ISI reports and league table performance are all published; read them directly rather than secondhand.

Our school and area guides pull this detail together for individual schools, and the school’s own website is always the final word on anything that affects your application.

Register for the exam and go to open events

Registration usually opens online in the spring or summer of Year 5, through the school’s official website or its consortium’s admissions page. Dates and processes differ from school to school, so check each one directly. Late registrations are very rarely accepted, so note each closing date the day you find it.

Some schools charge a registration fee alongside the form.

Once registered, go to the open events, in person or online. They’re usually the best chance to see the school properly and ask questions before results and offers arrive. Booking details sit on the school’s website, and some events are ticketed.

Submit your CAF, plus any extra forms

Alongside registering for the exam itself, you apply for a Year 7 place through your local authority’s Common Application Form (CAF), listing your child’s preferred schools in order. How many schools you can list depends on where you live, typically somewhere between three and six.

The deadline for this application is fixed nationally: 31 October for September entry the following year. It doesn’t move, and local authorities are strict about it.

Some schools also ask for a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) on top of the CAF. Check each school’s admissions page to see whether this applies to you, and watch your email for anything the school or consortium sends about exam dates, open events or your child’s results.

Top tips

• Register for the exam and complete your CAF separately. They’re two different processes, each with its own deadline.
• List schools on your CAF in genuine order of preference. If your child qualifies for more than one, they’ll be offered the highest-ranked school on the form.
• Check whether a school needs a Supplementary Information Form as well as the CAF.
• Keep both deadlines somewhere more visible than your inbox.
• If your child isn’t offered a place on National Offer Day, decide quickly whether to appeal; local authorities set short windows for it.

Applying is the process side of grammar school entry; the exam decides whether a place is offered at all. Offers arrive on National Offer Day, 1 March or the next working day after a weekend. If the day brings bad news, our guide on what to do if your child doesn’t pass the 11+ explains appeals and the waiting lists, which grammar schools normally reserve for children who reached the qualifying standard. What helps most is solid preparation well before exam day: practice tests in the format your target school sets, alongside our subject packs and our creative writing and punctuation packs for the skills a single test won’t drill.

How to prepare

One of the most effective ways to prepare for an 11+ entrance exam is to use practice tests written by experts. We publish a full range of 11+ revision resources: area and school-specific practice tests, subject-specific packs, spelling and vocabulary resources, and reading books.

Each of our practice tests:

• is available as a PDF download or in physical format
• familiarises your child with the types of questions they will face in the real exam
• includes answers to every question, with detailed, step-by-step explanations for the maths and reasoning questions
• builds your child’s confidence before the actual exam.

Use the finder below to jump straight to the papers for your child’s school or area.

Find papers for your school or area

Grammar schools and area tests

• Bexley
• Bishop Wordsworth’s
• Buckinghamshire
• CSSE
• Ermysted’s
• Gloucestershire
• Henrietta Barnett
• Kent
• QE Boys
• Redbridge
• Slough Consortium
• St Olave’s
• Sutton
• The Latymer School
• Tiffin School & Tiffin Girls’ School
• Trafford
• West Midlands

Independent schools

• City of London School for Girls
• Hampton
• Latymer Upper
• Merchant Taylors’
• St Paul’s Girls’ School
• St Paul’s Juniors