What to do if your child does not pass the 11 Plus (11+)

Appeals: the formal route

Anyone refused a place at a state school in England has a legal right of appeal to an independent panel. The process is run by the admission authority, which for most grammar schools is the school itself or the local council, and the refusal letter will say how to lodge the appeal and by when. The deadline is typically a few weeks, so read that letter carefully and early; if anything in it is unclear, your local authority can point you to the right route.

Qualification appeals are hard to win. Panels look for evidence that something specific went wrong, such as illness on the day supported by medical evidence, or a significant administrative error, alongside evidence that your child is of the required standard, usually from their primary school. ‘The result was close’ is rarely enough on its own. Our guide to how to apply for the 11+ covers where appeals sit in the overall process.

If you do appeal, gather the evidence before the hearing rather than at it: school reports, anything from the head teacher, and dated records of whatever went wrong.

How waiting lists work

Waiting lists work differently at a selective school. A grammar school will normally only place a child on its waiting list if they reached the qualifying standard in the test, or if an appeal panel later deems them qualified. So which lists are open to you depends on the situation:

• If your child qualified but wasn’t offered a place, usually on distance or ranking, ask to go on the waiting list and stay on it. Offer day sets off a chain: children hold multiple offers, people move house, places get declined. The list keeps moving after term starts, and occasionally well into Year 7.
• If your child didn’t reach the qualifying standard, the grammar school’s own list is normally closed to them unless an appeal succeeds. The waiting lists that matter then are at the other schools on your application form, which run on their own admission criteria.

Either way, lists are held by the admission authority in criteria order, not first come first served, so joining late doesn’t necessarily mean sitting at the back. Confirm the position in writing and check in politely now and then.

The other routes forward

Beyond appeals and waiting lists, several routes stay open, and the week of the result is a good time to know about all of them:

• Sixth form entry at 16+. The big one at grammar schools, and it’s wide open: many admit dozens of external students into Year 12 each year, usually on GCSE results rather than an entrance test. A child who misses out at 11 can absolutely arrive at 16.
• 12+ and 13+ at grammar schools is a long shot. Some areas and schools do test for later entry, but it fills occasional vacancies rather than an advertised intake, and in some years no places come up at all. Register if your area runs it, and don’t build the plan around it.
• Independent school rounds. A different picture: many independents run substantial 13+ and 16+ intakes as a matter of course, assess in the winter for the following September, and some offer means-tested bursaries that change the affordability picture entirely.
• The school you were allocated. Visit it before deciding anything, and judge what you see rather than what you’ve heard.

Whichever route you look at, check the school’s official admissions page for what currently applies, and keep your child’s version of events simple and blame-free. They will take their cue about how serious this is entirely from you.

Top tips

• Read the refusal letter twice. The appeal route and deadline are in it.
• Accept the place you were offered even while appealing or waiting. It takes nothing away from either.
• Ask the primary school for their view before appealing. Panels listen to head teachers.
• Ask about the waiting list and confirm the position in writing: at the grammar school if your child qualified, and at your other preferred schools either way.
• Look up sixth form entry at the schools you cared about, and diarise it for Year 11.
• Keep results talk away from younger siblings’ ears. They may sit their own tests in a year or two.

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