What to expect on 11 Plus (11+) exam day

Arriving at the venue

Aim to be there at least fifteen minutes before the start, unless the school has said otherwise. Parking near a busy test centre can take a while on the morning, and arriving flustered is a poor start.

Pack your child’s own pencils, pens and any permitted equipment the night before, working from the school’s instructions rather than from memory; venues can run short of spares when a few hundred children are sitting the same test. If the school has emailed rules, a clear pencil case, no calculators, whether water bottles are allowed, reread that email on the morning.

Phones almost always have to be handed in or left with a parent, even switched off, so decide in advance where your child’s phone will go if they carry one. Inside the hall, children are usually directed to a numbered desk rather than choosing a seat; mention that beforehand so it isn’t a novelty on the day.

In the exam room

Before the papers start, the invigilator usually reads through the rules and timings: how long each section lasts, whether a short practice section comes first, and how answers must be recorded. On a multiple choice paper that often means a separate answer sheet, marked in a specific way because it is usually scanned electronically. Marks that are too light may not register, and marks that are too heavy can be hard to change, so any chance to try a real answer sheet before the day is worth taking.

Disruptions happen: a child nearby calling out, or needing the invigilator’s attention. Tell your child in advance that the invigilator deals with all of that, and their own job doesn’t change: keep working.

If the same day includes an interview, our guide to 11+ interview questions and etiquette covers that part of it.

Papers, sections and breaks

Most 11+ tests run across two papers, sometimes with a break between them; some areas instead split subjects into separately timed sections inside one paper. Your child will hear when each section starts and ends, sometimes with a short warning before time is called.

The exact structure varies by area and by school. It’s usually set out in the admissions information, and it’s worth checking your target school’s official admissions page for how their test is put together, because a neighbouring school’s setup can differ.

In any break: a snack if allowed, a drink, and a few minutes away from the huddle comparing answers to the last paper. Encourage your child to walk into the second paper treating it as a fresh start.

Top tips

• Plan the journey and the parking the day before, and aim to arrive at least fifteen minutes early.
• Pack equipment the night before from the school’s written instructions, and reread any rules email on the morning.
• Decide where your child’s phone will go before you leave the house.
• Practise filling in a real multiple choice answer sheet if the test uses one.
• Tell your child to leave disruptions to the invigilator and keep working.
• Use any break for food and fresh air rather than a post-mortem of paper one.

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