Ilford County High School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Ilford County High School

Ilford County High School is a selective boys’ grammar school in Barkingside, Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge, taking boys from 11 to 18. Around 1,150 pupils attend.

The London Borough of Redbridge is the admissions authority and admits 180 boys into Year 7 each year. Admission is decided entirely by the Redbridge 11+ and the council’s priority criteria.

Key information for 2027 entry to Ilford County High School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: boys’ state grammar school
• Test: the Redbridge 11+, set by GL Assessment and shared with Woodford County High School
• Format: two multiple-choice papers, English with verbal reasoning and maths with non-verbal reasoning
• Eligibility: a standardised score of 104, and your address must be in the common catchment area
• Registration: with the London Borough of Redbridge, from 1 May 2026 to 5pm on Monday 15 June 2026
• Access arrangements: requested at registration, with no adjustments considered after 15 June 2026
• Test date: Friday 18 September 2026
• Results: sent in mid-October 2026
• Common Application Form deadline: 31 October 2026
• National Offer Day: Monday 1 March 2027
• Year 7 places available: 180
• Contact details: ichs.org.uk, 020 8551 6496

Admissions information for 2027 entry to Ilford County High School at 11 Plus (11+)

The London Borough of Redbridge, not the school, is the admissions authority for Ilford County High School. You register for the test with the council and apply for a place through the council, and the school itself is not involved in either step. The other Redbridge grammar school is Woodford County High School, and both use the same test.

You must live in the common catchment area to be eligible. Redbridge publishes it as a map: your address has to fall inside the marked area. This is the single most common reason a Redbridge application does not proceed, and it is worth checking before you plan anything else.

Redbridge also warns that other grammar schools often set their tests in the first two or three weeks of September, so a clash is possible. If your son misses the Redbridge test because of another school’s test on the same day, the council will not offer an alternative date. Choose which tests to sit before you register.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exams at Ilford County High School?

1. Check the common catchment area on the council’s map first. Eligibility depends on it.
2. Register through your Redbridge account. Registration for September 2027 entry opened on 1 May 2026 and closed at 5pm on Monday 15 June 2026.
3. Request access arrangements when you register and attach the care plan from your son’s primary school. No adjustments are considered after 15 June 2026.
4. Allocated test times are emailed to parents at the beginning of September 2026. Wait for that email rather than contacting the admissions team.
5. Sit the test on Friday 18 September 2026. Note that it is a school day, not a Saturday.
6. Name the school on your Common Application Form to your local authority by 31 October 2026. Registering for the test does not apply for a place.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for Ilford County High School?

The Redbridge 11+ is set by GL Assessment, marked electronically, and sat as two multiple-choice papers of roughly 50 minutes to an hour each:

• English and verbal reasoning. Reading comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, vocabulary, and letter and word-based problem solving.
• Mathematics and non-verbal reasoning. Key Stage 2 maths alongside visual and spatial problem solving.

A standardised score of 104 makes a son eligible for a place. Eligibility is not the same as an offer: candidates who reach 104 are then ranked by the council’s priority criteria, which put looked-after children and children with an EHCP first, then catchment children eligible for the Pupil Premium, then other catchment children, then everyone else. For more on this provider, see our GL Assessment guide.

Ilford County High School 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Check the catchment map before anything else. Preparation is wasted if your address is outside the marked area.
• Prepare all four elements. Each paper pairs a core subject with a reasoning type, so English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning all carry marks.
• Practise on a separate answer sheet. Both papers are multiple choice and marked electronically, so a mis-shaded box is a lost mark however good the working.
• Diarise 15 June. Registration and access arrangements both close then, and neither is reopened.
• Check for test-date clashes early. Redbridge tests on a Friday in September and will not rearrange around another school’s test.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) Ilford County High School exam

The Redbridge papers pair a core subject with a reasoning type, so a balanced plan covers four things rather than two. Timed multiple-choice practice is the most useful format, because both papers are answered on a machine-marked sheet at pace.

For Ilford County High School 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: