Four years, one steady plan
The single biggest factor in a calm, effective 11+ prep is starting early and staying consistent: here's what that actually looks like, year by year.
Lay the foundations: no exam pressure yet
- Read widely and often, across fiction and non-fiction: this is still the single biggest driver of later English and comprehension performance
- Keep times tables and mental arithmetic fluent through everyday practice, not worksheets
- Build vocabulary naturally through conversation, reading and word games
There's no need to mention "the 11+" at all yet. The goal this year is a confident, curious reader and a comfortable relationship with numbers. The exam-specific skills come later.
Start dedicated 11+ practice: little and often beats cramming
- Introduce Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning properly for the first time: these question types aren't taught in the normal primary curriculum, so they need dedicated practice from scratch
- Move to short, regular sessions (20-30 minutes, a few times a week) rather than long weekend blocks
- Start working through topic-by-topic lessons so gaps get caught early, while there's still plenty of runway to fix them
This is the year most families find makes the biggest long-term difference. Starting properly in Year 4 (rather than Year 5) buys an extra two terms of "little and often", which beats an equivalent amount of last-minute cramming by a wide margin.
Timed practice becomes the norm
- Introduce a real timer on practice questions: most children need to build up exam speed gradually rather than have it appear for the first time on test day
- Start sitting occasional full mock papers under exam-style conditions, not just topic-by-topic drills
- Begin tracking which topics are genuinely secure versus which still need repeat practice, so revision time in Year 6 is spent where it matters
Speed under pressure is a skill in its own right, separate from knowing the content. A child who can answer a question correctly untimed but freezes against a clock hasn't finished preparing yet. This is the year to close that gap.
Exam technique, past papers, and exam day itself
- Shift the balance toward full past papers and mixed-topic mock exams under strict timed conditions
- Sharpen exam technique specifically: answering easier questions first, transferring answers cleanly to an OMR-style answer sheet, and pacing across a whole paper
- Use the run-up to the exam to consolidate and review known weak spots, rather than starting new topics this late
By this point, new content should be rare: the highest-value work is reviewing mistakes from mock papers and drilling the specific question types that are still costing marks.
GL Assessment, in plain English
Not every area uses GL Assessment. CEM (Centre for Evaluation & Monitoring, Durham University, now run by Cambridge University Press & Assessment) was the second-largest 11+ provider for over a decade, but stopped offering paper-based grammar school tests in 2023; most areas that used it have since switched to GL Assessment or a locally-run alternative. Always confirm which test your specific target area or school actually uses.
Exact question counts and timing vary by local authority even within GL-format areas: check your own region's test provider for the specifics that apply to you.
What to focus on in each of the four subjects
English
- •Comprehension (inference, vocabulary in context, summarising)
- •Continuous/creative writing structure
- •Spelling, punctuation & grammar (SPaG)
- •Synonyms and antonyms
Skim the passage once for gist before reading the questions, then hunt for evidence rather than re-reading the whole text for every question: most marks are lost to time pressure, not lack of understanding.
Maths
- •Arithmetic fluency (times tables, mental maths)
- •Worded and multi-step problems
- •Fractions, decimals and percentages
- •Shape, measure, sequences and ratio
Show working even on a multiple-choice paper: it's the fastest way to catch a careless slip before moving on, and it turns a wrong answer into something reviewable afterwards.
Verbal Reasoning
- •Letter and number sequences and codes
- •Word connections and hidden words
- •Word-based logic and analogies
- •Dozens of distinct question-type families, each with its own pattern
VR isn't taught anywhere in the normal school curriculum, so familiarity has to be built from a standing start. The real skill is recognising which of the many question types you're looking at within a few seconds, since the format changes constantly through the paper.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
- •Sequences and series of shapes
- •Codes and matrices
- •Nets, rotations and reflections
- •Similarities, differences and hidden shapes
Like Verbal Reasoning, NVR gets zero classroom exposure by default: it rewards dedicated weekly practice started earlier than Maths or English, simply because there's more unfamiliar ground to cover from nothing.
5 common 11+ preparation mistakes
1. Starting too late and cramming the final term
Begin dedicated, structured practice from Year 4 or early Year 5: "little and often" over 12-18 months consistently outperforms an equivalent number of hours crammed into the last few weeks.
2. Assuming VR and NVR will just "click" for a bright child
Treat Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning as brand-new subjects that need their own dedicated practice from day one: they're not covered anywhere in the normal school curriculum, however strong a child's Maths or English is.
3. Only ever practising untimed
Introduce a real timer and a proper answer sheet well before the actual test: the first time a child meets exam-speed pressure should never be on the day itself.
4. Racing through paper after paper without reviewing mistakes
Keep a running log of wrong answers and revisit why each one was wrong. Volume of papers completed matters far less than what gets learned from each one.
5. Letting preparation crowd out everything else
Protect genuinely exam-free time every week. A burnt-out child performs worse on the day than a rested one with slightly less total practice behind them.
Exam day checklist
Two working pencils plus a spare, a sharpener and an eraser
A clear or plain pencil case (some venues don't allow patterned ones)
A bottle of water (check the venue's rules on labels first)
Any required ID, admission letter or ticket the venue has asked for
A good night's sleep the night before, not extra last-minute revision
A simple watch if the venue allows one (check rules on smartwatches)
The exact venue and route worked out in advance: do a practice journey if it's unfamiliar
A calm morning: save any last-minute review for something already secure, never a new topic
Key facts about the 11+ landscape
Frequently asked questions
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