How to prepare for the 11+ is not about working harder than everyone else — it is about working consistently, starting at the right time, covering the right material, and building exam skills (speed, accuracy, composure) that cannot be acquired in a few weeks. This guide gives you a practical framework: a phased 11+ study schedule, how to build an 11+ revision plan that fits your family, recommended resources, mocks, and when tutoring helps versus self-study.
The three phases of preparation
Most successful preparation follows three distinct phases. The timings overlap slightly depending on your child and target schools, but the sequence is consistent.
| Phase | When | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Foundation | Year 4 to early Year 5 | Wide reading, mental arithmetic, vocabulary; low pressure, no heavy timed papers |
| 2 — Structured practice | From ~12 months before the exam | Topic work, question-type practice, shorter timed sections; steady weekly routine |
| 3 — Exam readiness | Final 8–12 weeks | Full mock papers under exam conditions, error review, technique and time management |
Children who move through these phases steadily — rather than jumping straight to full papers — build both knowledge and exam stamina without the burnout that comes from starting too late or working too intensively.
Building a study schedule
Consistency matters far more than volume. A child who does four focused sessions of 30–40 minutes a week for twelve months will almost always outperform one who does daily three-hour sessions for six weeks. The brain consolidates knowledge through repetition over time, not through cramming.
A realistic weekly structure during Phase 2 might look like this:
| Day | Session (30–40 mins) |
|---|---|
| Monday | English — comprehension or vocabulary |
| Tuesday | Maths — topic practice or mixed questions |
| Wednesday | Verbal reasoning — one or two question types |
| Thursday | Non-verbal reasoning — one or two question types |
| Friday | Review — revisit errors from the week |
| Saturday | Rest, or (in Phase 3) a timed mock paper |
| Sunday | Rest |
Two rest days per week are not optional extras — they are part of the plan. Cognitive stamina builds through recovery as much as through practice, and a child who is burned out by July will not perform at their best in September.
As the exam approaches, the Saturday session evolves into a full mock exam under timed conditions, with proper error review carried out the following day rather than immediately (reviewing straight after a practice paper, while the child is still emotionally in the exam, is rarely productive).
Recommended books and resources
The market for 11+ preparation materials is enormous and variable in quality. Focus on resources that match your target school's exam format (GL Assessment, CEM, or bespoke) rather than generic Key Stage 2 workbooks alone.
- English — comprehension practice books, vocabulary builders, and age-appropriate reading beyond the workbook
- Mathematics — 11+-level maths books with mixed and multi-step problems, not only curriculum revision guides
- Verbal reasoning — a dedicated workbook covering all major question types, worked through systematically
- Non-verbal reasoning — type-by-type practice with clear explanations before timed work; essential for Bucks Test preparation — all four subjects and other GL areas that include NVR
- Mock papers — full papers from the same provider (or style) as your target exam, used in Phase 3 with structured review — particularly relevant for Kent Test candidates using GL-format Bond and CGP papers
One practical note on resources: it is tempting to buy a large number of different workbooks, but children typically get more value from doing one series thoroughly — including redoing questions they got wrong — than from racing through multiple series and moving on from mistakes.
Which subjects does my target school test?
Confirming subjects early prevents wasted effort — for example, spending months on NVR when your school does not test it. Regional patterns help as a starting point:
| Region | Subjects typically tested |
|---|---|
| Kent (Kent Test) | English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning |
| Bucks Test preparation — all four subjects | English, Maths, VR, NVR — prepare NVR from the start |
| Birmingham 11+ preparation — CEM specific | English + VR, Maths + NVR (mixed papers) — vocabulary and CEM mocks essential |
| Warwickshire 11+ preparation — CEM specific | English + VR, Maths + NVR (mixed papers) — same CEM skills as Birmingham |
| Trafford 11+ — three subject preparation | English + VR, Maths only — no NVR; three-subject focus |
Trafford candidates can focus on three subjects rather than four — see the Trafford 11+ guide for what this means for your study plan.
For a full Kent Test preparation plan — three subjects, registration timeline and school list — see the Kent regional guide. For Bucks Test preparation — all four subjects, including NVR from Year 5 and the unique fully selective county system, see the Buckinghamshire regional guide.
CEM preparation differs from GL in emphasis — wide reading and vocabulary over question-type drilling, mixed papers over separate subject mocks, and practising rapid switching between skills under section time limits. If you are targeting Birmingham grammar schools, the CEM preparation approach is essential — see the Birmingham 11+ preparation — CEM specific regional guide for school lists, registration dates, and the King Edward VI Foundation admissions picture. Families targeting both Birmingham and Warwickshire can prepare once for both — see Warwickshire and Birmingham dual-area preparation in the Warwickshire guide for the dual-area strategy, registration, and two separate exam days.
Mock exams and how to use them
Mock exams are the single most effective preparation tool in Phase 3, but only if they are used correctly. Many families do mocks without any structured review process, which wastes most of the benefit.
The right approach to a mock exam looks like this:
- Sit the paper under full exam conditions — timed, at a desk, no interruptions, no help
- Mark it using the mark scheme
- Then, crucially, go through every question your child got wrong (and every question they got right but were unsure about) and understand why. Was it a knowledge gap? A misread question? Running out of time? A question type they haven't encountered before? The answer tells you exactly what to focus on in the next week of practice
Aim for at least four to six full mock papers in the eight weeks before the exam, increasing frequency in the final four weeks. Space them out enough that your child has time to address the gaps identified in each one before sitting the next.
In the final two weeks before the exam, ease back slightly rather than ramping up. A child arriving at exam day well-rested and confident will perform better than one who has been grinding through papers until the night before.
Tutor vs self-study: which is right for your child?
This is one of the most common questions parents ask — and the most honest answer is that it depends on your child, your availability, and your budget.
Self-study at home works well when a parent can maintain a consistent schedule, use quality materials matched to the exam format, and review mistakes with the child systematically. It suits motivated children who respond to routine and families who can dedicate regular, focused time without turning every session into a battle.
A tutor can help when gaps are hard to diagnose, when a child needs external accountability, or when parents lack time or confidence to lead preparation. A tutor is not a substitute for daily practice — it complements what happens between sessions.
If you do use a tutor, look for someone with specific 11+ experience — not just a general KS2 tutor — who knows the format your target schools use. Ask how they structure their sessions, how they track progress, and how they communicate with parents. A good tutor will have a clear plan and be able to tell you at any point where your child is strong and where the gaps remain. This is especially true for London grammar schools — preparation with bespoke exams — a tutor with direct Sutton experience is particularly valuable, since there are no published past papers.
Be cautious of tutors who focus almost entirely on drilling practice papers without teaching. Papers are a diagnostic tool; understanding why answers are wrong is the actual learning.
Exam technique: skills that are taught, not born
Many children lose marks not because they don't know the material, but because of avoidable exam technique errors. These are all learnable with practice.
Time management is the most common issue. Children who spend too long on one difficult question and then rush the final section are throwing away marks. The rule to instil is: if a question is taking too long, mark it, move on, and come back at the end. Completing the paper and returning to hard questions is almost always more efficient than grinding through in order.
Reading questions carefully is the second most common failure point. In a rush, children misread what is being asked — choosing the "odd one out" when the question asked for the one that "belongs," for example. Building the habit of reading the question twice before answering pays dividends.
In multiple-choice papers, educated guessing is a valid strategy. Most 11+ papers do not penalise wrong answers, so leaving a question blank is always worse than making an informed guess. Children should never leave a multiple-choice question unanswered.
In papers that include written work, planning before writing — even just thirty seconds of jotting a quick structure — produces significantly better results than diving straight in.
Managing exam pressure and anxiety
Some level of pre-exam nerves is entirely normal and even helpful — it sharpens focus. But for some children, anxiety reaches a level that genuinely impairs performance, and that is worth taking seriously.
The most effective antidote to exam anxiety is preparation itself. A child who has sat multiple full mock papers under realistic conditions will find the actual exam far less frightening than one for whom the real thing is their first experience of timed, formal test conditions. Familiarity with the process is enormously calming.
Beyond preparation, a few practical strategies help. In the weeks before the exam, maintaining normal routines — regular bedtimes, physical activity, time for fun — matters more than an extra hour of revision. The night before, light review at most, a good meal, and an early night. On the morning of the exam, a proper breakfast, arriving with plenty of time, and calm reassurance from parents rather than last-minute drilling.
If your child is showing signs of significant anxiety — sleep disturbance, persistent worry, avoidance of practice — it is worth having an open conversation about what the exam means, and what happens if things don't go to plan. Children need to know that a grammar school place is a goal, not a measure of their worth — and that there are excellent alternatives if it doesn't work out.
Five preparation mistakes to avoid
- Starting too late. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning require time. Six weeks is not enough; twelve months is far more realistic for children who are not already ahead of the curve.
- Doing papers without reviewing them. A practice paper that is marked and filed away is almost useless. The value is in the review — understanding why each wrong answer was wrong, and what that reveals about gaps to address.
- Neglecting the subjects the school actually tests. It sounds obvious, but some families spend months on non-verbal reasoning only to discover their target school doesn't include it. Always confirm the exact subjects your school tests before building your preparation plan.
- Burning the child out. Seven-day-a-week preparation is counterproductive. Rest days are non-negotiable. A child who has lost motivation by September — because they have been pushed too hard for too long — will not perform at their potential.
- Treating it as the only path. Children who believe that failing the 11+ is a catastrophe approach the exam with far more anxiety than those who see it as one option among several good ones. The preparation journey goes better when the stakes feel proportionate.