Which entrance test your area uses

Every selective area

The test day is the first one each area publishes. Where an area runs more than one sitting, or a second stage, the full list is in its own section below. Tap an area to jump to it.

What this page is, and what it is not

These are the arrangements for entry in September 2027, which means the round that ran through 2026. Registration for most areas closed in June or July and the tests were sat in September, so for a family moving now the useful part is the shape of it: how early the area registers, what the papers contain, and how long after the test the result arrives. The next round's dates appear on the same pages in the spring.

Nothing here is inferred from another area. Where a council does not name its test provider, this page says it does not, instead of repeating what a tutoring company claims. Where no results date is published, it says that too. Every area lists the pages it was read from, so anything on this page can be checked against the body that published it.

Sitting a test is not an application. In every area the school still has to be named on the local authority form, which closes on 31 October 2026 for secondary places, with offers on 1 March 2027 (gov.uk). A qualifying score is not an offer either: several areas say in as many words that more children reach the standard than there are places.

Barnet

Each school sets its own test. None of the three schools names an outside test provider.

Each school registers separately. Queen Elizabeth's wanted its test request form by noon on 8 July 2026, St Michael's by 4pm on 7 July 2026, and The Henrietta Barnett School has closed its 2027 entry registration.

What is in it

• Queen Elizabeth's School: multiple-choice maths and English
• The Henrietta Barnett School: a first round of verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and English, then a second round of English and mathematics
• St Michael's Catholic Grammar School: tests by invitation

There is no Barnet test: the borough's three selective schools each run their own, on their own dates, and a family applying to more than one sits more than one. Queen Elizabeth's gives 1 October 2026 as the provisional date for telling parents the result.

Read on 1 October 2026 from qebarnet.co.uk, hbschool.org.uk, st-michaels.barnet.sch.uk.

Bexley

Bexley Selection Test, set by Quest Assessments

What is in it

• Two booklets, between them verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning
• Each paper about 50 minutes, and a session of two and a half to three hours with instructions and a break

Multiple choice.

Only children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 could sit the 2026 test. The council says a registration after the deadline is not accepted and there is no appeal against that.

Read on 1 October 2026 from bexley.gov.uk, bexley.gov.uk.

Birmingham

West Midlands Grammar Schools entrance test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two papers, each about 60 minutes including spoken instructions and practice questions
• Divided into individually timed sections: English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics, and non-verbal and spatial reasoning

Multiple choice on a separate answer sheet, with no writing sections. Section scores are standardised for age.

One test for every grammar school in the West Midlands Grammar Schools group, and results are sent before 31 October. Only children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 could sit it in 2026. A family applying to a grammar school in Shropshire, Walsall, Warwickshire or Wolverhampton has to tick the data-sharing box at registration, and the council warns that without it no place will be offered there even with a qualifying score.

Read on 1 October 2026 from birmingham.gov.uk, birmingham.gov.uk.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

BCP grammar schools consortium entrance test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Mathematics, 50 minutes, on key stage 2 work
• English, 45 minutes, comprehension with spelling, punctuation and grammar
• Verbal reasoning, 50 minutes, with a practice element built in because it is meant to be sat without prior knowledge

One set of tests for Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls, Parkstone Grammar School and Poole Grammar School. A child who missed the September sitting can ask for a late test in February 2027, but candidates from the September test take priority. A qualifying score still has to be followed by naming the school on the local authority form by 31 October.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from poolegrammar.com, parkstone.poole.sch.uk.

Bromley

Each school sets its own test. Neither school names an outside test provider.

St Olave's took its supplementary information form from 9am on 8 June to midday on 29 June 2026 and accepts nothing later. Newstead Wood School opens its form on 1 May each year and publishes the closing date nearer the time.

What is in it

• St Olave's Grammar School: a Selective Entrance Test, then a second-stage test for those invited back

Bromley's two selective schools test separately. St Olave's says the outcome of stage one comes in mid October, before half term, and holds both tests at the school. Newstead Wood tests at the end of September and confirms in the first full week of September which October window results will land in, so it publishes no results date in advance. Both schools require the school to be named on the local authority form by 31 October whatever the score. Newstead Wood offers free familiarisation material to pupil premium candidates.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from saintolaves.net, newsteadwood.co.uk.

Buckinghamshire

Secondary Transfer Test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two papers, each about 60 minutes, with a break between
• Between them they measure verbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills. The council does not say which paper covers which

The council does not describe the answer format of the Transfer Test itself. The shorter Practice Test papers taken beforehand are multiple choice.

A standardised score of at least 121 is what the council calls qualified for a Buckinghamshire grammar school. The thirteen grammar schools run the test through a company of their own, The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from buckinghamshire.gov.uk, buckinghamshire.gov.uk.

Calderdale

Halifax Grammar Schools admissions test. The schools do not name an outside test provider.

What is in it

• Paper 1, mathematics and English
• Paper 2, mathematics and English
• Paper 3, creative writing, judged by a panel of staff from the two schools and only for candidates who already met the standard on papers 1 and 2

Papers 1 and 2 are marked, age weighted and standardised into a score. A child has to meet the standard in English, mathematics and creative writing to be considered.

North Halifax Grammar School and The Crossley Heath School run one joint process and both tests are sat at the schools. The arrangements say children are not tested beyond the year 5 curriculum and are not tested on non-verbal reasoning, because it is not taught in school. Results go to parent accounts by mid October with a banding, and meeting the standard in all three papers still does not guarantee a place. A child may sit the test only once, with a supplementary sitting for a valid reason.

Read on 1 October 2026 from new.calderdale.gov.uk.

Devon

Colyton Grammar School 11+ entrance test. The school does not name the provider of its Year 7 test. Its separate in-year test is CEM Select Evaluate.

What is in it

• English
• Mathematics
• Extended writing

The school states that the test does not include verbal or non-verbal reasoning.

Devon's one state grammar school runs its own test. The school says there are no commercially available practice papers for it and publishes a familiarisation guide instead. Children who have had free school meals at any point in the last six years can use a free online preparation programme from year 3, whether or not they apply to Colyton.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from colytongrammar.com, admissions.colytongrammar.com.

Enfield

The Latymer School entrance test. The school does not name an outside test provider.

What is in it

• Stage one: mathematics and verbal reasoning
• Stage two: English, for those who rank high enough after stage one

Enfield's one selective school runs its own two-stage test. Stage one gives a score for each paper and a rank, and the school invites the top 700 to stage two; re-standardised results including the English score go out before the end of October. The school admits only children living in a listed set of north and east London postcodes, with no preference between them.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from latymer.co.uk, latymer.co.uk.

Essex

CSSE 11+ examination. The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex sets and administers the examination itself and names no outside test provider.

What is in it

• English, 60 minutes, with 10 minutes of reading time before it
• Mathematics, 60 minutes

One examination for ten schools across Essex and Southend. A family nominates a single CSSE school as the test centre. English and maths familiarisation papers are free to download. Since September 2024 the English paper no longer contains applied reasoning questions. Registering is not an application: the local authority form still has to be in by 31 October.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from csse.org.uk, csse.org.uk.

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire Grammar Schools' Entrance Test. Neither the council nor the schools' published policies name an outside test provider.

What is in it

• Two papers of multiple-choice questions
• Verbal ability, including comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning, then numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning

Multiple choice. Each paper is age standardised and the two are combined into a total that ranks applicants, rather than being marked against a fixed pass mark.

The grammar schools run the test themselves, not the council, and the council says to take any question about it to the schools. Results go out before 31 October. Every school a family opted to share the score with writes separately to say whether the score qualifies, and a qualifying score is not an offer: the school still has to be named on the application form. The qualifying standard is set about a week before results, against that year's cohort.

Read on 1 October 2026 from gloucestershire.gov.uk, gloucestershire.gov.uk, gloucestershire.gov.uk.

Kent

Kent Test. Kent does not name a test provider on its own pages.

What is in it

• English and maths, one hour, each section a five minute practice then a 25 minute test
• Verbal and non-verbal reasoning, about one hour
• A writing exercise of 40 minutes, not marked, but a headteacher panel may use it

Multiple choice on a separate answer sheet, marked by computer.

The Kent Test is only valid for Kent grammar schools. Medway and Bexley run their own tests. Kent says its grammar schools provide for about the top 25% of the ability range.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from kent.gov.uk.

Kingston upon Thames

Each school sets its own test. Neither school names an outside test provider.

The Tiffin Girls' School closed stage one registration at noon on 1 September 2026 and accepts no late registrations. Tiffin School publishes its own timetable, which we could not read on the day this was compiled.

What is in it

• The Tiffin Girls' School: a stage one test, then a stage two test for those invited

Kingston's two selective schools, Tiffin School and The Tiffin Girls' School, run separate tests, so there is no single Kingston date. The Tiffin Girls' School tells parents on or around 14 October whether their daughter is invited to stage two, and emails stage two results on 2 March 2027 to those on the waiting list. Priority goes to an Inner Area and a Designated Area of 44 postal districts, and since 2014 every place has gone to a child living inside the Designated Area.

Read on 1 October 2026 from tiffingirls.org.

Kirklees

Heckmondwike Grammar School entrance exam, set by Future Stories Community Enterprise

What is in it

• Papers testing a range of reasoning skills in a variety of contexts. The school does not break them down further

Each paper is standardised and age weighted, then combined into one total standardised age score.

The school took the Future Stories Community Enterprise exam to make grammar school testing less dependent on primary school and background. The outcome reaches parents in mid October, with results online on 17 October as a target date, before the application deadline. The school offers 210 places and says that in recent years more children have reached the standard than there are places, so meeting it is not an offer.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from heckgrammar.co.uk, heckgrammar.co.uk.

Lancashire

Each school sets its own test, on a shared date, set by GL Assessment

Each school takes its own form on its own deadline: Lancaster Royal Grammar School by 7 September 2026, Lancaster Girls' Grammar School by noon on 9 September, Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School by noon on 14 September.

What is in it

• Lancaster Royal Grammar School: three tests, verbal reasoning, mathematics and English, with no non-verbal reasoning

Lancashire's grammar schools all test on the same Saturday but register separately, so a family applying to more than one fills in more than one form. Lancaster Royal says results reach parents by 6 October, and gives priority to boys living inside the administrative city of Lancaster who reach the standard, after looked-after children and those eligible for the pupil premium. Two forms are needed in every case: the school's and the local authority's.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from lrgs.org.uk, brgs.org.uk.

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools 11+, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Verbal Reasoning, preceded by a separate preliminary practice test
• Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness

Answers are shaded on an optical mark reading sheet.

Registration forms go back to the individual grammar school, not to the council. Children sit the tests either in their own primary school or at the grammar school they registered with, by area. The consortium says no special preparation is needed and that it does not endorse tutoring.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from grammarschools.lincs.sch.uk, grammarschools.lincs.sch.uk.

Liverpool

The Blue Coat School entrance test. The school does not name an outside test provider.

What is in it

• Phase 1: reading, spelling, general mathematics, mental arithmetic and developed ability
• Phase 2: for about 400 candidates carried forward from phase 1

Liverpool's one state grammar school runs a two-phase test that starts in the July before entry, which is earlier than most of the country, and closes registration in April. About 400 candidates go from phase 1 to phase 2. Results are published on 16 October, before the application deadline, so that families can decide what to name on the form.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from bluecoatschoolliverpool.org.uk, bluecoatschoolliverpool.org.uk.

Medway

Medway Test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• English, 30 minutes: comprehension, punctuation and grammar, with no separate timed sections
• Mathematics, 50 minutes
• Reasoning, 45 minutes: four timed sections of spatial and non-verbal reasoning and one of verbal reasoning

The council does not say whether answers are multiple choice. It warns that test materials sold anywhere other than the GL Assessment website are not official. The result gives a total score, a score for each paper, and whether the child is assessed as suitable for a grammar school.

Read on 1 October 2026 from medway.gov.uk, medway.gov.uk.

North Yorkshire

Ripon Grammar School entrance test, and separate tests at the other two schools, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Paper one, verbal skills: verbal reasoning with English comprehension, spelling and grammar
• Paper two, non-verbal reasoning with key stage 2 mathematics

All questions are multiple choice.

The council organises the test for Ripon Grammar School only. Ermysted's Grammar School and Skipton Girls' High School arrange their own, on their own timescales, and the council says to contact them directly. Results are issued no later than 16 October. Registering and sitting the test is not an application for a place. A child may sit it only once in a school year.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from northyorks.gov.uk, ripongrammar.co.uk.

Plymouth

Plymouth 11 Plus, set by Quest Assessments

What is in it

• English, 40 minutes and 60 questions, split into two sections, with no writing
• Mathematics, 40 minutes and 60 questions, split into two sections
• Devonport High School for Boys adds an English writing paper of its own

The two Quest papers are multiple choice. At the boys' school the average of the two gives the rank, and the writing paper is marked alongside.

Three grammar schools: Devonport High School for Boys, Devonport High School for Girls and Plymouth High School for Girls. The two girls' schools use the same papers on the same days, and a girl can sit the test at either and apply to either or both. The schools also run an optional practice sitting in July, with its results out by the middle of that month. Results for the girls' schools are emailed on 15 October.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from dhsg.co.uk, phsg.org, plymouth.gov.uk.

Reading

Each school sets its own test, set by GL Assessment

Reading School registered from 27 March to midnight on 17 May 2026. Kendrick School opened on 1 May and closed at midnight on 1 July 2026. The two timetables are weeks apart, so a family applying to both has to watch both.

What is in it

• Kendrick School: two tests of about an hour, with a short break, covering English, mathematics, non-verbal and verbal reasoning, and no creative writing
• Reading School: the school publishes familiarisation guides rather than a list of papers, and says the content changes each year

Kendrick standardises raw scores for age and ranks candidates on the total.

Reading's two selective schools run separate tests on very different timetables: Reading School tests in July, months before most of the country, and Kendrick in September. Kendrick emails results before 31 October and lowers the qualifying score by 5 points for candidates in its Widening Horizons group, who also get free familiarisation material. Reading School reserves a tenth of its places for boys with both academic ability and sporting aptitude, assessed on a separate day.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from reading-school.co.uk, kendrick.reading.sch.uk.

Redbridge

Redbridge 11 plus, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• English and verbal reasoning
• Mathematics and non-verbal reasoning

One test for Ilford County High School for Boys and Woodford County High School for Girls, and a child has to live inside the common catchment area the council maps by postcode. Results are emailed in the middle of October. The council warns that other grammar schools often test on the same day and that it will not offer a second date to a child who sat someone else's test instead. A photo ID form has to be brought on the day. No adjustment requests were considered after 15 June.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from redbridge.gov.uk.

Slough

Slough Consortium 11+ entrance examination, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two separate papers, each about 60 to 65 minutes
• Between them they test verbal, numerical and non-verbal ability, with a range of answer formats

Answers go on a separate answer sheet, marked by computer. The question booklet is not marked, and answers cannot be copied across afterwards.

Herschel, Langley, St Bernard's Catholic and Upton Court share one examination, and a child sits it once however many of them the family applies to. Results are mid October and the consortium will not give a date, because the papers are marked externally. Registering is not an application: the common application form still has to be in by 31 October. Up to 25% extra time is available for a recognised special educational need, requested at registration.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com, herschel.slough.sch.uk.

Southend-on-Sea

CSSE 11+ examination. The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex sets and administers the examination itself and names no outside test provider.

What is in it

• English, 60 minutes, with 10 minutes of reading time before it
• Mathematics, 60 minutes

Southend's selective schools sit inside the same Essex consortium: Southend High School for Boys, Southend High School for Girls, Westcliff High School for Boys and Westcliff High School for Girls among them, so the test, the dates and the papers are the same as in Essex. The consortium notes that the Southend schools do not ask for a pupil premium form.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from csse.org.uk, csse.org.uk.

Stoke-on-Trent

St Joseph's College entrance test. The school does not name an outside test provider.

The main round has closed. The school added a last entrance test on 7 October 2026 for entry in September 2027, with registration open until 4pm on 28 September 2026.

The sources for this area do not describe the papers.

Stoke-on-Trent's one selective state school is St Joseph's College, which runs its own test and publishes example year 7 entry exam questions on its admissions page. The school is heavily oversubscribed and is trialling a small number of extra places in years 7 to 10 during 2026/27, with its published admission number unchanged at 150.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from stjosephstrentvale.com.

Sutton

Selective Eligibility Test. The schools do not name an outside test provider.

What is in it

• Maths, multiple choice, 40 to 50 minutes
• English, multiple choice, 40 to 50 minutes, with a rest and toilet break between the two

Multiple choice on a separate answer sheet, filling in a lozenge for A to E. No verbal or non-verbal reasoning, and no negative marking. The content is broadly the key stage 2 curriculum.

Two stages. The Selective Eligibility Test is common to Greenshaw High School's selective band, Nonsuch High School for Girls, Sutton Grammar, Wallington County Grammar, Wallington High School for Girls and Wilson's School, and the schools then run their own second-stage papers. The schools publish no specimen papers, only sample questions, and say results come before the application deadline without naming a date. Access arrangements had to be requested by 12 June 2026.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from suttongrammar.sutton.sch.uk, suttongrammar.sutton.sch.uk.

Telford and Wrekin

West Midlands Grammar Schools entrance test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two papers, each normally about 50 minutes, with a short break between them
• Questions come in booklets and answers go on separate answer sheets

Answers must be written on the separate answer sheet, not in the question booklet.

Newport Girls' High School and Haberdashers' Adams administer the test as a smaller consortium with Shropshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton, inside the wider West Midlands Grammar Schools partnership, and register through the same portal. The test day here is 14 September, two days after the one Walsall and Warwickshire publish, so the day depends on the test centre. A reasonable adjustments form had to be in by 4pm on 12 June. Registering for the test is not an application: the local authority form is still needed.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from nghs.org.uk, adamsgs.uk.

Torbay

A single test shared by Torbay's selective schools. The council does not name a test provider.

A registration form is downloaded from each school's own website and returned to the school by midday on 15 July 2026, or at the very latest by midday on 2 September 2026.

The sources for this area do not describe the papers.

Churston Ferrers Grammar School, The Spires College, Torquay Boys' Grammar School and Torquay Girls' Grammar School all use the same test and sit it at the same time, so a child takes it once. The council publishes the registration deadline but not the test date, the results date or what is in the papers, and points families to the schools for those.

Read on 1 October 2026 from torbay.gov.uk.

Trafford

Trafford Consortium entrance examination, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two tests, each about an hour
• Between them they assess verbal, non-verbal and mathematics skills

Five of Trafford's seven grammar schools share one test: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Sale Grammar, Stretford Grammar and Urmston Grammar. A child sits it once and can have the result sent to any of the five. Registration is with the schools, not the council, and the council does not publish a results date. A registration missed by the deadline means no test until after 1 March 2027.

Read on 1 October 2026 from trafford.gov.uk, agsb.co.uk.

Walsall

West Midlands Grammar Schools entrance test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two papers, each about 60 minutes including spoken instructions and practice questions
• Four sections between them: English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics, and non-verbal and spatial reasoning

Multiple choice on a separate answer sheet, with no writing sections.

The same test as Birmingham, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Shropshire, registered through one portal. Walsall's own grammar schools publish the dates: registration opened on 5 May and closed at 4pm on 26 June 2026, and a request for reasonable adjustments had to be in by 12 June. A late registration means no test until the waiting list round in March 2027.

Read on 1 October 2026 from qmgs.walsall.sch.uk, westmidlandsgrammarschools.co.uk.

Warwickshire

West Midlands Grammar Schools entrance test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two tests, each around 60 minutes including spoken instructions and practice items
• Four sections between them: English, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics

Multiple choice. Raw scores are standardised and weighted into one total.

The same papers are used in Warwickshire, Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Shropshire, and a result can be shared across all five if the box is ticked at registration. A score from any other authority's 11+ cannot be transferred. Eligibility is by date of birth alone: a child does not have to live in Warwickshire. Results appear on the council's parent portal.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from warwickshire.gov.uk, warwickshire.gov.uk.

Westmorland and Furness

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith entrance test, set by Future Stories Community Enterprise

The sources for this area do not describe the papers.

The school uses the Future Stories Community Enterprise test and publishes its familiarisation guides for children and for parents alongside the format for 2026. Registering with the school does not replace the local authority preference form, which has to be completed as well or the application is not valid.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from qegspenrith.education, qegspenrith.education.

Wiltshire

Each school sets its own test. Neither school names an outside test provider.

Bishop Wordsworth's School took applications from 25 March to 3 July 2026. South Wilts Grammar School publishes its own timetable.

The sources for this area do not describe the papers.

Wiltshire's two grammar schools are both in Salisbury, Bishop Wordsworth's for boys and South Wilts for girls, and each runs its own admissions timetable. Bishop Wordsworth's publishes an entry information leaflet and runs familiarisation courses as part of its widening access work. Its result letters are available on 16 October, before the local authority deadline at the end of the month.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from bishopwordsworths.org.uk, bishopwordsworths.org.uk.

Wirral

Wirral 11+ Assessment, set by Quest Assessments

What is in it

• Paper one, verbal reasoning, about 50 minutes
• Paper two, mathematics and non-verbal reasoning, about 50 minutes, with a short break between the two

Both papers are sat in the same session.

The assessment is for the non-Catholic grammar schools. The council says registration closed at noon on 1 June 2026, while its own candidate pack gives 31 May, so check with the council before relying on either. Results are mid October, with no date given. There is no resit: a child who is unwell on the day is invited to another session instead. Children eligible for free school meals can ask for a free preparation account through the consortium's learning partner.

Familiarisation material. Read on 1 October 2026 from wirral.gov.uk, wirral.gov.uk.

Wolverhampton

West Midlands Grammar Schools entrance test, set by GL Assessment

What is in it

• Two papers, each about 60 minutes including spoken instructions and practice questions
• Four sections between them: English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics, and non-verbal and spatial reasoning

Multiple choice on a separate answer sheet, with no writing sections.

Wolverhampton Girls' High School uses the shared West Midlands test and the same registration portal, which closed at 4pm on 26 June 2026. The school's own timeline page does not set out the dates in text, so the test day here is the shared one published by the other authorities in the group.

Read on 1 October 2026 from westmidlandsgrammarschools.co.uk, wghs.org.uk.

Questions parents ask

Is the 11-plus the same test everywhere?

No. There are 35 selective areas in England and they do not share one test. 3 providers are named between them, Future Stories Community Enterprise, GL Assessment, Quest Assessments, and 15 areas name no provider at all. In 6 areas there is no single area-wide test and each school runs its own, so a family applying to two schools sits two tests.

When is the 11-plus taken?

Almost always in September, at the start of year 6, before the secondary application closes on 31 October. 30 of the 35 areas sat it in September 2026 for entry in 2027. A few are earlier: Reading School and Liverpool's Blue Coat School both test in July, and Kingston's second stage runs into November. Registration usually closes in June or July, months before the test.

Does passing the test get you a place?

No. The test decides whether a child is eligible, and the place is decided by the local authority form, which has to name the school and be in by 31 October. Several areas say in as many words that more children reach the standard than there are places, so the oversubscription rules, usually distance or a catchment area, then decide who is offered one.