How to prepare for the 11+ without overwhelming your child

Selective schools set their own admissions arrangements, so the first task for any family is to build a shortlist and read each school's published guidance carefully. Requirements differ between schools, and between years at the same school.

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Assessments at this stage commonly combine mathematics and English with verbal and non-verbal reasoning, sometimes under timed conditions. The exact combination, length and format varies by school and should be confirmed directly.

Because formats vary, we recommend preparing skills rather than second-guessing a paper: accuracy under time pressure, careful reading of the question, and confident recall of core number work travel well between formats.

Mathematics: number, fractions, ratio, measures, geometry and multi-step word problems.

English: comprehension and inference, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, and often a short piece of writing.

Reasoning: verbal reasoning (word logic, codes, analogies) and non-verbal reasoning (series, rotation, matrices).

Some schools interview candidates individually or in small groups, looking for curiosity and the ability to explain thinking rather than rehearsed answers.

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Short, frequent practice beats long weekend sessions. Three focused twenty-minute sessions a week, each followed by reviewing explanations, builds more durable accuracy than a single long paper.

Track topics rather than scores. A single percentage hides the fact that a pupil is strong on fractions and losing marks on ratio. Topic-level accuracy tells you exactly where the next session should go.

Mix timed and untimed work. Untimed practice teaches method; timed practice teaches pace. Pupils need both, and in that order.