The 11 Plus test is a hugely important milestone for students, and their parents, in many regions across the UK, serving as a crucial step towards gaining admission into selective grammar schools.
Each year, countless parents and students face the challenge of preparing for this examination while juggling all the various deadlines and requirements.
For Secondary School entry in 2024, parents and children wanting to take the test need to get organised NOW.
Most schools have already opened up their registration for the 11 plus or entrance exams and you don’t want to miss the deadlines.
Registration for the 11+ generally opens in early May each year for those children currently in Year 5. Candidates must register by the deadline set by the school or council – usually, this happens in late June/early July. Testing sessions for these candidates are then scheduled to take place usually in the first two weeks of September when they have just started in Year 6.
Step One
Registration Deadlines: The first crucial step in preparing for the 11 Plus test is to ensure you find out when the registration deadlines are for your target schools. As we have already said, the registration period typically opens several months in advance of the examination date. It is essential to research the deadlines specific to your region and adhere to them. Failing to register on time may result in your child being unable to sit the exam and then they won’t be considered for a place at your chosen school, so do the research as soon as you can and get organised now.
You can check on a school’s individual website or your local council, or there may be an 11-plus group for more than one area to check.
Obviously, we can’t list every region or school individually here but to give you an idea of the deadlines:
- Birmingham/Shropshire/Warwickshire/Walsall/Wolverhampton 11 Plus registration opened on May 9th and closes on June 30th.
- The Slough Consortium test opened on April 27th and closes on June 12th.
- Registration for the Kent Test opened on June 1st and closes on July 3rd
Scroll to the bottom of this blog for a list of really useful links to 11 plus school areas and details of their registration periods.
Step Two
Fill in the registration forms. As well as all the written information required about your child, you may need to supply a photograph and possibly council tax documents or other proof of address, get organised in advance so you know where these are.
Don’t forget that if your child has any special educational needs and/or medical issues that the school/council need to be aware of, or that you feel may impact them on the day of the test, then you’ll need to submit further evidence and will maybe have to fill in another set of forms. These often have an earlier deadline – this can be two weeks sooner than the end date for general registrations so check these dates carefully.
Step Three
Revision and prep – you’ve applied for the test; the exact details of the exam will be issued later in the year, but you can get started now with a thorough revision plan and exam preparation. Check out the fabulous resources on our website The 11 Plus Journey. We have an online mock test for Slough consortium schools and West Midlands Schools on 25th June. There are many other resources such as blog post on revision and our amazing new course that gives you everything that you need as a parent to support your child through every stage of the 11 Plus exam process here:
Important Revision resources:
Revision Guide– https://the11plusjourney.co.uk/the-11-plus-journeys-guide-to-rewarding-revision/
Mock test on 25th June– https://the11plusjourney.co.uk/mock-tests/
Mock test scores- https://the11plusjourney.co.uk/help-my-childs-mock-test-was-terrible-5-things-you-can-do-to-solve-this-problem/
Revision books– https://the11plusjourney.co.uk/books/
Course for parents to decide target schools, revision strategy and plan– https://the11plusjourney.co.uk/our-courses/
Results
After you’ve done everything that you can and your child has sat the test, all you need to do is sit back and wait, knowing that you’ve done your best, and wait for the results that come mid-October. This is not an offer of a school place, but your child’s mark will give you a clearer picture of where their future path leads.
After you’ve followed our simple steps to getting registered for the 11 plus exams in your targeted area you’ll be one step on the road to 11 plus success. And don’t forget to download our free application process checklist.
School and Council Useful links
Check out the dates and more information on registration deadlines by following the links below:
Berkshire – Slough – https://www.sloughconsortium.org.uk/appeals/indexLate23.php
Buckinghamshire – https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools-index/school-admissions/grammar-schools-and-transfer-testing-11/
Devon – register directly with schools.
Dorset – https://www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/Schools-and-learning/School-admissions/School-admissions.aspx
Essex – https://csse.org.uk/
Gloucestershire – https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-admissions/grammar-schools/
Hertfordshire – South West Herts – https://www.swhertsschools.org.uk/
Hertfordshire – Barnet and Enfield – register directly with schools.
Kent – https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/kent-test
Lancashire and Cumbria – register directly with schools.
Lincolnshire – https://www.grammarschools.lincs.sch.uk/home/
Liverpool – Wirral https://www.wirral.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/school-admissions/apply-primary-or-secondary-school-place
London – register directly with schools
Medway – https://www.medway.gov.uk/info/200137/schools_and_learning/1049/medway_test_11
Northern Ireland – https://www.eani.org.uk/parents/admissions/applying-for-a-school-place
Surrey – register directly with schools.
West Midlands – https://www.birminghamgrammarschools.org/content/registering-entrance-test
Wiltshire – https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/4945/Selection-test-for-grammar-schools
Yorkshire – North Yorkshire – https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-admissions/selective-schools
Yorkshire – Calderdale – https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/education-and-learning/schools/admissions/criteria/secondary/grammar
If you can’t find the information you need here, then it might be that you apply directly with the school so check out their websites too!
Good Luck.