How to Prepare for the 11 Plus: A Simple Plan From Year 4 to Exam Day
By Simply Eleven Plus · Updated 25 October 2026 · 6 min read
The 11+ (the 11 plus, or eleven plus, exam) can feel overwhelming, but good preparation is mostly about steady habits rather than cramming. Here is a simple plan that works for most families, from Year 4 to exam day.
Year 4: build the foundations
- Read every day, and read widely: stories, non-fiction and older classics. This builds vocabulary and comprehension, which matter in every 11+ test.
- Know times tables to 12 × 12 instantly, plus quick mental addition and subtraction.
- Start a word notebook for new words and their meanings, and use them in conversation.
- Play with puzzles: word games, logic puzzles and shape puzzles build reasoning skills without it feeling like work.
Year 5 (autumn to spring): learn the topics
- Choose your schools and find out the test format: which subjects, which provider, and the dates. See our GL vs CEM guide.
- Practise little and often: 20 to 30 minutes on most days, one topic at a time.
- Go back over mistakes. A mistake understood is worth more than ten questions answered correctly.
- Track weak topics and give them extra time.
Year 5 (summer): practise like the real thing
- Register for the test before the deadline. This is the step families most often miss.
- Visit open days to make sure the school is right for your child.
- Move to timed practice and full mock papers, so your child gets used to the pace.
- Sit at least one mock under real conditions, such as a free live mock exam.
Year 6 (September): exam time
- Keep practice light in the final week: short, confident sessions rather than cramming.
- Sleep, breakfast and a calm morning matter more than one last practice paper.
- Don't forget the council form. Name the grammar school on your secondary school application to your home council by its deadline, usually 31 October.
Exam technique that helps on the day
- Skip a question that is taking too long, and come back to it at the end.
- Read every option in a multiple-choice question before choosing.
- Keep an eye on the clock, and leave a minute to check for blanks.
- Never leave an answer blank if there is no penalty for guessing.
Keep it positive
Children do their best when they feel supported rather than pressured. Praise effort and progress, keep sessions short, and make sure there is still plenty of time for play. Whatever the result, the reading, maths and reasoning skills your child builds will help them at any secondary school.
How Simply Eleven Plus can help
Topic-by-topic practice in Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and English, with instant marking, mistake review and progress tracking, plus free live mock exams. Start free.
Frequently asked questions
- When should my child start preparing for the 11+?
- Gentle preparation in Year 4 (reading, times tables, vocabulary) helps, with focused practice through Year 5. Most grammar school tests are in September of Year 6.
- How long should my child practise each day for the 11+?
- Little and often works best: around 20 to 30 minutes on most days in Year 5, building up to some longer timed papers in the summer before the test.
- When do you register for the 11+?
- Usually in the spring or summer of Year 5. Each area or school sets its own deadline, and missing it normally means your child can't sit the test.
Free 11+ live mock exams
Let your child sit a real-time, timed mock paper online, then go through the trickiest questions together. It’s free.