Online 11+ tutors, matched to your child

The 11+ is not one exam — it is a family of assessments, each designed by a different provider, used by different schools and regions, with formats that vary considerably in structure, timing and content. Understanding exactly what your child will be sitting is the essential first step in any preparation plan, and it is the first thing a good 11+ tutor will establish.

What the 11+ actually is

The 11+ is a selective entrance assessment used by grammar schools and academically selective independent schools to identify children likely to thrive in a more academically demanding environment. It is typically sat towards the start of Year 6, though some schools hold assessments later in the autumn term. Entry to a grammar school or a selective independent school is not automatic even for high-achieving children: competition in many areas is significant, and the assessments are designed to differentiate between candidates who are all performing at a high level for their age.

Grammar school assessments in most parts of England are now set by GL Assessment (formerly Granada Learning). The other long-established provider, CEM (Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring — renamed Cambridge Insight by Cambridge University Press & Assessment in April 2025), withdrew its paper-based 11+ tests from September 2023, and the large majority of affected grammar schools moved to GL Assessment. A smaller number of areas and school consortia set their own bespoke papers. Independent schools may use ISEB (Independent Schools Examinations Board) papers as a common pre-test at 11+, or they may set their own assessments.

The four strands

Most 11+ assessments draw on some combination of four areas, though the specific mix depends on the provider and the school.

English tests reading comprehension, writing and vocabulary. Comprehension questions range from straightforward retrieval to more inferential tasks requiring children to read between the lines and comment on the effect of a writer’s choices. Some assessments also include a short writing task.

Mathematics covers the primary curriculum in full, with an emphasis on problem-solving and mathematical reasoning rather than pure calculation. Children who can calculate accurately but struggle with worded problems and multi-step reasoning often find the maths strand harder than expected.

Verbal Reasoning involves working with language and logic: identifying the odd word out, completing word sequences, spotting analogies between pairs of words, and deducing conclusions from short passages of text. Many children have never encountered this type of question before beginning 11+ preparation, and familiarity with the question formats makes a considerable difference to performance.

Non-Verbal Reasoning involves working with shapes, diagrams and patterns rather than words or numbers: identifying which shape completes a series, reflecting and rotating figures, and working out rules that govern a set of visual sequences. Like Verbal Reasoning, it is a type of thinking that is rarely practised in the primary school classroom and benefits from structured exposure.

What GL Assessment papers are like

GL Assessment is now the provider behind most grammar-school 11+ tests. Its papers tend to assess the four strands in distinct, separately timed sections. The question types within each strand are relatively standard and predictable, and children who are familiar with the format can practise efficiently using GL-style papers — though familiarity is never a substitute for genuine ability.

Until 2023, a sizeable minority of areas used CEM papers, which were designed to be less coachable — integrating verbal and mathematical reasoning more fluidly, varying question types from year to year, and timed tightly. CEM withdrew its paper-based 11+ tests from September 2023 and most of those schools moved to GL Assessment; its remaining selective assessment — now called Cambridge Select Insight — is used mainly by independent schools, and a smaller number of consortia still set their own bespoke papers. Whichever test applies, preparation based on genuine understanding and fluency matters more than rote practice of specific formats — and the essential first step is to confirm exactly which test your child’s target school now uses.

Timed practice: why it matters

One of the most consistently underestimated aspects of 11+ preparation is the timing pressure. Most children in Year 5 and early Year 6 are accustomed to completing schoolwork at a comfortable pace, with time to check and revise their answers. The 11+ requires working at speed: moving between questions quickly, skipping questions that would take too long and returning to them if time allows, and maintaining concentration across a test that may run for up to an hour without a break.

Timed practice is a skill, not just a reflection of ability. Children who have completed timed practice sessions regularly, and who have learned how to manage their time within a test, perform more confidently than those who are encountering time pressure for the first time on the day itself. A tutor will incorporate timed practice throughout the preparation period, not just in the weeks before the assessment.

The risk of over-preparation

Some families worry about preparing their child too intensively. This concern reflects a genuine tension. The most selective schools and grammar schools design their assessments to identify genuine academic ability and aptitude — not simply the capacity to reproduce practised answers. A child who has been drilled intensively in test-specific techniques but lacks the underlying mathematical or verbal ability the test is measuring is unlikely to thrive in the environment the test is selecting for.

The most effective preparation focuses on strengthening genuine capability — mathematical fluency, reading comprehension, logical reasoning — alongside appropriate test familiarity. A good tutor is honest with families about what preparation can and cannot achieve, and about whether the schools a child is targeting are well-matched to their natural ability and interests.

How the matching process works

Tell us which schools your child is applying to (so we know the assessment provider), their current year group, and the areas where they need most support. We pass that to one trusted, Enhanced DBS-checked partner who will be in touch to arrange a tutor — usually within a day or two. There are no placement fees, lessons are pay-as-you-go, and there is no obligation if it is not the right fit.