The single most common question families ask about the 11+ is when to start — and the honest answer is that timing matters less than most parents fear, and consistency matters more. A child who prepares steadily for a year will almost always be in a stronger position than one who crams intensively in the final weeks, even if the crammer puts in more total hours.
The fixed points in the calendar
Two dates are not negotiable, and everything else works backwards from them. The test itself is sat at the very start of Year 6 — in September for most areas. And the national deadline to apply for a secondary school place is 31 October of Year 6, submitted through your local authority. Registration to sit the test usually opens in the summer term of Year 5 and closes before the test; the exact window varies by area, so check your local authority’s 11+ page each year rather than relying on last year’s dates.
Read those dates carefully and the implication is clear: the test happens earlier than many families expect — before half-term of Year 6, not at the end of it.
A realistic preparation timeline
For most children, Year 5 is the natural time to begin focused preparation — roughly twelve months out. That gives enough runway to build genuine fluency without the process dominating family life. A sensible shape looks like this:
- Year 4 (optional, light): keep reading widely and keep maths fluent. No 11+-specific work is needed yet; a strong general foundation is worth more than early drilling.
- Early Year 5: establish where your child actually stands in English and maths, and introduce the two strands schools rarely teach — verbal and non-verbal reasoning — so the question types are familiar rather than alien.
- Mid-to-late Year 5: steady weekly practice, gradually introducing timed conditions so working at pace becomes a habit rather than a shock.
- Summer before Year 6: consolidate, and make timed practice routine. Register for the test when your area’s window opens.
- Start of Year 6: light, confidence-building review in the final fortnight — not cramming.
How much is enough?
There is no magic number of hours, and chasing one is a mistake. What matters is that the work is regular and genuinely builds ability. Short, consistent sessions — comfortably absorbed alongside school — outperform long, anxious ones. If preparation is making your child miserable or exhausted, that is a signal to do less, not more: stressed children do not test well, and the most selective schools are looking for aptitude that holds up under the demands of grammar school itself.
Where a tutor fits
A good 11+ tutor earns their place not by adding hours but by making the hours count: establishing exactly where understanding has broken down, teaching the reasoning question types efficiently, building timed-test technique, and — just as importantly — being honest with you about whether the schools you are targeting are a realistic match. Tell us your child’s year group, the schools you have in mind and where they need the most support, and we will match you with one trusted, Enhanced DBS-checked tutor.