Eleven Plus Star

A guide for parents in England

The eleven plus, explained calmly.

What the 11+ is, how grammar school places are given, and what to do when. Then find the schools near you on the map, in the school list, or with the postcode checker.

This is general guidance. Each school or local authority sets its own admission arrangements, and they can change from one year to the next. Before you decide anything, read the admission arrangements of every school you are interested in, for the year your child will start.

What is the eleven plus?

The eleven plus (often written 11+) is a test some children take near the start of Year 6 to apply for a place at a grammar school. Grammar schools are state secondary schools that choose their pupils by academic ability. Like other state schools, they are free to attend.

Taking the test is a choice. Children who don't take it, or who don't reach the score a school needs, go to non-selective secondary schools in the usual way. Independent (fee-paying) schools also run entrance tests, sometimes called 11+ exams; those are separate and are set by each school.

Grammar schools and comprehensives

Most secondary schools in England are comprehensive (non-selective): they take children of all abilities and don't use a test to decide who gets a place.

Grammar schools are selective: a child needs to reach a qualifying standard in the school's test before the school can offer a place. They teach the national curriculum or a similar one and take children from age 11, and many also have a sixth form.

A few non-selective schools choose a small share of their pupils by aptitude in a subject, such as music or sport, or by ability bands. This site focuses on grammar schools, and lists other secondary schools so you can see the full picture.

Where are grammar schools?

Grammar schools are found in some parts of England and not in others. Areas with grammar schools include Kent and Medway, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Trafford, the London boroughs of Bexley, Sutton, Kingston upon Thames, Barnet, Enfield and Redbridge, Essex and Southend (where many grammar schools use a test run by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex, known as CSSE), Birmingham, Reading and Slough, Gloucestershire, Wirral, and a number of other towns and counties.

In a few areas, a large share of secondary places are at grammar schools, so many families there think about the test. In others there are only one or two grammar schools, and competition for places can be strong. Some schools share a test across an area or a group of schools (often called a consortium); others set their own.

From the government's register of schools, our list currently has 163 grammar and other selective schools in 35 local authorities:

Children can apply to grammar schools outside the area where they live, but many schools give priority to children who live nearby, so where you live matters.

What is in the test?

Tests are usually made up of some of these:

Which of these are tested, and how, depends on the area or school. Many areas use papers produced by GL Assessment. Others have used a "CEM-style" test, which mixes the skills together in short timed sections. Some schools and consortia write their own tests, and some have a second stage, such as a written English paper. Answers may be multiple choice on a separate answer sheet, or written in.

Formats vary by area and change over time, so check what each school says for the year your child will apply. Many tests are "standardised", which means scores are adjusted for a child's age, so the youngest children in the year group are not at a disadvantage.

The usual year, for a September start

The exact dates are set by each school, consortium or local authority. This is the typical pattern for a child starting secondary school in September:

  1. Year 5, spring and summerLook at schools, visit on open days and read their admission arrangements. Registration for the test usually opens in the spring or early summer and closes in the summer. Registering for the test is separate from applying for a place.
  2. Year 6, SeptemberMost tests are sat early in the autumn term of Year 6, often in September.
  3. Year 6, OctoberResults are usually sent before the application deadline, so you know whether your child has reached the qualifying score before you apply.
  4. 31 OctoberThe national deadline for secondary school applications. You apply to your own local authority (where you live), naming every school you would like, including schools in other areas, in order of preference.
  5. 1 MarchNational offer day: local authorities tell families which school has been offered (the next working day if 1 March is a weekend). After this there are waiting lists, and you have the right to appeal.

How places are given

For most grammar schools, a place depends on two things: the test, and then the school's rules for deciding between children.

  1. Reaching the qualifying score. Some schools set a fixed pass mark (often called the qualifying score). Others rank everyone who took the test and offer places in score order. Reaching the qualifying score makes a child eligible, but it does not guarantee a place.
  2. Naming the school on your application. A child can only be offered a place at a school you have listed on your local authority's application form.
  3. Oversubscription criteria. If more eligible children apply than there are places, the school's published criteria decide the order. Looked-after and previously looked-after children come first. Many grammar schools then give priority to children eligible for the pupil premium who reach the qualifying score. After that, schools use rules such as distance from home to school, a catchment or priority area, siblings, or the highest scores first.

Living inside a priority area usually does not guarantee a place, and living outside one does not always rule a place out. The details are in each school's determined admission arrangements, which are published every year.

What to do next

Find schools

This guide is general information, not advice about a particular child or school. We are not part of any school, local authority or the Department for Education. Families must check each school's admission arrangements and their local authority's information.