The calendar most parents get wrong
Grammar schools in England (there are 163 of them) select at 11 through the 11+. The tests take place in September of a child's final primary year, and results come back in October, just before the national deadline for secondary school applications on 31 October.
Registration closes months earlier. Using Kent as an example, for children starting secondary school in September 2027:
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Registration opens | 1 June 2026 |
| Registration closes (no late entries) | 1 July 2026 |
| Test day, Kent primary schools | 10 September 2026 |
| Test day, children at schools outside Kent | 12 or 13 September 2026 |
| Results | 15 October 2026 |
| Secondary application deadline | 31 October 2026 |
| Offer day | 1 March 2027 |
Other areas run on similar timings but not identical ones. Check your local authority and each school's admissions page as soon as your child starts Year 5.
What the 11+ actually tests
Most 11+ tests now cover four areas: English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. They are usually multiple choice, timed, and marked on an answer sheet. The Kent Test, for example, has a paper of English and maths, a paper of verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and a writing task kept in reserve for borderline cases.
Notice what that means. Two of the four areas, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, are not school subjects at all. They are taught nowhere in the curriculum. A child who is top of the class can still struggle with them if nobody has shown them the question types.
If your child started school in Nigeria
This is where I want to be specific, because it is the part generic 11+ guides never mention. Children who did some of their schooling in Nigeria usually arrive with real strengths and a few predictable gaps.
- Strength: arithmetic. Many Nigerian classrooms drill number facts hard. Children are often quick and accurate with calculation.
- Gap: reasoning question types. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning are rarely taught, so the first practice papers can look like a different language.
- Gap: British vocabulary and context. Comprehension passages lean on words, places and situations a child newly arrived may not have met.
- Gap: the clock and the answer sheet. Timed multiple choice is a skill in itself. Children used to showing full working sometimes run out of time.
- Gap: confidence about guessing. There is usually no penalty for a wrong answer, so a blank answer is a wasted mark. Children taught never to guess need permission to do it well.
None of these gaps is about ability. All of them close with the right practice, and the earlier you spot them, the calmer Year 6 will be.
A realistic timeline
| When | Focus |
|---|---|
| Year 4, spring and summer | Reading widely, times tables to instant recall, and a first gentle look at reasoning puzzles. No mock papers yet. |
| Year 5, autumn | Diagnose. Find out which of the four areas are strongest and weakest. Start one structured session a week. |
| Year 5, spring | Build the weak areas properly. Vocabulary every day. Check registration rules and dates for the schools you want. |
| Year 5, summer term | Register before the deadline. Introduce timed sections and answer sheets. |
| Summer holiday before Year 6 | Full mock papers under exam conditions, reviewed carefully. Rest matters too. |
| September, Year 6 | Light revision only in the final week. Sleep, breakfast, calm. |
If you are reading this in Year 5 and have done nothing yet, you have not missed the boat. You will need a more focused plan, and an honest look at which areas to prioritise.
How to prepare at home without burning your child out
- Little and often beats long weekend sessions. Twenty focused minutes most days does more than three hours on Saturday.
- Mark together. The learning happens when your child explains why an answer was wrong, not when the score goes on the fridge.
- Keep a vocabulary notebook. Every new word from reading goes in, with a sentence of their own.
- Practise timing separately from learning. First get the method right, then add the clock.
- Protect their love of reading. Novels, not just practice books, are where vocabulary grows.
If you use a tutor, ask how they will link the 11+ work to what your child is learning in school, and ask for a written report after every session so you can see the plan working.
If you are moving to the UK
Admission rules for grammar schools differ, and some depend on where you live when you apply. If you are relocating, contact the schools and the local authority early, explain your timeline, and ask exactly what they need from you and when. Do not assume a test sat before you arrive will count, or that it won't.
Quick answers
When is the 11+ exam taken?
In September of Year 6, the final year of primary school, with results in October. Registration usually closes in the summer of Year 5.
When should I start preparing my child for the 11+?
For most children, structured preparation works best from the autumn of Year 5, about a year before the test, with lighter reading and times tables work in Year 4.
What is on the 11+?
Most tests cover English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, usually as timed multiple choice papers.