11+ Guide · 4 of 5
How to Prepare for the 11+
A realistic timeline and a handful of practice habits that genuinely move the needle — without turning Year 5 into a second job for your child.
A realistic preparation timeline
Y4
Year 4 — lay the groundworkNo formal 11+ practice needed yet. Focus on wide reading, times tables fluency, and everyday vocabulary — a daily "word of the day" habit started now pays off later. Keep it light and unpressured.
Y5
Year 5 — build the skillsThis is typically the main preparation year. Introduce short, regular practice sessions across English, Maths and Verbal Reasoning (and Non-Verbal Reasoning, where relevant). Little and often beats occasional long sessions.
Y6
Year 6 — refine and simulateShift toward timed practice and full-length mock conditions as the test date approaches, so the format itself feels familiar. Taper the intensity in the final week or two to avoid burnout going into the exam.
Practice strategies that actually work
- Short, regular sessions beat marathon ones. 15–20 focused minutes most days builds more real progress than a single two-hour session at the weekend.
- Mix subjects rather than blocking one at a time. The real exam jumps between question types, so practice that does the same builds better exam-day flexibility.
- Review every wrong answer properly. The learning happens in understanding why an answer was wrong, not just in seeing the correct one — a good explanation matters more than the question itself.
- Revisit mistakes later, not just once. A question got wrong once and then never seen again is rarely truly learned — bringing it back a few days later, after the first correction, is what turns a mistake into a mastered skill.
- Build timed practice in gradually. Introduce a gentle timer once the underlying skills feel solid, rather than from day one — time pressure on top of unfamiliar content just adds stress without building ability.
- Read for pleasure, not just for practice. Wide, varied reading remains one of the single best things a child can do for both English and Verbal Reasoning performance.
How Eleven Plus Ready helps: every question your child answers is tracked, and anything answered incorrectly is automatically queued back into future sessions alongside similar questions — so the "revisit mistakes later" step above happens without you having to manage it yourself. See how on our
homepage.
Protecting wellbeing along the way
11+ preparation spans a long stretch of a young child's life, and how it's handled matters as much as what's covered:
- Keep sessions short enough that your child finishes feeling capable, not exhausted.
- Praise effort and improvement, not just correct answers — reasoning questions in particular can feel unfamiliar even to a capable child at first.
- Protect time for play, sport, friends and rest — these aren't distractions from preparation, they're part of what keeps a child able to concentrate when it matters.
- Talk openly about what a grammar school place would and wouldn't change, so the exam doesn't become the sole measure of your child's worth or ability in their own mind.
If things feel too pressured, it's worth stepping back and shortening sessions, dropping the timer for a while, or taking a short break altogether. A confident child sitting the exam in a reasonable state of mind nearly always outperforms a burnt-out one who's covered more content.
What to expect as the exam gets closer
Once a date is confirmed, our exam day guide covers the practical side — what to do the night before, how to manage time during the test itself, and how to support your child afterwards, whatever the outcome.