11+ Exam
GL/CEM/School-specific
Complete guide to passing the 11+ Exam exam on your first attempt.
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GL/CEM/School-specific
Grammar school admission
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Complete Overview
The 11 plus is the selective entrance assessment sat by children in the final year of primary school (Year 6 in England, Primary 7 in Northern Ireland) for entry to academically selective secondary schools. In England there is no national 11 plus paper and no national fee: state grammar schools set their own tests through local consortia and admissions authorities, and registration is normally free, while independent schools charge their own entrance assessment fees. In Northern Ireland the Schools' Entrance Assessment Group charges a non-refundable administration fee of 20 pounds, waived in full for pupils with a Free School Meals Entitlement, with a 50 pound fee during any late registration window. The House of Commons Library reports 163 grammar schools in England, teaching around 188,000 pupils in January 2022, or 5.3 per cent of state-funded secondary pupils. SEAG has 63 member schools in Northern Ireland, all of which use academic selection for some or all of their Year 8 intake. Test content is drawn from four areas: English, mathematics, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, in combinations each area chooses for itself. Kent County Council runs a two-paper Kent Test, an English and maths paper of one hour and a reasoning paper of about one hour, plus a 40-minute writing exercise that is not marked but can be used by a headteacher panel. The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex sets two papers, English lasting 60 minutes with 10 minutes of additional reading time, and mathematics lasting 60 minutes. SEAG sets two papers three weeks apart, each with 28 scored English or Gaeilge questions and 28 scored maths questions in 60 minutes, preceded by an untimed practice section of 10 questions. The CEM test that once covered a large share of grammar school places has gone. Bond 11+ records that the CEM 11 plus moved online only in 2022-23 and fell from over 40 per cent of the 163 UK grammar schools to almost none, because most state schools could not supply the computers; CEM was renamed Cambridge Insight in April 2025 and its selective exam is now Cambridge Select Insight, a 60-minute computer assessment used mainly by independent schools. Scoring is standardised for age everywhere, so a child born in August is not compared on raw marks with a child born the previous September. Thresholds are local. Kent required a total of 332 with no single score below 108 in 2025; Buckinghamshire treats 121 as the qualifying score.
Why Get 11+ Exam Certified?
163 grammar schools in England admit pupils on 11 plus performance, according to the House of Commons Library research briefing on grammar schools
SEAG has 63 member schools in Northern Ireland, all using academic selection for all or part of Year 8 intake
Registration for state grammar school tests is usually free; the SEAG administration fee is 20 pounds and is waived entirely for pupils with a Free School Meals Entitlement
A grammar school place carries no tuition fee, unlike an independent school place at the same academic level
Buckinghamshire has 13 grammar schools sharing one Secondary Transfer Test, so a single sitting qualifies a child for all of them at a score of 121 or above
The Kent Test aggregate runs to a maximum of 423 across three standardised scores, giving a wide band in which schools can rank applicants
Free official familiarisation material exists for every major test: Kent publishes a familiarisation paper, CSSE publishes free familiarisation papers, and SEAG publishes free practice papers with answer keys
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
Set regionally, not nationally. SEAG Northern Ireland: 60 scored minutes per paper across two papers sat about a week apart, plus an untimed practice section on each. Kent Test: an English and maths paper of 1 hour (each section a 5-minute practice exercise then a 25-minute test) and a reasoning paper of about 1 hour, plus a 40-minute writing exercise including 10 minutes of planning that is not marked. CSSE Essex: English 60 minutes with 10 minutes additional reading time, mathematics 60 minutes. Cambridge Select Insight: an average duration of 60 minutes.
Questions
Varies by test. Each SEAG paper carries 56 scored questions, 28 English or Gaeilge and 28 maths, plus 10 unscored practice questions. Across both SEAG papers a candidate answers 56 English questions and 56 maths questions in total. Kent County Council does not publish a question count for the Kent Test. CSSE does not publish a question count.
Passing Score
There is no national pass mark. Kent County Council required a total standardised score of 332 or more with no single score below 108 for a grammar school assessment in 2025. Buckinghamshire Council treats a Secondary Transfer Test score of at least 121 as qualified. SEAG issues a Total Standardised Age Score and a Band, and each SEAG school's Board of Governors decides how to use them in its own admissions criteria.
Question Types
- Multiple choice answered on a separate machine-marked answer sheet (Kent Test)
- Reading comprehension on an unseen passage
- Spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary questions
- Mathematics covering number, measurement, shape and space, money, probability and data representation (SEAG specification)
- Verbal reasoning questions using words, letters and codes
- Non-verbal reasoning questions using shapes, sequences and matrices, administered in short individually timed sections in the Kent Test
- An extended writing task (Kent Test writing exercise, unmarked but available to a headteacher panel)
Delivery Method
Paper-based with a separate answer sheet for the Kent Test, CSSE and SEAG. SEAG pupils sit at an assessment centre chosen by the parent from 63 available centres. Buckinghamshire pupils at a state-funded Buckinghamshire primary school or Partner School sit in their own school; everyone else sits at a grammar school test centre. Cambridge Select Insight is a computer assessment downloaded by the school to its local network.
How scoring works
Score scale
Standardised age scores, not raw marks. SEAG reports an English or Gaeilge Standardised Age Score and a Maths Standardised Age Score, each running from 69 to 141 with a mean of 100, and sums them into a Total Standardised Age Score running 138 to 282 with a mean of 200, plus a Band from 1 to 6 and a Cohort Percentile Ranking. The Kent Test reports three standardised scores, English, maths and reasoning, on the same 69 to 141 range, giving a maximum total of 423. Buckinghamshire reports a single Secondary Transfer Test score.
Score needed to pass
Set locally and published each year, with no national figure. Kent County Council's 2025 grammar school threshold was a total of 332 or more with no single score lower than 108, and the 2026 threshold is due in October 2026. Buckinghamshire Council treats a score of at least 121 as qualified for its 13 grammar schools, without guaranteeing a place. SEAG publishes no cut score at all: each member school's Board of Governors decides whether to use the Total Standardised Age Score, the Band, a combination or another method in its Year 8 admissions criteria.
Roughly what that means raw
None of Kent County Council, SEAG or CSSE publishes a raw-mark equivalent for its threshold, because the age adjustment means the raw mark needed differs by date of birth and by year. SEAG does report to parents how many questions their child answered correctly in English or Gaeilge and in maths, and how the child performed in Paper 1 and in Paper 2, alongside the standardised outcomes.
When results arrive
There is no unofficial result and no same-day score. Buckinghamshire releases Secondary Transfer Test results on 9 October 2026 for pupils whose papers reached the Admissions Team by 18 September, three weeks before the 31 October national school application deadline; papers received between 19 September and 16 October produce a result by 31 October, and anything later may miss the deadline altogether. Kent emails or posts Kent Test results on Thursday 15 October 2026, and children can ask their primary school for the scores the day after results go out if nothing arrives. CSSE emailed its 2026 entry results on 13 October 2025. SEAG plans to release Statements of Outcomes online on Saturday 23 January 2027, roughly nine weeks after the second paper.
How the scale is built
Raw marks are converted by age standardisation. SEAG states its outcomes are standardised for the pupil's age at the time of the assessment, the number of correct answers and the degree of difficulty of the assessment, so a child born in June is not compared on raw marks with a child born the previous September. Kent County Council describes the same process as comparing performance against the average for other children with a slight adjustment for age. No major 11 plus test deducts marks for wrong answers, so guessing costs nothing. Kent applies a conjunctive rule as well as a compensatory one: the total must clear the threshold and no single score may fall below the published floor.
Pacing and time budget
56 questions in 60 minutes gives you 1 minute 4 seconds per question.
15
14 of 56
30
28 of 56, the end of the first subject block
45
42 of 56
55
56 of 56, leaving five minutes to revisit marked questions and check the answer sheet rows
| At this point | You should have answered |
|---|---|
| 15 | 14 of 56 |
| 30 | 28 of 56, the end of the first subject block |
| 45 | 42 of 56 |
| 55 | 56 of 56, leaving five minutes to revisit marked questions and check the answer sheet rows |
- These figures model one SEAG Entrance Assessment paper: 60 scored minutes covering 28 English or Gaeilge questions and 28 maths questions, preceded by an untimed practice section of 10 questions that does not count. Other 11 plus tests run to different clocks, so rebuild the checkpoints from your own area's published timings.
- For the Kent Test, treat each block separately: a 5-minute practice exercise then a 25-minute English test, then a 5-minute practice exercise then a 25-minute maths test, roughly 60 seconds per question with no borrowing between blocks.
- For CSSE Essex, the English paper gives 10 minutes of additional reading time before the 60 minutes of writing time, so spend the reading window annotating the passage rather than starting answers.
- Kent administers and times the non-verbal reasoning in short individual sections, so rehearse ending mid-thought and starting fresh instead of pacing across a long block.
- Never leave a blank at the bell. No major 11 plus test penalises a wrong answer, so in the final 60 seconds fill every remaining row on the answer sheet.
Where the marks are
English comprehension, spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary
50 per cent of the SEAG Total Standardised Age Score (56 of the 112 scored questions across both papers)
SEAG builds the English SAS from all 56 English questions across Paper 1 and Paper 2, and the specification names comprehension, spelling and punctuation, grammar and syntax, and vocabulary as the assessed areas.
Mathematics: number, measurement, shape and space, money, probability, data
50 per cent of the SEAG Total Standardised Age Score (56 of the 112 scored questions across both papers)
The Maths SAS is built from all 56 maths questions across both papers, drawn strictly from the statutory Northern Ireland Curriculum for Mathematics and Numeracy at Key Stage 2, so unfamiliar content is out of scope and speed decides the score.
Reasoning as a whole (verbal plus non-verbal) in the Kent Test
One of three standardised scores contributing to the Kent aggregate of up to 423
Kent's second paper carries a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length and produces a single reasoning score, so a weak half drags the whole score toward the 108 floor.
English in the Kent Test
One of three standardised scores contributing to the Kent aggregate of up to 423
Kent's English section is a 25-minute test after a 5-minute practice exercise and includes a comprehension exercise plus additional literacy questions, so reading speed on the passage decides how many questions get attempted.
Mathematics in the Kent Test
One of three standardised scores contributing to the Kent aggregate of up to 423
Also a 25-minute test after a 5-minute practice exercise, sat in the same hour as English, which makes stamina and instant recall of tables worth more than any single topic.
Numerical, verbal and non-verbal ability in Cambridge Select Insight
not published
Cambridge University Press and Assessment lists numerical, verbal and non-verbal ability as the sections of its 60-minute computer assessment and publishes no section weights, no past papers and no practice materials beyond standardised familiarisation material issued to all candidates.
Extended writing
not published, and unmarked in the Kent Test
Kent allows 40 minutes including 10 minutes of planning and states the piece is not marked, though a local headteacher panel may use it at the headteacher assessment stage. Independent schools that set a marked composition publish their own weighting in their admissions material.
| Topic | Weight | Why it scores |
|---|---|---|
| English comprehension, spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary | 50 per cent of the SEAG Total Standardised Age Score (56 of the 112 scored questions across both papers) | SEAG builds the English SAS from all 56 English questions across Paper 1 and Paper 2, and the specification names comprehension, spelling and punctuation, grammar and syntax, and vocabulary as the assessed areas. |
| Mathematics: number, measurement, shape and space, money, probability, data | 50 per cent of the SEAG Total Standardised Age Score (56 of the 112 scored questions across both papers) | The Maths SAS is built from all 56 maths questions across both papers, drawn strictly from the statutory Northern Ireland Curriculum for Mathematics and Numeracy at Key Stage 2, so unfamiliar content is out of scope and speed decides the score. |
| Reasoning as a whole (verbal plus non-verbal) in the Kent Test | One of three standardised scores contributing to the Kent aggregate of up to 423 | Kent's second paper carries a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length and produces a single reasoning score, so a weak half drags the whole score toward the 108 floor. |
| English in the Kent Test | One of three standardised scores contributing to the Kent aggregate of up to 423 | Kent's English section is a 25-minute test after a 5-minute practice exercise and includes a comprehension exercise plus additional literacy questions, so reading speed on the passage decides how many questions get attempted. |
| Mathematics in the Kent Test | One of three standardised scores contributing to the Kent aggregate of up to 423 | Also a 25-minute test after a 5-minute practice exercise, sat in the same hour as English, which makes stamina and instant recall of tables worth more than any single topic. |
| Numerical, verbal and non-verbal ability in Cambridge Select Insight | not published | Cambridge University Press and Assessment lists numerical, verbal and non-verbal ability as the sections of its 60-minute computer assessment and publishes no section weights, no past papers and no practice materials beyond standardised familiarisation material issued to all candidates. |
| Extended writing | not published, and unmarked in the Kent Test | Kent allows 40 minutes including 10 minutes of planning and states the piece is not marked, though a local headteacher panel may use it at the headteacher assessment stage. Independent schools that set a marked composition publish their own weighting in their admissions material. |
The numbers
163, teaching around 188,000 pupils in January 2022, 5.3 per cent of state-funded secondary pupils
Grammar schools in England
Source: House of Commons Library research briefing on grammar schools in England (SN07070)
Total standardised score of 332 or more with no single score below 108, on a scale of 69 to 141 per test and a maximum total of 423
Kent grammar school threshold 2025
Source: Kent County Council, Kent Test results page
121 or above on the Secondary Transfer Test, covering the county's 13 grammar schools
Buckinghamshire qualifying score
Source: Buckinghamshire Council, Grammar schools and Secondary Transfer Testing (11+) page
63 post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, which double as the 63 assessment centres; Total Standardised Age Score range 138 to 282 with a mean of 200; Band 1 covers the top 40 per cent of the cohort and Bands 2 to 5 hold 10 per cent each
SEAG member schools and scale
Source: Schools' Entrance Assessment Group (seagni.co.uk), Assessment Guide and FAQs
20 pounds, non-refundable, waived in full for pupils with a Free School Meals Entitlement; 50 pounds in a late registration window
SEAG registration fee
Source: Schools' Entrance Assessment Group (seagni.co.uk), FAQs
From over 40 per cent of England's 163 grammar schools in 2022 to almost none after the 2022-23 move to online-only delivery
Collapse of the CEM grammar school test
Source: Bond 11+ (bond11plus.co.uk), CEM Becomes Cambridge Select Insight
If you fail
Wait before retaking
There is no retake within an admissions round. Each area runs one sitting per cohort per year, and SEAG states there is no alternative date for an individual pupil who misses one of the two papers. The next opportunity is the following year's late transfer assessment, for entry into Year 8, 9 or 10.
Attempt limit
One sitting per admissions round for the standard Year 7 or Year 8 entry point. SEAG allows a registered parent or guardian to make two pupil applications, which covers two children rather than two attempts for one child.
Retake fee
Not applicable to the standard test, because no retake exists. SEAG charges 20 pounds per paper for a hand re-mark, so 40 pounds for both papers, refunded if the re-mark changes the Total Standardised Age Score up or down. Changing assessment centre after submitting a pupil application requires a new application and a fresh 20 pound payment, with no refund of the original.
Where a child sat only one SEAG paper, the paper is still marked by GL Assessment and an estimated outcome is issued with an 'e' suffix, such as TSAS 196e and Band 3e, and each school decides how it treats an estimated outcome. Illness or other disruption is handled after results through a Claim for Special Circumstances to the post-primary school during the Education Authority transfer process, supported by documentary evidence, which sits entirely outside SEAG's remit. In Kent, a child not assessed as suitable can still name a grammar school on the application, will be refused when places are offered on 1 March 2027, and then has the right of appeal.
Exam Domains & Topics
Comprehension of an unseen passage plus technical accuracy. The SEAG specification lists comprehension, spelling and punctuation, grammar and syntax, and vocabulary, and states that the whole specification is drawn from the statutory Northern Ireland Curriculum for Language and Literacy at Key Stage 2. The Kent Test English section runs 25 minutes after a 5-minute practice exercise and includes a comprehension exercise plus additional questions testing literacy skills. The CSSE English paper runs 60 minutes with 10 minutes of extra reading time and, with effect from the September 2024 sitting for 2025 entry, no longer contains Applied Reasoning questions.
Key Topics to Master:
- Comprehension of narrative and non-fiction passages
- Inference and retrieval from a text
- Spelling patterns and homophones
- Punctuation including apostrophes, commas and speech marks
- Grammar and syntax: clauses, tenses, subject-verb agreement
- Vocabulary in context, synonyms and antonyms
- Cloze passages where words are removed from a text
Key Stage 2 mathematics under time pressure. The SEAG specification names numbers, measurements, shape and space, money, probability and data representation, and confines content to the statutory Northern Ireland Curriculum for Mathematics and Numeracy at Key Stage 2. The Kent Test maths section is a 25-minute test after a 5-minute practice exercise. The CSSE mathematics paper runs 60 minutes.
Key Topics to Master:
- Four operations with whole numbers and decimals
- Fractions, decimals and percentages and conversions between them
- Ratio and proportion
- Measurement, units and conversion
- Perimeter, area and properties of two and three dimensional shapes
- Money problems and change
- Probability expressed as fractions and words
- Data representation: bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, tables and Venn diagrams
Reasoning with words, letters and codes rather than with curriculum content. The Kent Test reasoning paper contains a verbal reasoning section and a non-verbal reasoning section of roughly the same length, together taking about an hour including practice sections. GL Assessment sells practice papers in verbal reasoning as one of its four 11 plus areas, alongside non-verbal reasoning, English and maths.
Key Topics to Master:
- Letter and number codes
- Word analogies and word categories
- Hidden words spanning two words
- Letter sequences and alphabet position arithmetic
- Shuffled or jumbled sentences
- Compound words and word building
- Logic puzzles from a set of statements
Pattern reasoning using shapes and diagrams, designed to depend less on reading ability. In the Kent Test the non-verbal reasoning is split into short sections that are administered and timed individually, so a child cannot borrow time from one section to finish another. GL Assessment lists non-verbal reasoning and spatial reasoning as separate strands within its admissions tests for state and independent schools.
Key Topics to Master:
- Odd one out among figures
- Matrices where one cell is missing
- Figure analogies of the form A is to B as C is to which option
- Rotation, reflection and symmetry
- Series continuation with shapes
- Nets, cube folding and three dimensional views
- Codes attached to figures
A written task used in some areas and ignored in others. Kent County Council allows 40 minutes for its writing exercise, including 10 minutes of planning time, and states plainly that the piece is not marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel as part of the headteacher assessment stage. Several independent schools set a marked composition of their own. Confirm with each school's admissions policy whether a written piece is scored, screened or ignored before spending preparation time on it.
Key Topics to Master:
- Planning a response in the first ten minutes
- Narrative openings and story structure
- Descriptive writing with varied sentence length
- Persuasive and discursive writing
- Paragraphing and cohesive devices
- Handwriting legibility and accurate punctuation under time pressure
Recommended Study Plan
- 1List every school you might apply to and open each one's admissions policy page rather than relying on forum summaries
- 2Check whether the area uses a consortium test: Kent County Council for the Kent Test, Buckinghamshire Council and TBGS for the Secondary Transfer Test, CSSE for the Essex schools, SEAG for Northern Ireland
- 3Note the registration window and the closing date in a calendar with a reminder two weeks earlier
- 4Download the free official familiarisation material for that test: the Kent Test familiarisation paper, CSSE free familiarisation papers, or the SEAG practice papers with answer keys
- 5Sit one familiarisation paper untimed simply to see the question formats, and do not score it
- 1Sit one full official familiarisation paper under real time limits with a visible clock
- 2Mark it and write every wrong answer into a single running error log with the topic named
- 3Sort errors into four buckets: did not know the content, misread the question, ran out of time, careless slip
- 4Set a weekly slot pattern of four short sessions rather than one long weekend session
- 5Start a daily reading habit of 20 minutes of unfamiliar non-fiction, which feeds comprehension and vocabulary at the same time
- 1Drill times tables to 12 by 12 to instant recall, because every timed maths section assumes it
- 2Work through fractions, decimals and percentage conversion until the child can convert in both directions without writing intermediate steps
- 3Practise mental strategies for percentages of amounts and for doubling and halving
- 4Complete two 25-minute maths sections at Kent Test length to build the habit of finishing
- 5Add each error to the error log with the reason, not just the correct answer
- 1Cover the six SEAG maths headings in turn: numbers, measurements, shape and space, money, probability, data representation
- 2Practise reading bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and two-way tables at speed, since data questions carry several marks from one stimulus
- 3Practise unit conversion for length, mass, capacity and time until it is automatic
- 4Work perimeter, area and volume problems that mix units deliberately
- 5Re-attempt the ten oldest entries in the error log and delete the ones now correct twice running
- 1Practise reading the questions before the passage on one paper and after the passage on another, then keep whichever produced the better score
- 2Learn to quote or point to the line that supports an answer, which kills guesswork on inference questions
- 3Build a vocabulary notebook of words met in reading, ten per week, with the sentence they appeared in
- 4Sit one 25-minute English section at Kent Test length and one 60-minute CSSE-length paper if Essex is a target
- 5Review spelling rules for plurals, suffixes and common homophones
- 1Work through GL Assessment verbal reasoning practice papers one question type at a time rather than mixing types
- 2Build a written method for letter codes: write the alphabet across the top of the page before starting
- 3Practise hidden words and jumbled sentences, which reward pattern spotting rather than knowledge
- 4Time a set of 20 verbal reasoning questions and record seconds per question
- 5Identify the two verbal reasoning types with the worst accuracy and schedule extra practice for them next week
- 1Work matrices, analogies and odd-one-out sets separately so the child learns each logic family
- 2Practise rotation and reflection with a physical piece of paper before moving to mental rotation
- 3Practise cube nets by folding a real net, then predict the opposite faces
- 4Rehearse short individually timed blocks, because the Kent Test administers non-verbal reasoning in separately timed sections
- 5Record which distractor type keeps catching the child: added element, removed element, wrong rotation, wrong shading
- 1Sit a complete official familiarisation set in one morning with the real breaks between papers
- 2Use a real separate answer sheet so the child practises transferring answers without slipping a row
- 3Score, then compare section by section against the week 2 baseline
- 4Rewrite the study plan for the remaining weeks based on the weakest section, not the most enjoyable one
- 5Practise the answer sheet checking routine: every ten questions, confirm the question number matches the row
- 1Set a target seconds-per-question figure for each section and practise hitting it
- 2Teach the skip and return rule: mark the question, move on, come back only after reaching the end
- 3Run short accuracy sprints where the goal is zero errors in 10 questions rather than speed
- 4Practise one paper with 10 per cent less time than the real limit to build headroom
- 5Track the error log split: careless slips should now be falling faster than knowledge gaps
- 1Confirm from each admissions policy whether writing is marked, screened or ignored before investing time
- 2Practise the Kent Test shape: 40 minutes total with 10 minutes of planning, then write
- 3Build three reusable settings and two reusable characters so planning time is spent on plot rather than invention
- 4Practise varying sentence length deliberately and using paragraph breaks at changes of time, place or speaker
- 5Have the child proofread their own piece for five minutes and count the corrections they find
- 1Sit a second full mock in the same room, at the same time of day, as the real test where possible
- 2Compare against mock one section by section and calculate the change per section
- 3Re-attempt every unresolved entry in the error log in one sitting
- 4Do a logistics rehearsal: the journey to the test centre, timed door to door
- 5Confirm pencil, eraser and any permitted item against the letter sent by the test administrator
- 1Cut total practice to short sessions of 20 to 30 minutes and stop new content entirely
- 2Move bedtime to the pattern needed for test day at least seven days ahead
- 3Re-read the practice section instructions for the actual test so the wording is familiar
- 4Rehearse the calm response to a hard question: mark it, breathe once, move on
- 5Pack everything the night before, including the pupil identification or admission letter the administrator asked for
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Best Study Resources
Kent Test familiarisation paper (Kent County Council)
Official familiarisation materialThe official PDF that explains the Kent Test papers to children who will sit them, published on the Prepare for the Kent Test page along with the test and results dates.
Free
SEAG practice papers with answer keys and Parents' Guide
Official practice papersSEAG publishes all practice papers, answer sheets and a parents' guide free on seagni.co.uk in English and Gaeilge, and states that these are the only SEAG practice papers and that it endorses no other materials.
Free
CSSE free familiarisation papers
Official familiarisation materialDownloadable familiarisation papers for the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex examination, published on csse.org.uk under the CSSE 11+ Examination tab together with the Entry Information Guide.
Free, with paid practice packs also sold
SEAG Entrance Assessment Specification
Official syllabusThe document that defines exactly what is assessed: comprehension, spelling and punctuation, grammar and syntax and vocabulary in English or Gaeilge, and numbers, measurements, shape and space, money, probability and data representation in maths.
Free
GL Assessment 11+ practice papers
Publisher practice papersPractice papers from the organisation that sets and marks the SEAG Entrance Assessment, sold in four areas: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, English and maths, with free familiarisation material also published on the site.
Paid, priced per pack on 11plus.gl-assessment.co.uk
Bond 11+ practice books
Publisher practice booksA long-running series covering English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning by age band, with separate Cambridge Select Insight material for families whose target independent schools use that test.
Paid
CGP 11+ study and practice books
Publisher study guidesTopic-by-topic explanation books paired with practice question books and full practice papers, useful when the error log shows knowledge gaps rather than timing problems.
Paid
Atom Learning
Online adaptive platformThe CSSE member schools partner with Atom Learning to give pupils eligible for Pupil Premium free online Key Stage 2 learning and 11 plus familiarisation; families whose child has been eligible for free school meals in the last six years apply through the Atom Learning website.
Subscription, with a five-day free trial and free access for eligible pupils
Buckinghamshire Council Secondary Transfer Testing page
Official admissions informationPublishes the registration window, practice test date, transfer test date, results date and the qualifying score of 121 for the county's 13 grammar schools.
Free
Cambridge Select Insight entrance assessments page
Official test informationCambridge University Press and Assessment's own page for the test formerly called CEM Select, covering the 60-minute computer assessment in numerical, verbal and non-verbal ability, the 25 per cent extra time versions, the 72-hour results turnaround, and its policy of publishing no commercial practice papers.
Free to read
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Preparing for a CEM 11 plus that no longer exists for grammar schools
Bond 11+ records that the CEM 11 plus went online only in 2022-23 and fell from over 40 per cent of the 163 UK grammar schools to almost none, then was renamed Cambridge Select Insight in April 2025. If your target is a state grammar school, work from the consortium's own materials. Buy Cambridge Select Insight material only if a specific independent school names that test in its admissions policy.
Assuming a high score in one paper can rescue a weak score in another
Kent applies a floor as well as a total: in 2025 a child needed 332 or more overall and no single score below 108. A child with two strong papers and one at 105 did not receive a grammar school assessment. Check whether your area applies a minimum per paper before deciding to write off a weak subject.
Treating the Kent Test writing exercise as a scored paper
Kent County Council states the writing exercise is not marked, though a local headteacher panel may use it during the headteacher assessment stage. Spend enough time on it to produce a legible, organised piece, and put the remaining hours into the papers that generate the standardised scores.
Practising non-verbal reasoning as one long block
The Kent Test splits non-verbal reasoning into short sections that are administered and timed individually. A child rehearsed only on 30-minute blocks will over-invest in early questions and lose the last items in each short section. Practise in short timed bursts that end abruptly.
Sitting only one SEAG paper and hoping the other counts
SEAG marks a single paper but designates the outcome with an 'e' for estimate, for example TSAS 196e and Band 3e, and each school decides its own protocol for estimated outcomes. There is no alternative date for an individual pupil who misses a paper. If illness strikes, the route is a Claim for Special Circumstances made to the post-primary school during the Education Authority transfer process, not to SEAG.
Missing the registration deadline because the child's school registers automatically for someone else
Automatic entry is the exception, not the rule. Buckinghamshire enters children at a state-funded Buckinghamshire primary school or Partner School automatically, but a child at a Milton Keynes school must be registered by the family between 1 May and 3pm on 2 June. SEAG registration closed at 11:59pm on 18 September 2026 with no route in afterwards except any late window at a 50 pound fee.
Sitting practice papers on plain paper instead of a real answer sheet
Kent Test papers are multiple choice with a separate answer sheet marked by computer. A single slipped row costs every subsequent mark in that block. Buy or print separate answer sheets, and teach a checkpoint every ten questions where the child confirms the question number matches the row.
Choosing an assessment centre for the wrong reason
SEAG states there is no connection between where a pupil sits the assessment and the post-primary admissions process, which the Education Authority runs. Choose the most convenient of the 63 centres. Changing centre after submitting a pupil application requires a completely new application, a fresh payment, and the withdrawal of the original, with no refund of the administration fee.
Doing volume practice without an error log
Sitting ten papers and marking them produces ten scores and no diagnosis. Keep one running log with the topic and the reason for every wrong answer, sorted into content gap, misread question, ran out of time and careless slip. The four causes need four different fixes, and only the first is solved by more content teaching.
Reading the qualifying score as a place
Buckinghamshire's 121 makes a child qualified, not admitted; places are then allocated under each school's own oversubscription criteria. Kent's 332 gives a grammar school assessment, and applications are still refused when places run out, at which point an appeal opens. Read the admissions policy of each school for its ranking rules, catchment definition and address cut-off date, which in Buckinghamshire is 1 September for most schools but earlier for some.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Take the identification the administrator asked for. SEAG requires a passport-style photo uploaded at registration plus a birth certificate, passport ID page or both sides of a residence permit to verify name and date of birth, and prints the pupil's name, date of birth and Unique Pupil Number on the answer sheet.
- 2
Arrive early enough to absorb a delay. SEAG states plainly that pupils cannot be admitted after the assessment has started, and the administration fee is non-refundable.
- 3
Bring more than one sharpened pencil and a clean eraser for any paper marked by computer, because a broken pencil in a 25-minute section is expensive.
- 4
Use the practice section for what it is. Every SEAG paper opens with 10 unscored practice questions and each Kent Test section opens with a 5-minute practice exercise; these exist to settle nerves and to rehearse the answer sheet, and nothing in them counts.
- 5
Check the answer sheet row against the question number every ten questions, and again whenever a question is skipped.
- 6
Answer every question. None of the major 11 plus tests deducts marks for a wrong answer, so a blank is worth strictly less than a guess.
- 7
Do not carry time between separately timed blocks. The Kent Test non-verbal reasoning is administered and timed section by section, so unfinished work in one block cannot be rescued from the next.
- 8
Treat each paper as independent. SEAG's two papers are identical in format and set at the same level of difficulty, so a hard-feeling Paper 1 says nothing about Paper 2 a week later.
- 9
Keep a child who is genuinely unwell at home rather than sending them in. Kent runs its out-of-county test on the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2026 and each authority has its own illness process; a poor score sat while ill is harder to undo than an absence handled properly.
- 10
Leave watches with alarms and anything that beeps at home, and confirm the permitted items from the letter the test administrator emailed rather than from a forum.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Year 7 grammar school place in England
The direct outcome of qualifying in Kent, Buckinghamshire, Essex or another selective area. The House of Commons Library counts 163 grammar schools in England teaching around 188,000 pupils in January 2022, 5.3 per cent of state-funded secondary pupils.
No tuition fee; state-funded place
Year 8 place at a Northern Ireland SEAG school
SEAG's 63 member schools include controlled and voluntary grammar schools and integrated schools that use academic selection for all or part of their Year 8 intake, each Board of Governors deciding how to use the Total Standardised Age Score and Band.
No tuition fee; 20 pound SEAG registration fee, waived for Free School Meals Entitlement
Academic scholarship at an independent school
Independent schools run their own 11 plus assessments, several using Cambridge Select Insight: Evaluate for age-standardised results or Cambridge Select Insight: Challenge for raw sub-section and total scores that let them rank candidates.
Partial fee remission, percentage set by each school
Means-tested bursary place at an independent school
Assessed separately from academic performance, but usually conditional on passing the same entrance assessment. Bursary deadlines commonly fall earlier than the entrance test date, so they need checking at the same time as registration.
Up to full fee remission at some schools, assessed on family income
Place at a partially selective or fair-banding school
Cambridge University Press and Assessment markets Cambridge Select Insight to partially selective state schools and schools with fair banding admissions, where the test sorts applicants into bands rather than producing a single pass line.
No tuition fee; place allocated within an ability band rather than by rank
Late transfer entry at 12 plus or 13 plus
A second route for children who missed out at 11. Cambridge Select Insight: Mid-Year Transfer is designed explicitly as a late-transfer test for grammar schools for entry into years 8, 9 and 10, with results age-standardised and benchmarked against the school's existing pupils.
No tuition fee at a state grammar school; entry via a separate mid-year transfer assessment
Prerequisites & Requirements
- Age. SEAG's 2026 Entrance Assessment is open to children born between 2 July 2015 and 1 July 2016 who transfer to Year 8 in September 2027, plus a small number transferring a year earlier or later than normal.
- Registration within the published window. SEAG registration ran from 8am on 18 May 2026 to 11:59pm on 18 September 2026. Buckinghamshire registration ran from 1 May to 3pm on 2 June 2026. CSSE registration for 2027 entry closed before the 19 September 2026 test.
- Payment or a fee waiver where a fee applies. SEAG charges a non-refundable 20 pound administration fee, waived in full on production of current Education Authority evidence of Free School Meals Entitlement.
- Identification. SEAG requires a passport-style photograph plus a birth certificate, the ID page of a passport, or both sides of a residence permit, with a deed poll where the name differs.
- No academic prerequisite. There is no minimum school report, no prior qualification and no interview requirement to sit the test itself.
- An access arrangements application, if needed, submitted before the registration deadline with supporting documentation. Cambridge Select Insight supplies 25 per cent extra time versions for candidates with special educational needs.
- A separate school application to the local authority afterwards. Sitting the test does not apply for a place: Buckinghamshire families must submit a secondary school application to their home local authority by 31 October 2026, and in Northern Ireland the Education Authority runs the post-primary transfer application from about February 2027.
- In Northern Ireland, children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs do not sit the assessment at all, because a separate Year 8 admissions process applies and SEAG outcomes form no part of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there still a CEM 11 plus?
No, not under that name and not for grammar schools. Bond 11+ records that CEM went online only for 2022-23, fell from over 40 per cent of the 163 UK grammar schools to almost none because most state schools could not supply the computers, and was rebranded as Cambridge Insight in April 2025 with its selective exam renamed Cambridge Select Insight. Cambridge University Press and Assessment now markets that 60-minute computer assessment mainly to selective independent schools, partially selective state schools and fair-banding schools, plus a mid-year transfer version for grammar schools.
Can my child retake the 11 plus?
Not within the same admissions round. Each area runs one sitting per year for that year's cohort, and SEAG states there is no alternative date for an individual pupil who misses a paper. The realistic second chance is late transfer at 12 plus or 13 plus, which Cambridge Select Insight: Mid-Year Transfer is designed for and which covers entry into years 8, 9 and 10 at participating grammar schools.
What does the 11 plus cost?
In England, registering for a state grammar school test is normally free; you pay only for preparation material if you choose to buy any. In Northern Ireland SEAG charges a non-refundable administration fee of 20 pounds per pupil, rising to 50 pounds during any late registration window, and waives the fee entirely for pupils with a current Free School Meals Entitlement evidenced by the Education Authority. Independent schools set their own entrance assessment fees.
What score does my child need to pass?
There is no national pass mark, and the threshold is set locally each year. Kent County Council required a total of 332 or more with no single score below 108 for a grammar school assessment in 2025, on a scale where individual scores run from 69 to 141 and the maximum total is 423. Buckinghamshire Council treats a Secondary Transfer Test score of at least 121 as qualified for its 13 grammar schools. SEAG issues a Total Standardised Age Score and a Band, and each SEAG school's Board of Governors sets its own criteria.
How does the score scale actually work?
Scores are standardised for age, not reported as raw marks. Kent County Council describes standardisation as a statistical process comparing a child's performance with the average performance of other children in each test, with a slight adjustment for age so the youngest are not disadvantaged. SEAG says its outcomes take account of the pupil's age at the time of the assessment, the number of correct answers and the degree of difficulty of the assessment. SEAG reports an English or Gaeilge SAS and a Maths SAS, each running 69 to 141 with a mean of 100, and adds them to give a Total SAS from 138 to 282 with a mean of 200.
When do results arrive?
Autumn for England and January for Northern Ireland. Kent Test results for the September 2026 sitting go out on Thursday 15 October 2026 by email to the address used at registration, or by first class post where no email was given. Buckinghamshire releases Secondary Transfer Test results on 9 October 2026. CSSE emailed its 2026 entry results on 13 October 2025. SEAG plans to release Statements of Outcomes online on Saturday 23 January 2027.
What happens if my child fails?
You keep the right to apply and the right to appeal. Kent County Council states that a child not assessed as suitable for a Kent grammar school can still be named on the application, that the application to that school will be refused when places are offered on 1 March 2027, and that you then have the right to appeal to explain why you think it is a suitable option. In Northern Ireland the Education Authority runs the transfer application, and academically selective schools include Special Circumstances provisions in their Year 8 admissions criteria.
Can I ask for the paper to be re-marked?
In Northern Ireland, yes. SEAG allows a parent to request a re-mark of Paper 1, Paper 2 or both within a published window, opening 25 January 2027 and closing 3 February 2027 for that cycle. Re-marks are done by hand and cost 20 pounds per paper, so 40 pounds for both, and the fee is refunded if the re-mark changes the Total Standardised Age Score in either direction. Kent County Council does not publish an equivalent re-mark service.
What if my child is ill on the day?
Do not send them. Kent runs its out-of-county sitting on the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2026 and handles individual cases through Kent admissions. SEAG offers no alternative date for an individual absence, marks whichever single paper was sat, and reports an estimated outcome tagged with an 'e', for example TSAS 196e and Band 3e; the parent then makes a Claim for Special Circumstances to the post-primary school with documentary evidence during the Education Authority transfer process.
Are access arrangements available?
Yes, and they must be applied for in advance. SEAG describes Access Arrangements as reasonable adjustments for children with identified specific, significant or substantive needs, requires supporting documentation, and demands submission before registration closes at 11:59pm on 18 September 2026. Cambridge Select Insight ships 25 per cent extra time versions for candidates with special educational needs. Kent County Council assesses any child with a severe visual impairment who cannot access the papers through a headteacher panel that reviews classwork and academic achievement instead.
Can my child use a calculator or take reference material in?
No. None of the main 11 plus tests permits a calculator, a dictionary or notes; the SEAG maths content is drawn from the statutory Northern Ireland Curriculum for Mathematics and Numeracy at Key Stage 2 and is designed for mental and written methods. Take the items the test administrator's letter lists, typically pencils and an eraser, and nothing else.
Is the test taken on paper or on a computer?
Both exist, and it depends on the school. The Kent Test uses multiple-choice papers with a separate answer sheet marked by computer. CSSE and SEAG use paper papers. Cambridge Select Insight is a computer assessment that the school downloads to its local network, with each student working at a computer guided by on-screen instructions and feedback available to the school within 72 hours.
Should we hire a tutor?
That is a family decision, and the test setters take opposing positions on preparation. Cambridge University Press and Assessment states that it publishes no commercially available practice or past papers, endorses no other commercial materials or tuition services, and designs its assessments so children can show potential without excessive preparation. SEAG, by contrast, publishes free practice papers with answer keys and a parents' guide, while also saying it endorses no other materials. Familiarity with the answer sheet and the timing is worth having either way.
How competitive is entry?
Competition is local and varies year to year, so treat any single ratio with caution. Two published anchors help: Kent County Council publishes an annual Kent Test scores report showing how many children scored each total, released in response to freedom of information requests, and CSSE publishes a Historical Guidance Sheet under its Freedom of Information tab showing cut-off point data for previous years. Both are more useful than a general applicants-per-place figure.
Does sitting the test count as applying for a school place?
No, and confusing the two costs places every year. Buckinghamshire families must submit a secondary school application to their home local authority by 31 October 2026 in addition to sitting the test. SEAG states that it has no role in the post-primary admissions process, which the Education Authority runs from around February 2027, and that where a pupil sits the assessment has no connection to where they may apply.
How does the 11 plus compare with the 13 plus Common Entrance?
They test different things at different ages. The 11 plus decides entry at Year 7 and leans heavily on reasoning and Key Stage 2 English and maths, standardised for age and used to rank or band applicants. The 13 plus route into senior independent schools comes later, usually rests on a pre-test in Year 6 or 7 followed by subject papers at 13, and covers a wider curriculum including sciences, languages and humanities. A child aiming at a 13 plus school may still sit a Year 6 pre-test in the same term as their 11 plus peers.
Does the 11 plus result expire?
It applies to one admissions round. A Kent Test outcome or a Buckinghamshire qualification is used for entry in the following September and does not carry forward to a later year; a child who repeats the year or applies again would need to sit the relevant assessment for that cohort. SEAG's Statement of Outcomes is issued for the transfer cycle in which the pupil sat, and schools use it within that year's Year 8 admissions criteria.
What is a Band and how does it differ from a score?
A Band is a percentile grouping, not a mark. SEAG reports six Bands, with Band 1 the highest and Band 6 the lowest, set by cohort percentile: pupils in Band 1 are in the top 40 per cent of those who sat the assessment, all Band 1 pupils have a Cohort Percentile of 60 or higher, and Bands 2 to 5 each contain 10 per cent of the cohort. Some schools admit on Total Standardised Age Score, some on Band, some on a combination, and the Board of Governors of each school decides.
Success Stories
“We started with Bond books in Year 5 and added Atom Learning in Year 6. Consistent practice - 30 minutes daily - made the difference. Don't leave it until last minute!”
Parent - Sarah M.
Son at grammar school
“Understanding the CEM format was crucial. We focused on building genuine vocabulary and comprehension skills rather than tricks. Reading widely helped enormously.”
Parent - James K.
Daughter at Henrietta Barnett
“Different children need different approaches. One loved timed practice, the other needed more discussion. Keep it positive - the journey matters as much as the result.”
Parent - Aisha R.
Twins at grammar schools
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