11+ guide · By BrightEleven editorial · Last reviewed 17 September 2026
11+ guides for parents
Free to read, no sign-up. Written for parents in plain English, each guide says what we know, what varies by area, and where to check.
The guides
- What is the 11+? A plain guide for 2026/27
What the 11+ is, who sits it and when in the 2026/27 school year, what a GL-style test covers, how results are reported, and how to find out what applies in your area.
- Which 11+ exam board does your school use?
GL Assessment, CSSE, FSCE or ISEB: how to find out which 11+ test your child will sit, what happened to CEM in 2023, and who BrightEleven is - and is not - built for.
- The shift from CEM to GL: what changed, and what it means for your child
CEM stopped setting paper 11+ tests in 2023 and most of its areas moved to GL-style tests. Why older GL-vs-CEM advice reads out of date, what a GL-style test looks like, and how to prepare for it.
- When to start 11+ preparation
There is no single right date. What counts as preparation in Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, the signs it is too early, and the things that matter more than the start date.
- Year 4 or Year 5: when should 11+ practice begin?
What Year 4 is for, what Year 5 is for, why the test's timing in Year 6 matters, and why a child who begins in Year 5 has enough time.
- How much 11+ practice is enough?
Little and often: why short, regular sessions do more than long ones, what a sensible week looks like, how to tell when it is too much, and how the run-up to the test changes things.
- Preparing for the 11+ without a tutor
What a tutor actually provides, how each part can be covered at home, when a tutor genuinely helps, and what a parent does and does not need to be.
- 11+ standardised scores, explained
What an 11+ standardised score is, how age standardisation works, why a good score depends on the area, and why BrightEleven shows a readiness band rather than predicting a number.
- A calm 11+ exam day
The week before, the night before, the morning, the room and the afternoon after: how to keep the 11+ exam day ordinary for a child of ten or eleven.
One page per subject
What each subject looks like in a GL-style paper, the topics our bank covers, and a free ten-question quiz on any of them.
- 11+ maths: what it covers and the topics to practise
What maths looks like in a GL-style 11+ paper, the sixteen maths topics BrightEleven covers, and ten free questions on any one of them with no sign-up.
- 11+ English: what it covers and the topics to practise
What English looks like in a GL-style 11+ paper, the twelve English topics BrightEleven covers, and ten free questions on any one of them with no sign-up.
- 11+ verbal reasoning: question types and the topics to practise
What verbal reasoning is in a GL-style 11+ paper, the thirteen question types BrightEleven covers, how it differs from non-verbal reasoning, and ten free questions on any topic.
- 11+ non-verbal reasoning: question types and the topics to practise
What non-verbal reasoning is in a GL-style 11+ paper, the eleven question types BrightEleven covers, and ten free questions on any one of them with no sign-up.
Free tools
The lookups and the quiz that go with these guides are listed on the free tools page.