The 11+ Exam (or “11-plus”) is a selective entrance exam generally taken at the beginning of Year 6, generally in September. The content varies between different schools but will generally be based on some or all of the following types of questions: English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning. It may involve sitting two or even three eleven plus examinations. Sometimes the tests will be of a different kind, e.g. non-verbal reasoning and a verbal reasoning test and in other cases, the tests will be the same, e.g. two verbal reasoning tests.

(1) GL Assessment (previously known as NFER)is the most common exam provider used to administer the 11+ exams for most grammar schools The GL 11+ exam covers English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning (spatial awareness).
(2) CEM developed by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University is also used in some areas to administer the 11+ exams in some areas,The CEM 11+ exam covers verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning. (The verbal reasoning exam includes many of the skills tested in the GL English exam; the numerical reasoning exam includes many of the skills tested in the GL maths exam.) Some schools use a mixture of GL and CEM.
Nosce Education has developed specific 11+ tuition programmes that focus on both exam methods. In both GL and CEM exams, there is a strong emphasis on core skills in English and maths; including spelling, punctuation, grammar, comprehension, and vocabulary, including arithmetic skills, problem-solving, and data manipulation. Non-verbal reasoning assesses spatial awareness, pattern-spotting and logical skills.

The best time to start preparing your child for the 11+ depends entirely on their current attainment levels and experience. At Nosce we will assess this using a Star Assessment Your son or daughter may only need a few weeks or months of preparation as the 11+ exam approaches, focusing several months of support, weekly tuition with a grammar school admissions specialist or in an 11+ group of 3/4 pupils -(for more information on this please see group tuition). For Success children need to be challenged academically and practice enough to become accustomed to the way that the exam works.
Nosce Education provides specialist 11+ Examination tutors who have considerable experience in preparing children for entry into grammar schools. All of our 11+ tutors are qualified and experienced teachers, a significant number working as teachers within the Primary, Prep and Grammar School Sectors and who have thorough knowledge and experience of the 11+ process.

If your child doesn’t do as well as you expected, Nosce Education can submit an appeal to challenge the decision. You can also consider applying again for a later selection, at 12+ or 13+.