A Flexible 11 Plus Revision Timetable

A timetable can help some families turn a broad goal into a few manageable sessions. Start by identifying the target school's test date and format, then decide what fits around school, rest and family life.

Tests do not all happen at the same point in the year. For example, Buckinghamshire’s published 2028-entry timeline lists practice and transfer tests in early September 2027. Gloucestershire’s schools are planning a 3 July 2027 test for 2028 entry, during Year 5. Other authorities and independent schools publish their own schedules. Use the date for your child's actual test, not a generic month, as the planning anchor.

This page gives three example timetables (12 months, 6 months and 6 weeks), with ideas for revisiting topics and adjusting after missed sessions. They are templates, not a prescribed workload or a promise of a particular result. Use the school's current test information to decide what is relevant.

Why a revision timetable can be hard to keep

A plan can become hard to follow if it assumes every week will go smoothly. These are common practical issues to consider when making a family routine:

• They are built at maximum enthusiasm. The Sunday-night plan reflects the energy of the parent making it, not the reality of a Wednesday in November after swimming club. A plan that only works on a perfect week has little room for ordinary changes.
• They have no slack. A plan with seven scheduled sessions and seven available slots has zero tolerance. One ill child, one birthday party, and you are behind. Behind quickly becomes abandoned, because catching up means redoing the whole schedule.
• The child has little say in it. A plan can be easier to fit around family life when the child can help choose when to practise and which sessions to move.
• The measure does not tell the whole story. A paper score may stay similar even when a child is becoming more familiar with the format. Review the questions and methods as well as the total, and adjust the plan if the practice is not useful.

The examples below show one way to leave room for rest, short sessions and a simple review. Adjust the number and timing of sessions, or pause, if they are not working for your child.

Start with your test date, not today's date

Before you write anything into a grid, find two dates: the day your child sits the test, and the day secondary applications close. Then count backwards.

Test dates vary between authorities and schools. The Admissions Code requires admission authorities to publish their entry requirements and selection process in their admission arrangements. Check your council or school's current page. Our comparison of GL Assessment, CEM and ISEB can help identify which test applies.

For the 2027 entry cycle, Buckinghamshire held its practice test on 8 September and the main test on 10 September 2026, results for 9 October and the secondary application deadline for 31 October. Its current timeline for September 2028 entry lists tests in early September 2027, with exact dates to be confirmed. Paragraph 1.32(c) of the School Admissions Code 2021 says admission authorities must take reasonable steps to inform parents of selection outcomes before the common application deadline. A test result does not guarantee a place.

The order and spacing of test, result and application dates depend on the local process. Leave time to read the result and complete the application, and check both dates with the home authority.

How much revision might suit your child?

There is no official number of weekly revision hours for all 11+ candidates. If extra practice is useful, start with a small amount that fits your child's routine and adjust it based on how they respond. The Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test has two papers of about 60 minutes each with a break, but other tests have different structures.

The schedules below are examples rather than evidence-based hour targets. Avoid assuming that more practice is always better; follow the target school's guidance and leave time for normal schoolwork, sleep and play. GL Assessment publishes around 10 hours of free familiarisation materials and frames their purpose as helping children familiarise themselves with the multiple-choice layout, the content and examples of question types they will face. That is format familiarity, not endurance training. GL also cautions that exact timings, the combination of topics and the number of questions in your local test may differ from its own materials, which is another reason to check your area's specification rather than assume.

Buckinghamshire's own preparation advice is similarly modest: let your child work through the online familiarisation guide, make sure they can work quietly without distractions, support homework, develop comprehension through discussion, and encourage independent problem-solving. Nothing in there requires a wall chart with a session in every square.

Options for organising practice: spacing and mixing topics

When planning practice, you could revisit a topic after a gap instead of covering it once and never returning to it. The one-, three- and eight-week intervals below are examples, not a proven schedule that every child needs.

You could also mix a small number of question types within a session, if your child has already learned the methods. Keep sessions focused and use the target school's specification to choose which subjects to include. These are planning suggestions, not guarantees of better results.

A sample week, which you can change or use only in part:

• Monday: 20 minutes maths core skills, 10 minutes verbal reasoning revisit
• Tuesday: 25 minutes English (comprehension or writing), 5 minutes spelling and vocabulary
• Wednesday: 20 minutes non-verbal reasoning, 10 minutes maths revisit from three weeks ago
• Thursday: free day, reading only
• Friday: 25 minutes mixed reasoning (verbal and non-verbal in one set)
• Saturday: timed section or full paper, depending on the phase
• Sunday: 15 minutes reviewing Saturday's errors, then stop

A 12-month example for a September Year 6 test

This calendar example runs from the start of Year 5 towards a September Year 6 test. If the test is earlier, move or omit blocks rather than assuming the summer holiday comes before it. It is not a required number of sessions or a benchmark. Adjust the dates and amount of practice to the child's test date, needs and routine.

• Block 1, September to October half-term (Year 5 autumn). Start with a routine the child can manage. Reading and discussion can be part of it. Introduce reasoning question types if they appear in the target school's test. Check whether the routine remains manageable.
• Block 2, November to Christmas. If useful, add another question type and revisit earlier learning after a gap. Familiarisation material can show the test format.
• Block 3, January to February half-term. Review the school's subject list and focus practice on topics the child is learning or finds difficult.
• Block 4, February half-term to Easter. Continue revisiting selected topics. Introduce timed work only if it matches the published test format and feels appropriate.
• Block 5, Easter to May half-term. If a practice paper is useful, choose one that resembles the target test and review the answers together.
• Block 6, May half-term to end of Year 5. Keep using the school's current information to guide any next steps; consider whether more or less practice is helpful.
• Block 7, the summer holiday. Use parts of the 6-week example below if useful, while leaving room for a holiday and rest.

A 6-month example for a September Year 6 test

If starting around spring of Year 5, choose a narrower set of priorities based on the target school's test and the child's current learning. Do not try to squeeze every part of the longer plan into fewer weeks.

• Month 1 (March). Identify the target test and the areas where practice would be useful. A short untimed example can help familiarise your child with question types.
• Month 2 (April). Continue practising relevant English and maths skills, with earlier topics revisited when useful.
• Month 3 (May). If non-verbal reasoning is part of the test and unfamiliar to your child, introduce its question formats using suitable familiarisation materials. Consider timing only when the child is ready.
• Month 4 (June). Review progress and adjust the plan. A full paper is optional and should match the target test.
• Month 5 (July). Practise the methods and answer format described by the target school. Avoid adding papers simply to meet a quota.
• Month 6 (the summer holiday). Run the 6-week plan below.

A 6-week example counted back from the test

This is a sample structure for the final six weeks before a test. It is not a requirement to practise five times a week or to complete full papers; adapt it to your child and the school's guidance.

• Week 1. Restart gently after term ends. Revisit a topic from earlier practice if useful.
• Week 2. If appropriate, try a practice paper or short section that matches the school's format. Review mistakes together rather than focusing only on the score.
• Week 3. Choose a manageable next step based on what the child found difficult. Use the published timing only if timed work is appropriate.
• Week 4. Leave room for a rest week or family plans. There is no need to catch up missed sessions.
• Week 5. If your child is comfortable with timed work, consider one final paper that matches the test format. Leave enough time to review it calmly.
• Week 6 (test week). Keep the final days light. Check the test invitation for date, venue and permitted equipment, and prioritise rest and the school's practical instructions.

If you would like the topic-level detail behind these blocks, our year-by-year preparation plan sets out what to cover when, and when to start 11 plus preparation helps if your starting point is earlier or later than Year 5.

If useful, enter the test date below to generate a suggested calendar. It illustrates these planning ideas with sample session and paper counts. You can change or skip them. It does not check your school’s requirements or determine how much practice your child needs.

Print or copy the timetables, with nothing to sign up for

Use the examples directly on this page or copy the parts that suit your family:

1. Print this page. Page length and print layout depend on your browser and settings.
2. Copy the sample week into a paper planner or a spreadsheet, one row per day and one column per week, and pencil in the block milestones as you reach them.
3. Write your test date at the top of the first page, in large letters, and the application deadline beneath it.

You can adapt the example in a paper planner or spreadsheet. If you want practice material to slot into the Saturday sessions, our list of free 11 plus practice papers is a reasonable place to start, alongside the free familiarisation materials published by GL Assessment.

Tracking progress, recovering slipped weeks and keeping your child on side

A timetable needs three supports to survive contact with real life.

A simple review. If you are using a timetable, note what was practised, what felt difficult and what might be worth revisiting. Treat practice-paper scores cautiously: papers differ in difficulty and may not match the target test.

A recovery option. If you miss sessions, you can skip them and restart when it suits your family. There is no need to add extra work to catch up or follow a timetable that is no longer useful.

Child buy-in. If you make a timetable, involve your child in choosing when to practise and which sessions can be moved or skipped.

11 plus revision timetable: frequently asked questions

How many hours a day should my child do? There is no single recommended number of hours for every child. Agree a manageable routine, keep time for rest and play, and reduce or stop extra practice if it is causing stress.

What is a good timetable for revision? One that fits your child's needs and the target school's test, leaves time for rest, and can be changed when it stops helping.

Is 70 percent enough to pass? A practice percentage describes that paper; it cannot establish an official standardised result or offer outcome. Buckinghamshire, for example, standardises each child's score to account for age at the time of testing and then weights the sections (verbal, mathematical and non-verbal) differently, with a standardised score of at least 121 making a child eligible to be considered for a grammar school place. Other areas use different thresholds and different weightings, and eligibility is not the same as an offer. Review the working and error types alongside the score.

What should we consider when making a timetable? Check the target test format and dates, choose a manageable amount of practice, leave time for rest, and review the plan if it is causing stress or no longer fits.

Should we do a full paper every week from the start? There is no need to follow a weekly paper quota. A full paper may include material your child has not studied yet, so its score may be difficult to interpret. Use timed sections or full papers only when they match the target test and are useful for the child's learning.

The most useful timetable is one your family can adapt. Keep the school's current test date and format to hand, and change the plan when it stops being helpful.