How to Pass the 11 Plus: Exam Technique and Timing Strategy

There is no technique that guarantees an 11+ qualifying result or a school place. Begin with what your child needs to learn and the current instructions for the schools you are considering. Timing practice is one part of preparation.

This guide offers planning examples. It does not prescribe a fixed practice schedule, diagnose why a child made an error or predict an official score.

Check the test before planning practice

Find the correct entry year on the official school, council or consortium website. Note the subjects, answer format, paper length, separately timed sections and rules about returning to questions. Check registration and the separate school-application deadline too.

The local rules matter. GL Assessment warns that local question counts and timings may differ from its familiarisation materials. Its free examples introduce question formats; they are not a complete specification for every GL-supplied test.

Medway's published format gives 30 minutes for English, 50 for mathematics and 45 for reasoning, excluding administration and practice questions. Reasoning has 20 minutes across four timed spatial/non-verbal sections and a separate 25-minute verbal section. The council states a minimum 20-minute break between papers. These are local arrangements, not a national timetable.

CSSE's current general information describes English lasting 60 minutes plus 10 minutes of reading time, and mathematics lasting 60 minutes. It says Applied Reasoning was removed from English from the 2025-entry cycle. CSSE's 2027-entry guide is still published for general information. For 2028 entry, CSSE says registration opens in May 2027 and important dates will be published by Easter 2027. Check the correct cycle before relying on timings.

A practice percentage is not an official result

Local qualifying and allocation rules differ. A raw percentage cannot by itself show whether a child will qualify or receive a place.

For example, Medway standardises raw scores for age and then weights the standardised scores: English multiplied by two, mathematics by two and reasoning by one. Its published minimum total for September 2027 admission is 478. That is a cycle-specific weighted score, not 478 raw marks or a percentage.

The weighting does not mean that one extra raw English answer necessarily adds twice as much to the final score as one extra reasoning answer. Standardisation comes before weighting. Qualification also remains separate from a school's oversubscription rules.

An optional seconds-per-question calculation

An average can help you understand a practice paper's timing, but questions need different amounts of reading and working. Do not insist that each takes exactly the same time.

Here is one illustrative method:

1. Convert the allowed time to seconds.
2. Optionally keep 10% for checking, where the instructions allow returning to work.
3. Divide the remaining seconds by the number of questions.
4. For a simple planning number, round down to a multiple of five seconds.

For an invented 50-minute, 50-question paper, 50 × 60 = 3,000 seconds. Keeping 300 seconds for checking leaves 2,700. Dividing by 50 gives 54 seconds per question, rounded down to 50. This is an example, not the published question count for Medway or another local test.

For a 25-minute, 40-question practice section, 1,500 × 0.9 = 1,350 seconds; 1,350 ÷ 40 = 33.75 seconds, rounded down to 30. Reading time, shared passages and different mark values can make a simple average less useful.

The calculator uses this illustrative 10% reserve and rounding method. Its checkpoints divide the whole allowed time proportionally: they are separate prompts, not a schedule that guarantees the reserve will remain. For the 50-question example, halfway is 25 minutes and question 26; at 40 minutes it shows question 41. If you follow those checkpoints exactly, you have not protected a final five-minute review period.

The 25% extra-time option is an example calculation. Use it only if that allowance has been approved for the particular test. It does not establish eligibility or represent every possible adjustment.

Follow the section and reading-time rules

A practice strategy must fit the instructions. If returning within a section is allowed, you could leave a difficult question and come back before that section ends. Do not return to an earlier section or move ahead unless permitted. Some assessments restrict navigation.

Use any separate reading time as directed. Do not assume you may annotate, start answers or work on another part of the paper. Practise the instructions in the target school's current familiarisation material.

For multiple-choice questions, check the marking rules before choosing a guessing strategy. There is no universal rule that a guess is always better than a blank across all assessments and scoring systems.

Practise recording an answer

Where a test uses a separate answer sheet, practise matching the question number to its row and following the mark-making instructions. An answer in the wrong place may not receive credit for the intended question.

Read the local guidance on pencils, corrections and the number of options to select. A digital practice layout cannot establish how every paper answer sheet is marked. The original activity below lets you practise recording answers. It is not an official local test sheet.

Review an error before choosing the next task

Ask the child to explain what they tried. Did they understand the topic, understand the question, have time to finish and record the intended answer? These are conversation prompts, not a diagnostic classification with a fixed number of causes.

Use the relevant mark scheme to check the answer and, where available, partial credit. A missing method may need teaching; an unfamiliar instruction may need explanation. Several difficulties can occur together. A percentage breakdown from a few practice questions cannot establish a child's learning needs.

Agree manageable next steps with the child and teacher or tutor where involved. There is no universal number of papers, eight-week timetable or guaranteed improvement period. Our preparation planning guide offers broader questions to consider.

Before the assessment

Use the official invitation for arrival time, venue, permitted equipment, breaks and access arrangements. Check how results will be delivered and when the home council requires the school application. A test registration or qualifying result does not replace that application.

Is 70% enough? A percentage from an unspecified practice paper cannot answer that. Check the test's official qualifying and allocation rules.

Can timing practice replace subject teaching? No. It can help a child become familiar with a format, but it does not teach every missing concept or guarantee a higher ranking.

How often should my child sit a full paper? There is no single schedule established here. Choose practice that fits the child's current learning and wellbeing, leaving time to discuss what needs help.