How to Register for the 11 Plus

To register for the 11 plus, start with the schools your child might apply to. Check which test each school uses, who runs that test, and whether your child is entered automatically or needs a form. Your home address can affect school priority, but it does not by itself tell you which test to register for.

In some areas a local authority runs registration (Kent, Medway, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Wirral). Elsewhere, schools or a shared test body run it (CSSE in Essex and the West Midlands grammar schools). In Gloucestershire, the grammar schools administer the shared entrance test rather than the council, and families select which schools receive the child's result. Buckinghamshire enters children at its state-funded primary schools automatically; other children need to register. Check the official route for the particular school and entry year.

Applying for September 2027 entry? The main 2026 test-registration windows listed below have closed. If your child has a result, the next step is the separate secondary school application through your home council. GOV.UK gives 31 October as the general deadline, but Kent Council sets Monday 2 November 2026 for Kent residents. Check your own council's exact date and any school supplementary form. A qualifying result is not a school-place offer. Our Kent Test, Medway Test and CSSE Essex 11+ guides explain the test routes; check the relevant council or school for current application instructions.

In Year 5 now? You are on the September 2028 cycle. Do not reuse the 2027 dates in this guide. These 2028 timings are published so far:

• Gloucestershire: the grammar schools plan to open registration at noon on 8 February 2027 and close it at noon on 19 March 2027, with the test on Saturday 3 July 2027, using FSCE. That is earlier than the previous cycle's May to June registration and September test (Gloucestershire Council).
• Wirral: online registration opens on 1 May 2027 and closes on 31 May 2027, with assessments expected in September 2027 (Wirral Council).
• Buckinghamshire: registration is listed for May to June 2027, with the practice and transfer tests in early September 2027. Exact days are not yet listed (Buckinghamshire Council).
• Essex (CSSE): registration for 2028 entry opens in May 2027, and CSSE says important dates will be published by Easter 2027 (CSSE).
• Kent: no 2028-entry dates yet. Quest Assessments will deliver the test, and Kent says it will publish details when they are confirmed (Kent County Council).
• The Latymer School, north London: proposes using Quest Assessments for 2028 entry, subject to formal consultation from 10 November 2026 (Latymer).

Other areas have not set out 2028 timings on the pages we rely on. Watch for official announcements in spring 2027, and confirm every date with the test administrator before planning.

Dame Alice Owen’s School has also published key dates for September 2028 entry: test registration is listed from 10am on 28 April to 4pm on 10 June 2027, with Part I on 1 September and Part II on 25 September 2027. Only children living in one of the school's Local Priority Areas can sit its tests, so check eligibility before registering. These dates do not register a child for another area’s test.

What 11 plus registration actually means

Test registration tells the authority or schools running an assessment that your child intends to sit it. Some children are entered automatically, as Buckinghamshire Council explains for pupils at its state-funded primary schools. Other families must submit a form within the test's window and check that registration was confirmed. Neither route is an application for a school place.

The application for a school place is a separate step, on your home council's timetable. Doing the test or receiving a qualifying result does not complete that application. You must name each school you want considered on the secondary school form.

Test registration does not commit you to accepting a grammar place. It may ask which schools should receive the result, and missing its deadline can limit or delay your child's chance to be tested. Late-testing rules differ: Gloucestershire says its schools run a later entrance test for some children who missed September, while other authorities have narrower exceptions. Ask the relevant administrator what is possible for your child.

Test entry and school application are separate

Direct answer: Check whether your child must register for the chosen test or is entered automatically. Either way, if you want a state grammar school place, you must also name that school on a separate secondary school application through your home council. Check the test and school-form deadlines for the correct entry year.

GOV.UK gives 31 October as the general secondary application deadline and 1 March as National Offer Day, with the next working day used when offer day falls on a weekend or bank holiday. Your home council's published date controls your application: for September 2027 entry, Kent residents have until 2 November 2026, while Wirral and Torbay residents have a 31 October 2026 deadline. Families in England apply through their home council even if the preferred school is in another area.

The Gloucestershire Council guidance is explicit: a qualifying test rank is not an offer, and a grammar school must be named on the school application. Wirral Council says it withdraws a grammar preference if the child does not meet the required standard, leaving the remaining preferences in order. Put schools in your genuine preference order and include non-selective options, following your home council's advice.

Who registers your child: council, consortium or school

Direct answer: Find the test used by each school on your shortlist, then follow that test administrator's current instructions. Local authorities run registration for tests in Kent, Medway, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Wirral. Groups of schools manage other shared tests, including CSSE in Essex and the West Midlands. Gloucestershire's seven grammar schools administer their entrance test without the council.

The council branch is the most familiar. You create an account on a council portal, complete a short online form during a fixed window, and receive an automated confirmation. Warwickshire, for example, has parents register through a Parent Portal account and sends a confirmation email on submission (warwickshire.gov.uk).

For a shared test, one registration may let you select several schools to receive the result. CSSE administers a single Essex test used by ten schools, including the Colchester, Southend and Westcliff grammars (CSSE 2027-entry guide). The West Midlands grammar schools also share a test, but individual schools still apply their own admissions rules. Check whether the test form asks you to select the schools or areas that may use your child's result.

In Gloucestershire, the schools administer the entrance test and ask families which of the seven grammar schools should receive the result. The council does not run the test and cannot answer questions about an individual child's test outcome (Gloucestershire Council). If your shortlist crosses test areas, use our grammar schools by area guide to identify each route, then confirm registration on the official test or school site.

The registration calendar, milestone by milestone

Below are examples from the September 2027 entry cycle, whose main test-registration windows have now closed. "Year 5" in the list means spring 2026, the year those children were in Year 5. A child in Year 5 now is on the 2028 cycle, so use these dates to see the sequence, not as deadlines to reuse. The 2028 timings published so far are listed near the top of this guide.

A date of birth can indicate the usual school cohort in England. The tool below shows that cohort and illustrative milestones, not the registration or sitting dates for your target school. Individually agreed year groups and local test timetables need separate checks.

Spring of Year 5 (April to May): windows open.

• Buckinghamshire: registration opened 1 May 2026
• Warwickshire: opened 7 May 2026
• Medway: opened Monday 18 May 2026
• Gloucestershire: opened noon on 18 May 2026

Late spring to summer of Year 5 (June to July): windows close. This is the cliff edge.

• Wirral: the council timetable lists 31 May 2026; its assessment page says registration closed at noon on 1 June 2026
• Buckinghamshire: closed 3pm on 2 June 2026
• Medway: closed Friday 12 June 2026
• Gloucestershire: closed noon on 26 June 2026
• Warwickshire: closed 30 June 2026
• Birmingham and the West Midlands consortium: closed 4pm on Friday 26 June 2026. The King Edward VI Foundation says later applicants are tested for a waiting-list place after offers in March 2027
• Kent: registration closed 1 July 2026

Summer (July to August): confirmations and invitations. Buckinghamshire emailed test invitations by 7 August 2026. Follow your administrator’s stated invitation date and contact it if the expected details do not arrive.

Early autumn of Year 6 (September): the tests. Buckinghamshire ran a familiarisation practice test on 8 September 2026 and the transfer test on 10 September 2026. Gloucestershire's entrance test was Saturday 12 September 2026. Wirral assessed on 15 September 2026. CSSE held its Essex test on Saturday 19 September 2026.

October: results, then the application. Buckinghamshire released results on 9 October 2026, and other test administrators publish on their own dates. Apply to your home council by its published deadline even if you have not received or understood every result. Kent's 2027-entry school form closes on 2 November 2026, while many other councils use 31 October. Our results-day guide explains how to read a result letter.

1 March 2027: National Offer Day. Councils send secondary offers for September 2027 entry. Follow the reply instructions and deadline in your offer letter.

For a fuller regional breakdown including areas not listed here, see our companion guide to 11 plus exam dates and registration deadlines by region.

To find your area's official test and school guides, choose it below. Check the linked administrator's dates for your child's entry year before registering.

How to register, step by step

Direct answer: Check whether the chosen test requires a parent registration or whether your child is entered through their primary school. If a form is required, follow that administrator's current instructions, provide the requested details, flag any access-arrangement needs, submit within its window and keep the confirmation. Check separately how to apply for a school place.

Have these to hand before you start:

1. Your child's full legal name, date of birth and any school or pupil identifier the administrator requests
2. Your home address and any proof requested under the school's admissions policy
3. Your child's current primary school details
4. An email address you check regularly for registration and test messages
5. Details of any access arrangements your child normally uses, and the evidence the administrator requests
6. The schools you want considered, where the test form asks you to select them

Submit before the closing day where possible. Some test windows close at noon or 3pm rather than midnight. Check for a confirmation message and contact the administrator promptly if it does not arrive; Medway Council says a child without its confirmation email is not registered.

If you live out of county or out of borough

Direct answer: Some test administrators accept children who live outside the area, but the registration route and each school's place-allocation rules still apply. Do not assume automatic entry outside the school's stated group. Families living in England normally send their school application to their home council, even when naming a school elsewhere.

Buckinghamshire is an important example: the council automatically enters children attending its state-funded primary schools, but a child at a school in Milton Keynes needs a separate registration to sit the Buckinghamshire test. The child's school, not only their home postcode, determines whether automatic entry applies.

Medway Council warns that a child who lives far away may be assessed as grammar but still not receive a Medway school place. Qualification and allocation are separate. Check each school's current oversubscription policy, which may use distance or other priority categories. If you are considering two test areas, check both registration rules and test dates before making plans.

Access arrangements and their deadlines

Direct answer: Tell the test administrator about access needs while registering, then check whether it also needs a separate request, school evidence or a different deadline. The process differs by test.

Ask your child's school and the test administrator early. An access-arrangement deadline may be before or after the main registration close, and arrangements for one test do not automatically carry over to another.

• Medway required parents to speak to the child's school before registration closed, then the school had to submit the formal request by 22 June 2026 for this cycle. Children with an EHCP or a PCAR must still request arrangements; the council says they receive 25% extra time where the school deems it appropriate. Other requests need supporting evidence (Medway Council).
• CSSE required 2027-entry special-adjustment requests and supporting documents by 26 June 2026 (CSSE information guide).
• Warwickshire uses an entirely separate testing arrangements form, emailed with supporting documentation to the council's 11 plus address rather than submitted through the registration portal.

The person who submits the request, the evidence needed and the decision all depend on the test. Speak to your child's school in good time and use the administrator's current form. Do not assume an EHCP, diagnosis or adjustment for another assessment automatically settles this one.

Missing the deadline

Direct answer: Contact the test administrator immediately and check its current entry-year policy. Some refuse late registration, some consider a move or another exceptional reason, and some schools run a later test. A secondary school application alone does not register a child for the test.

For 2027 entry, Wirral Council says late registration is possible only when a child moved to Wirral after its deadline. It also says an unwell child may be invited to another session, but a child who has taken the assessment cannot resit it. Gloucestershire Council says its schools run a Late Entrance Test and ask families to check the preferred school's page in December 2026 for registration details. These are different routes with different effects on allocation; ask the relevant administrator which, if any, applies.

Buckinghamshire leaves a narrow door open, saying it "will not normally accept a late registration for testing unless you have exceptional reasons for not registering before the deadline", and gives separate rules for evidenced relocation into the county (buckinghamshire.gov.uk).

If you have missed the test deadline, put your circumstances to the test administrator promptly and ask for its written instructions. Complete your home council's secondary school application by its own deadline and include schools your child could attend if a selective place is unavailable. Check any late-testing or later admission route directly with the school; it is not a substitute for the school form.

Your registration checklist

Copy or print these six checks and work through them in order:

1. Identify the test for each school. Find its official administrator and check whether your child needs a form or is entered automatically.
2. Write down that test's registration close date and time for the correct entry year. Some close at noon or 3pm.
3. Ask early about access arrangements if they might apply. Check who submits evidence and by when.
4. Gather the details the official form requests, including school and address information where needed.
5. Register if required, then check confirmation using the administrator's instructions. Contact it if confirmation does not arrive.
6. Check your home council's school-form deadline and name every school you genuinely prefer, including non-selective options.

Between registration and the test, use the time available for the actual paper your child will sit. The gap is not always summer to September: Gloucestershire's planned 2028-entry test is in July 2027. Our exam-plan feature can help organise practice, while the official test administrator remains the source for dates and paper format.

Frequently asked questions

How do I register my child for the 11 plus? Find the test used by the schools you want, check whether your child needs a registration form or is entered automatically, and follow the test administrator's dates for the correct entry year. The separate secondary school application goes to your home council.

When can I register for the Kent Test? Kent's window typically opens in early summer and closed on 1 July for 2027 entry. Kent County Council publishes the exact dates each cycle on its register for the Kent Test page, and our Kent Test guide covers the format.

Is there a fee? Check the official test administrator's registration page for the chosen entry year. A charge for optional practice material, a boarding application or an independent-school application is a separate question from the state grammar test registration itself.

Can my child sit more than one area's test? Often, if each administrator accepts the child and the dates do not clash. Check the registration or automatic-entry rules for each test. Your state-school application still goes to your home council if you live in England.

What if we move house after registering? Tell the test administrator and your home council promptly. The school may use a published address cut-off or ask for evidence, and a move after test registration can change how the application is assessed. Check the particular school's policy.

Does a qualifying score guarantee a place? No. It makes your child eligible to be considered under that school's admissions policy. The school must also be named on your secondary school application, submitted by your home council's deadline.