Entering DC for 11+ at fancy private schools which you can't afford.

TBH, I can't see any reason why you would want your DD to sit exams for schools that you are very unlikely to send her to:-

1. It costs £££ to even take the exam for these schools with registration fees varying from £25 to £150.

1. You need to prepare differently for independent school exams than you do for most 11+ exams. At indy you do papers in verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths, english (comprehension and creative writing). Also (in this area) the 11+ exams are September of Year 6 and the indy exams aren't until January of Year 6 so it's a different schedule of work/preparation.

1. Scholarships are usually only worth 5% to 10% of the fees (and sometimes are 'just for the prestige' and have no financial award attached at all).

1. She will be competing against people who really want places at these schools so if she is not motivated or properly prepared, her chances of success will be reduced.

On the other side:-
There are loads of bursaries available at independent schools so maybe it is a more affordable option than you think (but you need to do your research).

Good luck.

Main downside round here would be that the state school exams are months before the private school exams.

The tests themselves can be very different, as are the numbers sitting, so I'm not entirely sure that the process works as a genuine mock. State schools often have multiple choice (cheaper and faster to mark), whereas private schools want to see how you write and how you think (so marks for showing working in maths etc).

I also wonder how you would incentivise someone to sit exams for a school that they wouldn't go to? Not a problem if they're not doing any extra work.

So much depends on the area and the schools. We live near superselectives which are very tough to get into, and whilst the independent schools are selective, they are relatively much easier to get into.