11+ Support Thread 2026

[Elevenseconds]

Hi all

Am I going mad? I'm sure we had a thread to discuss those current Y5 who will be taking the exam in September. Has it disappeared, or am I having a moment?

Well in that case - how is everyone doing?

DD is working hard on her tutoring. Generally it feels like she's doing well. There are a couple of areas of maths she finds trickier - weights and measures, area and perimeter. She generally has a good attitude to it.

However, I'm very conscious that pride comes before a fall, and we know a couple of families where the first child has worked really hard and passed, and the second child (often regarded to have a better natural aptitude) just falls short, so I'm very aware that we shouldn't count our chickens.

So this time next year we'll be getting secondary school allocations. It seems to have come round quickly!

I feel I'm mostly talking to myself on this thread, but it's interesting to have a record.

DD's profile was initially quite well-rounded, but is becoming spikier with the deepening complexity of maths, plus the recent addition of Spatial Reasoning to her tutoring homework (not her strength).

She sometimes trips up on quite simple comprehension questions, but on the plus side her VR is extremely strong, and her technical English is also very good.

How is everyone else doing? I'm already looking forward to being done with it!

Still talking to myself but a useful record, nonetheless!

DD2 did a mock at the weekend - we need to wait about a week for her result, but she came out feeling positive, so it's good that she's had a good experience at least.

She does weekly online tests with her tutoring company, and she's coming out in the top 15-20% of her cohort, which is reassuring. But conversely I spoke to someone today who did the same tutoring company, whose child (like DD) was Greater Depth since Y1, who scored 116, got a 1:1 recommendation from the head, and didn't get through on Selection Review. So I'm very conscious not to count our chickens.

Multi-step word problems with maths remain her nemesys.

How is everyone else doing?

Ah this caught my attention as I was scrolling. We went through it last year, so feel your pain. Which area are you in? We're Bucks, and spatial hasn't come up for quite a few years now. Never say never though! Our daughter didnt "pass" (75%) any of her mocks, and she did about 10 of the damn things. I think the tutor made them tougher so nobody took foot off pedal. I'd take it all with a pinch of salt. Our daughter has never been greater depth but did pass, the main thing for us was drilling over summer and timing everything. Imo it's more about technique than anything else. Good luck!

Thanks! Yes, we are in Bucks too, and it's our second rodeo. DD1 passed comfortably - but the studying was hard work with lots of bumps along the way. It's hard to gauge if DD2 is genuinely a bit more able as she's finding it much easier - or if the tutoring has been set at a lower level, or if we're more experienced at handling it. Possibly a bit of all three.

I definitely don't feel nearly as anxious as with DD1 (not because I think DD2 is a sure thing but because I have a clearer idea of where the bar is, and that in itself brings a bit more certainty). Ask me again in September/October! 😂

Still talking to myself here! I’m sure previous years have had supportive threads sharing tips and worries.

Plodding along here. Noticed a definite uptick in the difficulty of NVR and Spatial which is hitting DD’s confidence, but chugging along!

How’s everyone else doing?

We have had 2 mocks and found that especially in maths DD has brain freezes. Questions she can do in her head at the dinner table are suddenly too tricky in the exam. Although there were some improvements from the first. She is still going to tuition but they are still going through content at the moment I'm hoping once they get to practicing exams it will improve more.

I'm struggling with helping with comprehension as none of us are that strong in English. She seems okay with creativity writing it won't take much to increase her score there.

Part of me is glad we don't have to worry about NVR or VR.

Hi - first post, long-time lurker. Daughter just sat first mock. She's fairly relaxed about the whole thing, which is good. Definitely has got some Maths questions wrong, based on her description, but luckily here Maths is only 25% of total mark - she's good at Maths, but she's not 'quick' like some kids. What I do find a bit frustrating is that in her group tutoring, they seem to have stopped teaching them things and focused only on practice tests and test technique these last few weeks. But we have to identify the problem areas ourselves and coach her it seems - fine, but not entirely sure what we're paying for at this stage! Fingers crossed.

Hello! First timer here and I am
far, far more stressed about that than DC (who just sat their first mock exam this weekend). Blithely told me they didn’t finish either paper despite my reminders to just put something for every question 😄Awaiting marks now. God knows what I’ll be like waiting for the results of the actual test!

Experienced MNers, I know kids don’t ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ per se, but am i right
in thinking that around 75% is the lowest realistic ‘good’ score?

I'm not an experienced MNer but I like to research everything! The result needed depends on the 11+ area / test / school. So you need to understand the test for your area and the schools you want to apply to.

My DD is sitting the test in Essex. None of the schools that use the test will accept a standardised score lower than 303, however the actual score needed to get into individual schools depends on their criteria and the pupils that have applied to the school.
Colchester County girls has a catchment area so a score of approx. 65% would get in within the catchment.
Colchester Royal Grammar (the boys school) has no catchment so a score of approx. 75% is needed.
For some of the Southend Grammar schools within catchment you can get in with 305 which is approx 55%.

We are Bucks too. Which schools are you aiming at?

DD was doing brilliantly and is consistently at GD, but seems to have had a drop in confidence and now struggling emotionally. Hoping it's just a blip. She is great at NVR, just naturally able with it, VR is also strong apart from the number lines which seem to be a bit hit or miss.

It's our first rodeo as neither DH or I grew up in a grammar area, and I can't say I'm a fan of it as a concept. But she wanted to go for it

@Bushmillsbabe That’s amazing to hear they’re great at NVR. People’s brains work so differently. Neither of my girls, nor me, nor my husband are any good at NVR (and particularly weak at spatial)!

VR is DD’s superpower.

DD1 is at the Floyd, so if DD2 passes, I imagine that’s where she’ll head. We’re in catchment so it’s just (just?!) a case of qualifying.

Hi all,

Just following, attempting to do this in London without tutoring because we started so late in the day. DD is doing bits daily but im finding it hard to keep on top of homework and doing extra for the exam.

Considering doing an official mock just to see where we are at.

Just registered DD for the 11+. It's making this feel so much more real!
2 of the test centres in our area were already at capacity and registration only opened last week!

Hi all,

Im doing this without a tutor (North London) and finding it all really tough. We are working through ATOM. DD averaging on 97 on the odd test done. Shes easily top in lots of her classes in current indie but making silly mistake.

Hi all - happy to join in! We're aiming for Gloucestershire schools. One twin finding it far easier than the other, which is making the whole thing much more stressful. We're doing atom and trying to spend some 1:1 time through the week unpicking any areas of difficulty. We have a tutor once a week for both children, but for general maths, rather than the 11+ specifically. Is anyone else using atom - we're also getting around 100 on the tests we do and I can't work out what that means with this far to go...nice to see others in a similar boat!

Aargh - I feel your pain. I have two friends, with a set of twins each, and in both cases, one twin passed and the other didn't. However - a happy ending for both, as both got through on Selection Review (Bucks).

One twin that got through on review seems to be struggling a bit with the workload / pressure - which is always a worry with any child, but particularly if they didn't quite score the magic number in the exam.

It is my concern that if we tutor too much DD will get in and struggle. However, we are in the position that without 11+ there is only one local school she would get into and be able to get to; which is currently under subscribed. This means that if we need to move in year because she isn't coping we would likely get a place and be no worse off.

@CoralLemur

It is my concern that if we tutor too much DD will get in and struggle.

That is possible but keep in mind that many, perhaps most, students who pass will have been tutored, some quite heavily. A school will teach at the pace at which most of its students can learn, which is not necessarily the pace at which students who pass without tutoring can learn.

That is my hope that they will go at the students pace but it is also how she adapts to not being at the top of the class.
We also have to see how the travel affects her, as while she won't have the longest travel time it will still be about 1hr 20 mins each way; which may take a toll.

Although these worries need to take a backseat as we need to get through the next few months and see how she does on the day.

That's quite a journey - are you applying from out of area?

We had similar thoughts around how would DD manage if got in. And then I got talking to a friend who is deputy of a very prestigious girls school but used to work in a top grammar, who said that state school pupils are generally not the ones who struggle in grammar, it's some of the private ones who tutor them so hard that they get in without being of a high enough ability. There is a private prep near us which boasts a 100% pass rate at the 11+, but doesn't have selective entry, so some will not be naturally able but have been prepped so hard they pass but then struggle.

We will be in catchment but it's 15 miles away and with the route and traffic the bus takes awhile.

I wonder if these schools can spot those who have been tutored? We haven't gone down the tutor route because we just didn't have time/didnt think ahead. Im hoping we still have a chance

My friend said they can spot those who have been heavily tutored and scraped through, and wouldnt have got in without it. There is a huge difference between doing an hour a week tutoring for year 5 and some past papers to get them familiar with the question styles, and tutoring intensively for years beforehand though.

We have done the first option, an hour a week for around 30 weeks, plus she has approx 30 mins homework from tutoring each week. Some people we know have done lots more, but our view was that if she doesn't get through with that level of support, then it's probably not the right option for her.