FAQ’s – 11 Plus Exam

The 11 Plus entrance exam is held in September and your child may have lots of questions about what will happen on the day. We’ve spoken to some of our previous Year 6 students, who sat the entrance exam and shared the key things you need to know. 

Q. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁?
You will either be seated in the school hall or one of the classrooms of the Grammar School you have registered with.

Q. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀?
Other students taking the exam and an exam invigilator. They will prepare the room and invigilate the exams.

Q. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺?
Yes, there will be a clock in the room.

Q. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁
Yes, they will provide rough paper.

Q. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺?
No, you are not allowed to talk or communicate with anyone in the room. This includes smiling, nodding or looking at anyone else’s answer sheet.

Q. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁?
The English paper lasts 45 minutes, maths & verbal reasoning last 50 minutes each.

Q. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺?
The questions will be multiple choice. You will be given a choice of four or five possible answers for each question. You must choose the one answer that you think is correct.

Q. 𝗗𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁, 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿?
You need to record your answers on the answer sheets provided by marking the correct answer with a thin horizontal line.

Q. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲?
No, mascots are not allowed as they can be a distraction to you and others.

Q. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺?
You are allowed to take snacks to the exam, but these are only for the break. You are allowed a water bottle.

Q. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺?
No, your parents/carer will drop you at the school, 15-30 mins before the start and then pick you up 3 – 3.5 hours later.

Q. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸?
Every school’s pass mark is different. The scores are standardised using a complex statistical process, with the average score being 100. This takes into account your age and the difficulty of the paper. Children born early in the academic year need a higher score to pass compared to younger students, as they are more likely to have a higher level of vocabulary compared to younger students.

If you have any further questions on the 11 Plus, or thinking about tuition for your child, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
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Phil and Katie have taught our kids over the years - Grammar prep. 110% Recommended. They are a family business - who care. Phil and Katie are lovely people. Our Kids love them and respect them. Our Kids improved so much with Phil's teaching. Their confidence grew because they connected with Phil and his teaching. Lovely people. Very good at tuition and very good with kids. 110% Recommended to everyone.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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Phil and Katie have been amazing and this is the place to let your child prepare for grammar school entrance exam-look for no other tuition as we cannot thank them enough for guiding and mentoring our son who passed two different grammar school entrance exams and get entry into grammar school (HGS and NHGS-Yorkshire). I cannot praise enough their professionalism blended with dedication and sincerity in helping our son. Thank you again and good luck to your future students!
  
 
  
 
 
 
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I would highly recommend Teach Wessex for 11+ tuition. Our teacher, Saphire, was very attentive, clear in her instructions and explaniots, and really cared about my daughter's learning. We are very happy after receiving excellent results after my daughter exam.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Holly Harms 
 
 
 
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I can highly recommend Phil (and Katie!) as 11+ grammar preparation tutors. Phil is an experienced, engaging, personable and effective tutor who taught and helped my son successfully pass the 11+ exam in September 2024. He is very knowledgeable, and his enthusiasm for teaching and learning is evident and contagious! Tutor sessions were held online via Zoom - this worked well and enabled flexibility in our busy schedule! We also attended the Mock Exam sessions at Broadstone which helped my son prepare and gain confidence for the actual exam day. Phil and Katie are a great team: professional, incredibly supportive, and very organised! I can’t recommend them highly enough!
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Kate Moores 
 
 
 
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My son has attended the mock exams for his 11+ with Katie and Phil. After every mock the feedback was returned quickly and gave a full insight of the gaps in his knowledge to allow us to prepare him for the actual 11+. Seeing his scores increase after every assessment showed us how effective and invaluable this feedback was.  I would highly recommend Teach Wessex and advocate undertaking all mocks offered.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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My son had English and Maths revision with Lesley (English) and Gary (Maths) both were brilliant tutors, explains things in a way that my son understood, went over topics he had not covered at school properly and improved his knowledge over all. He is half way though his GCSEs now but the tutoring has taken away a lot of the stress as he feels more confident in his abilities. Would highly recommend Teach Wessex!
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Lorna Prout 
 
 
 
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Katie and Lesley have been great with my daughter.  Lesley has been providing English (both language and literature) tuition for my daughter throughout years 10 and 11.  Both have been super flexible fitting round our current schedules and Lesley has been so patient with my daughter who is  severely dyslexic.
  
 
  
 
 
 
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 Rajinder Atwal 
 
 
 
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My son attended the Teach Wessex mock exam for the grammar school test.  He found it an invaluable experience.  After sitting the exam he went in to the real exam feeling relaxed and knowing exactly what to expect.