If you're hoping to sit your child for a school that selects students based on their performance in the 11+ test, you'll be looking for resources to support learning.
In this section of the site you'll find a beginner's guide to the 11+ test and loads of information about how to help your child prepare, as well as an area-by-area guide to the test format.
Our 11+ Learning Journey is a structured, year-long 11+ preparation plan that covers the English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning skills your child will need to have mastered before they sit the test.
For an introduction to 11+ skills see our Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning learning pack, and boost your child's vocabulary with some wonderful books as recommended in our 11+ Prep Reading Adventure.
Articles
Best 11+ learning tools
Workbooks, practice papers and a hefty dose of general parental anxiety are a classic combination when your child is preparing to take a selective exam like the 11+. These tools aim to make preparation more fun, more convenient or more efficient – well worth including in your revision plan in the run-up to September.
What is a cloze test?
An important part of the new-format 11+ exam, and a valuable test of your child's ability in English, we explain what cloze procedures involve.
DIY 11+ tutoring: the parents' guide
Are you cut out to be your child's 11+ tutor? Mark Chatterton, author of The 11+ A Practical Guide For Parents, explains what you need to make DIY 11+ tutoring a success for both you and your child.
Worksheets
Non-verbal reasoning: Counting sides, symbols and more
Non-verbal reasoning is all about understanding sequences of shapes and patterns. You might be looking for similarities or differences between different figures. Alternatively, you might be given a series of figures and asked to complete the sequence with another figure. In this series of exercises, the first two shapes are related by a specific feature they have in common. Choose the one figure from the five choices that is most like the two figures on the left.
11+ vocabulary flashcards
Download our free 11+ flashcards to help boost your child's vocabulary and practise for the verbal reasoning tasks of the 11+ exams.
Non-verbal reasoning: Cryptography revision
Are you ready to decode some codes? Work out the code for the fifth shape.
Also see:
11+ Learning Journey
The 11+ Learning Journey is a (subscriber-only) structured preparation plan, designed for you and your child to work through together over a year in order to prepare for the exam. It includes English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning worksheets, packed with step-by-step explanations, examples and practice questions.
In order to cover all the skills that your child will have to master by the time they sit the 11+ test either work through the worksheets in order or pick those worksheets that cover topics where you know your child needs some extra help.
You can also receive a weekly email, which includes recommended exercises in all four disciplines and tips and tricks from 11+ experts. To join this mailing list email [email protected]
Look through the 192 11+ Learning Journey worksheets now.
The 11+ test area-by-area
The 11+ is administered differently in each area where it's used, and the test itself will be produced specifically for that area or group of schools. Our parents' guides give you a detailed overview of what you need to know about the test in the area where you live. Start by reading our region-by-region guide to the 11+.
Verbal and non-verbal reasoning: an introduction
Verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests are used in secondary school selection, and in some schools they are also part of CATs at the beginning of Year 7.
Reasoning skills are a form of critical thinking; the tests are designed to assess a child's ability with words, numbers, shapes and space. While these skills can be developed and practised, they are non curriculum-based skills, so aren't always taught as part of KS2. The Verbal and non-verbal reasoning: an introduction pack has been written to provide a general overview of these skills, including practical examples of the common types of questions, hints and explanations to help you understand the solutions and play-based ways to help prepare your child at home (be warned, though, you will have to participate - and might even enjoy it!).
Written by headteacher, parent and verbal and non-verbal reasoning expert Stephen McConkey of Learning Together, this 45-page pack is a great way to start planning for your child's move to secondary school. In the pack you'll find:
- Verbal and non-verbal reasoning: an introduction
- 10 steps to effective 11+ preparation and practice
- The no-textbooks way to prepare for the 11+
- Verbal reasoning practice: 45 questions
- Non-verbal reasoning practice: 46 questions
Your 11+ Prep Reading Adventure
Reading is the best way to boost your child's vocabulary and super-charge 11+ preparation time – the fun way!
TheSchoolRun asked secondary English teacher, parent and 11+ tutor Emma Larard to choose 40 books that are guaranteed to challenge your child and move their reading comprehension up a level. They'll fall in love with the stories they read – and pick up huge amounts of new, rich vocabulary as they immerse themselves in wonderful fictional worlds and classic texts. Your 11+ Prep Reading Adventure has been designed for Year 5 readers, but why not take on the challenge as an adult and plan a trip to the library to stock up on some of the suggested books? You'll enjoy it just as much as your child will.
