11+ prep tutors

What a child sits at 11+ depends entirely on which schools you're applying to. CEM withdrew from the paper-based grammar school market in 2023, so material still framed as "GL versus CEM" is out of date. Most former CEM areas moved to GL Assessment or to their own bespoke papers, and from September 2025 some grammar schools use the FSCE format instead. Check the individual school's admissions page for the current year before buying anything, including tutoring. Papers usually draw on verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and comprehension, but the weighting and the format vary by region. A tutor who has prepared children for your specific consortium is worth more than one with general 11+ experience.

The 11+ (eleven plus) is the entrance test for selective state grammar schools and many independent senior schools, sat in Year 6 (some independents sit it earlier). Tests vary by region: Kent, Bucks, Birmingham, Trafford, Lincolnshire, the Wirral and others differ on format and content, with GL Assessment, formerly CEM, ISEB Common Pre-Test, and bespoke school papers all in use. Most tests cover English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning in some combination. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning are the unfamiliar part, since they sit outside the school curriculum. Tutoring helps most with format-specific past-paper practice; match the tutor to the actual test the child will sit.