What the 11+ actually is
The 11+ is the entrance exam for state grammar schools, sat in early Year 6 (usually September) for entry into Year 7. It’s selective: places go to the highest scorers, so it isn’t about passing a threshold — it’s about scoring above the other children sitting the same papers.
Most grammar schools now use GL Assessment. CEM, the other big provider, stopped supplying standard 11+ papers, so GL is the dominant format across England — used by over 80% of grammar schools, including Birmingham’s King Edward VI consortium, Kent, Buckinghamshire, the Wirral and many London schools.
The four papers
GL tests four areas, and strong candidates are even across all of them:
- English — reading comprehension, plus spelling, punctuation and grammar
- Maths — the KS2 curriculum, but applied quickly and under time pressure
- Verbal Reasoning — word logic: codes, analogies, sequences, odd-ones-out, letter patterns
- Non-Verbal Reasoning — visual logic: rotations, reflections, matrices, shape sequences
Reasoning is the part most children have never seen at primary school, and it’s exactly where steady practice pays off most.
The method: short, daily, marked instantly
Reasoning is a trainable skill, and skills are built by repetition. Skoolskill’s AI 11+ tutor:
- runs a short diagnostic across all four papers to find weak spots
- sets 15–20 minutes of practice a day, mixing the four areas
- marks every answer instantly with a worked explanation
- automatically resurfaces the question types your child gets wrong
- builds toward full timed papers as the test approaches
A sensible timeline
| Stage | Focus |
|---|---|
| Year 5 Sep–Dec | Gentle introduction to all four papers, build vocabulary |
| Year 5 Jan–Apr | Skill-building in Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning |
| Year 5 May–Jul | Timed sections, English comprehension depth |
| Year 6 Aug–Sep | Full timed papers, exam stamina, error log review |
Common 11+ pitfalls
| Pitfall | What Skoolskill does |
|---|---|
| Strong at Maths/English, weak at Reasoning | Weighs daily practice toward the weaker reasoning papers |
| Knows the content but runs out of time | Builds in timed sections from the spring of Year 5 |
| Same mistakes repeated | Tracks error types and resurfaces them automatically |
| Burnout from long sessions | Keeps it to ~20 focused minutes a day |
11+ tutor vs Skoolskill
| Private 11+ tutor | Skoolskill | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | £25–£50 | Free or ~£0.20/day |
| Practice per week | ~1 hour | 6 × 20 min sessions |
| Marking | Next lesson | Instant |
| Weakness tracking | Tutor’s memory | Automatic |
| Per year | £1,000–£2,000 | £0 or ~£75 |
When a human 11+ tutor still helps
- A child who freezes under exam pressure and needs reassurance
- Building a personalised vocabulary and reading programme
- Targeted support for a specific learning difficulty
- Mock-test days in a formal, exam-like setting
Many families combine both: a tutor every week or two for strategy and confidence, Skoolskill daily for the actual reps.
Get started — free
- Create a free account — no credit card
- Tell us your child’s year and target area/schools
- Run the short four-paper diagnostic
- First practice session in under three minutes
Start free — free tier always available.