The 11-plus explained: scores, pass marks and grammar school entry in England
The 11-plus explained: what grammar school tests cover, how standardised scores and pass marks work, with real examples, and key dates for 2027 entry.
The 11-plus is the entrance test that state grammar schools in England use to select pupils by academic ability. Children sit it at the start of Year 6, usually in September. The result is reported as a standardised score, not a percentage, and each area sets its own qualifying mark: 121 in Buckinghamshire, for example. A qualifying score makes your child eligible for a grammar place, but the council application and the school's admission rules decide who is actually offered one.
This guide explains what the test covers, how the scores work, what the pass marks are in real areas, the difference between qualifying and super-selective schools, and how the 11-plus fits the September 2027 admissions round.
What is the 11-plus?
The 11-plus, also written 11+, is an entrance exam taken in the final year of primary school. Passing it, or more precisely qualifying, makes a child eligible for a place at a state grammar school. Grammar schools are free to attend like any other state school.
The Department for Education puts the number of grammar schools in England at 163, and the School Admissions Code does not allow new selection by ability, so no new grammar schools can open. They are concentrated in a minority of areas, including Kent, Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire and several London boroughs. Many council areas have none, so the 11-plus only matters if you plan to apply to one.
What the 11-plus tests
There is no national 11-plus. Each grammar school, council or consortium chooses its own test, usually from an outside provider such as GL Assessment. The papers draw on up to four areas: English, maths, verbal reasoning (problem solving with words and language) and non-verbal reasoning (problem solving with shapes and patterns). The mix changes from area to area:
| Area or school | What children sit |
|---|---|
| Buckinghamshire | Two papers covering verbal, maths and non-verbal skills, marked by GL Assessment |
| Lincolnshire | A verbal reasoning test and a non-verbal reasoning test, from GL Assessment |
| Kent | English, maths and reasoning, each given its own score |
| Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet (boys) | Two multiple-choice papers, English and maths, in one session |
The most useful thing you can do early is find out exactly which test your target schools use, because a reasoning-only test and an English and maths test call for very different practice.
How 11-plus scores work
Results are not raw marks or percentages. The number of correct answers is converted into a standardised age score. This does two things:
- It allows for age. A child born in August can be almost a year younger than a classmate born in September. Standardisation compares each child only with children of the same age, measured in years and months on the test day, so younger children are not at a disadvantage.
- It puts papers on one scale. Different papers can then be combined fairly into a single result.
On the scales most areas use, a score of 100 is average for the children who sat the test. The range depends on the area. Buckinghamshire reports each paper on a scale of 60 to 170. Kent gives three scores, each from 69 to 141, with a highest possible total of 423. Some areas add two papers together, which is why you will see totals such as 220 or 225.
So what is the 11-plus out of? There is no national maximum and no national pass mark. Each test has its own range, and Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet does not quote a maximum at all, so a score only means something next to the qualifying mark for that particular test.
11-plus pass marks: real examples
These are the qualifying marks the schools and councils currently publish:
| Area or school | Qualifying mark | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Buckinghamshire | A combined score of 121 or more, weighting verbal skills at 50% and maths and non-verbal at 25% each | Every child scoring 121 qualifies. Schools then use their normal admission rules, not the score |
| Lincolnshire | A total of 220 across the two papers, set to pick out roughly the top 25% of the age group in its selective areas | Qualifying makes a child eligible, but does not guarantee a place at a particular school |
| Kent | Set each year. For the test sat in 2025 it was a total of 332 or more, with no single score below 108. The 2026 threshold will be published in October 2026 | Children get three scores and a total, which are checked against that year's threshold |
| Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet | A combined 225 or more to be considered | Eligible boys are ranked by score for 180 places, with home-to-school distance used only to separate equal scores |
Two points are easy to miss. In Buckinghamshire, a score above 121 gives no extra priority, so a child on 140 and a child on 121 are treated the same. And under the School Admissions Code, grammar schools do not have to fill every place if not enough applicants reach the standard.
Qualifying schools and super-selective schools
Grammar schools fall into two broad groups, and the School Admission Appeals Code describes both: some offer places to the highest scorers, while others set a pass mark and then apply their oversubscription criteria.
- Qualifying grammar schools treat every child who reaches the mark as eligible, then rank them by ordinary criteria such as siblings, catchment or distance. Once your child has qualified, where you live can matter as much as the score. Our guide to catchment areas explains how distance is measured.
- Super-selective grammar schools rank qualified children by score and fill places from the top, as Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet does. The score needed to win a place can be well above the qualifying mark and can change from year to year.
Within these rules, the Admissions Code lets schools give priority to children eligible for pupil premium. Some go further: every Buckinghamshire grammar school offers some places to pupil premium children who score below 121 but reach a lower minimum set by the school, usually if they live in its catchment area. Schools that do not admit purely on score must prioritise looked-after and previously looked-after children who reach the standard. Always read the school's own admission arrangements for the year you are applying.
When children sit the 11-plus: dates for September 2027 entry
The 11-plus runs ahead of the main secondary application. For children starting Year 7 in September 2027 (those born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016), the round looks like this:
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Spring and summer of Year 5 | Register for the test with the school, council or consortium. Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet took registrations from 1 May to noon on 8 July 2026. Children at state-funded Buckinghamshire primary schools are registered automatically |
| September of Year 6 | Children sit the test, either at their primary school or at a grammar school or test centre |
| Early to mid-October 2026 | Results. Buckinghamshire will release most results on 9 October 2026, and Kent is due to email them on 15 October 2026 |
| 31 October 2026 | Deadline for your council's secondary application, where you name the grammar school alongside your other choices |
| 1 March 2027 | National offer day: your council tells you which school your child has been offered |
The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities to take all reasonable steps to tell parents the test outcome before 31 October, so you should know whether your child has qualified before you finalise your preferences.
If your child is in Year 5 now, registration for September 2028 entry will usually open in spring or summer 2027. Missing a registration deadline usually cannot be undone, so check the dates for each school early. Our school year calculator guide confirms which round your child falls in.
If your child does not qualify
Not qualifying is not always the end of the road.
- Local review. Some areas, including Buckinghamshire, run a review before places are allocated. It looks at extra evidence to decide whether a child should be treated as grammar standard.
- Appeal. If you named a grammar school and were refused a place, you can appeal. Under the School Admission Appeals Code, the panel can only uphold an appeal if there is evidence, such as school reports or a letter from the school, that your child is of grammar school ability. Our guide to appealing a school place walks through the process.
- Resits. Do not count on a second attempt in the same year. Lincolnshire, for example, says the test may only be taken once in the academic year, and a pass from another area usually does not count there.
How the 11-plus fits the secondary application
The 11-plus does not replace the normal admissions process. You still name the grammar school on your own council's secondary application by 31 October, in order of preference with your other schools, even if the grammar school is in a different council area.
The Admissions Code bans schools from favouring applicants who put them first, so listing a grammar school first cannot harm your chances at your other choices. Listing only one school does not help either. It is sensible to include at least one non-selective school where your address has a realistic chance, as a safety net. The secondary admissions timeline sets out the full calendar, and the school admissions guide explains how preferences and oversubscription work.
How FindMySchool helps
Working out which grammar schools are realistic for your family is the hard part.
- Browse the grammar schools hub to see selective schools by area and open a profile for the detail.
- Use the school search and map to weigh a grammar option against strong non-selective schools nearby, with catchment distance data where available.
- Try School Match for a shortlist of secondary schools based on your priorities and location. You need a free account to see the results, and your first result is free.
Before you commit, do three things: confirm which test each target school uses and its registration deadline, check whether it is a qualifying or super-selective school, and list at least one realistic non-selective school as a safety net. That gives your child a fair shot at a grammar place without risking the rest of the round.
Frequently asked questions
The 11-plus is the entrance test that state grammar schools in England use to select pupils by academic ability. Children sit it at the start of Year 6, and they usually need to reach the school's qualifying standard before a grammar school can offer them a place. Grammar schools are free state schools.