Which are the best English grammar schools near me?

The GL Assessment 11 Plus Test focuses on four skills: English literacy; numeracy skills; verbal reasoning skills and non-verbal reasoning skills.

GL Assessment 11 Plus Maths Test Practice Parent Guide

GL11 Plus Maths Practice 1 and Answer Sheet 1

GL Assessment 11 Plus Maths Practice 2 and Answer Sheet 2

GL11 Plus Maths Test Practice Parent Guide

GL Assessment 11 Plus English Practice 1 and Answer Sheet 1

GL11 Plus English Practice 2 and Answer Sheet 2

GL Assessment 11 Plus Non-Verbal Reasoning Parent Guide

GL11 Plus Non-Verbal Reasoning Practice and Answer Sheet

GL 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Test Parent Guide

GL Assessment 11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Practice 1 and Answer Sheet 1

GL11 Plus Verbal Reasoning Practice 2 and Answer Sheet 2

What are the 11 Plus Exam Board Differences?

The two main 11 plus publishers are the  CEM’s 11+ and GL’s 11 plus exam format.

Plus there are regional specific 11 plus exams, such as Essex’s CSSE type of 11 plus exam. This is only used by the 10 Grammar schools in the consortium of selective schools in Essex.

11 plus grammar school regions

East Anglia (Essex and South-End-on Sea); East Midlands / Lincolnshire; London (Barnet, Bexley, Bromley, Enfield, Kingston upon the Thames, Redbridge, Surrey, Sutton); Northern England (Calderdale, Kirklees, North Yorkshire); North Western England grammar schools (Cumbria, Lancashire, Liverpool, Trafford, Wirral); South Eastern grammar schools (Buckinghamshire, Kent, Medway Towns, Reading, Slough); South Western grammar schools (Bournemouth, Devon, Gloucestershire, Plymouth, Poole, Torbay, Wiltshire); West Midlands grammar schools (Birmingham, Stoke on Trent, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton).

Each 11 plus region has different types of questions and even different subjects. Most 11-Plus exams incorporate verbal reasoning (word puzzles), Maths and English (comprehension and/or creative writing). Some also include non-verbal reasoning (picture puzzles) and Science. Some are multiple-choice, others require candidates to write the answers.

Which other types of 11-Plus test are there?

In addition to these two companies, 10 grammar schools in the Essex area have their own 11-Plus exam. In Northern Ireland, candidates take a separate exam called the Northern Ireland Transfer Test.

What about a Grammar School application for the CSSE test?

The CSSE test in Essex is a little different comprising only English (including creative writing) and Maths papers. The English paper is 60 minutes + 10 minutes of reading time, and the Maths paper is 60 minutes in total. Further information on the CSSE test.

11 plus GL and CEM 11 plus differences

What’s in the GL 11 Plus exam format?

• Four 11 plus papers: English GL Assessment; Maths GL Assessment; Verbal Reasoning GL Assessment; and Non-verbal Reasoning GL Assessment. Although this does vary from region to region.
• Administration time of 45 mins. Howeer, ndividual grammar schools determine their own test times.

• Dorset has 4 grammar schools and one with an expressly academic stream. This academic stream school, Poole High School admits 32 pupils on the basis of their school entrance test results. They all use the GL Assessment primarily, with some internal tests set.
• Kent has the most grammar schools in the UK. There are 35 grammar schools in Kent all using the same test. GL Assessment sets the Kent Test. It is different every year in order to make it difficult to predict. Visit our page Kent GL Plus for more information on the Kent 11 GL 11 Plus
• Lancashire has 4 grammar schools, all using GL Assessment.
• Cumbria has only one grammar school, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith. They use the GL Assessment.
• Lincolnshire has 16 grammar schools of which 15 are part of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools. These Consortium schools make use of the GL Assessment. Caistor Grammar School (mixed) is not part of the Consortium and sets their own exam papers.
• Wiltshire has only 2 grammar schools. The one, Bishop Wordsworth’s (Boys) uses CEM and the other, South Wilts Grammar School (Girls) GL assessments.
• Kent is the area with the most grammar schools. If you want entrance into any of the 35 grammar schools your child would need to write the Kent test. The Kent entrance exam is set by GL Assessment. It is different every year to make it more difficult to predict.

Grammar school 2022 application tips

Both grammar schools and private schools are usually academically selective and require the student to pass an entrance test. Today there are around 163 grammar schools in England and a further 67 in Northern Ireland. Only a handful of local authorities in England have kept selective schools across all of the boroughs. These include Kent, Medway, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire. In other areas, such as Gloucestershire, Trafford and Slough there is a mix. There are also a number of grammar schools in a few of the London boroughs as well as in Birmingham and Bournemouth. Approximately 45% of children in Northern Ireland attend a grammar school compared to just 5% in England.

11 plus CEM 11 plus differences

CEM exams group the Verbal Reasoning 11+ and the English 11+ tests together. CEM exams are also divided into separately timed sections. It’s therefore important that children learn how to manage their time correctly as it’s not possible to return to sections once completed. Nevertheless, the CEM entrance tests cover the same subject areas (Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning) as the GL Assessment tests. They also have the same standardized pass-mark (121).

Intro to the CEM 11 Plus exam format

CEM type of 11 Plus exams typically covers numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning and abstract (or non-verbal) reasoning. They may be multiple choice or standard format – or a mixture of the two. Usually made up of two papers, CEM exams have a mixture of separately timed numerical, verbal and abstract sections. They claim to be “tutor proof” in order to ensure fairness.

• Firstly, each consists of two papers; divided into separately timed sections.
• The mixed paper format combines two of these into one test.
• Thus, the CEM English and the CEM verbal reasoning tests are combined.
• Secondly, the CEM maths test and the CEM non-verbal reasoning test are combined.
• CEM 11 plus timings are given per section.

The following regions use CEM 11-plus tests:

• Berkshire
• Bexley
• Birmingham
• Devon
• Gloucestershire
• Shropshire
• Walsall
• Warwickshire
• Wirral
• Wolverhampton

CEM 11 plus differences

GL Assessment and CEM set most 11+ exams across the UK. Thus, each 11+ provider sets several regional 11 Plus exams. Check individual grammar school websites so that you can confirm whether your child is to sit the CEM 11 Plus, the GL 11 Plus, or some combination of both 11 Plus test formats. GL Assessment partners are also published on the GL Assessment website. For further information on Grammars using CEM, visit our page CEM 11+ Grammars.

CEM exams group the Verbal Reasoning 11+ and the English 11+ tests together. CEM exams are also divided into separately timed sections. It’s therefore important that children learn how to manage their time correctly as it’s not possible to return to sections once completed.

Nevertheless, the CEM entrance tests cover the same subject areas (Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning) as the GL Assessment tests. They also have the same standardized pass-mark (121).

11 plus GL and CEM 11 plus differences

CEM exams group the Verbal Reasoning 11+ and the English 11+ tests together. CEM exams are also divided into separately timed sections. It’s therefore important that children learn how to manage their time correctly as it’s not possible to return to sections once completed. Nevertheless, the CEM entrance tests cover the same subject areas (Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning)

Which other types of 11 Plus test are there?

In addition to these two companies, 10 grammar schools in the Essex area have their own 11-Plus exam. In Northern Ireland, candidates take a separate exam called the Northern Ireland Transfer Test.

What about a Grammar School application for the CSSE test?

The CSSE test in Essex is a little different comprising only English (including creative writing) and Maths papers. The English paper is 60 minutes + 10 minutes of reading time, and the Maths paper is 60 minutes in total. Further information on the CSSE test.