Earlier than most parents think, and lighter than most fear.
The 11+ is sat at the start of Year 6, but it’s built on things your child can get good at years before: times tables, number facts, what words mean, and seeing how a shape turns. A child who knows those without stopping to think walks into the exam with time to spare. A child who has to work each one out runs short of time, however bright they are.
So we’d start in two stages.
Year 3 and Year 4: the basics, a few minutes a day
This is the stage most families skip, and it’s the one that makes the biggest difference later.
- Times tables and number facts. By the end of Year 4, school expects every table up to 12 × 12. Aim for instant, not just right.
- Words. Read every day, and talk about new words. “What do you think reluctant means?” makes a good dinner question.
- Shapes. Spotting a turn or a mirror image is a skill like any other. It gets quicker with practice.
Keep it short and regular. Five to ten minutes most days does far more than an hour on a Sunday, and it should feel like a game, not homework. That’s why we built Rush: each game lasts 100 seconds, starts easy and gets harder as your child gets things right.
Leave practice papers for later. A full 11+ paper in Year 3 mostly tests things school hasn’t taught yet, and it can put a child off before they’ve started.
Year 5: the question types, then speed
Around the start of Year 5, bring in the 11+ question types school doesn’t teach, like letter codes, cube nets and analogies. Learn one type at a time, untimed, until the method makes sense. Our free exam guide has a page for every type.
By the spring, add the clock: short timed sections first, then the odd full paper. Over the summer holiday, one or two full papers a week is plenty.
If the basics are already quick, Year 5 goes much faster. Your child spends their time on the tricky part of each question, not on 7 × 8.
The dates that catch families out
The one thing you can’t make up later is a missed registration deadline.
- Registration usually closes in the summer term of Year 5, and in some areas much earlier (Bexley’s closed on 31 March in 2026). It’s separate from applying for a school, and in most areas you do it yourself.
- The test is usually in September of Year 6. Independent schools mostly test between November and January.
- Results usually come in October.
- Applications go to your council by 31 October, and offers come on 1 March.
Look up your council’s page early in Year 5 and put the dates in your diary. Our guide to the tests shows how the main areas do it.
A two-minute check you can do tonight
Not sure where your child is? Try this at the kitchen table. It’s a rule of thumb, not a test.
- Times tables. Ask ten mixed ones: 7 × 8, 6 × 9, 4 × 7, 8 × 8, 3 × 12, 9 × 7, 6 × 6, 12 × 11, 7 × 7, 8 × 6. If the answers come back almost as fast as you can ask, the tables are automatic. If your child counts up on their fingers, that’s the place to start.
- Words. Ask what these mean: ancient, reluctant, enormous, fragile, cautious. Four or five confident answers in Year 4 is a great start. One or two tells you to read more together and talk about words.
- Shapes. Draw an L on a scrap of paper and ask what it looks like after a quarter turn clockwise, then in a mirror. If they can do it in their head, great. If they have to turn the paper, that’s fine too, and it gets quicker with practice.
Whatever you find, the answer is the same: a few minutes a day on the weak spot, and check again in a month.
When to ease off
More isn’t always better. Take a week off if you see tears or tummy aches around practice, rushing and guessing just to finish, or your child calling themselves “not clever enough”. A rested child who knows the basics well does better than a tired one with fifty papers behind them.
Questions parents also ask
Is Year 6 too late to start?
For a September grammar school test, mostly yes: registration has usually closed and the test is weeks away. For independent school tests between November and January, you still have a few months, especially if the basics are strong.
Is Year 3 too early?
Not for the basics. Quick daily practice on times tables, words and shapes helps at school too, whether or not your child sits the 11+. It’s only practice papers that can wait.
How long should my child practise each day?
Five to ten minutes in Year 3 and Year 4. In Year 5, twenty to thirty minutes on most days is plenty.
