11+ test providers and local formats
Understand what test-provider guidance can establish, what remains a local school or authority decision, and where to check current 11+ arrangements.
A provider name alone may not tell you the complete local 11+ format. For GL Assessment, its own guidance says the school or local authority chooses the subjects and question-type balance and remains the source for the exact local format.[1]
GL Assessment also says a test may draw on one or more of English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning, but that the authority or school chooses the subjects and balance and may add questions.[1] Its familiarisation page separately warns that local timings and question counts may differ from its materials.[2]
Read provider guidance and local rules together
Use a provider page to understand what that provider itself says. Then find the current page for the exact school, consortium, or authority and entry year. Kent, for example, says the Kent Test is valid only for Kent grammar schools and that Medway and Bexley run separate tests.[3] The Bexley Selection Test guide keeps Bexley’s current dates, format, results, and application steps together without treating them as Kent arrangements.[6]
The pages below keep those scopes visible. They do not turn an older date, historic threshold, or broad provider description into a forecast for another assessment.
Find the right source before choosing practice
The application source checklist helps an adult record the responsible authority and current links. The past-papers guide distinguishes official familiarisation, historic papers, publisher practice, and original Plusling practice.
Once you know which provider your area uses, Plusling practice covers all four subjects it can test — start free and see how friendly 11+ practice can feel.
Current provider and regional guidance
- What is GL Assessment? 11+ subjects, format, and familiarisation
What GL Assessment means in the 11+, the subjects its tests can cover, free familiarisation, and the local details families still need to check.
- Kent Test for September 2027 entry
Dated Kent County Council information for the 2026 test cycle, including format, dates, and the separate school-application step.
- Bexley Selection Test for September 2027 entry
Current London Borough of Bexley information for the 2026 test cycle, including dates, format, results, and the separate school-application step.
Primary sources
- 11+ frequently asked questions
GL Assessment
Official provider page saying that local authorities or schools choose the subjects and question-type balance, may add questions, and remain the source for the exact local format.
- Free Familiarisation Materials
GL Assessment
Official provider landing page offering six free printable PDF download sets, described by GL as 10 hours of familiarisation material. GL distinguishes the downloads from paid practice books, says local timings and question counts may differ, and restricts third-party reproduction or distribution without consent.
- Register for the Kent Test
Kent County Council
Official 2026 Kent Test and September 2027 entry information. Its dates, eligibility, arrangements, and registration process are specific to that Kent cycle.
- Prepare for the Kent Test
Kent County Council
Official description of the 2026 Kent Test papers, timings, writing exercise, familiarisation material, and alternative-format route.
- Apply for a Kent grammar school place
Kent County Council
Official explanation that a suitable assessment does not guarantee an offer, the school must still be named on the application, and applicants outside Kent use their home authority's form.
- About the Bexley Selection Test
London Borough of Bexley
Official information for parents covering the 2026 Bexley Selection Test scope, provider, subjects, booklet structure, timings, familiarisation links, results, relationship to school applications, and the post-results Headteacher Review route. It says headteachers may request a review after results and the application deadline; families should still name the preferred grammar school and discuss the request with the headteacher; the panel changes decisions only in exceptional circumstances and its decision is final.