11+ planning tool
11+ state-school application source checklist for England
Build a dated record of the official council, selection-test, and state-school admission sources for one 11+ entry year in England.
Start with official sources, not a universal countdown. For a state-school application in England, make one dated record for the child’s entry year: the home local council, the body responsible for any selection test, and each target school’s current admission arrangements.
GOV.UK provides a postcode-based service for finding the local council. The postcode is entered on GOV.UK, not on Plusling, and this page does not proxy or store it.[1]
GOV.UK says families in England should contact their local council for state-funded schools and admission criteria. It also says school websites must publish admission arrangements, including how to apply.[2] The coordinated school application follows the home council’s process, even when a target school is in another council area, and council opening dates can differ.[3]
Some schools ask for a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) as well. Current Bexley guidance says a SIF is returned directly to the school and does not replace naming that school on the council application; Kent also directs families to obtain and return any required SIF through the school.[4] [5]
Where a target school also requires a selection-test registration, record that official process separately. A completed checklist is only a set of links and notes; it is not a registration, application, eligibility decision, or offer.
Copyable checklist
Entry year:
Target school(s):
Home local council:
Official council application URL:
Council application deadline:
Checked on:
Selection-test authority:
Official registration URL:
Registration opens:
Registration closes:
Access-arrangement instructions or deadline, if relevant:
Test information URL:
Checked on:
School admission or oversubscription criteria URL(s):
Supplementary Information Form (SIF) required?:
Official SIF URL or school contact:
SIF return deadline:
Evidence to include with the SIF, if any:
Checked on:
Rechecked on:
Keep unnecessary personal information out of this record. The useful evidence is the official URL, the entry year, the date or rule copied from it, and when you last checked it.
After the administrative record
The checklist organises sources; it does not prescribe when or how much to practise. Use the preparation-timing guide for a calm planning approach. When a family is ready to practise, head to the practice library for short, friendly daily sessions.
Build the source record in five steps
- Step 1
Name the entry year and target schools
Record the September entry year and the exact schools being considered. Do not assume that nearby schools share a test or admissions process. - Step 2
Find the home local council
Use GOV.UK’s local-council finder, then save the council’s current secondary-school application page and the date you checked it. - Step 3
Identify the selection-test authority
For each target school, record the school, consortium, provider, or local authority responsible for the test. Copy its current registration opening and closing dates, test information, and access-arrangement instructions where relevant. - Step 4
Keep the school application separate
Record the home council’s secondary-school application deadline and process separately. Add each target school’s current admission or oversubscription criteria URL and, where required, its Supplementary Information Form link and direct-to-school deadline. - Step 5
Recheck before each deadline
Add a ‘rechecked on’ date. Return to the official pages rather than relying on an old screenshot, search snippet, forum post, or another area’s dates.
What this checklist does not do
- It does not determine eligibility, catchment, test access, or which schools a family should choose.
- It does not register a child for a selection test or submit a secondary-school application.
- It does not confirm a deadline, pass mark, test format, admission probability, or school place.
- It does not collect a postcode, child details, account state, answers, scores, or a saved checklist.
Primary sources
- Find your local council
Government Digital Service
Official GOV.UK service for finding a local-council website by postcode. The postcode is submitted to GOV.UK, not Plusling.
- School admissions: Choosing schools
Department for Education
England-specific guidance on finding state-funded schools and admission criteria through the local council, and on admission arrangements published by schools.
- School admissions: How to apply
Department for Education
National guidance on applying through the home local council, including for schools in another council area, and the usual secondary-school application timetable. Families should follow the exact process and dates published by their home council.
- Applying online for a secondary school
London Borough of Bexley
Official coordinated-admissions guidance for September 2027 entry. Bexley residents apply to Bexley by 11.59pm on 31 October 2026; families living outside Bexley apply through their home local authority and follow that council's deadline. It also covers preferences, the offer date, school-specific supplementary information forms, and an online selection-test result lookup that will be available in October 2026 with its date still to be confirmed. A supplementary form is returned directly to the school by its deadline and does not replace naming the school on the council application.
- Secondary school places
Kent County Council
Official application guidance for children starting Year 7 in September 2027, including up to four ordered preferences, the Monday 2 November 2026 deadline, separate school forms, the Monday 1 March 2027 offer date, and the caveat that exact email delivery time cannot be guaranteed.
