When should a child start 11+ preparation? A year-by-year plan
A calm, practical guide to building foundations in Years 3 and 4, adding structured preparation in Year 5 and using timed practice proportionately.
5 min readRead the full guide
All 11+ guides
Preparation Plans
Practical, child-centred ways to organise 11+ preparation without relying on cramming.
Start here
Every preparation plans guide
15 min read27 Aug 2026
How to Add Structure to Home Education Without Recreating School
The law does not require a timetable, set hours or marked work, but it does reward evidence of progress. Here is a four-part system (goals, rhythm, review, evidence) that keeps home education defensible without turning your house into a classroom.
15 min read27 Aug 2026
How to Choose an 11 Plus Learning Platform
A disclosed buyer guide written by a company that sells one: how to decode the word adaptive, test whether a progress report is real evidence, and run a seven-day trial that actually decides.
16 min read27 Aug 2026
When Your Child Hates 11 Plus Practice: A Lower-Pressure Reset
A step-by-step reset for parents whose child has stopped co-operating with 11 plus practice: how to tell ordinary resistance from real distress, a seven-day pause, the exact words to use, and how to decide whether to reduce, pause or stop.
15 min read27 Aug 2026
Why Short 11 Plus Sessions Beat Cramming
The 11+ advice online tells you to practise for seven minutes, twenty minutes, forty-five minutes or two whole papers a day. Here is what the evidence really supports, and what it does not.
15 min read27 Aug 2026
11 Plus Tutors, Apps and Self Study: Costs and How to Choose
Verified 2026 tutor and app prices, the free council and GL Assessment route almost nobody mentions, and three fully costed 12-month budgets so you can choose a route on evidence rather than anxiety.
12 min read22 Aug 2026
How to Prepare for the 11 Plus: a Year by Year Plan
Start with a fifteen minute diagnostic, not a reading list. This guide routes you to one of three plans, gives weekly time budgets in minutes from Year 3 to exam week, and tells you exactly what to cut when time runs short.
More guide topics
See where one learner actually stands
The free diagnostic covers Maths, English, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning. No card is required.
Start free diagnostic