"11 plus exam papers" and "11 plus practice papers" are searched by the same parents at the same moment, usually in Year 5, usually at ten at night, and most of what they find is paid packs labelled "past papers" for areas where no past papers exist. This page sorts the material: the free official papers with answers from the test providers and councils, the real past papers that exist, what the published practice books are and which match which test, how to use papers across the year without burning the child out, and a 20-question practice set with answers to print. What the exam is in your area, the dates and the pass marks are in the 11 plus exam, region by region.
Download the 11 plus practice set and the official free papers list (PDF) (the free official sources by region, the practice-paper plan from Year 5, a marking grid by question type, and 20 questions in verbal reasoning, maths and English with answers; two pages, free).
The free official papers, with answers
| Source | What it is | Format | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| GL Assessment, free familiarisation materials (11plus.gl-assessment.co.uk) | About ten hours of material: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, English, maths, a combined non-verbal reasoning and maths paper, and verbal skills, as printable PDFs | The real GL layout and question types; GL's own note is that timings and the number of questions in your local test may differ | Yes |
| Kent County Council | The Kent Test familiarisation booklet, licensed from GL, published each year for registered families | The Kent format: English, maths, reasoning | Yes |
| Buckinghamshire Council | The Secondary Transfer Test familiarisation booklet, and the practice test every registered child sits on 8 September 2026 | The Bucks format: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths | Yes |
| CSSE (csse.org.uk) | Past papers from previous years for the Essex schools, English and maths, with answers, and a "preparing for the 11 plus" guide | The real CSSE papers: standard answer, not multiple choice | Yes |
| Other councils and consortia | Birmingham (the King Edward VI Foundation), Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Trafford schools, Redbridge, Sutton and Bexley publish familiarisation booklets or link to GL's | The area's format | Usually |
| Independent schools | Sample or past papers on the admissions page of most selective independents (English and maths, sometimes reasoning) | The school's own style | Often |
| ISEB | Familiarisation materials for the Common Pre-Test | Online adaptive | Built in |
Start with GL's familiarisation pack whatever the area, because nearly every grammar area tests on GL papers now that CEM has gone, then the area's own booklet for the format, and the school's samples for independents.
Why there are no past papers for most areas
GL Assessment's live 11 plus papers are never published, because the same questions are reused and the standardisation depends on it. So for Kent, Buckinghamshire, Birmingham, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Trafford, Sutton, Redbridge, Bexley and the other GL areas, there is no such thing as a real past paper, and a pack sold as "Kent 11 plus past papers" is a practice paper written in the style by a publisher or a tutor. Some are good; none is the real thing. The real past papers that exist are CSSE's (Essex sets and publishes its own), some independent schools' (on their websites), and the old papers from areas that wrote their own before about 2013, which are out of date in format.
The published practice papers, and which match which test
| Series | Matches | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GL Assessment practice papers and packs | GL areas (nearly all grammar schools) | The same question types and answer-sheet layout as the test; the natural first purchase |
| Bond 11+ (Oxford University Press) | GL areas; general preparation | The standard home series: assessment papers by age (9 to 10, 10 to 11, 11 to 12), test papers, and the "How to do" books that teach each question type; free sample papers on registration |
| CGP 11+ | GL areas | Strong for maths and English at the right level; practice books and papers by subject |
| Letts 11+ | GL areas | Practice papers by subject; similar to Bond |
| CSSE-style packs and CSSE's own past papers | Essex | The real past papers first; the packs for volume |
| Galore Park | Independent schools | Written for the common entrance and independent-school style, with longer English and maths |
| Area-specific packs (Kent, Bucks, Birmingham) from tutors and publishers | The named area | Useful for format and timing; check the question types against the council's booklet |
The one rule: match the format. A child drilled on standard-answer maths papers who sits a multiple-choice GL test, or the reverse, loses marks to the format alone.
How to use practice papers, from Year 5 to September
- Year 5, autumn and spring: teach the question types first. A paper before the types are known measures nothing. Verbal reasoning has about 21 GL types, non-verbal about a dozen; one type a week, with ten questions of it, is the work of Year 5. Maths a year ahead (the Year 6 curriculum by Easter of Year 5), because the test is sat in September of Year 6 on content the school has not reached.
- Year 5, spring: the first timed paper, from the official familiarisation pack, to see pace. Mark by question type on the grid in the printable, not by score.
- Year 5, summer term: one paper a week, alternating subjects, each marked by type, with the week's lessons on the two weakest types.
- Summer holidays: a paper a week, little and often, ten minutes of vocabulary a day (the verbal reasoning and English papers are vocabulary tests in disguise), reading. The last week before the test: nothing.
- Keep the total to about 25 to 40 full papers across the year. Beyond that, scores plateau and the child learns to dislike it.
What not to do: start papers in Year 3 or 4 (the types are learned in a year; three years of papers buys a bored child); use raw percentages to predict the standardised score (they do not convert); and buy every series (one official pack, one home series, the area's booklet).
A 20-question practice set
The printable has the twenty with space to answer and the answers with the reasoning. Verbal reasoning in the GL style, maths at the Year 5 to 6 level, and English conventions; no calculator; about 20 minutes.
Verbal reasoning.
- If CAT is written in a code as DBU, how is DOG written?
- Which word is the odd one out: apple, banana, carrot, pear?
- One letter completes the first word and begins the second: fin ( ? ) at.
- Hot is to cold as up is to ?
- What comes next: 3, 6, 12, 24, ?
- What comes next: AZ, BY, CX, ?
- Choose one word from each bracket to make a new word: (grass, dog) (hopper, pit).
- Which word is closest in meaning to rapid: slow, quick, large, quiet?
Maths.
- Three quarters of 120.
- 1.5 km in metres.
- 27 × 13.
- A train leaves at 14:35 and arrives at 16:10. How long is the journey?
- The mean of 7, 9 and 14.
- The perimeter of a rectangle 12 cm by 7 cm.
- 2⁄5 as a percentage.
- What comes next: 1, 4, 9, 16, ?
English.
- Correct the spelling: recieve.
- The plural of child.
- Which word is the noun: "The quick fox jumped."
- Punctuate correctly: its raining today
Answers. 1) EPH (each letter moves one forward). 2) Carrot (a vegetable; the others are fruit). 3) e (fine, eat). 4) Down. 5) 48 (doubling). 6) DW (the first letter moves forward, the second back). 7) Grasshopper. 8) Quick. 9) 90. 10) 1,500 m. 11) 351. 12) 1 hour 35 minutes. 13) 10. 14) 38 cm. 15) 40%. 16) 25 (the square numbers). 17) Receive. 18) Children. 19) Fox. 20) It's raining today.
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class for the 11 plus with a tutor who holds a master's in mathematics and teaches the GL and CSSE question types as methods, and a qualified English teacher for comprehension, vocabulary and writing: the types taught one a week in Year 5, maths a year ahead, then the official papers timed and marked by type, in the area's own format. UK after-school hours and weekends, every class recorded, £8 to £10 an hour; maths tutor London prices has the comparison with London 11 plus tutors at £40 to £80. The free 30-minute first class is a timed ten-question set marked with the child.
Download the 11 plus practice set and the official free papers list (PDF)
Questions parents ask
1Where can I get free 11 plus papers with answers in PDF?
2Are there real 11 plus past papers?
3Which 11 plus practice papers are best?
4How many 11 plus practice papers should my child do?
5What is a good score on an 11 plus practice paper?
See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →
Shobha
Founder and lead tutor, Science with Shobha
Teaching maths, science and English to children online since 2018. 500+ students, 20+ tutors, families in nine countries.