Parents discuss the 11-plus as if it were a single test. It is an umbrella label for at least twelve distinct admissions processes used by different schools at different ages.
Quick answer. The 11-plus is not a single exam. It is an umbrella label for at least twelve distinct admissions processes used by UK independent schools. The ISEB Common Pretest is sat at age 11 even for 13+ entry. The London 11+ Consortium uses a shared psychometric across roughly nine to ten girls' day schools. Other schools run their own written papers, in-house adaptive tests, observed lessons or interview-only rounds. The main calendar runs from autumn of Year 6 to January.
On this page
- Why parents conflate twelve processes into one exam
- The 12 formats, mapped
- How schools actually decide
- When tests happen
- Key facts at a glance
- What this means for parents
- FAQs
- Sources and methodology
Why parents conflate twelve processes into one exam
The phrase "11-plus" is sticky because it sounds national, the way GCSEs are. There is no national 11-plus in the independent sector. Instead, there is a network of schools that take new pupils at around age eleven, a smaller network at thirteen, a third at sixteen, and a fringe that takes them whenever a place opens.
The most widely sat selection test, the ISEB Common Pretest, is taken at age 11 but used by schools admitting at 13. Parents reasonably assume anything sat by an eleven-year-old must be the 11-plus. It is not. The map below sets out twelve formats, the schools that use each, what is tested, and when it happens.
The 12 formats, mapped
| # | Format | Age sat | Test type | Used by (examples) | Result decides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ISEB Common Pretest | 11 (Y6) | Online adaptive, multiple choice, 4 sections | Eton, Harrow, Winchester (as screener) | Whether you progress to in-house round |
| 2 | London 11+ Consortium | 11 (Y6) | Shared online psychometric | ~9–10 all-girls day schools in London | Each school then decides separately |
| 3 | School-specific written English + Maths | 11 (Y6) | Paper-based, school-set | Latymer Upper, JAGS | Whether you are invited to interview |
| 4 | School in-house adaptive test | 11–13 | Bespoke, short, fades by difficulty | Eton (in-house round) | Whether you reach interview |
| 5 | Observed lessons / taster days | 10–11 | Teacher-led classroom observation | Highgate | Combined with interview to offer |
| 6 | Interview-only second round | 11 | Conversation; written paper marks discarded | Latymer Upper | The offer itself |
| 7 | Year-8 assessment for Year-9 entry | 12–13 (Y8) | School-set, late prep window | KCS Wimbledon | Year-9 place |
| 8 | 16+ sixth-form entry | 16 | Subject papers + interview | Westminster, St Paul's Girls', Alleyn's | Sixth-form place |
| 9 | Occasional / mid-year places | Any | Light assessment, often interview-led | Most schools, off-cycle | A vacancy that has opened |
| 10 | Holistic / non-UK curriculum | Any | Records, recommendations, interview | The American School in London | Year-group fit |
| 11 | Through-school progression | 11 or 13 | None, or light internal check | Latymer Prep → Latymer Upper; Highgate juniors → seniors | Automatic continuation |
| 12 | Scholarship-gateway assessment | 11–13 | Scholarship papers + bursary application | Several schools post-VAT | Means-tested place |
1. ISEB Common Pretest
The ISEB Common Pretest is an online adaptive aptitude test sat at age 11 in Year 6. It is used by many 13+ schools as a first screener before their own in-house tests, which is the single biggest source of parent confusion.
The test has four sections: literacy, numeracy, spatial reasoning and verbal/non-verbal reasoning. It is sat at the child's prep school, often across multiple sittings in autumn or early spring. Eton, Harrow and Winchester use it as a screener. Score thresholds vary by school. The ISEB publishes the list of participating schools.
2. London 11+ Consortium
The London 11+ Consortium is a single shared online psychometric sat once by candidates applying to roughly nine to ten all-girls day schools in London. The result is sent to every Consortium school the family has applied to.
Nominating the school at which the test is sat is logistical, not a preference signal. Each Consortium school then decides separately on interview and other criteria. The current member list is published on the Consortium website.
3. School-specific written English and Maths
A school-specific written 11-plus is the paper-based round most parents picture when they hear "11-plus". Schools set and mark their own English and Maths papers, usually about an hour each, sat at the school in late autumn or January of Year 6.
Latymer Upper School, JAGS and Channing are among the London day schools that begin here. At Latymer Upper, around 1,400 candidates sit the written round for roughly 100 places, with around 350 invited to interview.
4. School in-house adaptive test
A school in-house adaptive test is a short, bespoke aptitude test set and marked by the school. Eton's published example involves roughly 40 questions in 8 minutes, fading by difficulty and altered annually so no two cohorts sit the same paper.
After the ISEB pretest, the most selective 13+ schools run their own bespoke rounds. The design intent is to test speed of pattern recognition under pressure, a signal that is harder to rehearse than written-paper content.
5. Observed lessons and taster days
An observed lesson is a classroom session that doubles as an assessment. The child is taught, watched and considered alongside an interview, rather than attending a separate familiarisation day.
Highgate is the talked-about example. The school's published process treats the taster lesson itself as part of the assessment. Around 1,250 candidates sit for roughly 128 places at 11+.
6. Interview-only second round
An interview-only second round is exactly what it sounds like: the written paper opens the door, then the offer is decided on interview alone. Latymer Upper's published process discards the written marks for the roughly 350 candidates invited back, and chooses the final 100 on interview.
This is the cleanest illustration of variation within the "11-plus" label. Two schools can both run an 11-plus and one of them, at the moment of decision, deliberately sets the test result aside.
7. Year-8 assessment for Year-9 entry
A Year-8 assessment for Year-9 entry is a school-set test taken in Year 8 rather than Year 6, designed for a closer read on a child near senior school. King's College School Wimbledon has introduced this format at the request of prep schools.
The argument from prep heads is that children change significantly between the Y6 pretest and Y9. KCS has other entry points at 7+, 8+, 9+, 11+, 13+ and 16+. Other schools are expected to follow.
8. 16+ sixth-form entry
A 16+ sixth-form round is a separate admissions track using subject-specific papers, interviews, GCSE predictions and a personal statement. Westminster, St Paul's Girls', Alleyn's and others run sixth-form rounds.
A child who narrowly missed the 11+ door at a target school often has a fairer shot at 16+, because the assessment is subject-led rather than general reasoning at age ten.
9. Occasional and mid-year places
An occasional or mid-year place is an off-cycle vacancy created when a family moves, changes school or leaves. Most independent schools accept expressions of interest year-round, run a light assessment, and offer a place if one is available.
A sector consultancy has noted that parents who think they have missed the round usually have not. They have missed the round at the schools that fill every place in the round.
10. Holistic, non-UK curriculum entry
A holistic non-UK curriculum entry weighs application records, school references and interview rather than a UK written exam. The American School in London admits children on a US-curriculum basis. Around 1,200 applications a year compete for roughly 250 places, opened in September for the following September and decided one year-group at a time.
The school does not rank its students and does not run UK exams. International and curriculum-different schools belong in any honest map of UK admissions.
11. Through-school progression
Through-school progression is the path from a school's own junior or prep into its senior school, usually with no competitive exam. Latymer Upper takes around 110 to 120 pupils up from its junior school untested. Highgate has 4+, 7+ and 11+ entry points with junior pupils continuing up.
For parents weighing whether to apply earlier at a through-school, the earlier door is often the larger door.
12. Scholarship-gateway assessment
A scholarship-gateway assessment is a scholarship paper that doubles as the route to means-tested support. After the introduction of VAT on independent school fees, several schools have restructured access so that a child sits scholarship papers, with a separate bursary application setting fee remission.
This is not universal and the detail varies by school. It is enough of a pattern that parents should ask the question at every school they consider.
How schools actually decide
The decision-making is more revealing than the test paper. Across the twelve formats, test results, interviews and lesson observations are weighted in very different ratios.
Latymer Upper's published process filters around 1,400 candidates down to about 350 on the written round, discards the marks, and decides the final 100 on interview alone. Highgate's process treats the observed lesson as the test, watching how a child behaves in an unfamiliar classroom. KCS Wimbledon's new Year-8 format is itself an acknowledgement that a pretest score at eleven is a noisy signal for a thirteen-year-old. The American School in London does not rank candidates and decides on year-group fit from records, references and interview.
South Hampstead High School publishes ratios around 10 to 1 at 11+. St James Senior Boys, going co-educational from the next academic year, publishes ratios closer to 2 to 1. Both run an 11-plus round. The preparation experience is not comparable.
When tests happen
The 11-plus calendar runs from autumn of Year 5 (registrations) through autumn of Year 6 (tests) to January of Year 6 (final offers). For 13+ entry it starts earlier still: ISEB pretests in Year 6, in-house rounds and interviews in Year 7 or Year 8.
Each school sets its own registration deadline, and deadlines for the most over-subscribed schools are earlier than parents expect. The most selective written-paper schools test in November or January; Consortium schools sit a single test window in autumn; the ISEB pretest window typically opens in autumn and runs through early spring at the child's own prep school.
Key facts at a glance
Key facts at a glance
- The 11-plus is not one exam. It is an umbrella label for at least 12 distinct admissions processes.
- The ISEB Common Pretest is sat at age 11 but used by 13+ schools as a screener.
- The London 11+ Consortium is a shared psychometric used by roughly 9–10 girls' day schools, sat once.
- Latymer Upper: around 1,400 applicants sit the written round, around 350 are invited to interview, and the final 100 offers are decided on interview alone after written marks are discarded.
- Eton's in-house round comprises roughly 40 questions in 8 minutes, adaptive and altered annually.
- The American School in London admits roughly 250 new students a year from around 1,200 applications.
What this means for parents
- Check the test type used by each school on your shortlist before preparation begins
- Note the ISEB pretest is sat at age 11 for 13+ entry
- Apply to 3 schools, not 9 (per sector consensus)
- Disclose any SEN at application stage
- Track each school's registration deadline, test window, interview window, offer date, acceptance deadline
