When should you start 11+ preparation?
There's no single right answer, but there is a realistic range. Start too early and you risk a bored, burnt-out child well before the exam that actually matters. Start too late and there's no time to turn a weak area around. For most families aiming at a September Year 7 entry, light exposure from Year 4, becoming structured practice through Year 5, works well.
Year 3 (age 7–8)
Too early for formal practice — build the foundations instead
Most children this age aren't ready for timed papers, and starting too early risks burning out enthusiasm long before it matters. The highest-value thing you can do now is build reading stamina and a wide vocabulary — reading together, talking about what words mean, and general number fluency. If a sibling's exam has made the 11+ feel present in the house, a light, occasional puzzle book is fine. Daily structured practice isn't needed yet.
What we offer for Year 3
Year 4 (age 8–9)
A good time to start light, regular exposure
This is when most families who prepare well begin — not with past papers, but with short, varied, low-pressure sessions: a verbal reasoning puzzle here, a few non-verbal reasoning shapes there, maybe once or twice a week. The goal is familiarity with the question types, not exam technique. Children who start here tend to find Year 5 and 6 practice much less stressful, because the format itself is no longer new.
Year 5 (age 9–10)
Prep becomes more structured
Most serious preparation happens in Year 5. Sessions get a bit longer and more regular — most families settle on 3–4 short sessions a week rather than one long one, since the 11+ rewards consistency over cramming. This is also the point to start introducing light timing, so a child gets used to working at exam pace without it feeling like pressure. By the end of Year 5, most children preparing for a September entry should have covered every topic area at least once.
Year 6 (age 10–11)
Consolidation, timed practice, and the exam itself
Most 11+ exams are sat in September or early autumn of Year 6, for entry the following September — so the real work happens in Year 5, and Year 6 before the test is about consolidation: full timed papers, reviewing mistakes properly rather than just redoing them, and keeping confidence up. After the exam (whatever the result), the pressure is largely over — any further prep is usually for a specific school's own entrance test rather than the main 11+.
How to tell if the timing's right
Signs you've started too early
- Your child dreads sessions or calls everything "boring" within weeks
- They're being asked to do full timed papers before Year 5
- Practice has replaced reading for pleasure almost entirely
Signs you've started too late
- It's September of Year 6 and question formats are still unfamiliar
- Your child has never sat anything under time pressure before the real exam
- There's no time left to turn a weak topic area around before the test date
Not sure where your child is at right now?
Try a few free worksheets and video walkthroughs first — a low-pressure way to see what's already solid and what needs more time, whatever year group you're starting from. When you're ready for structured practice, our courses pick up from there.