What 11+ examiners look for

Why the 11+ can feel like a locked door

Your child can do the maths at the kitchen table. Then a practice paper comes home with a score that looks nothing like the child you know. The paper is timed, the answer sheet is fiddly, and every other parent seems to have started preparation months ago. That is a familiar scene in homes across Leeds on a wet Tuesday in February.

The 11+ is not one exam. It is a set of papers set by individual schools or groups of schools, and each mark scheme is built around specific skills. The person who marks it is usually a teacher or a marker working to that scheme, though in a multiple-choice section it may be a machine reading a grid. Either way, the paper rewards a particular set of habits. It does not measure how bright or how lovable your child is. A low practice score is information, not a label.

If nothing changes, the same errors tend to repeat. A child who never checks the instruction loses marks they could have earned. A child who runs out of time on the last ten questions never shows what they know. A child who has only done untimed worksheets meets the clock for the first time in the real paper. The gap between ability and score is often made of these small, fixable things.

We work with pupils aged 7-18, and every year we meet families who assume the 11+ is a mystery. It is not. The rules are knowable, and most are plainer than the playground rumours suggest. This page explains what examiners and markers actually look for, what they are not looking for, and how to read your child's practice errors without turning the kitchen into a pressure cooker.

What the paper is actually testing

Most 11+ papers draw from four areas: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and English. Some schools test all four, some test two, some add a writing task and some include an interview. The content usually follows the Key Stage 2 curriculum, but the questions are pitched harder and the timing is tighter than a child meets in an ordinary school week.

Verbal reasoning is mostly language and logic. It can include codes, word patterns, synonyms, odd-one-out questions and short passages with missing words. It is not a general knowledge quiz. A child who reads widely often finds the vocabulary easier, but the paper is really testing whether they can spot a rule and apply it to new words.

Non-verbal reasoning uses shapes and patterns rather than words. Maths tests number, measures, fractions, geometry and problem solving. English tests reading comprehension and, in some schools, writing. The exact mix matters, because two schools in the same city can use different papers and different timings.

Get the school's own information first. Look for sample papers, familiarisation materials and the admissions timetable on its website, or ask the office which paper provider it uses. A child who has practised the wrong format can be thrown by the answer sheet before the first question is even read.

The first mark is for following instructions

A mark scheme is a recipe card. It lists what the marker must look for, and the marker cannot add ingredients that are not on the card. If a question asks for two reasons, the marker can only credit two. If it asks for a word from the text, a clever paraphrase may not count. If it says tick one box, a tick in two boxes can score nothing.

These instructions are not tricks. They make marking fair. But they punish the child who reads quickly and answers the question they expected rather than the one on the page. Read them twice. Underline the verb: tick, ring, write, choose, explain. Check how many answers are wanted, and whether the answer must come from the text or from the child's own knowledge.

In a multiple-choice paper, the answer sheet is part of the test. A right answer in the wrong box is a wrong answer. A stray mark outside the box can confuse a machine, and a child who leaves the answer sheet until the end may run out of time to transfer anything. Practise the mechanics, not only the questions: filling in the grid, rubbing out cleanly, checking the question number against the answer number.

Presentation counts in written papers too, though not in the way many parents fear. The marker does not need copperplate handwriting. They need to be able to read the answer and find the right part of it. Numbering answers clearly, leaving a line between them and crossing out a false start neatly all help. The mark is for the answer, but the marker can only award what they can find.

Accuracy, timing and the blank-answer trap

Timed papers reward pace. Pace without accuracy is just faster mistakes. The target is a steady rhythm: answer the questions you know, mark the ones to come back to, then return with the time that is left. A child who spends four minutes on one hard question and then rushes the next ten has traded one possible mark for several likely ones.

Most 11+ papers do not use negative marking, so unless the instructions say otherwise, a blank is a lost chance. A sensible guess is better than an empty line. Teach your child to eliminate one or two options first, then choose from the rest. If they truly have no idea, they should still record an answer and move on.

A three-pass routine that works on most papers

First pass: answer everything that looks straightforward. Second pass: return to the marked questions and give them proper thought. Third pass: check that every question has an answer, that the answer sheet matches the question numbers, and that no obvious slip has crept in. This routine is simple enough to use under pressure, which is the point.

Stamina matters as much as technique. A full paper at the end of a school day is a different task from a twenty-minute section on a Saturday morning. Short timed sections build the habit without exhausting your child. Keep a note of how long each section takes and where the time disappears. The pattern is usually clearer than the single score.

Reading comprehension: the answer is in the text

Comprehension marks live in the passage. The marker wants an answer that can be traced back to the words on the page, not a feeling about the story. Literal questions ask your child to find a fact, inference questions ask them to combine clues, and vocabulary questions ask what a word means in that sentence rather than what it means in the dictionary on its own.

A useful habit is to point to the line before writing. If your child cannot put a finger on the sentence that supports the answer, the answer is probably a guess. For inference, a sentence starter helps: 'The text says... which suggests...' That shape forces the child to use evidence and explain it in their own words, and it gives the marker two clear things to credit.

Watch for over-writing. A long answer that drifts away from the question can bury the point. If the question asks for one word, give one word. If it asks for a phrase, keep it short. If it asks for two examples, give two separate examples rather than one long one that might contain both.

Vocabulary is built over time, not in a panic. Reading aloud together, talking about words in the news and asking 'what does that word tell us about the character?' all help. So does going back over comprehension errors and asking your child to show you the evidence. Memorising a list of words will not get you far. The habit worth building is reading for clues.

Writing: what a marker can see on the page

A writing marker can only score what is on the page. They are not inside your child's head, filling in the brilliant story that was planned but never written. They see the first line, the paragraphs, the punctuation, the spelling and the ending. That is why a five-minute plan is not wasted time. It is the difference between a story that moves and a story that wanders.

In a creative writing task, the prompt usually gives a situation or a title. The marker looks for a clear response to that prompt, a clear opening and a settled ending, and sentences varied enough to read. Basic accuracy matters: capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas in lists, speech marks. Ambitious vocabulary helps when it is used correctly. A wrong long word can do more damage than a right short one.

What earns marks and what leaks them

Earns marks: a strong opening, a clear problem, a character who wants something, an ending that resolves the problem, paragraphs that mark a change of time or place, and punctuation that guides the reader. Leaks marks: a story that ignores the prompt, speech with missing punctuation, comma splices, sentences that run on for four lines, and an ending that stops mid-scene because time ran out.

Practise planning quickly. Give your child a prompt and five minutes to write four bullet points: who, where, what goes wrong and how it ends. Then ten minutes to write the opening and one key scene. It is a small, repeatable exercise, and it builds the habit of planning without turning every evening into a full mock exam.

Maths: the answer and the method

Maths papers often carry two kinds of mark. The final answer carries one. The method may carry another. If the instruction says 'show your working', the marker needs to see the steps, even when the answer is right. If the answer is wrong but the method is sound, a method mark can still be earned. That is why a messy scribble on the back of the page is not the same as a clear line of working.

The common errors are rarely mysterious. A child misreads 'more than' as 'less than'. They forget to convert centimetres to metres. They lose a decimal point. They rush the final subtraction. They answer the first part of a two-part question and miss the second. A child who can calculate a fraction of an amount at the kitchen table but loses the thread when the same question is wrapped in a word problem about a school fair needs a routine for turning words into a sum.

Teach a short routine for word problems: underline the question, identify what is known and what is wanted, choose the operation, estimate the answer, calculate, then check that the answer is sensible. For number work, little and often beats a long Sunday session. Ten minutes four times a week keeps number facts fresh without building resentment.

Check the basics under time. Can your child add and subtract quickly? Do they know their times tables without counting on? Can they work with fractions, decimals and percentages? These are not separate topics. They are the tools that make the harder questions possible.

Non-verbal reasoning: find the rule, not a guess

Non-verbal reasoning looks unlike schoolwork, which is why it unsettles parents. It asks the child to look at a series of shapes and work out what comes next, which one does not belong, or which code matches which shape. The marker wants the answer that follows the same rule as the example. There is no credit for a creative interpretation that only fits one box.

Most questions turn on a small number of features: the number of sides, the size of the shape, the shading, the position, the rotation, or whether a shape is added or removed. A useful checklist is to count, check shading, check position, check rotation, then check for a second rule. Many wrong answers are designed to fit the first rule but fail the second.

Elimination is a real skill here. Cross out options that break the rule you have found, then check the remaining options against every feature. If two options still fit, your rule is probably incomplete. Go back and look for a feature you have not checked. This is slower at first and faster with practice.

Do not let your child guess until they have checked the rule. A guess can be right, but it teaches nothing. A wrong answer that comes from a clear rule is easier to fix than a right answer that came from luck. Ask them to explain the rule out loud. If they cannot, they do not yet own it.

What examiners are not looking for

Some of the things parents worry about do not carry marks. Perfect handwriting is not required; legible handwriting is. Long words are not required; right words are. A finished paper is not always better than an accurate one. A child who never makes a mistake does not exist, and the paper is not looking for one.

Examiners are also not looking for a child who has been coached to death. There is a real pitfall in 11+ preparation: doing so many practice papers that the child learns the paper rather than the subject. When the real test asks a slightly different question, there is no fallback. The same thing happens when a child memorises a story and tries to force it into every prompt. The marker can see the join.

One more pitfall is ignoring the school's own information. Some schools publish sample papers and admission criteria, and some run familiarisation sessions. Read them. Do not rely on a rumour from the playground, however confidently it is delivered, because the format, timing and weighting can vary more than parents expect.

Finally, do not compare your child's practice score with another child's. The papers may differ, the conditions may differ, and the score does not tell you what to do next.

How to read your child's errors like a marker

A score tells you how many marks were lost. It does not tell you why. After a practice paper, do not just add up the total and put it away. Sit with your child and ask them to talk through three wrong answers. If they can correct the answer verbally, the problem may be carelessness or a misread question. If they cannot, it is a teaching point.

Sort the errors into types. An instruction error is when the child knew the answer but gave it in the wrong format. A careless error is when they rushed or copied a number wrongly. A knowledge gap is when they did not know the concept. A comprehension error is when they misread the passage or the question. A timing error is when they left a question blank or ran out of time. An anxiety error is when they froze on a question they could usually do.

Keep a simple error log

Write the date, the topic, the error type and one next step. For example: 'Fractions of amounts, knowledge gap, revisit with diagrams on Tuesday.' Or: 'Comprehension, instruction error, underline the question before answering.' Keep it short. A long log that nobody reads is worse than five lines that guide the next week.

Look for patterns over four to six papers, not one. One bad paper can be tiredness, a noisy room or a new format. A pattern is three papers in a row where the last five questions are blank, or where fractions keep going wrong. That is information you can act on. Our progress reports for parents are built around this kind of pattern, not a single percentage.

Where one-to-one support fits

Tutoring fits in different ways. Some children need a steady weekly session through Year 5. Some need a short block before the test to work on timing and exam technique. Some need help with one paper format, or with the confidence to attempt the last page. The right answer depends on the child, the school and the time available.

We teach maths, English and science, and we prepare pupils for 11+ entrance and GCSE exams, and for A-level. Lessons are one-to-one, online or at home, with DBS-checked qualified tutors, so a family can stay with one provider as a younger sibling moves up or an older child starts GCSEs.

We started because families kept asking us to help a younger sibling after an older child had worked with us, and that is still how most of our families arrive. A dedicated family coordinator keeps the thread across siblings and key stages. That matters more than it sounds. If two children are working on different papers with different tutors, someone needs to hold the whole picture. We send progress reports for parents so you can see what has changed, what is still wobbly and what we plan to do next.

We do not promise a place at a selective school or a particular score. No honest tutor can. We do promise to plan the work around your child's gaps, to explain what we are doing and why, and to tell you if we think a different approach would serve them better. If your child is in Year 5 and the test is in September, the summer term is not too late to work on comprehension and timing, but it is late to start from scratch.

A calm next step

Start with the school. Ask which papers are used, whether the test is multiple-choice or standard format, and whether there is a writing task. Ask for the sample papers and read the admissions criteria. Then look at one recent piece of your child's work and ask what kind of error you are seeing. That is a better starting point than a pile of new workbooks.

If you would like a second pair of eyes, call +44 113 9463420 or email [email protected]. We will ask about the school, the paper and what you have noticed at home. Availability is confirmed when you book. There is no script and no pressure. If you are not sure whether tutoring is needed, say so. A short conversation can help you decide, and your child can get back to being a child rather than a project.