When should we start preparing for the 11+?
The typical window is Year 4 through mid-Year 5 — about 12 to 18 months before the exam. Starting in Year 3 rarely helps; starting after mid-Year 5 is catch-up mode.
The workable window for structured 11+ preparation is Year 4 through mid-Year 5 — about 12 to 18 months before the exam. Starting in Year 3 rarely produces meaningful additional gains because the reasoning skills the exam tests are still developing. Starting later than mid-Year 5 is possible but tighter; it usually means narrowing focus rather than covering more ground.
What does the data say about when families actually start?
The Sutton Trust's 2026 tutoring survey — the UK's longest-running study of private tuition — finds most families who use structured 11+ preparation begin in Year 4 or the summer between Year 4 and Year 5. That timing lets a child build the reasoning skills the exam tests over 12-18 months without the daily-drill intensity that starts to hurt motivation.
In London specifically, where 45% of secondary pupils have had some tutoring, competitive families often begin earlier — with mixed evidence on whether earlier is actually better.
Why starting in Year 3 rarely helps
Children at age 7-8 are still developing the abstract reasoning that verbal and non-verbal reasoning papers test. Early prep at that age often produces surface familiarity — the child recognises question types — without depth. It also uses up motivation early: a child who has been 'preparing for 11+' since Year 3 is often visibly tired of it by Year 5, at exactly the moment focused work would help most.
The one legitimate case for Year-3 start: a child who is genuinely under-stretched at school and would enjoy the challenge. For them, extra work is a positive rather than a burden. But 'my child could be stretched more' is a case for enrichment (reading, harder maths, puzzle books, chess) rather than for exam-format drilling.
The Year 4 sweet spot
By late Year 3 and into Year 4, most children have consolidated the arithmetic and comprehension foundations that 11+ builds on. This is when structured preparation starts to produce visible gains proportional to effort. A workable pattern:
Year 4 autumn: light introduction. Two or three 30-minute sessions a week on reasoning types the child hasn't seen before, plus regular reading (fiction and non-fiction). No exam drilling.
Year 4 spring/summer: broaden the mix. Add practice on maths topics that will appear on the exam (fractions, decimals, ratio if not yet covered at school). Diagnostic sessions to identify specific gaps.
Year 5 autumn: focused work on identified gaps. Introduce timing awareness (not strict cut-offs yet — see 'How can I tell if my child is 11+ ready?').
Year 5 spring/summer to Year 6 autumn: past-paper practice under gradually tightening time conditions. First mocks.
Starting later than mid-Year 5
It's possible but requires different tactics. With less time, you can't cover everything — so choose the highest-leverage areas: pacing and timing (usually the biggest single lever, per Deep Teaching's diagnostic data), one or two specific topic gaps identified by diagnostic, and exam-technique practice.
Skip breadth in favour of depth. A child who does 30 focused sessions on the three things they most need is likely to outperform one who does 100 sessions covering everything superficially. Diagnostic first — then time only on what actually shifts totals.
What matters more than when you start
Deep Teaching's own diagnostic data — 1,654 completed sessions from 1,263 families — shows that session-to-session gains are largest between session 1 and session 3, then flatten. The child who does 30 minutes per week for 40 weeks and reviews their wrong answers each time makes more progress than the child who does two hours a day for two months without reviewing.
The three things that matter more than start date: (1) whether the child reviews wrong answers, not just totals; (2) whether pace patterns are addressed (wrong answers in our data arrive twice as fast as right ones); (3) whether the work is calibrated to the child's actual level, not just a generic year group.
Frequently asked questions
Is Year 3 too early to start?
For most children, yes — structured 11+ prep rarely produces meaningful additional gains at 7-8. Enrichment (reading, harder maths, puzzle books) is more useful than exam-format practice at that age. Exceptions: a genuinely under-stretched child who would enjoy the challenge.
Is Year 6 too late to start?
Not automatically, but you need a different approach. Focus on 2-3 highest-leverage areas (pacing, one or two identified topic gaps, exam technique) rather than trying to cover the full syllabus. Diagnose first, then narrow ruthlessly.
Should we do more than one hour a day?
Rarely productive. Most 11+ prep gains in Deep Teaching's data plateau after about 45 minutes per school-day session. More time usually produces motivation loss rather than skill gain. Weekend longer sessions for full-length past papers make sense closer to the exam.
Does it matter whether we start with a tutor or with home practice?
Not intrinsically. What matters is whether the work is well-diagnosed and well-reviewed. A well-organised home approach with regular diagnostic checks can match a tutor for many families. See 'Is it worth getting a tutor for the 11+?' for the tutoring decision framework.
This piece describes the typical timeline for most families and children. It cannot tell you what pattern is right for your specific child — that depends on their current level, the schools you're aiming for, and their individual response to preparation. Deep Teaching's assessment tools are built for exactly that next step.
Evidence level
Sutton Trust 2026 tutoring survey provides the strongest data on when families start structured preparation; individual school registration deadlines from ISEB/GL Assessment; guidance on cognitive readiness draws on published developmental-psychology research summarised in the EEF Toolkit.
References
- Sutton Trust. (2026). Private Tutoring 2026 ↗ external. suttontrust.com
- GL Assessment. (2025). GL Assessment 11+ ↗ external. gl-assessment.co.uk
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