Short answer: yes, and the 11+ suits one-to-one online better than almost any other subject. It is a fixed format, sat on one morning, built from question types that reward diagnosed practice on a screen-shared paper. The one thing a group class does better is the hall itself, and that is free.
This guide is for the next cycle. The tests sat this month — Kent and Buckinghamshire on 10 September, Birmingham on 12 September, the Essex CSSE on 19 September 2026 — belong to children already in Year 6. If your child is in Year 5, they sit in September 2027.
Key Takeaways
- Choose the tutor by test provider — GL Assessment, the Essex CSSE, the ISEB Common Pre-Tests or a school’s own papers — not by where anyone lives.
- The published lines differ: Kent’s most recent threshold was 332 with no single score below 108, Buckinghamshire qualifies at 121, and the CSSE makes no offer below 303.
- The EEF Toolkit puts one-to-one tuition at about five months’ additional progress, six in primary. The tutor moves that number, not the room.
- Ask for last cycle’s numbers, the baseline method and how writing is marked. A “pass rate” is not an answer.
- Some children should not be tutored for the 11+. A tutor willing to say so is the one worth keeping.
What 11+ tutoring actually covers
An 11+ tutor is not a general primary tutor with a shelf of reasoning books. The job has two halves: the content the test draws on, and the format it arrives in. Both depend on the provider, so a good tutor answers “which test will my child sit?” with a paper list, not a county.
By paper
| Paper | What it tests | What a good tutor does with it |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal reasoning | Word meanings, analogies, letter and number codes | Vocabulary every week — the biggest lever — then each question type drilled as a routine |
| Non-verbal and spatial | Odd one out, matrices, nets, rotations | Turns each puzzle type into a checklist: shading, count, rotation, size — then times it |
| Maths | Key Stage 2 content, multi-step worded problems, speed | Times the four operations first, closes gaps in fractions and ratio, then works under the clock |
| English | Comprehension and inference, spelling, punctuation and grammar | Weekly comprehension with the mark scheme on screen, and rules the child can name back |
| Writing | Kent’s 40-minute exercise; the CSSE’s continuous-writing section | Marks against the published criteria; returns the draft before the next lesson |
By provider
| Provider | Where | What the child sits |
|---|---|---|
| GL Assessment | Kent, Buckinghamshire, Birmingham, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Redbridge, Bexley | Multiple choice on a separate answer sheet. Kent adds a 40-minute writing exercise, not scored but usable by a headteacher panel. Birmingham: two hour-long papers weighted 50% English and verbal reasoning, 25% maths, 25% non-verbal. Lincolnshire: verbal reasoning one weekend, non-verbal the next |
| CSSE | Essex: ten schools, from King Edward VI Grammar Chelmsford to the Westcliff and Southend grammars | English 60 minutes plus 10 minutes’ reading time, maths 60 minutes, each weighted 50%. Written answers, with continuous writing inside the English paper. No reasoning papers |
| ISEB Common Pre-Tests | Many independent senior schools | Online and adaptive: English 40 minutes, maths 40, non-verbal 30, verbal 25. Questions harden as the child gets them right |
| School-own papers | Sutton’s second stage, Tiffin, Henrietta Barnett, Queen Elizabeth’s Barnet | A first sift, then its own English and maths papers with extended writing |
So a CSSE tutor must mark continuous writing and use real CSSE past papers, not GL reasoning books. The commonest waste we see is an Essex family buying a term of verbal reasoning their child will never sit. Our region-by-region 11+ guide sets out who sets what.
Does online 11+ tutoring work?
One-to-one tuition is among the best-evidenced interventions in education. The Education Endowment Foundation’s Toolkit puts it at about five months’ additional progress, six in primary. Be honest about the spread: literacy studies come out at six months and maths at two, so nobody should promise a transformed maths score. What the evidence does not find is a penalty for teaching over video — see is online tutoring effective.
The 11+ adds reasons of its own. Papers are screen-shared and marked live, so your child watches the method applied rather than collecting a tick on Thursday. Lessons are recorded, so a method can be rewatched the night before. And the tutor is picked for your paper, not your postcode.
The alternative most families weigh is a weekly group class at a tuition centre. We do not run those — all our tutoring is online and one-to-one — but here is the honest comparison.
| One-to-one online | Group class at a centre | |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnosis | Baseline in lesson one, then every lesson aimed at the weakest question type | Moves at the timetable’s pace; gaps surface at the mock, if at all |
| Marking | Live on the screen-shared paper, mark scheme visible | Marked in the week; feedback comes back on the sheet |
| Recordings | Every lesson, rewatchable | None |
| Fitting it in | Any evening or weekend slot, from home, no travel | A fixed weekly slot, plus the journey either way |
| Exam-hall practice | Silent, handwritten, full-length papers plus the test authority’s familiarisation session | Built in: rows of desks, a stranger reading out the instructions |
The exam-hall row is the one to take seriously: a child who has only ever worked at a screen with a friendly adult can freeze in a sports hall. The fix does not need a class. Buckinghamshire runs a practice test in school two days before the real one, Kent primary pupils sit the test in their own school, and any tutor can switch to silent, handwritten papers from the summer term.
Meet two or three 11+ tutors free. Your child picks.
Tell us your county and target schools and you are matched within 24 hours with online tutors who teach that paper. Meet as many tutors as you like — free until you’re matched — then lessons from £18/hour, pay as you go, no contracts. A real adviser calls you at the time you choose (9am-8pm, every day).
Find an 11+ tutorHow to choose an 11+ tutor: what to ask at the first meeting
The first meeting is free and online, and your child should be in it for at least half of it.
| Ask | A good answer | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| Which test will my child sit? | Names the provider, papers, timings and published line without looking it up | “The 11+”, as though it were one exam |
| How many did you prepare for this test last cycle, and how did they do? | A number, the schools, a score range and a candid word about those who missed | A pass rate, or “all of them” |
| What is the plan from now to September 2027? | Autumn: fundamentals and vocabulary. Spring: each question type as a method. Summer: timed sections, then full papers | “We do a paper each week” |
| How do you mark creative writing? | Against the published criteria: handwritten under time, photographed, marked on screen, returned with one target | “I read it and give feedback” |
| What would make you say my child should not sit this test? | Scores well under the line with no upward trend by spring, or a plainly unhappy child | “Every child can pass with enough work” |
Ask, too, how they will baseline your child: a timed sample of each paper type in week one and a written note of the gaps, not “we’ll see how it goes”. Then meet more than one tutor and let your child choose. A ten-year-old who picked their own tutor does the homework.
Who should not be tutored for the 11+
No tutor changes the arithmetic of selection. Qualifying is not a place: Buckinghamshire’s 121 makes a child “qualified”, and each school then allocates on its own oversubscription criteria. The honest signals that the 11+ is the wrong target:
- “Working towards” in reading or maths at the end of Year 4, the two subjects the test is built on. A year is rarely enough to reach the top of the cohort under time pressure.
- A miserable child. Tears before lessons, sleep problems, or a child who has started to call themselves stupid. The test is one morning; that is not.
- A target that was never realistic. Check how selective each school is in our grammar school rankings first.
- No Plan B you would be happy with. Read what happens after results now, not in October 2027.
Practically: ask the Year 5 teacher for the end-of-Year-4 judgement, baseline in week one, then review at October half term (Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 in most English councils). A tutor who says “not this test, but let’s fix the maths anyway” has earned the fee.
When to start, how often, and when to register
For a September 2027 test, the start of Year 5 — now — is standard in GL and CSSE areas; a Year 4 start is worth it only for the super-selectives and the ISEB pre-tests. One hour a week until Easter 2027 is plenty, then add a timed paper a week. Our 11+ practice questions guide shows each question type.
Registration is the part families miss: it is opt-in in most areas and the window falls inside Year 5. This cycle gives the shape — Kent ran 1 June to 1 July 2026, Birmingham closed at 4pm on 26 June, Buckinghamshire at 3pm on 2 June for any child not at one of its own state primaries, since those are entered automatically. Check your authority’s page in the spring term of Year 5. Then the calendar is fixed: results in October 2027, the application form by 31 October 2027 (a Sunday, so treat the Friday as your deadline), and offers on 1 March 2028.
FAQ
How much does 11+ tutoring cost?
Matched online tutors start at £18 an hour, paid as you go; independent 11+ specialists advertise well above that, and our guide to what private tutoring costs has the ranges. The useful sum is the year: an hour a week through Year 5 is roughly forty hours, about £720 at £18.
Do 11+ tutors guarantee a pass?
No, and anyone offering one is either quietly refusing weaker children or planning to blame yours. Kent’s most recent threshold was 332 with no single score below 108, Buckinghamshire qualifies at 121, and the CSSE makes no offer below 303 — with real cut-offs known only after offer day in March. A tutor can raise a score, but nobody can promise where the line falls.
How can I tell after six weeks whether it is working?
Compare the week-one baseline with a timed section in week six. Scores should be up in at least two paper types, and your child should be able to tell you the method for a question type they could not do in September. The notes should name specific gaps, not “good progress”. If none of that holds, change the tutor, not the format — and check the writing is being done as the test does it: handwritten, under time, photographed and marked on screen.
Start with a free online meet-the-tutor session
Tell us your county and target schools and you are matched within 24 hours with 11+ tutors who teach that exact paper. Every lesson is one-to-one, online and recorded. Meet as many tutors as you like, free until you’re matched, then lessons from £18/hour, pay as you go, no contracts. A real adviser calls you at the time you choose (9am-8pm, every day).
Book a free meet-the-tutor sessionSources. Kent County Council and KELSI (threshold 332 with no score below 108; the writing exercise; registration 1 June to 1 July 2026); Buckinghamshire Council (qualifying score 121; automatic registration for its own state primary pupils; practice test 8 and test 10 September 2026); King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham (test 12 September 2026; two hour-long papers weighted 50/25/25); CSSE Information Guide for 2027 Entry (ten schools; test 19 September 2026; paper timings and 50% weightings; no offer below 303); ISEB Common Pre-Tests support pages; EEF Toolkit, one to one tuition (+5 months; +6 primary; +6 literacy, +2 maths). The 31 October deadline and 1 March National Offer Day are statutory. Thresholds reset each year and are last-cycle figures here — check your own authority.
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