11+ Exam Dates & Registration Deadlines 2026/27 by Region
There is no single national 11+ exam date. Here is how the 2026/27 admissions cycle typically runs by region, when to register, and how to avoid missing a deadline.
If you have a child in Year 5 right now, you are almost certainly wondering when the actual 11+ exam will take place and when you need to register. It is a reasonable question, and it does not have a simple answer. Unlike GCSEs, which sit on a fixed national timetable, the 11+ has no single date. Every local authority — and in some cases every individual grammar school — sets its own registration window and exam date.
This matters more than it might sound. Miss a registration deadline in Kent or Buckinghamshire and there is typically no route back in. Your child simply will not sit the test, regardless of how well prepared they are. So before you think about practice papers or tuition, you need to know the calendar you are working to — and that calendar depends entirely on where you live and which schools you are targeting.
This guide walks through the general pattern of the 11+ year, region by region, so you know what to expect and when to start checking official sources for confirmed dates.
Why There Is No National 11+ Date
The 11+ is not a single qualification run by one exam board. It is a patchwork of admissions tests set independently by 163 grammar schools and around 20 selective local authorities across England and Northern Ireland (where it is known as the Transfer Test). Some areas test through a single countywide consortium — Kent's is one of the best known — while others leave individual grammar schools to set their own dates and formats.
The practical effect is that a family in Kent and a family in Essex, both with children born in the same school year, could be registering for entirely different tests in entirely different months. There is no equivalent of "GCSE results day" that applies everywhere. You have to find out what applies to your specific local authority or target school.
The General 11+ Calendar Pattern
Even though exact dates vary, the overall shape of the 11+ year is broadly consistent across regions. If your child is in Year 5 now, for entry to Year 7 in September 2027, this is roughly how the cycle unfolds:
Spring to summer of Year 5 (broadly April to July 2026) — Registration windows open. Some local authorities open registration as early as April, others not until June or July. This is also when many areas publish their information booklets for the new admissions cycle, confirming exact dates.
Fixed reminder point: end of Year 5 (around July 2026) — By the summer break, most families should already know their registration deadline and have it locked into a calendar. If you do not know your deadline by this point, treat it as urgent.
Autumn of Year 6 (September to early November 2026) — The exams themselves are typically held. Most selective local authorities test in September, some run into October, and a handful of individual schools with later timelines test into November.
Fixed reminder point: October half term — By this point, virtually every 11+ test in England has been sat. If your child has not sat their test yet and half term has passed, double-check you have not missed something.
Autumn/winter of Year 6 — Results are typically issued to families, sometimes with an interim outcome, sometimes only confirmed later.
National Offer Day — 1 March 2027 — Secondary school offers, including grammar school places, are confirmed on National Offer Day, which falls on 1 March each year (or the following working day if 1 March is a weekend). This is the one part of the process that genuinely is fixed nationally, because it is governed by the Department for Education's common national offer day rules, which apply to all state secondary admissions.
The takeaway: registration comes first and is the part parents most often get wrong, because it happens quietly, many months before the exam itself feels "real."
GL Assessment or CEM? It Depends Where You Live
Before you even get to dates, it helps to know what kind of test your child will actually sit, because this affects how you interpret school and local authority guidance. The two main providers historically used across England are GL Assessment and CEM (Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring), though the picture has shifted significantly since 2022, with many former CEM areas now using GL, and a newer format called FSCE appearing at several schools since 2024.
Which provider your child faces is set by your local authority or the individual grammar school, not by you, and it will not usually change your registration deadline — but it does change how you should prepare and what format to expect on the day. If you are not sure which board applies to you, our companion guide on GL vs CEM 11+ exam boards breaks down the regional split in detail and explains how the two formats differ.
Regional Overview: Typical Timing by Area
Below is a general picture of how different well-known grammar school areas have traditionally structured their 11+ calendar. These are typical patterns, not confirmed 2026 dates. Local authorities publish their exact dates for each admissions cycle separately, usually the spring before the exam, and those dates can and do move from year to year. Treat everything below as a starting point for your own research, not a substitute for it.
Kent (the Kent Test) — One of the largest countywide 11+ systems, coordinated by Kent County Council. Registration has historically opened in early summer of Year 5, with testing in September of Year 6. Kent publishes a fresh procedures booklet each spring — always use that, not last year's dates.
Buckinghamshire (the Bucks Test / TEP) — Coordinated by Buckinghamshire Council, with registration typically opening in spring/early summer and testing in September, similar to Kent. Out-of-county applicants should check separate deadlines, as these sometimes differ.
Essex — Many schools test through the CSSE consortium, but several set their own dates independently, and a few now use the newer FSCE format. Do not assume every grammar school in the county shares one calendar.
Lincolnshire — A large number of grammar schools operate through informal local groupings rather than one countywide test, so timing varies by area. Summer registration and autumn testing is the general pattern.
Medway — Sits outside Kent County Council for education purposes and runs its own selective test on its own timetable, though the broad spring-to-autumn shape is similar to Kent's.
Warwickshire — Grammar schools have historically coordinated a shared registration window in spring/summer of Year 5, with testing in the autumn term of Year 6.
Trafford — Runs a joint procedure with a shared test date for most schools in the borough, making it one of the more consistent regions, though confirmation each year is still essential.
Birmingham — Schools including the King Edward VI Foundation set individual or lightly coordinated autumn dates. With no single countywide consortium, check each target school separately.
Wirral — Coordinates through a joint scheme, with registration in spring/summer and testing in the autumn term of Year 6.
London super-selectives — The most competitive grammar and super-selective schools, including those in shared consortium arrangements, often test slightly later in the autumn, and some run supplementary rounds. Registration windows tend to open in the summer before Year 6 begins, and because these schools are heavily oversubscribed, a missed deadline here is particularly costly.
Typical Timing Bands by Region Type
The table below groups regions by the general shape of their 11+ calendar. Use it as a planning guide only — go to your local authority's admissions page or your target school's website for the dates that actually apply to your child.
| Region type | Typical registration window | Typical exam window | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large countywide consortium (e.g. Kent, Bucks, Medway) | Late spring to early summer of Year 5 | September of Year 6 | Usually one shared registration process for most schools in the area |
| Multi-school county with informal grouping (e.g. Essex, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire) | Spring to summer of Year 5, varies by school | September–October of Year 6 | Different schools in the same county can have different dates — check each one |
| Joint borough scheme (e.g. Trafford, Wirral, Warwickshire) | Spring/summer of Year 5 | Autumn term of Year 6 | Shared test for most schools in the borough, but confirm annually |
| Individual/loosely coordinated city schools (e.g. Birmingham) | Varies by school, often summer of Year 5 | Autumn term of Year 6 | Treat each school as a separate registration process |
| London super-selectives and consortia | Summer before Year 6 | Autumn of Year 6, sometimes later | Highly oversubscribed; some schools run supplementary rounds |
What Happens If You Miss a Deadline
This is the part that trips families up most often, so it is worth stating plainly: in the vast majority of local authorities and schools, there is no late registration for the 11+. Unlike some school application processes where a late form might still be considered, missing an 11+ registration window generally means your child does not sit the test that year, full stop. There is no fallback exam date, no appeals process for a missed deadline, and no way to register "after the fact" once the system closes.
This is precisely why experienced 11+ parents treat registration as a more urgent task than exam preparation itself. You can catch up on verbal reasoning practice in the weeks before the test. You cannot catch up on a registration window that closed three months ago.
The practical fix is simple: as soon as your child starts Year 5, find your local authority's admissions page (or your target school's admissions page) and identify the current cycle's registration window, even if exact dates have not yet been published. Set a calendar reminder for when you expect the window to open, based on the typical pattern above, then set a second, firmer reminder once the actual date is confirmed. Many local authorities and schools also run mailing lists that notify parents the moment the registration portal goes live — sign up early.
Where to Find the Real Dates
Because this article deliberately avoids inventing specific 2026 dates that could be wrong or out of date by the time you read this, here is where the accurate information actually lives:
- Your local authority's admissions or education pages — this is the primary source for countywide tests such as Kent, Bucks, and Medway
- Your target grammar school's own admissions page — essential for individually-set schools and independent schools
- The consortium or joint scheme's own website, where one exists (for example, joint borough schemes often have a shared site separate from any single school)
- A direct phone call or email to the school's admissions office, particularly if the website information is unclear or looks out of date
If you only take one thing from this article, make it this: bookmark the correct admissions page for your specific local authority or school now, in Year 5, before you need it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there one national 11+ exam date like there is for GCSEs?
No. The 11+ is administered separately by each local authority or grammar school, so there is no single national date. The only nationally fixed point in the process is National Offer Day, which falls on 1 March each year.
When should I register my child for the 11+?
Registration windows typically open in the spring or summer of Year 5, roughly April to July, though the exact dates vary by area. Check your local authority or target school's admissions page as early as possible in Year 5 and set a reminder for when the window is expected to open.
What happens if I miss the registration deadline?
In almost all cases, there is no late entry option. Your child will not be able to sit the test that admissions cycle. This is why setting an early calendar reminder matters more for the 11+ than for most other school milestones.
Do all grammar schools in the same county use the same exam date?
Not necessarily. Some counties run one shared countywide test (Kent and Buckinghamshire, for example), while others, such as Essex or Yorkshire, have multiple grammar schools setting their own dates. Always check each individual target school if your county does not run a single joint scheme.
How do I know if my area uses GL Assessment or CEM?
This depends on your local authority or the specific school, and the picture has changed considerably since 2022 as many areas moved from CEM to GL. Check your target school's admissions page directly, or see our GL vs CEM guide for a regional breakdown and explanation of how the formats differ.
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