11+ test-day checklist

What should you check in the week before?

• Your confirmation letter or email. Venue, start time, arrival time and any candidate number or admission card.
• What your child may bring. Rules on pencils, rubbers, water bottles, clear pencil cases and watches vary. If in doubt, ask.
• Access arrangements, if agreed: check they are confirmed in writing and that your child knows what to expect.
• The journey. Try the route at the same time of day if you can, and know where to park or drop off.
• A back-up plan if your child is unwell. Find out now who to contact and whether there is a later sitting. See if your child is ill on test day.

What should you pack the night before?

• Confirmation letter, admission card or candidate number, if required
• Two or three sharpened pencils
• A good rubber and a sharpener
• Any other equipment the test allows (check the list in your confirmation)
• A clear water bottle, if allowed
• A watch without alarms or smart features, only if allowed
• Glasses, hearing aids, inhaler or medication, if needed
• A snack and drink for before and after
• A layer of clothing that's easy to take off or put on

What helps on the morning itself?

• A normal breakfast and a normal routine.
• Leave early. Arriving with time to spare is calmer than rushing.
• A short, warm goodbye. Something like "Do your best, and we'll do something nice after" is enough.
• No last-minute practice. It is more likely to unsettle than help.

Quest's guidance for families says much the same: make sure your child eats a proper breakfast, keep the morning calm and positive, and allow plenty of time for the journeySource for Quest: Dorset morning adviceQuest: Dorset morning adviceCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Quest Assessments.The source says: Ensure your child eats a proper breakfast. ... Keep the morning calm and positive. ... Allow plenty of time for the journey.View the official source.

What should your child know going in?

Talk about these in the days before, lightly:

• Listen to the instructions and ask the invigilator if anything is unclear.
• Read every question carefully, especially words like "not" and "most".
• If you are stuck, move on and come back if there is time.
• Mark answers clearly in the right place on the answer sheet, and rub out fully if you change your mind.
• Check whether wrong answers lose marks. In many tests they don't; for example, in the Sutton SET no marks are taken off for wrong answersSource for Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET): No negative markingSutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET): No negative markingCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Sutton SET Consortium (hosted on Nonsuch High School for Girls website).The source says: There is no negative marking in the SET papers.View the official source. Where that is the case, it is worth giving an answer to every question. Check your own test's instructions.

What should you say afterwards?

• Ask "How was it?" and let your child lead. Some children want to talk; many don't.
• Praise the effort and the courage, not how they think they did.
• Avoid going through questions in detail. It rarely helps and can worry a child for weeks.
• Do the nice thing you promised.

Related pages

• 11+ test day: what to expect
• Keeping perspective
• 11+ dates by area
• Access arrangements for the 11+
• Transfer test checklist (Northern Ireland)

Sources

Facts on this page come from Quest Assessments' Dorset consortium guidance and the Sutton SET consortium's information for 2027 entry, archived on 9 October 2026. The checklist is general guidance; your test confirmation always takes priority.

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