11+ and school admissions words, explained

The form you use to apply for a secondary school place. You send it to your own council, even for schools in another area, and you list the schools you want in order of preference. In England it closes on 31 October.

An extra form that some schools ask for, as well as the CAF. You send it to the school, not to the council. A SIF on its own is not an application: you must still name the school on your CAF.

A date that something will happen by. It can happen earlier, but not later. For example, “results by 16 October” means you will hear on or before 16 October.

The September when a child starts secondary school. For example, “2027 entry” means starting Year 7 in September 2027. Those children usually sit the 11+ at the start of Year 6, in autumn 2026.

The last year of primary school in England and Wales, when children are 10 or 11 years old. Secondary school starts in Year 7. Most 11+ tests are taken at the start of Year 6.

The organisation that sets a school’s admission rules and decides who is offered a place. For academies and most grammar schools, this is the school’s trust or governing board. For community schools, it is the council.

The day councils in England tell families which secondary school place they are offered. It is 1 March, or the next working day if 1 March is at a weekend or on a bank holiday.

The number of places a school offers in its first year group, for example Year 7. The admission authority sets it each year in the school’s admission policy.

The rules a school uses, in order, to decide who gets a place when more children apply than there are places. For example: children in care first, then brothers and sisters of pupils, then distance from home.

An area, set by a school or a council, where children get higher priority for a place. Living inside it is not an offer of a place. Not every school has a catchment.

How far from the school the last child offered a place under the distance rule lived, in one year. It changes every year with the number of children who apply, so it is history, not a promise.

Distance measured in a straight line on a map, not along roads or paths. Each school or council says which two points it measures between, for example your home’s address point and the school’s main gate.

A way some schools admit children of all abilities. Children sit a test and are placed in ability groups, called bands. The school then offers places in every band, so there is no qualifying score.

A list a school keeps of children who were not offered a place. It is in the order of the admission rules, not the date you joined. Some councils ask you to confirm your “continuing interest” to stay on it.

If a school refuses your child a place, you have a legal right to appeal. An independent panel hears your case and can decide that the school must offer a place. In England you have at least 20 school days to send an appeal.

A complaint is about how an admission or an appeal was handled, not about the decision itself. For academies it goes to the Department for Education. For other schools it goes to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

A score that is adjusted so results can be compared fairly. It takes account of how hard the test was and, in most areas, the child’s age in months. It is not a percentage or a number of marks.

The number of marks a child got, before any adjustment. Most areas turn raw scores into standardised scores, so a raw score alone does not tell you whether a child qualified.

The score a child must reach to be considered for a grammar school place in that area. Reaching it is not an offer of a place: places then follow each school’s admission rules.

Two or more test scores added together into one total. For example, an area may add the English, maths and reasoning scores, and compare the total with its qualifying score.

In some areas, a score above the qualifying score. Children who reach it get higher priority for a place than children who reach only the qualifying score.

Wording used in Kent. A child is “assessed suitable” for grammar school if they reach the required standard in the Kent Test, or through the headteacher assessment. It means they can be considered, not that they have a place.

A Kent process in which a panel of headteachers looks at a child’s school work after the Kent Test. The panel can decide that the child is “assessed suitable” for grammar school. The request comes from the child’s primary school.

In some areas, a panel can look again at a child’s test result after results day, with evidence from their school. If the panel agrees, the child is treated as qualified. You must ask by a set date.

A measure of how much progress pupils at a school made between the end of primary school and their GCSEs, compared with similar pupils across England. Zero is average. Above zero is better than average.

When a child needs extra support with learning, or has a disability or health condition that affects their learning, compared with most children of the same age.

A legal document, written by the council, for a child who needs more support than a school can usually give. If a plan names a school, that school must admit the child.

Changes to how a child sits a test, such as extra time, rest breaks or a large-print paper, for children with SEND or a medical need. You usually have to ask before a set deadline, with evidence.

Extra money schools receive for some children, for example children who have had free school meals at any time in the last six years, and children who are or were in care. Many grammar schools give these children priority.

A child in the care of a council. Children in care, and children who left care through adoption or a special guardianship or child arrangements order, get the highest priority for school places in England.

A test that some children take in Year 5 or Year 6 to be considered for a grammar school or another selective school. There is no single national 11+: each area or school sets its own.

A state secondary school that chooses its pupils by an entrance test, usually the 11+. There are no fees.

A school that charges fees and is not run by a council or the government. In the UK, some of the oldest independent schools are called “public schools”, which can be confusing.

Free practice material from a test provider or school. It shows what the test looks like: the question types, the answer sheet and the instructions, so a child knows what to expect.

A company that writes 11+ tests for many grammar school areas in England, and sets and marks the SEAG test in Northern Ireland. Each area chooses its own subjects and papers, so there is no single “GL test”.

A name you may see on 11+ practice books. Today it is Cambridge Insight, which sells an online entrance test called Cambridge Select Insight, mainly to selective independent schools. Check which test your schools use before you buy material.

A not-for-profit test writer owned by Reading School. Its tests use what children learn at primary school up to the end of Year 5, some papers need short written answers, and it does not publish past papers.

A company that writes a separate 11+ test for each school or group of schools that uses it, so the subjects depend on where you apply. Quest says that it is part of the education company Atom Learning.

The group of Essex and Southend schools that share one 11+ test: an English paper and a maths paper, each worth half of the marks. Results are given as a total standardised score.

The first-stage test shared by a group of schools in Sutton: two multiple-choice papers, in maths and English. Children who reach the standard are invited to a second-stage test at the grammar schools.

The not-for-profit group that runs the transfer test for selective schools in Northern Ireland. Children in Primary 7 (P7) sit two papers, English (or Irish) and maths, set and marked by GL Assessment.

The organisation that runs the ISEB Pre-Test, an online test that many independent senior schools use. It is adaptive, which means the questions change with the child’s answers. It covers four subjects.

The 11+ for Kent grammar schools, run by Kent County Council. Children sit English, maths and reasoning tests, and are “assessed suitable” for grammar school if they reach the required standard.

The 11+ used by the grammar schools in Buckinghamshire. Results are given as one standardised score, and children who reach the qualifying score can be considered for any Buckinghamshire grammar school.

An entrance test that a grammar school runs itself, instead of the area’s 11+ or as well as it. Many have two stages: a first test for everyone, then a second test for the children ranked highest.