What a mock is actually for
A mock exam is a diagnosis, not a prediction. That distinction is where most of the value sits, and where most of the disappointment comes from.
It tells you which of the four sections your child is weak in, whether they can hold concentration for two papers, and whether they can transfer answers to a separate sheet without losing their place. It does not tell you what they will score in September.
There is a structural reason to be careful about treating any mock as a forecast. The partnership states plainly on Preparing for the Test that none of the schools keep past papers. No commercial mock, mine included, is working from the real thing. Every one is an approximation built from the published format and the familiarisation guide.
When to sit the first one
The right timing depends entirely on whether your child has already covered the material. There are two honest paths, and picking the wrong one wastes both the money and the diagnosis.
| Your situation | When to mock | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tutored since Year 3 or 4, topics broadly covered | January to March of Year 5 | Five or six months out. Early enough to act on what it finds |
| Started late, or topics not yet covered | June, July and August | The three critical months before a September test, once there is something to measure |
Mocking a child who has not yet been taught non-verbal reasoning does not diagnose a weakness. It measures an absence, and it costs you sixty pounds to discover something you already knew.
How many, and what they cost
I would love to give you a number here, but the honest answer is that it comes down to what you can afford. A physical mock, sat in an examination centre with an invigilator, runs roughly £60 to £90 per sitting across the West Midlands.
More sittings genuinely do help. The child gets more experience of the conditions, and you get a trend rather than a single data point, which is the thing worth watching. A raw mark climbing across three mocks tells you far more than any one score.
But there is a point of diminishing returns, and the partnership is blunt about the wider principle on Preparing for the Test: intensive coaching or tuition, in its words, is not in the long-term best interests of your child. Two or three well-spaced mocks that you actually act on will beat six that you do not.
The limitation nobody mentions
This is the part I wish more centres were upfront about.
When your child sits a physical mock, the feedback is not immediate. It typically takes the centre two or three days to mark the sheets and email the scores back. By then the test has faded, and the child cannot tell you why they picked answer C on question 31.
The reports themselves are often the second problem. You are sent bar charts and pie charts and a spread of data, and it is genuinely hard to extract the one thing you needed: which topics to work on next week. Parents bring me these reports regularly and ask what they mean.
So when you book, ask two questions before you pay: how long until we get the result, and will it tell us which topics to fix. If the answer to the second is a pie chart, you are buying a score, not a diagnosis.
Make the conditions real
A mock is only worth its price if it rehearses the actual test. According to the partnership's entrance test page, that means:
- Two papers, each roughly 50 to 60 minutes, with a short comfort break between them.
- Each paper split into individually timed sections. Your child cannot revisit an earlier section or jump ahead. If a mock lets them roam the paper freely, it is not rehearsing this test.
- Instructions and timings delivered by audio, with a five-minute warning in the longer sections.
- Two HB pencils, an eraser and a sharpener, in a clear pencil case. No rulers, no highlighters, no watches or timers.
- Working out in the booklet. No scrap paper. Only the separate answer sheet is marked.
That last point causes more lost marks than any topic gap. A child who works through the booklet and transfers answers in one block at the end can lose an entire run to a single mis-numbered row.
What to do with the result
Marks are standardised by age in the real test, so a raw mock score is not directly comparable to the 200-scale figure your child will eventually receive. Read the mock for shape, not for level.
- Look at the sections, not the total. A weak 25% non-verbal score is a different problem from a weak English score, and the English half carries twice the weight.
- Look at unanswered questions. Blanks at the end of a section are a pacing problem, not a knowledge problem, and they are fixed differently.
- Re-sit the same paper six weeks later. Improvement on identical material tells you whether the teaching landed.
For how the real marks are converted, see our guide to the standardised score, and for when to begin all of this, our guide to when to start preparing.
Papers are coming
GrammarPath practice papers for the West Midlands test are on the way, written to the real two-paper format. Join the list and we will email you the moment they launch.
Mock too early and you are paying to discover something you already knew
Parents ask me constantly when their child should do a mock, and my general answer is not to do one too soon. If a student has been tutored for a few years, from Year 3 say, then January to March works well, at least five or six months out, because it gives a real indication of strengths and weaknesses while there is still time to do something about them. If they have not had tutoring and have not covered all the topics, leave it to June, July and August, those three critical months before the September test.
How many comes down to financial obligation more than anything else. A physical mock in a centre averages roughly £60 to £90, so it depends what you can afford. The more you do, the more experience your child gets, and you can watch whether the raw mark is actually improving.
There is a limitation of the physical setting that I would want a parent to know before they book. The feedback is not immediate. It can take the mock centre two or three days to come back with the scores, and when the report arrives it is often charts and pie charts and data that is genuinely hard to interpret. Parents bring these to me and ask what they are supposed to do with them, which tells you something.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
When should my child sit their first 11+ mock exam?
It depends on whether the material has been covered. A child tutored since Year 3 or 4 can usefully sit one between January and March of Year 5, five or six months before the test, while there is still time to act on it. A child who started later should wait until June, July or August, once there is something real to measure.
How much does an 11+ mock exam cost?
A physical mock sat in an examination centre with an invigilator typically costs around £60 to £90 per sitting across the West Midlands. Cost is the practical constraint on how many a family can do, and it is a fair one.
How many mock exams should my child do?
Two or three well-spaced mocks that you actually act on are worth more than six you do not. More sittings do build familiarity and give you a trend rather than a single score, but the partnership itself cautions that intensive coaching is not in a child's long-term interests.
Do 11+ mock exams predict the real score?
No. Treat a mock as a diagnosis rather than a forecast. None of the partnership schools keep past papers, so every commercial mock is an approximation built from the published format. Real marks are also standardised by age, so a raw mock score does not map onto the 200 scale.
Why does mock feedback take so long?
Physical mock centres generally need two or three days to mark the answer sheets and email results. By then the detail has faded and a child cannot explain their choices. Ask about turnaround before booking, and ask whether the report names the topics to work on.
What conditions should an 11+ mock replicate?
Two papers of roughly 50 to 60 minutes with a comfort break, split into individually timed sections that cannot be revisited, audio-delivered instructions, two HB pencils in a clear pencil case, no ruler, highlighter, watch or timer, working out in the booklet with no scrap paper, and answers recorded on a separate sheet.