The single most important thing about 11+ books is not which one you buy. It is that your child works on paper, by hand.
The real test is a paper test, with answers recorded on a separate sheet. Preparation that happens entirely on a screen misses the part that actually costs marks on the day.
Why paper matters more than the brand
On the morning your child will have two HB pencils, a question booklet and a separate answer sheet, and only the answer sheet is marked. Working done neatly in the booklet earns nothing. Losing your place and shifting every answer down a row loses everything.
That is a physical skill. It is built by doing papers on paper, at a table, with a pencil, and it is not built by tapping options on a laptop.
So use online material by all means, and a lot of it is excellent, but make the child write the working out by hand even when the questions are on a screen. See our guide to exam day for what that sheet actually looks like.
The publishers worth your money
| Publisher | What it is good for |
|---|---|
| CGP | The most prominent. Broad coverage, clear explanations, plenty of volume |
| Bond | Long established, well graded by age, good for building up steadily |
| Scholastic | Solid practice material, useful alongside another series |
| Collins | Good brand, works well for English and maths foundations |
Any of these will serve. What matters more than choosing between them is covering every question type and doing it consistently.
What to skip
- Anything claiming to be the real past paper. No school releases them, so the claim is false. See our guide to past papers.
- Material built on the national scale. If it talks about a mean of 100 or a pass around 111, it is not describing this region.
- A second book covering what you already have. Volume without coverage is wasted. Buy to fill gaps, not to feel prepared.
- Books with answers but no explanations. An answer key tells a child they were wrong. A worked solution tells them why.
What to actually buy, in order
- One series covering all four areas, so nothing is missed.
- A dedicated non-verbal and spatial book. This is the area school never touches, and general books cover it thinly.
- A vocabulary or comprehension book, because half the marks rest on words.
- Blank answer sheets. Print them and use them. They cost nothing and they protect marks your child has already earned.
- Timed full papers, from the spring of Year 5 onwards.
And before buying anything, find out what is actually weak. Our free mock test gives a topic breakdown, which is a better shopping list than a review ever will be.
See where your child stands today
Timed sections in the GL Assessment format, marked instantly, with a topic-by-topic breakdown. No sign-up to start.
Whatever you buy, make them write it out
Books worth buying, yes, but it goes back to what the test actually is. The grammar test is a physical test, so getting students to write answers out and do the working on paper is very, very important.
Resources are available online now, CGP online and other companies that provide PDFs a student can open on a laptop, and those are fine. But the calculation and the working out should be done by hand regardless. That is the bit that transfers to the exam room.
In terms of the brands, you have loads of resources from CGP, which are very prominent. You have Bond. You have Scholastic. Collins is a good brand. And then there are independent companies online providing practice in the live format. Any of those will do the job. What decides it is whether the child is actually putting pencil to paper.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
Which 11+ books are worth buying?
CGP is the most prominent with broad coverage and clear explanations, Bond is long established and well graded by age, and Scholastic and Collins are both solid. Any of them will serve; covering every question type consistently matters more than choosing between them.
Should my child practise 11+ questions on paper or on screen?
On paper, by hand. The real test is a paper test with answers on a separate sheet, and that is a physical skill built at a table with a pencil. Online material is fine, but the working out should still be done by hand.
Which 11+ books should I avoid?
Anything claiming to be a real past paper, since no school releases them; anything built on the national scale of a mean of 100 and a pass around 111, which does not apply in the West Midlands; and books with answer keys but no worked explanations.
How many 11+ books does a child need?
Fewer than most families buy. One series covering all four areas, a dedicated non-verbal and spatial book because school never touches that, something for vocabulary and comprehension, and blank answer sheets. Buy to fill gaps rather than to feel prepared.
Why do blank answer sheets matter?
Because on the day only the separate answer sheet is marked, so working shown in the booklet earns nothing and a child who loses their place can shift every answer down a row. Practising the transfer protects marks the child has already earned.