For some families it is clearly worth it. For some it is clearly not. Anyone who answers that question with an unqualified yes is selling you something.
We sell 11+ practice material, so read this knowing that. It is also why the answer below is not yes.
The short answer
It is worth it when a grammar school is a good fit for the child you actually have, and the preparation year will not cost more than the place is worth to them.
Two conditions, and both are about your child rather than about the schools. The schools are good. That was never the question.
What the year actually costs
Worth counting honestly, because the brochure version counts only the benefit.
| Cost | Realistically |
|---|---|
| Time | Half an hour to an hour a day for a year, plus about nine weeks of holidays |
| Money | Nothing, if you do it yourself. Tutoring if you choose it |
| Your attention | The part people miss. Involved parents get better results |
| Family goodwill | Real, and spendable only once |
| The child's Year 5 and 6 | Not lost, but not free either |
And the outcome is uncertain however well it goes, because it is competitive rather than a pass mark. Able children miss by a mark or two every year.
Against that, the place itself is free and worth a lot. See our guide to the real cost of a place.
When it is worth it
- Your child is academically able and enjoys it. The strongest case, and the easiest to spot.
- They thrive on pace and on being pushed. A grammar school is an environment of academic excellence, and for the right child that is a genuine advantage.
- Your local alternatives genuinely worry you. A real and legitimate reason, and one families are sometimes embarrassed to say.
- The journey is manageable. See below on this one.
- You can run the year calmly. Including if the answer in October is no.
When it is genuinely not
Being specific, because "it depends on the child" is useless advice.
- When the child is distressed by it and changing the volume, difficulty and setting has not helped. See our guide to a reluctant child.
- When they would be near the bottom of a selective cohort. A child who would be comfortably strong at a comprehensive and struggling at a grammar school may do better, and be happier, in the first.
- When the commute is punishing. An hour each way for five years is a real cost, paid daily, by the child.
- When the family cannot run it calmly. If this will dominate two years and strain the house, that is a reason, and an honest one.
- When your local comprehensive is strong and your child would be near the top of it.
- When it is really about you. Worth asking once, privately.
The belief doing the most damage
That the 11+ decides a child's future. It does not, and this is the thing I would most want a parent to take from twenty years of watching how these children turn out.
Many students I have taught did not get a grammar school place. They went to their local comprehensive and succeeded beyond anything anyone imagined for them: strong GCSEs, strong A levels, good careers afterwards. Not a handful. Many.
So a grammar school place is not mandatory, and the 11+ is not a verdict on a ten year old. It is a sorting mechanism for a limited number of places, in which able children miss out because there were more qualified applicants than seats.
If that is true, and it is, then the stakes families attach to this are too high, and the cost of deciding against it is much lower than it feels. See our guide to grammar versus comprehensive.
If you are unsure
Then do this, in this order, and the question usually answers itself:
- Sit a free mock test. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and it tells you where your child actually is rather than where you hope.
- Visit a grammar school and your local comprehensive, both properly, and watch the corridors between lessons.
- Do the commute on a weekday morning, with your child.
- Try six weeks of half an hour a day and see how your child finds it. Six weeks is a fair trial and costs nothing much.
- Then decide, knowing registration closes in late June of Year 5 and access arrangements earlier.
And remember that sitting the test commits you to nothing. A result does not oblige you to accept a place, so the decision you are making now is about the preparation year, not about the next seven years.
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.
Many of them did not get in, and did brilliantly anyway
This is totally dependent on the parent and what they want, and a grammar school may not be better than a comprehensive. Because of the nature of the test and the number of students competing for a place, a child not getting in does not mean their ability is only average.
A grammar school is a school with an environment of excellence, and a parent choosing that for their child may simply want them in that environment. That is fair enough. But a student going to a comprehensive does not mean they will not achieve. Over the years I have taught many, many students who did not get into a grammar school and who went on to succeed beyond their wildest imaginations at GCSE and A level, and have had very successful careers ahead of them.
So it is not mandatory. And I would say the same about the preparation: a tutor is not required either, and it is not incumbent on anybody to start in September. What matters is whether this suits your child and whether the year can be run without damaging anything.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
Is the 11+ worth it?
For some families clearly yes and for some clearly no. It is worth it when a grammar school suits the child you actually have and the preparation year will not cost more than the place is worth to them. Anyone answering with an unqualified yes is selling something.
Who is the 11+ genuinely not right for?
A child distressed by it after you have changed the volume, difficulty and setting. A child who would be near the bottom of a selective cohort but strong at a comprehensive. A punishing daily commute. A family who cannot run the year calmly.
Does missing the 11+ hold a child back?
There is no sign of it in twenty years of teaching. Many children who did not get a place went to their local comprehensive and achieved strong GCSEs and A levels and good careers. It is a sorting mechanism for limited places, not a verdict on a ten year old.
What does an 11+ year actually cost a family?
Half an hour to an hour a day for a year plus around nine weeks of holidays, your own attention, which is the part people miss, and family goodwill that can only be spent once. Money is optional, since a tutor is not required.
How do I decide whether to do the 11+?
Sit a free mock test, which costs nothing and shows where your child actually is. Visit both a grammar school and your local comprehensive. Do the commute on a weekday morning. Then try six weeks of half an hour a day and see how your child finds it.
Does sitting the 11+ commit us to anything?
No. A result does not oblige you to accept a place, so the decision in front of you is about the preparation year rather than the next seven years.