Start the year with a diagnostic, not a workbook. Until you know which of the four components your child is actually weak in, every hour you spend is a guess.
That is how I open Year 5 with every student, and it is the single thing I would change about how most families begin.
September and October: find out where you are
Most Year 5 children arrive with zero knowledge of verbal and non-verbal reasoning. That is not a failing. These are specialist subjects that simply are not taught in primary school, so there is nothing for a child to have picked up.
Children who have had tutoring before, or some exposure to reasoning material, start in a slightly advantaged place. The good news from twenty years of watching this is that both subjects can be learned inside a year, given exposure, teaching and enough practice.
So the first job is a diagnostic across all four components, to see where the gaps are before you commit the year to anything.
What their existing strengths predict
Here is a pattern that holds up remarkably well, and it tells you where a child will need the most help.
| If your child is strong in | They tend to pick up | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | Non-verbal reasoning | It is logic and pattern work in a visual costume |
| English, reading, vocabulary | Verbal reasoning | Nearly every question type rests on knowing words |
A strong mathematician who struggles with verbal reasoning does not have a reasoning problem. They have a vocabulary problem, and the fix is reading, not more reasoning worksheets. The reverse is just as true.
the partnership entrance test page sets the weighting: 50% English and verbal reasoning, 25% non-verbal reasoning, 25% maths. Half the paper rests on words.
October to December: build the routine
This is the part that decides the outcome, and it is unglamorous.
A solid study routine at home, worked consistently every day after school, focused on the 11+. Not long sessions. Consistent ones. See our guide to how many hours a week for what that actually looks like.
January to April: topic by topic, progressively
Work through the subjects and topics in order rather than jumping around, and increase the difficulty deliberately rather than all at once.
It is why we build our practice packs sectionalised by subject, with each major topic broken out and the questions graded bronze, silver and gold. Bronze questions are straightforward, silver sit in the middle, and gold are genuinely challenging. A child who meets gold-level questions in April has months to get comfortable with them. A child who meets them in August panics.
May to August: registration, then consolidation
Registration for the test opens in early May and closes in late June, and it is sat in September of Year 6. Miss that window and the year's work has nowhere to go, so put the dates in your calendar now. Our registration guide walks through it.
Then use the summer properly. Not to start, to consolidate: full papers under timed conditions, and targeted work on whatever the diagnostic flagged in September.
Why the year-long approach wins
I want to be plain about this because it is the most reliable pattern I know.
Students who prepare steadily across the whole year do better than students who cram in the final couple of months. Not marginally better. Consistently and noticeably better.
The reason is retention. Reasoning is a skill, and skills need spacing to stick. A child who has met every question type four times across nine months recognises them instantly. A child who met them all in July is still thinking about what the question wants while the clock runs.
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.
Start with a diagnostic, not a workbook
The key thing at the start of the year is always a diagnostic test, just to see which area your child is struggling in. Most Year 5 students I have taught have zero knowledge of non-verbal and verbal reasoning, because these are specialist subjects. Students who have had tutoring before, or some exposure to the content out there, are in a slightly advantaged place. But from my historical experience, verbal and non-verbal can both be learned within a year through exposure, teaching and enough practice.
There is a pattern worth knowing. Students who are very strong at mathematics do well in non-verbal, because of the logic and reasoning nature of it. Students who are very strong in English, with a good vocabulary and understanding of comprehension, tend to do well in verbal reasoning, because so much of it is understanding words and making words.
After that it is all about consistency. A very good study routine at home, working every day after school, just focusing on the 11+. Students who prepare themselves throughout the year do better than those who cram the work into the last couple of months before the test. I have seen that hold true for twenty years.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
When should a Year 5 child start preparing for the 11+?
At the start of Year 5, beginning with a diagnostic across all four components rather than with a workbook. The test is sat in September of Year 6, so Year 5 is the natural preparation year, and children who work steadily across it consistently outperform those who cram in the final months.
Do Year 5 children know any verbal or non-verbal reasoning already?
Usually none at all. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning are specialist subjects that are not taught in primary school, so most children arrive with zero exposure. Both can be learned within a year given teaching, exposure and enough practice.
My child is good at maths but poor at verbal reasoning. Why?
Because verbal reasoning rests on vocabulary rather than logic. Children strong in mathematics tend to pick up non-verbal reasoning quickly, since it is pattern and logic work in visual form, while verbal reasoning follows reading and vocabulary. The fix is reading, not more reasoning worksheets.
How should 11+ practice be structured across Year 5?
Diagnose in September and October, build a daily routine through the autumn, then work topic by topic through the spring with questions that increase in difficulty progressively. Register in May or June, and use the summer to consolidate with timed full papers rather than to start.
Is it better to prepare all year or revise intensively at the end?
All year, clearly. Reasoning is a skill and skills need spacing to stick. A child who has met every question type repeatedly across nine months recognises them instantly under time pressure, while a child who met them all in the summer is still working out what the question wants.