The 10+, 11+ and Independent School Entrance Exam Timeline

The short answer

A child who tries every route can face three separate exam seasons in roughly sixteen months. The 10+ comes in Year 5, usually between November and January. The grammar school 11+ comes at the start of Year 6, in September or early October, with results in mid to late October. Independent school entrance exams run from about October to January of Year 6, with decisions between January and March. Registration closes before each stage, and independent school deadlines often fall around the time grammar results arrive.

Why there is no single 11+ timeline

Many parents first hear about the 11+ as one exam with one date. In England it is a set of routes that run on different calendars. State grammar schools use tests set by local authorities or groups of schools. Independent schools set their own papers or use a shared test. Some schools also assess children a year earlier, at 10+. Each route has its own registration window, test format and results date (Cognito, 2026b).

The order of events matters because registration closes well before the exam, and a missed deadline can mean a child cannot sit the test for that school (Think Academy, n.d.). A family that knows the sequence can put every deadline in one calendar and decide which routes suit the child.

Exact dates change every year and differ by school and area, so confirm each one with the school or local authority before relying on it.

The three stages at a glance

Stage	Child's year group	Registration closes (approx.)	Exams (approx.)	Results or decisions (approx.)
10+	Year 5	Late September to December, two to six weeks before the exam	November to January	Varies by school
Grammar school 11+	Start of Year 6	Late spring to early September, depending on area	September to early October	Mid to late October; state offer day in early March
Independent school entry	Year 6	September to November	October to January	January to March; acceptance deadlines mid to late March

Sources: Atom Learning (2026); Atom Learning (n.d.); Cognito (2026a, 2026b, 2026c); 11 Plus London (2026); Leading Tuition (2026).

Stage 1: the 10+ in Year 5

The 10+ is an entrance exam taken in Year 5, when children are nine or ten years old. Exams usually take place at the end of the autumn term, in November or December, or early in the spring term, in January (Atom Learning, 2026). Leading Tuition (2026) gives the same window as November to January.

A 10+ place leads to Year 6 entry, either at an independent prep school or as an early start at a senior school (Atom Learning, 2026). A small number of schools use their 10+ for a different entry point, so families should check which year the place is for (Leading Tuition, 2026).

Registration typically closes two to six weeks before the exam, which puts some deadlines as early as mid October (Leading Tuition, 2026). Schools often post details of the assessment about six weeks before the day (Exam Papers Plus, n.d.). Each school runs its own process, so deadlines and formats differ (Atom Learning, 2026).

A 10+ result decides one route only. A child who does not receive an offer can still apply through the later routes at 11+, although schools set their own rules on re-sitting. At least one school allows unsuccessful 10+ candidates to sit its 11+ afresh in Year 6, and the published guidance does not say how other schools handle this, so families need to ask each school directly (Leading Tuition, 2026).

Stage 2: the grammar school 11+ in Year 6

Children usually sit state grammar school tests in September or early October of Year 6, with results in mid to late October (Cognito, 2026b). There is no single national paper. Local authorities and consortia set their own tests and their own dates, and the format varies by area (Cognito, 2026b).

Registration is the earliest step. Most local authorities close registration in late June or early July, months before the exam (Cognito, 2026b). A London guide gives May to July for grammar registration (11 Plus London, 2026), and examples in a national key dates guide run from early June to early September depending on area (Atom Learning, n.d.). In areas that close in early summer, a child who will sit the test in September of Year 6 is registered before Year 5 has ended.

Results arrive in mid to late October. Schools release state secondary offers on national offer day, around the start of March (Cognito, 2026a).

Stage 3: independent school entrance exams in Year 6

Independent schools do not follow a single national calendar (Cognito, 2026a). One London guide gives typical ranges: registration closing between September and November, exams from October to January, and interviews from November to February (11 Plus London, 2026).

Many senior schools use the ISEB Common Pre-Test, an online adaptive test that most children take in Year 6 between September and December (Cognito, 2026c). It covers English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, takes about two hours and ten minutes, and is free to families. The system blocks repeat attempts within a year, so every school receives the same score (Cognito, 2026c).

Other schools use the ISEB 11+ Common Entrance, which has an autumn sitting in early November and a spring sitting in mid January (ISEB, 2026). Some schools write their own papers (Cognito, 2026b), and a consortium of London independent girls' schools shares one entrance assessment (11 Plus London, 2026).

Decisions follow in the new year. Schools that run their own exams in January typically release results within four to six weeks, schools in the London consortium write to families in mid to late February, and the deadline to accept most independent offers falls in mid to late March (Cognito, 2026a).

Where the stages overlap

Laying the ranges side by side shows three pressure points.

1. The grammar results wait coincides with independent registration. Grammar results arrive in mid to late October, while independent registration closes anywhere from September to November (Cognito, 2026b; 11 Plus London, 2026). Some families register for independent schools before they know the grammar outcome.
2. Independent exams stack up. The Pre-Test window runs from September to December, school papers from October to January, and interviews from November to February (Cognito, 2026c; 11 Plus London, 2026). A child applying to several schools may sit tests and attend interviews within the same few weeks.
3. Decisions cluster in the spring. Independent decisions arrive between January and March, state offer day falls in early March, and acceptance deadlines follow in mid to late March (Cognito, 2026a).

For a child who also sat the 10+, the sequence runs from the first exam in Year 5, around November, to the final acceptance deadlines in March of Year 6. That is roughly sixteen months. Not every family uses all three routes.

A planning calendar

Treat every entry as approximate and replace it with the confirmed date from each school.

1. Year 5, September to October: shortlist schools and note each registration deadline. Some 10+ registrations close in October.
2. Year 5, November to January: 10+ exams for the schools that use them.
3. Year 5, late spring to summer: register for the grammar 11+ in your area. Deadlines fall between early June and early September depending on area.
4. Year 6, September to early October: grammar tests. The ISEB Common Pre-Test window opens in September.
5. Year 6, September to November: independent school registration closes for many schools.
6. Year 6, mid to late October: grammar results.
7. Year 6, October to January: independent exams and interviews.
8. Year 6, January to March: independent decisions, state offer day in early March, and acceptance deadlines in mid to late March.

What this means for education professionals

Teachers, tutors and pastoral staff who support Year 5 and Year 6 families can use the same sequence to anticipate when questions arrive: registration enquiries in summer and early autumn, results conversations in late October, and decision conversations in the spring. Advice lands best when families hear it before a deadline.

Check every date

The timings above are approximate ranges drawn from published guides, and they describe England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run different systems. Schools change dates from year to year, so confirm each deadline on the school's or local authority's own admissions page.

Sources

11 Plus London (2026) What are the 11 Plus exams in London? A parent's guide for 2026. Available at: https://11pluslondon.co.uk/what-are-the-11-plus-exams-in-london-a-parents-guide-for-2026/ (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Atom Learning (2026) 10 plus (10+) entrance exams: key information and top tips. Published 19 June 2026. Available at: https://www.atomlearning.com/blog/10-plus-entrance-exams (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Atom Learning (n.d.) 11 plus key dates. Available at: https://www.atomlearning.com/11-plus-dates (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Cognito (2026a) 11+ results 2026: what to expect, timings and what's next. Available at: https://cognito.org/blog/11-plus-results-guide (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Cognito (2026b) What is the 11+? A parent's guide to subjects, format and 2026 dates. Available at: https://cognito.org/blog/what-is-the-11-plus (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Cognito (2026c) ISEB Common Pre-Test explained: format, scoring and what schools see. Published 15 May 2026. Available at: https://cognito.org/blog/iseb-common-pre-test-guide (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Exam Papers Plus (n.d.) The 10 plus (10+) exam: everything you need to know. Available at: https://exampapersplus.co.uk/advice/10-plus-year-5/10-plus-10-exam-everything-need-know/ (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Independent Schools Examinations Board (2026) CE 11+ examination timetable. Available at: https://www.iseb.co.uk/ce-case-exam-dates/ce-11-exam-timetable/ (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Leading Tuition (2026) The 10+ entrance exam: Year 6 entry explained for 2027. Published August 2026. Available at: https://www.leadingtuition.co.uk/blog/10-entrance-exams-year-5-entry (Accessed: 6 October 2026).

Think Academy (n.d.) Eleven plus test dates 2026: 11+ exam dates, registration and key deadlines. Available at: https://blog.thinkacademy.uk/?p=22263 (Accessed: 6 October 2026).