11+ Results

Plan for what happens next
The 11+ results are returned by November of Year 6, wherever possible, to ensure that families have all of the necessary information when making secondary school choices. The time between the exam and receiving results can be quite stressful and it may feel like there is nothing you can do. However, the following suggestions may help to give you some sense of control over this period of uncertainty:

• Take time to unwind. Preparing for the 11+ test may have involved considerable stress and work, so it's important to allow time to have some fun and relax once it's over
• Understand how the appeals process works so that you are prepared if you need to pursue this.
• Plan visits to other possible schools, if you haven't already - it's useful to know what other options are.
• Think through what you will do next if your child fails so you are ready with a plan.

Result FAQs

Q. When do the results come through and what do they say?
You should know your child's test results before making decisions on the secondary school they are opting for, so schools will endeavour to return results by the end of October. The result time varies from authority to authority, but you will be given a date when the results are due and, depending upon which school you have put first on your list, you will be offered a place at that school if your child has passed. If they have not got into their first school of choice, you may well be offered the second, third or other choice.

Q. What is the pass mark?
The number of school places that are available sets the pass mark. If a school has 200 places then the top 200 test marks get in. This does mean that the pass mark can vary from year to year. There will also be variations in the birth rate for individual years, so if there are a lot of boys in your son’s year and you have applied for a boys’ school, there will be more boys fighting for available places, whilst girls in the same academic year might have far fewer pupils going for the available places.

Q. My child is 11 months younger than her friend so how can the marking be fair?
In most 11+ areas, exam papers are marked and scores are standardised by age, this means that there are allowances made for the age of the child so that each child can be fairly assessed.

Q. What does standardisation mean?
All of the exam papers have a ‘raw score’, which is quite literally something like 78/85 or 69/80 and means the total number of correct answers compared to the maximum score available. Then the child’s age may be added to the equation and the raw score turned into a grade. A child who has a score of 75/80 and is 10 years and 3 months might get a final score of 130, while a child who also has 75/80 but who is 10 years and 6 months, might get a final score of 125. Obviously there is no definitive answer here as every exam board has their own way of marking that may, or may not, include standardisation.

Q. What is the computer marking system and how reliable is it?
Multiple-choice answer papers can be fed into a computer and marked as the computer searches for the boxes with pencil marks in to award marks. This is a fast system and is very reliable, as computers don’t yet suffer with human error. It does mean, however, that your child must mark the boxes on the multiple-choice answer sheet carefully.

Q. What if my child gets just under the pass mark?
There is often a schools’ waiting list for the next highest scoring children. Some pupils may have sat the entrance exam for a number of schools and so may opt out of the one you have chosen. If this happens, the top score on the waiting list gets in.

Q. How does the over subscription criteria work?
If a school is oversubscribed, a criterion is put in place to select pupils. You will find information on this in your school prospectus, but the usual reasons that a school will give can include any or all of the following in any order the school pre-sets:
1.    How far you live from the school.
2.    Siblings who may already be in the school.
3.    Places for children in care.
4.    Places for children with special or educational needs.
5.    Children of a certain religious faith.
6.    Children who achieved a certain grade in music.
7.    Children who have excelled in sport.
8.    Children who have other family connections to the school.