Improve Your 11 Plus Skills with Free PDFs

Preparing your child for the 11 Plus can feel like a mountain to climb, filled with expensive tutors and overwhelming expectations. But what if some of the most effective tools were free, and the best coach was already living in your house? This guide cuts through the noise, providing direct access to high-quality resources and a simple plan to help you guide your child's preparation with confidence.

The internet is full of grammar school entrance exam resources, but not all are created equal. A key difference between a useful tool and a waste of time is the quality of the answer key. A good paper provides answers, but a great one provides explanations. For example, it won’t just say the answer to a maths problem is '12'; it will show the steps to get there. This is crucial, as it transforms a simple test into a powerful teaching opportunity for you.

To help you find the right materials, we’ve vetted sources that consistently provide free 11 plus practice papers with answers and clear layouts. You can find a reliable downloadable 11 plus mock exam and other valuable materials from these trusted sites:

• The Eleven Plus Exams Website

• The free resources section of CGP Books

• Your target grammar school’s own website

What Subjects Are in the 11 Plus Test? A Simple Breakdown

So, what subjects are in the 11 Plus test? While you’ll see familiar faces like Maths and English, the exam also includes two 'thinking skills' tests that might be new to you: Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Don't let the names worry you; they're much simpler than they sound and are designed to test how a child thinks, not just what they know.

The English and Maths papers test the core skills your child learns at school. This includes everything from understanding texts and grammar to arithmetic and solving multi-step problems. While the questions are designed to be challenging, the topics themselves will be familiar territory, providing a solid foundation to build upon.

Next is Verbal Reasoning (VR), which is essentially a test of logic using words. It’s less about having a huge vocabulary and more about being a ‘word detective.’ A classic question might involve an analogy like: ‘Day is to Night as Hot is to ?’. Your child needs to spot the 'opposite' relationship to find the answer: Cold.

Finally, Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR) uses the same logical thinking but with shapes and patterns instead of words. It’s like a visual puzzle. For example, your child might see five shapes and have to identify the ‘odd one out.’ Learning the common puzzle types is one of the best 11 plus non-verbal reasoning techniques, and our free papers are the perfect place to start.

How to Create a Positive Practice Routine (and Avoid a Weekly Battle)

When it comes to 11 plus revision, many parents fall into the trap of scheduling one long, tiring session per week. This often ends in frustration for everyone. A far more effective strategy for how to prepare for the 11 plus at home is the ‘little and often’ approach. Just 15-20 minutes of focused work, four or five times a week, is much more powerful. It keeps the material fresh in your child’s mind without causing burnout, turning a daunting task into a manageable daily habit.

So what does this look like in practice? Try a 20-minute ‘Power Practice’ routine. Set a timer for 15 minutes and have your child tackle a small section of one of our free practice papers. Framing it as ‘puzzle time’ or ‘detective training’ rather than ‘exam practice’ can make a world of difference to their motivation. For the remaining five minutes, simply put the pencils down and briefly chat about which questions they found tricky or interesting. The goal isn't to correct everything, but to start a low-pressure conversation.

This simple, repeatable routine builds momentum and confidence far better than a weekly battle. It respects your child's attention span and makes practice feel like a normal part of the day, not a punishment. Of all the 11 plus exam tips for parents, establishing this positive rhythm is the most crucial. However, the real progress isn’t just in doing the questions; it’s in what you do with the answers afterwards.

The Secret to Real Progress: How to 'Mistake-Mine' for Learning Gold

The biggest trap parents fall into is thinking the job is done once the practice paper is complete. But the single most effective way to improve 11 plus skills is what comes next. We call it ‘Mistake-Mining’, and it’s the secret to turning wrong answers into genuine understanding. It shifts the focus from chasing high scores to building a strong foundation, ensuring that each practice session delivers real, lasting learning.

Going through every single error can be discouraging for a child and exhausting for you. Instead, use the ‘3-Mistake Rule’. After a practice session, sit together and choose just three incorrect answers to look at. This focused approach prevents overwhelm and turns the review into a positive, targeted exercise. It shows your child that mistakes aren't failures, but simply interesting puzzles that you can solve together.

When you review a mistake, avoid saying, “This is wrong.” A more powerful method is to adopt a collaborative tone. Point to one of the chosen questions—perhaps from a paper on solving 11 plus maths word problems pdf—and ask, “Can you talk me through your thinking here?” This simple question invites them to explain their logic without feeling defensive. Often, they will spot their own error as they talk it out, which is the most effective way to learn.

This ‘mistake-mining’ habit is one of the best 11 plus exam tips for parents pdf resources can offer, as it builds deep problem-solving skills, not just surface-level knowledge. It teaches your child to analyze their own work and find patterns in their thinking. This skill of spotting patterns is not just for maths and English; it’s the absolute key to cracking the visual puzzles found in the reasoning papers.

A Quick Guide to Tackling Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning Puzzles

The skill of spotting patterns is the core of Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR), a section that can often look like a confusing jumble of shapes and symbols. When faced with these questions, many children (and parents!) don’t know where to start. Instead of guessing, you can teach your child a simple mental checklist that breaks down any visual puzzle into manageable parts. It’s an easy-to-remember acronym: SFAC.

This method is one of the most effective 11 plus non-verbal reasoning techniques because it provides a clear, four-step process. Encourage your child to run through it every time they see a new puzzle:

• S – Size: Are the shapes getting bigger or smaller?

• F – Form: What are the actual shapes (e.g., circles, squares)? Is one different?

• A – Angle/Position: Is something rotating, reflecting, or moving to a new corner?

• C – Count: How many shapes are there? How many sides does each one have?

Applying this framework makes solving 11 plus spatial reasoning puzzles far less intimidating. For example, in a puzzle, a quick SFAC check might reveal the answer. The Size, Angle, and Count of the main shapes could all be the same. But when you check the Form of an inner shape, you’ll spot one is a triangle while the others are circles. This methodical approach is invaluable across all the puzzles you’ll find in our free 11 plus practice papers. The style of these questions, however, can differ depending on the exam board your target school uses.

The CEM vs. GL Puzzle: What Parents Need to Know (and Do)

You’ll often hear two names mentioned in the 11 Plus world: CEM and GL Assessment. It’s one of those bits of jargon that can make preparing for the exam feel needlessly complicated, but the distinction is actually quite straightforward when you know what to look for. You don’t need to become an expert, just aware of which style your child will face.

The simplest way to think about the difference is how the subjects are presented. Generally, GL Assessment tests subjects in separate, clearly defined papers—one for English, one for Maths, and so on. In contrast, CEM exams are known for mixing subjects together within a single paper, requiring children to switch their thinking quickly between verbal, numerical, and non-verbal reasoning questions. This is one of the most useful 11 plus exam tips to understand before you begin downloading practice papers.

So, what does this mean for you? The single most important action is to visit the admissions page on your target grammar school's website. They will state clearly which exam board they use. Knowing this allows you to focus your efforts on the correct CEM vs GL assessment papers and use the right kind of grammar school entrance exam resources, ensuring your child’s practice is as effective as possible.

Your 4-Step Action Plan to Get Started Today

You now have a clear roadmap to turn free downloads into real progress. You don't need to be a professional tutor to become your child's most effective coach, capable of guiding them with confidence and care.

To get started, here is your simple 4-step action plan for how to prepare for the 11 plus at home this week. Follow these steps to begin making a real difference.

1. Download one paper and identify your school's exam board (CEM/GL).

2. Schedule two 20-minute 'puzzle time' sessions this week.

3. Do the first session untimed and focus on making it fun.

4. In the second session, practice 'Mistake-Mining' on just one or two wrong answers.

Remember, the ultimate goal isn't just a test score; it's about building a resilient, confident learner. Every time you patiently review a mistake or celebrate a small victory, you are teaching skills that last a lifetime. This journey is your opportunity to not only improve your 11 plus skills with free PDFs, but to show your child that any challenge can be overcome, one puzzle at a time.