11+ exam boards: who writes the test your child sits?
6 min read · updated 2026-09-04
There is no single 11+ exam board. Depending on the school, your child may sit a GL Assessment paper, a CEM-style test, a consortium's written exam, or papers the school wrote itself. Preparation that ignores the difference leaves marks on the table, so step one is always identifying the supplier.
GL Assessment: the most common supplier
GL Assessment provides the 11+ papers for most grammar schools and several regions, typically across maths, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. The questions are multiple choice, familiarisation materials are published openly, and past-style practice is widely available, which makes GL-format preparation the most structured of the routes.
CEM-style papers
Durham University's CEM centre originally supplied papers designed to be less tutor-proof: mixed-question sections, stronger vocabulary weighting and less exposure to past material. CEM itself has wound down its 11+ business, but many schools still use 'CEM-style' papers from other suppliers, and the preparation implications survive: broader vocabulary, quicker switching between question types, and less value from memorising question formats.
Consortium and school-written exams
Some regions run their own exams. The best known is the CSSE (Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex), whose member grammars in Chelmsford, Colchester, Southend and Westcliff sit written English and maths papers rather than multiple choice, including a continuous writing task. Independent schools similarly write their own papers or use the ISEB Common Pre-Test, and the format (written vs multiple choice, timing, whether calculators appear) changes how you prepare.
How to find yours, and what changes
Each school's admissions page names its supplier and format, and registration windows differ (many close in spring or early summer of Year 5, months before the September exams). Once you know the format: GL rewards format familiarity and timed drills; CEM-style rewards vocabulary breadth and flexibility; written papers reward full-sentence maths method and genuine writing practice. Our 11+ programme starts from your school list and builds the plan around exactly those formats.
FAQs
Is the 11+ the same exam everywhere?＋
No. Format varies by school and region: GL Assessment multiple choice in most grammar areas, CEM-style papers in some, written consortium exams like the CSSE in Essex, and school-written or ISEB papers in the independent sector. Always check each target school's admissions page.
Which 11+ format is hardest?＋
They test the same underlying skills in different clothes. Written papers (CSSE, independents) demand more from maths method and creative writing; CEM-style tests feel harder because of vocabulary depth and unfamiliar question switching. The right question is which format your child's targets use, and practising exactly that.
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