11+ Results 2026: What to Do Before 31 October
Grammar school results have now reached families in most areas of England, and secondary school applications close on Saturday 31 October. Wherever your child sat the test, here is a calm, practical guide to reading the score and making a good decision in the time that is left.
The deadline that matters
The national closing date for secondary school applications in England is 31 October 2026. Your local authority's form must be in by then, whether or not you are applying to a grammar school. Offers are made on National Offer Day, 1 March 2027.
If your child's result arrived this month, you have roughly two weeks between knowing the score and committing to a list. That is not long, but it is enough, provided you understand what the number means and how your local schools actually allocate places.
What the score is, and what it isn't
Most 11+ tests report scores standardised for age, so a child born in August is compared fairly with a classmate born almost a year earlier. The scales differ from test to test, and the number you receive is not a raw mark or a percentage.
The most important thing to understand is this: a qualifying score is not the same as a place. Reaching the pass mark, where there is one, means your child can be considered. Whether they are offered a place depends on each school's admissions policy, and these vary widely:
Pass marks. Some areas set a single qualifying score for every grammar school; some schools have none and simply rank by score.
Where you live. Many schools give priority to children inside a catchment or priority area. The same score can be comfortably enough inside the area and well short outside it.
Priority categories. Most schools put looked-after and previously looked-after children first, although grammar schools that rank purely by score are not required to. Many now reserve places for children eligible for the Pupil Premium, and some give priority to siblings or particular primary schools.
So before you compare your child's score with anything, read the September 2027 admissions policy for every school you are considering, and work out which category your child falls into. Policies change from year to year, so last year's version is not good enough.
How to read last year's cut-offs
Most grammar schools, or the consortium that runs their test, publish the lowest score offered a place in previous years. It is worth an evening of your time, but read it carefully.
Find the right row. Work out your child's category first, for example inside or outside the priority area, then look at the figure for that category, not the headline number.
Cut-offs move. They depend on who sat the test and who applied each year. Treat them as a guide, not a guarantee. A score a few points below last year's figure may still be worth listing.
Offer day is not the end. Most published figures show the last place offered on 1 March. Places continue to come up from waiting lists over the following months. Where a school ranks by score, those later offers go further down the list, so check how each school runs its waiting list.
Check for changes. If a school has changed its admissions policy, for example by introducing a priority area, last year's figures may tell you very little.
Filling in the form: no tactics needed
Every local authority in England uses an equal preference system. Each school considers your application against its own criteria without knowing where you ranked it. If your child qualifies for more than one, they are offered the one you placed highest.
That has three practical consequences:
List schools in your genuine order of preference. Putting a grammar school first does not harm your chances at a school lower down. Putting your favourite second, to play safe, only risks missing it.
Use all the preferences you have. Every authority allows at least three, and some, including the London boroughs, allow six. An empty line gains you nothing.
Include at least one school you are confident of being offered and happy to accept. If your child is not offered any school on your list, the authority will allocate one, and it may not be one you would have chosen.
The last point matters most for children near a cut-off. List the grammar school you would love by all means, but make sure the rest of the form protects your child too.
If the score is below the qualifying mark
This is hard news, and it will feel large for a while, for you as much as your child. Give yourself a day before making any decisions.
Check whether a review is available. Most tests are marked by computer, so a straightforward re-mark rarely changes the score. Some areas do run a review or checking process, for example where a score seems not to reflect a child's ability. Read your test provider's instructions now, because the windows are short.
Appeals come later. If your child is refused a grammar school place, you can appeal after offers are made in March. What the panel considers depends on why the place was refused. If your child reached the qualifying score but missed out under the school's admissions criteria, the appeal works much like any other school appeal. If they did not qualify, the panel will usually look for evidence that your child is of grammar school ability, such as school reports or other assessments. Either way, strong evidence matters.
Put your energy into the schools you can choose now. Visit the non-selective schools you would genuinely be happy with, talk to their staff and look at where their students go next. Many children thrive in them.
A score from one morning in September is a snapshot of that morning. It is not a measure of your child's potential.
Talking to your child about the result
Children take their lead from us. Whatever the number, praise what your child did rather than the score itself: the months of preparation, and the courage it takes to walk into an exam hall at ten years old. Keep the conversation short and the evening normal.
If the result is disappointing, let them feel it, then help them look forward. If it is excellent, celebrate, but keep a sense of proportion. The real work of secondary school is still to come, and it will be done in whichever school they join.
The result tells you which doors are open. It does not tell you who your child is.
Guides to your area
The detail differs from one area to the next. These guides set out the scores, cut-offs and admissions rules for specific tests:
Birmingham and the West Midlands: Birmingham 11+ Results 2026: What Your Child's Score Means and What to Do Before 31 October
Essex (CSSE and CCHS): CSSE 11+ Results 2026: What Your Child's Score Means and What to Do Before 31 October
Two exceptions to everything above. Northern Ireland's transfer test runs to a different timetable, with tests later in the autumn and results in the new year; see my headteacher's guide to the SEAG transfer test. Independent senior schools run their own entrance tests and offers, separately from the local authority form; see independent school entry.
If your child is in Year 5
Registration for most grammar school tests opens in the spring or early summer of Year 5 and closes before the summer holiday. Check your area's dates now: a missed registration deadline cannot be put right later.
On preparation, the evidence and my own experience as a headteacher point the same way. These tests reward wide reading, a confident vocabulary, secure arithmetic and familiarity with the format. None of those is built by cramming in August. Daily reading is the single best investment you can make, alongside steady, well-paced practice and plenty of rest. Achievement without anxiety is not a soft option; it is how children perform at their best.
Need a second opinion?
If you would like help thinking through your preferences before 31 October, or an honest starting point for a child in Year 5, I work with families online across the UK. My Academic Audit gives you an independent picture of where your child is now and what would help most. You are welcome to get in touch.
Dates are for September 2027 entry in England, as at October 2026. Always check the admissions policy of each school you are considering.
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