11+ vs Common Entrance: Which Test Does Your Child Sit?
· 9 min read
The 11+ and Common Entrance are completely different exams set by different organisations for different schools. Here's how to tell which one your child is sitting — and what it means for preparation.
The short answer
The 11+ is the entrance exam for state grammar schools — free to sit, free to attend, set by GL Assessment, CEM, or CSSE depending on your region, taken in September of Year 6. The Common Entrance Examination is something else entirely: it is the entrance exam for fee-paying senior independent schools, set by the Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB), historically taken at age 13 (CE13+) and increasingly at age 11 (CE11+). The two exams test different things, are administered on different timetables, and lead to entirely different schools. Many parents are confused — often because their primary school has casually mentioned 'the entrance exam' without specifying which one. This guide untangles the difference. For more on the 11+ exam boards specifically, see our 11+ exam boards comparison.
The 11+: what it actually is
The 11+ is the selective entrance test for state grammar schools in England. It is set by an assessment provider — most commonly GL Assessment, with CSSE handling Essex and a shrinking number of regions still using CEM — and administered by local authorities or school consortiums. There is no fee to sit the test, and no fee to attend the school if your child is offered a place. The 11+ is sat in early to mid-September of Year 6, with results returned to families in October. Outcomes feed into the standard local-authority secondary admissions round, with offers issued on National Offer Day in March of Year 6. Content varies by board, but most 11+ papers test some combination of English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The papers are time-pressured (typically 45-50 minutes each), age-standardised, and — for GL and CEM — multiple-choice. CSSE is the exception: its English and Maths papers are written free-response. Roughly 160 grammar schools across England use some form of 11+. Regions vary in how competitive admission is, from the relatively open allocation in Lincolnshire to the highly competitive super-selectives in Sutton and parts of Kent.
Common Entrance: what it actually is
The Common Entrance Examination (CE) is the entrance test for senior independent schools — fee-paying schools that sit outside the state system. It is set by the Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB), an organisation founded by the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) and the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) specifically to provide a common admissions test for the independent sector. There are two main variants. CE13+ is the historic version, sat in Year 8 (age 13), used by senior independent schools that take pupils after Common Entrance prep schools (which run to Year 8). CE11+ is the eleven-plus variant, sat in Year 6 (age 11), increasingly used by senior independent schools that admit pupils directly from state primary schools or from prep schools that finish at Year 6. Both versions are written, free-response papers, marked by individual receiving schools rather than centrally. Schools use the marks alongside their own admissions assessments — this is important: the CE result is not the sole admission criterion in the way an 11+ score often is.
Side-by-side comparison
Who sets it: 11+ is set by GL Assessment, CEM, or CSSE. Common Entrance is set by ISEB. Who sits it: 11+ candidates are typically state-school children applying to state grammar schools. CE candidates are typically prep-school children — or state-school children applying to fee-paying independent schools. When: 11+ is sat in early to mid-September of Year 6. CE11+ is sat in late autumn or January of Year 6, depending on the receiving school. CE13+ is sat in November or May/June of Year 8. Format: 11+ is multiple-choice (GL, CEM) or short-written (CSSE), centrally marked or scanned. Common Entrance is fully written, free-response, marked by the receiving school. Subjects: 11+ tests English, Maths, and reasoning in varying combinations. CE has a broader subject base — at CE13+ pupils can sit English, Maths, Science, French, Latin, Geography, History, Religious Studies, and others. CE11+ is narrower (English and Maths, with optional Science) but still broader than 11+ in writing depth. Fee: 11+ is free. CE is sat at the receiving school and the sitting fee is typically rolled into school admissions costs; the school itself charges fees if your child is admitted. Result: 11+ produces an age-standardised score that feeds into a local-authority allocation. CE produces raw subject marks reviewed by the receiving school's admissions team alongside its own assessments and interviews.
What if my child is sitting both?
Many families hedge by entering their child for both — a state grammar school via the 11+ and a fee-paying independent school via Common Entrance. This is sensible if you can support either route financially, but it does mean two distinct preparation tracks during Year 5 and Year 6. Where preparation overlaps: core Maths fluency (Key Stage 2 plus depth), reading comprehension, vocabulary breadth, and timed writing under pressure. A child who can write a well-structured paragraph in 15 minutes is in good shape for either exam. Where it diverges: Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning are 11+ specific — they don't appear on Common Entrance and the time spent on them won't transfer. Conversely, the broader humanities content of CE13+ (Latin, History, Geography essays) doesn't appear on the 11+ at all. CE also rewards depth of writing in a way that GL multiple-choice does not — a CE child needs to plan and execute a structured 30-minute essay, where an 11+ child needs to fill in a multiple-choice answer sheet at speed. If you're preparing for both, allocate time honestly: roughly two-thirds of practice on whichever exam comes first chronologically (usually 11+ in September), then pivot to CE-specific content (extended writing, Science, optional subjects) once the 11+ is behind you.
Common confusions to clear up
'My school says we're doing the entrance exam — which is it?' Ask the school directly which receiving schools they prepare children for. If they name state grammars (e.g. Tiffin, KEGS, Pate's), it's the 11+. If they name fee-paying senior independents (e.g. Eton, Winchester, St Paul's, Westminster), it's Common Entrance. State primary schools rarely prepare children for CE — that is overwhelmingly a prep-school activity. 'Is the 11+ harder or easier than CE?' They're not directly comparable. The 11+ is brutally time-pressured and uses unfamiliar question types (reasoning), but it tests narrower content. CE tests broader content with more writing depth, but is less reliant on speed-tricks. A child who excels on one will not necessarily excel on the other without specific preparation. 'Can I use 11+ practice books for Common Entrance?' Only the Maths and English comprehension components transfer. Reasoning practice (the bulk of most 11+ books) is wasted for CE. Buy CE-specific past papers from ISEB or the receiving school directly. 'Is the ISEB Common Pre-Test the same as Common Entrance?' No. The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online cognitive ability test (English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning) used by many independent senior schools as a Year 6 or Year 7 pre-screen — children sit it once, results are shared with the schools they apply to. It's a pre-screen, not the entrance exam itself; the actual entrance exam is still CE or each school's own paper, sat later.
How to decide which route to prepare for
Start with your shortlist of receiving schools. If the schools you are realistically aiming for are state grammars, you are preparing for the 11+. If they are fee-paying independents, you are preparing for Common Entrance (or each school's own assessment, which often wraps around CE). If your shortlist is mixed, you are preparing for both — and the earlier you accept that, the better. The second factor is timing. The 11+ window (September of Year 6) closes early. If your child is sitting both, the 11+ comes first and you cannot meaningfully delay it. Plan your preparation calendar backwards from the September 11+ date, with CE content phased in from October onwards. The third factor is your child's profile. Children who are quick, confident under time pressure, and comfortable with multiple-choice formats tend to do well on the 11+. Children who are deeper, slower, more verbal, and stronger at extended writing tend to be better matched to Common Entrance. This isn't deterministic — many children handle both — but it should inform how you allocate practice time. Read more about pacing in our when to start 11+ prep guide.
Where GrammarPrep fits
GrammarPrep is built specifically for the state-school 11+ route — GL Assessment question types, CSSE for Essex, and region-specific configuration for Kent, Buckinghamshire, Trafford, Wirral, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Sutton, and others. If your child is sitting only the 11+, the platform handles the topic rotation and adaptive difficulty so you don't have to plan it manually. If your child is sitting Common Entrance only, GrammarPrep is not the right primary tool — ISEB practice papers and your prep school's CE materials are. If your child is sitting both, GrammarPrep handles the 11+ track and you'll need separate CE-specific resources for the second track. Start with our free diagnostic to see where your child stands on the 11+ side: grammarprep.uk. The diagnostic takes about 15 minutes and tells you which subjects need attention before you commit to either route.