The 11-plus is a strange exam. Unlike GCSEs, there's no single national paper — your child's 11+ depends on your area and your chosen school's exam provider. The three big providers are GL Assessment, FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise) and CEM. They test overlapping but noticeably different skills.
Why "just do lots of papers" doesn't work
Most free 11+ practice online is a random pile of questions. A child can do hundreds and still not improve, because they're not being taught the skill behind each question type — they're just spotting patterns. Verbal reasoning in particular is a set of learnable techniques: synonyms, antonyms, analogies, codes, logical deduction.
A structured plan works backwards from the skills, not forwards from the papers:
- English — comprehension (inference and vocabulary), grammar, and short creative writing.
- Maths — KS2 number fluency, fractions/decimals/percentages, ratio, geometry, and worded problem-solving.
- Verbal Reasoning — the skill-based section. Teach each question type, then practise.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning — sequences, rotations, matrices, nets and cubes. Pattern recognition you can train.
Provider-specific content matters
This is the part most apps get wrong. GL verbal reasoning is not the same as CEM verbal reasoning. GL tends to be discrete, timed question types; CEM blends English and reasoning into shorter, faster sections. If your child practises only GL-style questions and sits a CEM paper, the timing alone can throw them.
Clem scopes 11+ content to your child's provider. When you onboard your child for the 11+, you tell us whether they're sitting GL, FSCE or CEM, and the content they see is written for that exam. Each provider has its own Maths and English content — Clem doesn't use a shared bank — so your child always practises in their exam's exact style. FSCE also includes a Creative Writing paper.
A weekly rhythm that fits around school
For a Year 5 child, a realistic 11+ rhythm is about 30–45 minutes a day, most days:
- 3 days reasoning (rotating verbal and non-verbal)
- 2 days English comprehension and vocabulary
- 1 day Maths problem-solving
- 1 day light review / retrieval of weak spots
The mistake is the all-day Sunday cram. Little and often — with spaced repetition bringing back the skills your child keeps missing — is what actually moves the needle.
It's not about pressure
The 11+ is stressful enough without an app that nags. Clem rewards genuine mastery, not time spent staring at a screen, and children can jump to any lesson to follow their curiosity. The goal is a child who walks into the exam calm, prepared, and trusting the techniques they've practised.
Try Clem's 11+ diagnostic free — pick the 11+ programme and your child's provider, and they'll get a scoped starting point in minutes.