If you have started researching the 11+ for a school in Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall or Wolverhampton, you have probably read that there are two exam boards to prepare for: GL Assessment and CEM.

That advice is out of date, and a surprising amount of it is still online.

CEM stopped producing 11+ papers at the end of 2022. Schools moved across to GL Assessment from the 2023 admissions round onwards. If you are preparing a child for entry in 2027 or 2028, there is only one exam that matters, and it has a name worth knowing.

Key Takeaways

• The selective schools in this region share one exam: the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test.

• It is set by GL Assessment. CEM no longer exists for the 11+.

• Two papers, roughly 50 minutes each, entirely multiple choice.

• Each paper mixes all four subjects rather than testing them one at a time.

• The test is sat in September of Year 6, a full year before your child would start.

What is the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test?

It is a single shared entrance exam used by the selective schools across the West Midlands partnership. Rather than each school running its own test, your child sits one exam and the result is passed to every school you apply to.

That is genuinely good news for families. It means one day of testing instead of four or five, and one set of preparation rather than trying to second-guess several different formats.

What is actually in the papers?

Two papers. Each runs to about 50 minutes including the time spent on instructions and practice questions. Both are multiple choice throughout.

The part that catches children out is the structure. Each paper contains a mixture of all four subject areas, rather than one paper for maths and another for English:

• English comprehension — reading a passage and answering questions on it

• Verbal reasoning — word relationships, codes, logic expressed in language

• Maths — arithmetic, problem solving, the standard Key Stage 2 content

• Non-verbal and spatial reasoning — shapes, patterns, sequences, rotation

So a child works through a comprehension passage, then switches to a maths question, then to a shape sequence, then back again. Switching between four modes of thinking under time pressure is a skill in its own right, and it is entirely separate from knowing the content.

This is why practising one subject at a time, however thoroughly, leaves children underprepared. They arrive able to do every question type and still run out of time, because nobody ever asked them to change gear fifty times in fifty minutes.

When does it happen?

The test is sat in September, at the start of Year 6. For entry in September 2027, the test date is Saturday 12 September 2026, with morning and afternoon sessions.

That timing surprises a lot of parents. Your child sits the exam almost a full year before they would start at the school, and only days into the new school year. Year 6 does not prepare them for it — Year 5 does.

The dates that follow

Note how tight that last pair is. Results arrive shortly before the application deadline, not months earlier. You will have a limited window in which to know your child's score and decide how to rank schools on the form.

Your local authority application is separate from the test itself, and it is the one that actually secures a place. Sitting the test without submitting the council application by 31 October means the score counts for nothing.

When should preparation start?

Most families we work with start in Year 4 or Year 5. Since the test falls in the first fortnight of Year 6, treating Year 6 as the preparation year is a year too late.

Year 5 is the sensible window. There is enough time to build genuine capability rather than drilling, and enough distance from the exam that a child is not living under pressure for eighteen months.

If you are reading this with a child already in Year 6 who has sat the test, preparation is behind you. The useful thing now is the 31 October application.

Does my child have to be in a particular year group?

Entry is by date of birth rather than school year. For entry in September 2027, the test is for children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016.

If your child's birthday falls near either boundary, check with your local authority before assuming which cycle applies to them.

Preparing for the format, not just the content

There are three separate things a child needs, and content is only the first.

The content itself. Maths and English at the level the papers demand, plus verbal and non-verbal reasoning, which most primary schools do not teach at all. That last point is worth sitting with — reasoning is roughly half the exam and your child has probably never encountered it in a classroom.

The mechanics. Multiple choice sounds easier than it is. Answers go on a separate sheet, mismarking one line shifts everything after it, and there is a real technique to eliminating options quickly rather than working every question from scratch.

The stamina. Two papers in a day, at nine or ten years old, is genuinely tiring. Children who have only ever done twenty-minute practice sessions at the kitchen table find the second paper much harder than the first, and it is usually fatigue rather than difficulty.

This is why we run timed mocks under real conditions rather than only working through practice books. The first mock is nearly always a shock. That is the point of doing it in November rather than discovering it in September.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the West Midlands test GL or CEM?

GL Assessment. CEM discontinued its paper-based 11+ tests at the end of 2022 and schools moved to GL from the 2023 admissions round. Any preparation material or advice still framing this as a choice between two boards is at least three years out of date.

How many schools use this test?

Nineteen selective schools across the West Midlands partnership share it. One exam, one result, sent to each school you apply to.

Is the test multiple choice?

Yes, both papers are multiple choice throughout, with answers marked on a separate answer sheet. Practising with a real answer sheet matters more than parents expect.

Can my child resit the entrance test?

No. It is sat once, in September of Year 6, for that admissions cycle. This is the single biggest reason to prepare properly rather than treating it as something to attempt and see how it goes.

What if we miss the 31 October application deadline?

A late application to your local authority is considered after all on-time applications, which in practice means after places have been allocated. The test result does not protect you from this. The council application is the one that matters.

Do we still apply through the council if my child passes?

Yes. The test score and the school application are two separate processes. You must name the grammar schools on your local authority application form by 31 October, whatever the score.

Getting started

If your child is in Year 4 or Year 5, you have time to do this properly, and that is a genuine advantage over families who start in the summer before the test.

We run 11+ preparation in small weekend groups at our centre on Lodge Road in West Bromwich, covering all four subject areas alongside timed mocks under exam conditions. Details and fees are on our 11+ preparation page, and our earlier guide to how the 11+ works in Sandwell covers the local admissions picture in more depth.

If you would like to talk it through, get in touch with your child's current school year and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth starting now or waiting.

Sources

• West Midlands Grammar Schools, entrance test information for September 2027 entry, retrieved 2026-09-08

• Birmingham City Council, Grammar schools in Birmingham — applying for an entry test, retrieved 2026-09-08, https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20119/school_admissions/584/grammar_schools_in_birmingham

• GL Assessment, 11+ entrance test formats, retrieved 2026-09-08