~90%
Maths & English overlap
between GL 11+ content and the KS2 curriculum SATs already tests
50%
of the GL score
is English + Verbal Reasoning combined, in the West Midlands consortium
8
Birmingham grammar schools
share one GL-style entrance test on a single day
SATs and the 11+ are not the same test
They're sat by the same age group, in the same school year, which is why the two get mixed up. Everything else about them is different.
| SATs | 11+ (GL Assessment) |
|---|
| Purpose | National progress check against the curriculum | Selective entrance exam for grammar/selective schools |
| Who sits it | Every Year 6 pupil in a state primary school | Only families who opt in — varies a lot by area |
| Subjects | Maths, Reading, Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling | English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning |
| When | Mid-May, Year 6 | Often September, Year 6 (a school year earlier) |
| Format | Written answers plus some multiple choice | Fully multiple choice, machine-marked answer sheet |
| Scoring | Scaled score 80–120; 100 = expected standard | Age-standardised score (SAS), max 280, ranked vs other candidates |
| Consequence | Informs Year 7 setting, doesn't gate school place | Directly decides grammar school admission |
Does SATs preparation help with the 11+?
Mostly yes — for two of the four sections. GL Assessment's 11+ Maths paper is built almost entirely from the same Key Stage 2 National Curriculum content SATs tests: place value, fractions, ratio, geometry, algebra and data handling, just presented as more compact, reasoning-heavy multiple-choice questions rather than SATs' longer written-answer format. The English paper is similar — comprehension, grammar, punctuation and spelling all carry across directly, with GL adding a somewhat harder vocabulary bar and questions that ask a child to name a literary device rather than just explain its effect.
Comparing GL's own familiarisation papers topic-by-topic against the KS2 curriculum puts that overlap at roughly 85–90%. In practical terms: a child who is genuinely SATs-strong in Maths and English has already done most of the content work two of the four 11+ sections need.
What SATs preparation does nothing for is the other two sections — Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning — which together make up half the West Midlands consortium's weighted score. Those aren't a deeper version of anything in the National Curriculum. They need their own, separate practice.
What the 11+ tests that SATs don't
Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning have no National Curriculum equivalent — every child starts from the same footing, regardless of how strong their SATs preparation is.
Verbal Reasoning
Tests logic and pattern recognition through language, not reading comprehension or literary understanding. Typical question types: synonyms, words hidden across a word boundary, letter and number codes, word analogies, building compound words.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Tests abstract visual pattern recognition — no language, no curriculum knowledge required. Typical question types: spotting the odd-one-out in a set of shapes, completing a sequence, filling in a missing square in a grid based on row/column rules.
Which schools use GL Assessment
GL Assessment is one of several 11+ providers (alongside CEM/ISEB and region-specific boards) and is the format behind Birmingham's grammar schools, among others. Consortium membership and exact format can shift year to year, so always double-check with the school you're applying to.
West Midlands (Birmingham)
8 King Edward VI-affiliated grammar schools, part of 19 selective schools regionally, sharing one entrance test day
Buckinghamshire
13-school grammar consortium
Lincolnshire
15-school grammar consortium
Kent
Kent Test, used by the county's grammar schools
Gloucestershire
GL-format entrance test
Bexley
GL Assessment provider
Plymouth
GL-format entrance test
South Wiltshire
GL-format entrance test (girls' grammar)
For the West Midlands consortium specifically: candidates sit two papers of roughly an hour each on a single day (commonly September of Year 6), weighted 50% English + Verbal Reasoning, 25% Maths, 25% Non-Verbal Reasoning, with scores age-standardised to account for birth month.
When should my child start preparing?
One detail changes the whole plan: the West Midlands consortium test is sat in September, right at the start of Year 6 — not in the spring or summer, the way SATs are. By the time Year 6 begins, there's no runway left. Everything has to be ready by the end of Year 5.
No need for 11+-specific drilling. Building genuine KS2 Maths and English strength does most of the work for two of the four GL sections already — that overlap is the whole point. If you want to get ahead on Verbal or Non-Verbal Reasoning, light, occasional exposure to the question types is enough; full exam-intensity practice this early is a common cause of burnout, roughly two years before it's needed.
This is the one year that matters most, precisely because Year 6 arrives with the test almost immediately. Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning need to go from first exposure to full exam-standard difficulty and pace within this single year. Maths and English shift from building content to building speed and confidence under real time pressure — timed, multiple-choice, mixed-topic papers at the pace of the actual test, not new topics.
September, Year 6
Test day, not a prep phase
Registration for the West Midlands consortium typically closes in May–June, before Year 5 even ends, and the test itself falls in the first couple of weeks of Year 6. There's effectively no Year 6 preparation window — only a calm final stretch of light review and logistics on top of work that should already be done.
AceLearner's KS2 Maths and English practice already covers the Year 4 foundation described above. A dedicated Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning track, built for that critical Year 5 push, is in development.
Frequently asked questions
Are SATs and the 11+ the same test?
No. SATs are national assessments every child in an English state primary school sits at the end of Year 6, checking progress against the National Curriculum. The 11+ is a separate, optional entrance exam for grammar and other selective schools — usually sat earlier in Year 6 (September, for the West Midlands consortium), set by a different provider such as GL Assessment, and using its own format. A child's SATs results play no part in 11+ admission.
Does doing well in SATs mean my child will pass the 11+?
Not automatically, but it's a real head start. SATs and GL's 11+ Maths and English papers overlap heavily — most of what GL tests is KS2 National Curriculum content under more time pressure. Roughly half of the West Midlands consortium's weighted score, though, is Verbal Reasoning (combined with English) and Non-Verbal Reasoning — skills that don't appear anywhere in the National Curriculum or SATs, so they need separate, dedicated practice regardless of how strong a child's SATs preparation is.
Does SATs preparation actually help with the 11+?
Yes, substantially, for the Maths and English components. Comparing GL Assessment's published Maths and English familiarisation papers against the KS2 curriculum shows around 85–90% direct topic overlap with what SATs already test — number, fractions, geometry, data handling, grammar, punctuation and reading comprehension all carry across. It does nothing for Verbal or Non-Verbal Reasoning, since neither has a National Curriculum equivalent.
What does the 11+ test that SATs don't?
Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Verbal Reasoning tests word logic and pattern recognition through language — synonyms, hidden words, letter and number codes, word analogies — rather than reading comprehension. Non-Verbal Reasoning tests abstract visual pattern recognition — odd-one-out, sequences, matrices — with no language or curriculum content involved at all. Neither is taught in primary school, so every child starts from the same footing.
Which schools use GL Assessment for their 11+?
All eight Birmingham grammar schools — King Edward VI Five Ways, Aston, Camp Hill (Boys and Girls), Handsworth (Boys and Girls), Bishop Vesey's, and Sutton Coldfield Grammar for Girls — sit a shared GL-style test as part of the 19-school West Midlands Grammar Schools consortium. GL Assessment is also used by consortiums in Buckinghamshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Bexley, Plymouth and South Wiltshire, among other areas — consortium membership and format can change year to year, so always confirm directly with the school.
When should my child start preparing for the 11+?
Year 4, gently — not at full exam intensity, but by building the KS2 Maths and English foundation the 11+ needs anyway, since that's most of the GL Maths and English papers, plus light, low-pressure exposure to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning question types. The West Midlands consortium test is sat in September, right at the start of Year 6, so there's no real Year 6 preparation window — Year 5 is the year that has to do the heavy lifting, taking Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning to full exam standard and building Maths/English speed under real time pressure, before the school year even changes.
Is the 11+ harder than SATs?
In the way that matters for a Year 6 child, yes — it asks more, in less time, across sections (Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning) that have no National Curriculum equivalent to draw on, and a single test day carries meaningfully higher stakes, since it directly decides secondary school admission rather than just informing Year 7 setting. That's a reason to prepare for those two sections specifically and early — not a reason to run the whole 11+ at full intensity from Year 4.