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11+ pass marks & qualifying scores by county
What score does your child need to pass the 11+? Pick your area to see its qualifying standard and what it means — or browse every county below. Scores are for September 2027 entry and verified June 2026.
| Area | Test | Qualifying standard | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bexley | Bexley Selection Test | No fixed mark | Selects roughly the top 25% by standardised score; from 2026 the Bexley Selection Test is provided by Quest Assessments. |
| Birmingham & West Midlands | King Edward VI Foundation Test | 205 | Qualify at 205+; a priority score of 224+ improves your chances at oversubscribed King Edward VI schools. |
| Buckinghamshire | Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test | 121 | Qualify with a standardised score of 121 or above across the Secondary Transfer Test. |
| Devon & Torbay | Devon/Torbay 11+ Test | No fixed mark | Torbay, Colyton and Plymouth each set their own standard. Colyton admits the highest scorers up to its number of places. |
| Essex | CSSE 11+ Test | 303 | CSSE: a standardised score of at least 303 across English and Maths. |
| Gloucestershire | Gloucestershire 11+ Test | No fixed mark | Schools rank qualifying pupils and allocate in order. As a rough guide, ~75–80%+ in GL-style mocks is on track; Pate’s typically needs ~85%+. |
| Greater Manchester & Trafford | Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium 11+ Test | 334 | Trafford Consortium: 334+ across the two papers. Loreto and St Ambrose set their own separate scores. |
| Kent | Kent Test (PESE) | ~320 | Kent Test: an aggregate standardised score of about 320 across English, Maths and Reasoning. Some super-selective schools set higher own scores. |
| Lincolnshire | Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools 11+ Test | 220 | Lincolnshire Consortium: 220+ across Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Caistor applies the same 220 standard via its own test. |
| London & Surrounding Areas | Various Exam Boards | Varies by consortium | The Sutton consortium (SET), the Tiffin schools, Queen Elizabeth’s Barnet, Henrietta Barnett and others each set their own qualifying standard and second-round tests. |
| Medway | Medway Test | ~481 | No fixed mark: the minimum weighted score was 481 for 2026 entry (English ×2 + Maths ×2 + Reasoning ×1). The top ~26% are assessed as suitable. |
| Slough | Slough 11+ Test | 111 | Slough Consortium: a standardised score of 111 or above (roughly the top 35%). |
| Warwickshire | Warwickshire 11+ Test | No fixed mark | Each school sets its own cut-off each year (recently around 211–230). King Edward VI Stratford is usually the most competitive. |
| Wiltshire | Wiltshire 11+ Test | No fixed mark | Bishop Wordsworth’s and South Wilts each set a qualifying standard each year based on the cohort. |
| Wirral | Wirral 11+ Test | ~236 | Widely reported as around 236 combined; the consortium sets the exact mark each year and the council does not publish it. The test moved to Quest Assessments from 2026. |
| Yorkshire & North | Various | Varies by school | Ripon’s recent cut-off was around 203; Ermysted’s and Skipton Girls’ use the FSCE test with no fixed published mark. |
11+ pass marks — common questions
What is a standardised score in the 11+?
A standardised score adjusts your child’s raw marks for their age in months, so younger children in the year group are not disadvantaged, and puts every child on a common scale (commonly with 100 as the average). Most grammar areas set their qualifying standard as a standardised score rather than a raw mark or percentage.
What is a good 11+ score?
It depends on the area and the school. A score at or above your area’s qualifying standard makes your child eligible, but at oversubscribed and super-selective schools you often need to score well above the minimum. Use the table below for your area, and always check each school’s admissions policy.
Do all grammar schools have the same pass mark?
No. Pass marks differ by area, by test (GL, CSSE, Quest, FSCE and others use different scales), and from year to year. Many areas have no fixed pass mark at all and instead rank children and offer places to the highest scorers, so the effective threshold moves each year.