🇬🇧 11+ Fundamentals

11+ Dates 2026: Every Area's Registration Deadline and Test Date for 2027 Entry

📖 8 min read 👪 For parents planning ahead 📊 Fact-checked against local authority, consortium and school sources 📅 Updated September 2026

The single most expensive mistake in the 11+ is not a weak score — it's a missed registration date. In almost every area you register for the test months before you apply for the school, through a different system, with a hard deadline and no late window. This page collects the registration windows, test dates and results dates for September 2027 entry across the major selective areas, so you can see at a glance which deadline is coming next.

Written through four expert lenses. Like the rest of our regional 11+ series, this guide reflects four perspectives with 20+ years each: a former grammar school admissions lead and consortium examiner; a head of 11+ at a national tuition provider; an educational assessment specialist who has built reasoning tests and standardisation models at a major exam board; and an independent-school registrar. Every date and figure below is checked against local authority admissions pages, consortium information and individual school arrangements for 2027 entry. Arrangements change each year, so confirm the current detail with the official source before you rely on it.

The two dates that never change

Common Application Form deadline31 October 2026 — the date you apply to schools through your home local authority, everywhere

National offer day1 March 2027 — when every local authority sends secondary school offers

Everything elseSet locally: registration and test dates vary by area and close far earlier than 31 October

The ruleRegistering for a test is not applying to a school — you must do both

How to use this page:

Find your area below and put its registration deadline in your calendar now, with a reminder two weeks before.
If you're applying across two areas, you may have two registrations and two test days — check both.
Dates shift slightly each year; always confirm against the official source linked for your area before relying on them.

11+ dates for 2027 entry, by area

All dates below are for children entering Year 7 in September 2027 — sitting the test in autumn 2026. They are drawn from official sources current at publication and can change; confirm with your area's own admissions page.

Area	Test / board	Register by	Test date(s)	Results
Essex (CSSE)	CSSE (own papers)	19 Jun 2026	Sat 19 Sep 2026	12 Oct 2026
Chelmsford County High (Essex)	FSCE	3 Jun 2026	Thu 3 Sep 2026	Mid-Oct 2026
Kent	Kent Test (GL)	Midnight 1 Jul 2026	Thu 10 Sep (in Kent) / 12–13 Sep (centres)	15 Oct 2026
Medway	Medway Test (GL)	5pm 12 Jun 2026	15–16 Sep / 19–20 Sep 2026	Mid-Oct 2026
Buckinghamshire	Secondary Transfer Test (GL)	Automatic for Bucks pupils; opt-in for others	Practice Tue 8 Sep; test Thu 10 Sep 2026	Mid-Oct 2026
Birmingham (King Edward VI)	Foundation entrance test (GL)	4pm 26 Jun 2026	Sat 12 Sep 2026	From 16 Oct 2026
Warwickshire	County entrance test (GL)	30 Jun 2026	12–13 Sep 2026	16 Oct 2026
Gloucestershire	GGS Entrance Test (GL)	12 noon 26 Jun 2026	Sat 12 Sep 2026	Mid-Oct 2026
Sutton	Selective Eligibility Test (GL)	Check with Sutton	Tue 15 Sep 2026; Stage 2 Sat 3 Oct 2026	Mid-Oct 2026
Trafford	Consortium test (GL)	Fri 19 Jun 2026	Mon 14 Sep 2026	Mid-Oct 2026
Wirral	Wirral Admissions Test (Quest)	12 noon 1 Jun 2026	Tue 15 Sep 2026	Mid-to-late Oct 2026
Dorset / BCP	Dorset Consortium test	12 noon 4 Sep 2026	Sat 26 Sep 2026	16 Oct 2026
Reading School	FSCE	17 May 2026	16 Jul 2026 (catchment) / 25 Sep 2026 (day)	Per school
Kendrick School (Reading)	GL	1 Jul 2026	Fri 18 Sep 2026	Per school
Independent (ISEB Common Pre-Test)	ISEB	Varies by school — often Year 5	Autumn 2026 – spring 2027	Per school

Why the registration date is the one that bites

In most areas the test is run by the local authority or a consortium, and the registration form is entirely separate from the school application:

Registration books the test. It closes in May, June or early July 2026 in most areas — sometimes a year before entry for individual super-selective schools.
The Common Application Form applies to schools. It is due to your home local authority by 31 October 2026.
Doing only one of the two is a common, painful error. Registering but not applying means no offer; applying but not registering means no test result to be considered on.

Late windows are rare. A few areas (for example, Dorset/BCP and Reading School) run a limited late or second sitting, usually early in the following year. Most do not. Treat the on-time registration deadline as final.

Applying across more than one area

Families near a boundary — Kent and Medway, Buckinghamshire and a neighbouring county, Birmingham and Warwickshire — often want schools in both. That usually means two separate registrations and two test days, sometimes on dates close together. Check each area's arrangements early, and make sure the two test dates don't clash before you commit.

You still submit a single Common Application Form, to your home local authority, even for schools in another area — and you list all your preferred schools on it, in genuine order of preference, by 31 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 11+ in 2026?

For September 2027 entry, most areas test in the first half of September 2026: Buckinghamshire on 10 September, Birmingham and Gloucestershire on 12 September, Trafford on 14 September, Sutton and Wirral on 15 September, Medway on 15–16 September, Kent on 10 September (in-county) and Essex CSSE on 19 September. Dorset/BCP is later, on 26 September. Always confirm against your area's official source.

When do 11+ registration deadlines close for 2027 entry?

Mostly May to early July 2026: Reading School 17 May, Wirral 1 June, Chelmsford County High 3 June, Medway 12 June, Essex CSSE and Trafford 19 June, Birmingham and Gloucestershire 26 June, Warwickshire 30 June, and Kent and Kendrick School 1 July. Dorset/BCP is an outlier at 4 September. Individual super-selective schools can close a year or more before entry.

Is registering for the 11+ the same as applying to a grammar school?

No. Registration books the test with the local authority or consortium and closes months earlier. The application is the secondary Common Application Form, submitted to your home local authority by 31 October 2026. You must do both — one without the other means either no offer or no test result.

When is national offer day for 2027 entry?

1 March 2027. Every local authority sends secondary school offers on that date (or the next working day if it falls on a weekend). The Common Application Form deadline beforehand is 31 October 2026, everywhere.

Can my child sit the 11+ in more than one area?

Yes, if you are prepared for two separate registrations and two test days, sometimes on close dates. Check both areas' arrangements early and confirm the test dates don't clash. You still submit one Common Application Form, to your home local authority, listing schools in any area in genuine order of preference.

What if I miss the registration deadline?

In most areas there is no late window and your child cannot sit the test. A few areas run a limited late or second sitting early the following year — Dorset/BCP and Reading School among them — but you should not rely on it. Treat the on-time registration deadline as final.

Related SharpY Mind resources

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