Free 11 Plus Practice Resources: The Complete Guide
Key Takeaways
- Hundreds of free 11 plus resources exist, but quality varies.
- Always check resources match your exam board (GL, CEM, or ISEB).
- Use free papers for monthly assessment, not daily practice.
- Combine free resources with adaptive online practice for best results.
Every parent preparing for the 11 plus asks the same question: where can I find free practice materials? The good news is that hundreds of free resources exist, practice papers, question banks, and revision guides available without charge. The challenge is knowing which resources are reliable, which match your child's exam format, and how to use them effectively. Not all free resources are equal, and using the wrong ones can build incorrect habits. This guide covers the best free 11 plus resources available in 2026, organised by subject and exam board. EdifyPod Nexus also provides a free diagnostic assessment and two-week trial with no card required.
Free 11 plus practice resources include GL Assessment familiarisation papers, Eleven Plus Exams Forum questions, SATS Papers (450+ PDFs), Bond 11+ samples, and The Exam Coach weekly papers. EdifyPod Nexus offers a free two-week trial. Always check resources match your exam board format. Use free papers for monthly assessment and adaptive platforms for daily targeted practice.
Free Practice Papers by Exam Board
For GL Assessment areas, the best free resources include the official GL Assessment familiarisation papers available from many school websites. These are the closest match to the real exam format. Eleven Plus Exams Forum offers hundreds of free questions across all subjects.
For CEM areas, free resources are harder to find because CEM deliberately does not publish past papers. Third-party providers like Atom Learning and CGP offer sample CEM-style questions. The key is to practise with materials that match the blended, time-pressured format CEM uses.
For ISEB, the Common Pre-Test website provides a demonstration test that shows the adaptive format. Independent school websites often publish specimen papers for their own entrance exams, always check your target school's admissions page first.
Free Online Practice Platforms
Several platforms offer free 11 plus practice. EdifyPod Nexus provides a free two-week trial with full access to adaptive practice across all subjects, diagnostic assessment, and target school tracking, no card required.
Atom Learning offers a limited free tier. CGP provides some free worksheets alongside their paid books. Education Quizzes has free multiple-choice quizzes across all 11 plus subjects, though these are simpler than exam-level questions.
The advantage of online platforms over paper resources is adaptivity, they adjust difficulty based on performance, which paper worksheets cannot do. This means your child always practises at the right level rather than wasting time on questions that are too easy or too hard.
Free Printable Worksheets and Question Banks
For parents who prefer paper-based practice, several sites offer free printable worksheets. Eleven Plus Exams provides free questions across verbal reasoning, maths, non-verbal reasoning, and English. SATS Papers offers 450 plus free papers in PDF format.
Bond 11+ provides sample papers on their website. The Exam Coach publishes a new free practice paper each week. PiAcademy offers free past papers with detailed answers for both maths and English.
When using free worksheets, check that they match your exam board's format. A GL-style paper is different from a CEM-style paper. Practising the wrong format builds familiarity with the wrong question types, which can actually hinder performance on exam day.
How to Use Free Resources Effectively
The biggest mistake parents make with free resources is doing them randomly. A structured approach gets far better results. Start with a diagnostic to identify weak areas. Then use free resources to target those specific areas.
Use free timed papers for exam simulation but not as daily practice. Daily practice should focus on specific topics and question types, not full papers. Save full papers for monthly assessments to track progress.
Combine free resources with structured practice. Free worksheets are excellent supplements but lack the adaptivity and progress tracking that platforms like EdifyPod Nexus provide. A combination of free papers for exam simulation and adaptive online practice for daily targeted work gives the best results.
For families wanting structured daily practice with diagnostic tracking, Thousands of families use EdifyPod Nexus to prepare, the practice adapts to your child, tracks progress against target schools, and covers every subject the exam tests. If your child needs additional live support from our experts, our tutors at edifypod.com/11plus are here too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are free 11 plus practice papers as good as paid ones?
Free papers from official sources (GL familiarisation, school specimen papers) are excellent. Third-party free papers vary in quality. The best approach is to combine free official papers with a structured platform.
How many practice papers should my child do?
One full timed paper per month for assessment. Daily practice should focus on specific topics (20-30 minutes) rather than full papers. Overdoing full papers causes fatigue without building skill.
Where can I find CEM-style practice for free?
CEM does not publish official papers. Atom Learning and CGP offer CEM-style samples. The key features of CEM practice are blended subjects, strict timing, and varied question formats within each section.