Free 11+ practice — the main sources
- Your target school or consortium — often the best free resource of all: official familiarisation and sample papers in the exact format.
- The exam board — providers such as GL Assessment often publish free familiarisation materials.
- Your local library — free books and workbooks to borrow, sometimes free online learning platforms.
- Free online lessons and cheat sheets — such as MindBlaze's Learning Centre, covering all four skills.
- Everyday life — reading widely and doing maths at home cost nothing and work brilliantly.
Start here: your target school's own materials
Before anything else, check the website of the grammar school, consortium or local authority you're applying to. Many publish free familiarisation booklets or sample papers — and because these come straight from the people setting the real exam, they show you the exact format, question styles and timing your child will face. That makes them the single most useful free resource available, and the first place to look.
The exam board's free familiarisation materials
The main 11+ test providers often make free familiarisation materials available on their own websites — for example, GL Assessment, one of the most widely used providers, typically offers free practice questions and guides. Since which provider your area uses varies (and can change), confirm the provider with your school first, then look for their official free materials.
Your local library
Libraries are an underused, entirely free resource. Alongside 11+ workbooks and practice books you can borrow rather than buy, many libraries offer free access to online learning platforms and e-books with a library card. It's also the easiest way to feed a child's reading habit without buying a shelf of books.
Free online lessons and cheat sheets
Plenty of high-quality teaching is available online for free. What you want are resources that teach genuine understanding — explaining why a method works — rather than just drilling tricks that fall apart on an unfamiliar question.
MindBlaze's own Learning Centre is one such resource: 160+ short lessons across maths, English, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and science, each a visual walkthrough of a single method with a printable cheat sheet, all free and with no sign-up. It's not the only good free option out there — but whatever you use, look for that focus on understanding.
The MindBlaze Learning Centre covers the whole 11+ curriculum — free, no account, printable cheat sheets on every lesson. Use it alongside your school's papers, library books and anything else that helps.
Explore the free Learning Centre →Reading widely: the best free English practice
For comprehension and vocabulary — a big part of the English and verbal reasoning papers — nothing beats reading widely and talking about it, and it's completely free. Encourage a mix of books, and quality newspapers or magazines for older readers. Then ask questions: what does that word mean? Why did the character do that? What do you think happens next? That conversation builds exactly the skills the 11+ rewards.
Everyday maths at home
Real number sense is built in the kitchen and the shop, not just on worksheets — and it costs nothing. Halving a recipe, working out change, reading the clock, comparing prices for best value, measuring and weighing: all of it quietly strengthens the maths the 11+ tests, and makes it feel useful rather than abstract.
Free worksheets and papers online
A quick search turns up plenty of free 11+ worksheets and practice papers. They can be handy for extra drill, but two cautions: check the quality (some free material is weak or contains errors), and check it matches your area's format — practising the wrong style of paper isn't much help. Treat official school and exam-board materials as your anchor, and use the rest as top-ups.
Frequently asked questions
Can you prepare for the 11+ for free?
Yes. Between your target school's own familiarisation materials, the exam board's free samples, your local library, everyday reading and maths at home, and free online lessons, a great deal of high-quality 11+ practice is available at no cost. Free resources can be every bit as effective as paid ones — what matters is quality and how consistently they're used.
Where can I find free 11+ past papers?
Start with your target school's or consortium's own website — many publish free familiarisation or sample papers that match their exact format, which is the most useful practice of all. The main test providers, such as GL Assessment, also often make free familiarisation materials available. Free papers exist elsewhere online too, but always check they match the format your area actually uses.
Are free 11+ resources as good as paid ones?
They can be. Price isn't a reliable guide to quality — the single best resource is often the free, official material from your target school, because it matches the real exam most closely. What matters is that a resource teaches genuine understanding and reflects your area's format, not how much it costs.
What's the best free way to help with 11+ English?
Reading widely, and talking about it. Encouraging your child to read a range of books, and asking them questions about what they've read — what a word means, why a character did something, what might happen next — builds the comprehension and vocabulary the 11+ tests, and it costs nothing.
Is MindBlaze's Learning Centre really free?
Yes. Every lesson and printable cheat sheet in the Learning Centre is free to read, print, share and link to, with no account or payment needed. The optional MindBlaze app — which adds daily practice, games and progress tracking — is the paid part, but the Learning Centre itself is completely free.
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