Count distinct routes, not individual schools
Three schools may share one test, while two schools a few miles apart may require completely different exams. Start by grouping your school list using the 11+ route directory.
For each group, find the official registration body and the schools covered. Check whether score sharing must be requested and whether a second-stage examination remains necessary. A familiar provider name on two websites does not establish that the tests are shared.
Different tests are not repeat attempts
A child taking Kent and Bexley is entering two separate selection systems. A child registering at two venues for the same shared test may be creating a duplicate registration instead.
Read the organiser’s rules on repeat sittings and use one valid registration per child per route, unless explicitly instructed otherwise. For twins or siblings in the same year, follow the portal’s multi-child process.
Build the calendar before registering
Record the following for each route:
- Registration deadline and any earlier access-arrangement deadline.
- Main test date or allocated session window.
- Potential second-stage date, even before an invitation is issued.
- Official familiarisation format and any written-response paper.
- Result date and the home-council CAF deadline.
Do not assume a clash creates a right to an alternative sitting. Bexley and CSSE both publish restrictions on moving tests to accommodate other exams. Ask before relying on a rearrangement.
Decide whether another exam adds a usable school
An additional test is useful when it gives access to a school you would accept, can travel to and can realistically apply for under its policy. It is less useful when every school attached to it is too distant or outside a required admission area.
Discuss the dates with your child and leave room for normal schoolwork, activities and rest. There is no universal ideal number of tests. Our route-count checklist helps you decide using the schools and practical demands involved.
Keep registration confirmations together, but compare each result only within its own route. Several tests do not create several school offers: the normal CAF process still coordinates one offer from your preferences.
A FEW MORE ANSWERS
Still wondering?
Can we retake the same 11+ to improve the score?
Do not assume a second attempt is allowed. Shared routes commonly restrict children to one sitting for the relevant entry round. Ask the organiser about a specific absence or exceptional circumstance.
Do two GL tests mean one registration?
No. A test provider is not the same as a shared admissions route. Only the organisers can confirm that a single sitting or score-sharing arrangement covers both schools.
Is a school entrance test a useful free mock?
Register for a route because you may apply to its schools. Kent and the Sutton SET schools ask families not to enter children when they do not intend to seek a place.
Official sources
Checked 28 Sept 2026