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My child didn't pass the 11+. What now?

It is one test on one morning. Here is what matters this week, and the choices you still have.

Today: your child first

Tell them soon, simply and in private, before friends compare results.
Praise the work they put in. That effort was real and it does not disappear.
Keep the news in proportion. A test score is not a measure of who they are.
Let them be sad or cross. Listen before you plan.
Do something ordinary and nice together this evening.

They are in large company. Last year 6,213 of the 11,248 Kent children who sat the test were not assessed suitable, and in Bucks about 63 in every 100 children score below 121.

Words that can help

“I'm proud of how hard you worked. That is what I care about.”

“This test was one morning. It doesn't decide how clever you are or what you will do.”

“Let's find a school you're excited about. We'll choose it together.”

This month: choose schools well

Apply through your home council: Kent residents by Monday 2 November 2026, Bucks residents by 31 October 2026. Elsewhere, check your council's date.

Questions for open evenings

How do you set or group in maths and English?
How do you stretch the most able in each subject?
Which GCSE and sixth-form options do students have?
What clubs, music, sport and trips are there?
How do you help new Year 7s settle in?

Filling in the form

Non-selective schools are called high schools in Kent and upper or all-ability schools in Bucks.
Rank schools in your true order. A lower ranking never hurts your chance at the others.
Include at least one school your child is likely to get.
Thinking of appealing for a grammar school? Name it on the form now.
Bring your child to visits. Their sense of a place counts.

Routes still open

Each route depends on where your child sat the test.

Kent Test
An appeal after offers
The headteacher assessment happened before results, and there is no review. You can still name a grammar school, and if it refuses the place on Monday 1 March 2027, appeal by Tuesday 13 April 2027.
How the headteacher assessment works
Bucks 11+
A Selection Review, by 30 October 2026
A panel of headteachers reads your written case: school reports and letters, and evidence of why the score was lower than expected. Outcomes come on 12 February 2027.
Pupil Premium children below 121 but above a school's own minimum may get a reserved place. Send evidence to the school by 31 October 2026.
How Selection Review works
Either county
An appeal is a long shot
Panels need strong academic evidence and usually a full school to argue against. Most appeals do not succeed, so choose the schools on your form as if the appeal will not.
How appeals work

Later ways into a grammar school

The door does not close at eleven.

Kent

A child who moves into Kent after the test, or was never tested, can be assessed through the grammar school they apply to.
Until the end of the first term of Year 7, every Kent grammar school uses the Kent Test for this.
After that, and for other year groups, each grammar school uses its own test when it has a place.

KCC: moving to a Kent grammar school

Buckinghamshire

The Late Transfer Test can qualify a child for entry to Years 8, 9 and 10.
A child who was ill on test day and attends a Bucks state primary can sit the test later in school.

Bucks Council: illness and late tests

Many grammar schools also take students into the sixth form after GCSEs. Each school sets its own entry requirements.

The long run

Grammar and non-selective schools teach towards the same GCSEs. What travels with your child is what they bring: reading for pleasure, curiosity, steady habits and the confidence that comes from feeling backed at home.

Give the new school a fair start, and talk about it with the excitement you would have had for any other.

More help

Official guidance

When the 11+ didn't go to plan: questions parents ask

What happens if my child fails the 11+?

They go to a non-selective secondary school, which you choose on your application: by Monday 2 November 2026 in Kent and 31 October 2026 in Bucks. You can still name a grammar school and appeal after offers, and in Bucks you can ask for a Selection Review.

Can my child retake the 11+?

Not for the same year of entry. Kent grammar schools use their own assessments for places in later year groups, and Bucks runs a Late Transfer Test for entry to Years 8 to 10.

Is there a Kent Test review?

No. The headteacher assessment happens before results, so the letter already includes it. The route left is an appeal after offers.

What should I say to my child?

Tell them simply and soon, in private. Say you are proud of how hard they worked, that one test on one morning does not measure who they are, and that you will choose a great school together.

Can a child move to a grammar school later?

Sometimes. Grammar schools can admit children in later years when they have a place, using their own test. Many also take students into the sixth form after GCSEs, with entry requirements set by each school.