The CSSE 11 plus

What is the CSSE 11 plus test?

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The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE) write and administer the 11+ examinations in the Essex area.

The CSSE 11 plus test is taken mid-September in Year 6, for students going to Secondary school the following academic year. The children receive their results after about three weeks after taking their exam.

The CSSE 11 plus test is taken by students in Year 6 who are aiming to attend the grammar schools in Essex below:

King Edward VI Grammar School
Colchester County High School for Girls
Colchester Royal Grammar School
Southend High School for Girls
Southend High School for Boys
Westcliff High School for Girls
Westcliff High School for Boys
St Bernard’s High School (for Girls)
St Thomas More High School (for Boys)
Shoeburyness High School

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What is the format of the CSSE 11+ test?

The CSSE 11 plus test is a paper-based exam, taken in two halves: one maths paper and one English paper. Traditionally, the English part of the exam is taken first, then the maths paper after a short break.

English paper: 1 hour 10 minutes

English reading comprehension (40 minutes)
Applied reasoning (verbal reasoning) (10 minutes)
Creative Writing (20 minutes)
60 available marks

Maths paper: 1 hour

60 available marks

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Which topics are covered in the 11 plus exams?

The CSSE 11 plus exam is written by the consortium and is designed to assess the children’s depth of English and mathematical understanding in the topics below.

2d shapes
Algebra including BIDMAS/BODMAS and simple linear equations
Angles
Area and perimeter of shapes
Coordinates
Cube numbers
Decimals and fractions
Distance, speed, and time
Statistics and graphs including bar charts, line charts, mean, median, mode and range, pictograms, pie charts, and Venn diagrams
Mathematical word problems
Measurements: area, volume, length, mass, money, time, and unit conversions
Number lines
Operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
Ordering and comparing
Percentages
Place values
Prime numbers
Ratio and proportion
Reading and writing numbers
Reflections and translations
Square numbers
Timetables

In English, students should be familiar with the following grammatical structures:

Active/passive voice
Adjectives
Compound words
Conjunctions
Determiners
Main and Subordinate Clauses
Nouns
Plurals
Prefixes
Prepositions
Pronouns
Suffixes
Tenses
Verbs

Punctuation is also important for the CSSE 11+. To get good marks, children should be confident and accurate in using:

Apostrophes
Brackets / Parentheses
Commas
Full Stops
Hyphens
Quotation / Speech marks
Semi-Colons

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What is the pass mark for the CSSE 11 plus?

The pass mark for the 11 plus varies each year. This is all relative to how the cohort of students perform. The students’ total mark out of 120 marks is taken into consideration, along with their date of birth, which results in a standardised score. Historically, a standardised score of 303 has been the pass mark for students.

The CSSE have provided a rough guide for the percentages needed to gain entry to the Essex grammar schools

55 - 60% for the Southend grammar schools’ priority area and other Southend schools
65% for out of area places at most of the Southend grammar schools
65 - 70% for Colchester County High School
70% for Colchester Royal Grammar School and King Edward VI Grammar School priority area
75% for King Edward VI Grammar School out of priority area

The 11 plus is a highly competitive test, with around 5,000 students sitting the Essex test for the 2023 entry examination.

All schools within the consortium have their own admissions policies and some schools will prefer to take students with higher scores than others..

How can I register my child for the 11 plus?

Admissions information: Essex Council, 0845 603 2200, admissions@essex.gov.uk

reg.csse.org.uk

Consortium information: admin@csse.org.uk, 01245 348257