Most UK 11+ regions follow a broadly similar timeline from spring of Year 5 to national offer day on 1 March.
Spring of Year 5
Begin to research target schools and confirm which test format applies in your region. Order workbooks and a single set of practice papers in the right format. Set the family rhythm of light evening study sessions, even if not yet content-heavy.
This is also the right time to have the first honest conversation about whether your child wants to go through the process. The next eighteen months will be much easier with willing engagement than with grudging compliance.
Summer of Year 5
Topic-by-topic preparation in earnest. Twenty-minute sessions four times a week. Sit your first baseline papers in the school holiday — full timed, marked the next day, used to set priorities for autumn.
Holiday family time should not be sacrificed. Two days off per week minimum, including alternate weekend days. The summer is preparation, not training camp.
Autumn of Year 5 (registration)
Most regions open 11+ registration between June and September of Year 5. Submit the registration as soon as it opens — late registration is generally not possible, and the deadline catches families out every year.
Confirm the test date and venue. Note both in your calendar. Confirm your child's preferred name and date of birth on the registration as you submit.
Spring of Year 6
For most regions, the test has now happened in the previous September and results have been received in October. National secondary preference deadline is 31 October — submit your preference list in priority order based on your offer status.
For Northern Ireland and a few late-sitting regions, the test happens in November and results in late January. The preference deadline is similarly tied to the local authority calendar.
1 March — National offer day
All English secondary school offers are released on 1 March (or the next working day). You either accept the offered place, accept while remaining on waiting lists for higher preferences, or decline.
Stay on waiting lists for any preferred school you were not offered. Movement through March, April and May is common as other families decline offers.
March–August — transition
Once you have your final offered place, the focus shifts to the transition. Light reading and arithmetic upkeep over the spring and summer; school-organised induction days in June or July; uniform and equipment in August.
Resist the urge to "get ahead" academically over the summer. Year 7 is structured to bring all children up to speed; arriving "already ahead" rarely produces sustained advantage.