Bexley Selection Test (11+) 2027: guide for 2028 entry
For children in Year 5 now, who would sit the Bexley Selection Test in the autumn of Year 6 to start secondary school in September 2028. Dates and format are taken from the London Borough of Bexley's own pages and from Quest Assessments, which provides the test.
At a glance
- Test date
- Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's tests were between Wednesday 2 and Thursday 10 September 2026
- Registration
- Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year it opened on 1 March 2026 and closed at midnight on 31 March 2026. Late registrations were not accepted
- Set by
- Quest Assessments
- Papers
- Two multiple-choice papers of about 50 minutes each, plus time for instructions
- Subjects
- Verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning
- Scoring
- Age-standardised. 50% verbal ability, 25% numerical, 25% non-verbal
Key dates
For 2028 entry (test expected in September 2027, going by this year's pattern)
The London Borough of Bexley has not published these dates yet. When we checked, its pages covered only the 2026 test for September 2027 entry.
Source: London Borough of Bexley: register for the secondary selection test
This year's dates (2026 test, 2027 entry), as a guide to the pattern
- 1 March 2026
- Registration opened
- 31 March 2026 (midnight)
- Registration closed. Late registrations were not accepted
- Wednesday 2 to Thursday 10 September 2026
- Tests for children whose primary school acts as a test centre
- Monday 7 to Thursday 10 September 2026
- Tests at the four Bexley grammar schools, for other children
- Friday 2 October 2026
- Results emailed from 4pm
Source: London Borough of Bexley: register for the secondary selection test
Get an email when Bexley publishes new 11+ dates
We check the official admissions pages every morning. When registration, test dates or results are announced, we'll send you a short email saying what changed and where to find it. We use your address for nothing else.
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The two papers
Usually five answer options
Quest says all questions are multiple choice, usually with five options, A to E, and that most are answered on a separate answer sheet read by a machine. Our sample questions below have four options to keep them quick to read, so expect one more choice in the test itself.
How the result is worked out
The council says the result is a total weighted age-standardised score: 50% from the verbal ability score, 25% from the numerical score and 25% from the non-verbal score. The council and the four grammar schools decide the selective score. The council's page does not give a selective score in advance.
The council also says that reaching the selective standard does not by itself mean a grammar school place. In 2025, 5,866 children sat the test, 2,070 reached the selective standard and there were 800 grammar school places. The 180 children with the highest scores are placed in one of the highest priority groups for their preferred grammar school.
You have to register, and early
Children at Bexley primary schools are not registered automatically. This year registration was open only during March of Year 5, and the council did not accept late registrations. The council says there is no appeal against a missed registration deadline. If a child is not deemed selective, a review can be requested through the child's headteacher; the council says the Independent Review Panel changes decisions only in exceptional circumstances and its decision is final.
Five Bexley-style sample questions
These are our own questions, written in the style of the test so you can see the level. They are not taken from any real paper. Tap a question to see the answer and the method.
1. A baker packs 432 bread rolls into trays of 8. How many trays does she fill?
- A) 52
- B) 54
- C) 56
- D) 58
2. What is 17% of 300?
- A) 41
- B) 47
- C) 51
- D) 57
3. Which word is closest in meaning to fragile?
- A) delicate
- B) heavy
- C) ancient
- D) shiny
4. Three of these words belong together. Which word is the odd one out?
- A) oak
- B) birch
- C) willow
- D) tulip
5. Choose the word that best completes the sentence: The mountain path was so ___ that we had to walk in single file.
- A) noisy
- B) narrow
- C) bright
- D) level
What a Year 5 parent can do now
- Put a reminder in your diary for the start of March 2027. This year registration was open from 1 to 31 March 2026 only, and late registrations were not accepted.
- Look through Quest's free familiarisation booklets and guidance for children together, so your child knows what the questions and answer sheet look like.
- Start short, regular practice in vocabulary, comprehension, maths and non-verbal reasoning now, and check the council's selection test pages early in 2027 for the 2028 entry dates.
How to prepare
- Read the Quest information booklets for pupils and for parents that the council links to, and try Quest's free familiarisation booklets, so the layout is not a surprise.
- Build vocabulary and comprehension through regular reading: verbal ability is half of the total score.
- Keep Year 5 maths secure, since the council says the numerical content does not go beyond the end of Year 5.
- Practise non-verbal reasoning in short, regular sessions.
- Later on, practise working for about 50 minutes at a time and marking answers on a separate answer sheet.
Try a free Bexley-style mock
Set out like the papers the school or area describes, with your child's score at the end and, where the school sets a writing task, their writing marked from a photo. Where a timing is not published, ours is an estimate. Free 3-day trial, no card needed.
Start my Bexley-style mockOr get a free Bexley-style practice paper (PDF)
Our mocks follow the published format where there is one. The timings we estimate and the questions are our own, not real past papers.
The other 32 school and area guides
Blackheath High 11+ guide · Eltham College 11+ guide · Dulwich College 11+ guide · Alleyn's 11+ guide · Kent Test guide · Colfe's 11+ guide · St Olave's 11+ guide · Medway Test guide · Tiffin 11+ guide · Sutton SET guide · ISEB Pre-Test guide · London 11+ Consortium guide · Latymer Upper 11+ guide · Henrietta Barnett 11+ guide · Dame Alice Owen's 11+ guide · QE Barnet 11+ guide · Redbridge 11+ guide · Buckinghamshire Transfer Test guide · Essex CSSE 11+ guide · Slough Consortium 11+ guide · Kendrick School 11+ guide · Bournemouth and Poole 11+ guide · South Wilts Grammar 11+ guide · Bishop Wordsworth's 11+ guide · Torbay grammar schools 11+ guide · Plymouth grammar schools 11+ guide · Lincolnshire 11+ guide · West Midlands grammar schools 11+ guide · Wirral 11+ guide · Ripon Grammar School 11+ guide · Lancaster Royal Grammar 11+ guide · Northern Ireland SEAG Transfer Test guide
More free practice: Free 11+ Maths practice questions → · Free 11+ Verbal Reasoning practice → · Free 11+ Fractions questions → · Free 11+ Vocabulary questions →
Quick answers
When is the Bexley 11+ exam?
Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's tests were between Wednesday 2 and Thursday 10 September 2026.
What is in the Bexley 11+ exam?
Paper 1: verbal ability and English comprehension, about 50 minutes. Quest puts verbal ability and English comprehension in the first paper. The council says this area covers vocabulary, comprehension and verbal reasoning skills. All questions are multiple choice. Paper 2: numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, about 50 minutes. Quest puts numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning in the second paper. The council says the maths content does not go beyond what children are expected to learn by the end of Year 5. The non-verbal reasoning is about recognising patterns, understanding relationships between objects and making logical deductions.
When do I need to register for the Bexley 11+?
Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year it opened on 1 March 2026 and closed at midnight on 31 March 2026. Late registrations were not accepted.
How can my child practise for the Bexley 11+?
Read the Quest information booklets for pupils and for parents that the council links to, and try Quest's free familiarisation booklets, so the layout is not a surprise.
Sources
Checked 7 October 2026. Schools change their tests, so always confirm dates and details on the official pages below.
- London Borough of Bexley: about the Bexley Selection Test
- London Borough of Bexley: register for the secondary selection test
- Quest Assessments: Bexley Selection Test
Eleven Plus Academy is independent. It is not affiliated with the London Borough of Bexley, Quest Assessments or any school.