This month, around 123,000 children across England will sit the controversial 11-plus exam. A new study by Comprehensive Future reveals that in 2024, the cost of administering these tests was at least £5.5 million of public money, money drawn directly from overstretched school budgets and council funds.
The research, carried out by Comprehensive Future’s data analyst James Coombs using Freedom of Information requests and publicly available figures, highlights a system riddled with inconsistency. There is no single 11-plus: 57 different versions are in use across England, devised variously by local councils, school consortia, or individual grammar schools acting as their own admissions authorities.
Unlike GCSEs and A levels which are regulated by Ofqual, the 11-plus is the only major school exam with no national oversight.
Dr Nuala Burgess, Chair of Comprehensive Future, said, “The 11-plus is an opaque and unregulated exam. Yet, in the areas where it’s still used, it determines a child’s entire secondary education. No one ensures children are tested fairly and, certainly, no one checks the quality of the questions. I cannot understand why no one questions whether the 11-plus is actually a good way to spend public money. Especially when so many of our state schools are in such desperate need of funds and when such a tiny minority of children are felt to benefit from the 11-plus. I can think of 100 better ways to spend the money that is ploughed into the 11-plus.”
The study found striking disparities in how much schools spend on the test. One grammar school that entered around 400 pupils spent £37,000 on buying in its exam, while another school tested a similar number of children for just £9,000. On average, schools spend £33,000 each year on the test and related administration, equivalent to the cost of employing a newly qualified teacher.
Comprehensive Future’s research also revealed that of the five grammar schools paying the highest fees for tests, four reported running a budget deficit last year.
Dr Burgess said, “We all know schools are under enormous financial pressure, yet some are pouring tens of thousands of pounds into a single exam that serves no proven purpose. Children in areas without the 11-plus do just as well, if not better, than those in selective areas. The 11-plus is a pointless exam that diverts funds away from teaching, from supporting children with additional needs, and from other priorities where schools face far greater need. It is also a test that divides communities and undermines fairness in education”
The costs of the 11-plus can be explored further on the TRAK website.
