The day after the 11+ is often more emotionally turbulent than the exam day itself. Your child has carried weeks of preparation and one big morning of concentration, and now there is suddenly nothing left to do but wait. This guide walks you through what to expect in the first 24 hours, the following weeks of waiting, and the honest conversations worth having about results — whatever they turn out to be. The single most useful thing you can offer right now is a calm, ordinary home.
The decompression dip
Many children seem subdued, flat or even slightly tearful the day after. This is not grief and it is not a sign the exam went badly — it is the body releasing weeks of tension. Adrenaline that kept them sharp on the morning drains away and leaves them tired and a little low. A normal, low-key day usually resets them by evening. Let them sleep in, eat their favourite breakfast, and move their body outdoors if they will. Resist the urge to analyse their mood for clues about how they performed; the dip tells you nothing about the marks.
The forensic replay
Some children obsessively replay specific questions — I think I put C on the shape one, but maybe it was D. Do not "check" the answers, and do not reopen practice papers to test what the right response was. Whatever they wrote on the OMR sheet, they wrote, and marking a half-remembered question at the kitchen table only feeds the loop. Practising now is not the cure for "I might have got question twelve wrong" — rest is. If the replay becomes distressing, redirect gently: name the feeling, remind them the paper is finished, and change the scene entirely with a walk, a film or a board game.
The chatty rebound
Other children come home jubilantly chatty — about football, a friend, a new game, anything except the exam. Roll with it. This is a perfectly healthy way of shelving a stressful event, and pressing for a debrief ("but how did the maths section go?") can puncture it. If they want to talk about the paper they will; your job is to be available, not to interview them. A child who volunteers "the verbal reasoning was hard" needs reassurance, not a post-mortem.
The waiting period: shelving the topic
Results for GL Assessment grammar-school tests typically arrive around mid-October, roughly four to eight weeks after a September sitting, though the exact date varies by consortium and region. That is a long stretch to hold your breath. The healthiest move is to genuinely shelve the topic at home — put the folders away, stop mentioning "the results", and let normal Year 6 life resume. Below is a simple week-by-week way to keep the household calm while you wait.
| Phase | What tends to happen | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1–2 | Decompression dip, tiredness, replaying questions | Rest, favourite food, no analysis |
| Week 1 | Mood settles, curiosity about "when do we hear?" | Give the honest timeline once, then move on |
| Weeks 2–4 | Topic fades from daily life | Refill the calendar with hobbies and friends |
| Results day | Relief, joy, disappointment — or a mix | Read the letter privately first if you can |
If your child genuinely enjoys practising and asks to keep going, a relaxed, no-stakes session is fine — the unlimited free retries on our worksheets and mock papers exist precisely so that practice never has to feel high-stakes. But there is no academic reason to keep drilling once the paper is submitted; the marks are already set.
Preparing for results, both ways
Before the letter arrives, decide privately how you will react to each outcome, because children read your face in the first second. Grammar schools use standardised age scores (roughly 69–141, with 100 the average) that adjust for a child's exact age, so a summer-born child is not penalised against an older classmate. Many areas look for around 111 or above, but the real cut-off depends on how oversubscribed each school is that year — so a "pass" is not one fixed number. Understanding this in advance stops a specific score from landing as a verdict. Our 11+ process guide and grammar school directory explain how scoring and offers work in your region.
- If it is a yes: celebrate, then keep it low-key around friends who may have had different news.
- If it is a no: lead with warmth. "This does not change what I think of you" matters more than any next step.
- Either way: praise the effort and resilience your child showed, not the outcome.
If the answer is no: the realistic path
Not passing the 11+ is not a judgement on your child, and it is worth saying so out loud. The practical route is calm and ordered: first accept the secondary school place you are offered on national offer day so your child is never without a school, then decide whether to join waiting lists and whether an appeal is realistic. Appeals must usually be lodged within about 20 school days of the offer, need genuine grounds rather than simple disappointment, and succeed less than half the time — so weigh the emotional cost carefully. Strong comprehensives, super-selective versus designated grammars, catchment moves and independent schools are all real alternatives, and many children flourish at the school they were not first aiming for.
Frequently asked questions
How long until we get the 11+ results?
For most GL grammar-school tests sat in September, results arrive around mid-October — roughly four to eight weeks later. Check your specific consortium's published date, as it varies by area.
Should my child keep practising while we wait?
There is no need. The paper is submitted and the marks are fixed. If your child genuinely enjoys it, light, no-pressure sessions on the revision hub are fine, but rest is more valuable now.
What if my child didn't pass?
Accept the offered school place first so they always have a place, then consider waiting lists and whether an appeal has real grounds. Appeals have under a 50% success rate, so treat alternatives as genuinely good options, not consolation prizes.