Yorkshire's selective schools don't share a single consortium test the way Kent or Buckinghamshire do. Each grammar school, or small local group of schools, sets its own entry assessment, so the honest answer to "how does the Yorkshire 11+ work?" is that it depends entirely on which school your child is applying to. The good news is that there is strong overlap in format: most Yorkshire grammars now use GL Assessment papers, which are predictable, multiple-choice and question-type driven, so a single well-planned preparation routine can serve applications to several schools at once.
Current state (2026): what Yorkshire actually tests
This is the single fact where a lot of older guides go wrong. CEM's separate paper 11+ was discontinued around 2022-2023, so if you read an article claiming a Yorkshire school "uses the CEM test", treat it with caution and confirm directly with the school. In 2026 the dominant provider across the North's grammars is GL Assessment, with a couple of local exceptions running their own bespoke or consortium papers. GL papers are single-subject, tightly timed at roughly a minute a question, sat with a separate answer sheet, and no calculator. Always verify the current arrangement on each school's own admissions page before you register, because individual schools do occasionally change format or timing year to year.
Main Yorkshire grammar schools and who sets the test
Yorkshire's grammars are spread across North Yorkshire, Calderdale and Kirklees rather than clustered in one authority. Here is a quick lookup of the best-known schools and the assessment each typically uses. Treat this as a starting point and confirm with your local authority (LA) and the school.
| School | Area | Test provider / style |
|---|---|---|
| Ripon Grammar | North Yorkshire | GL Assessment |
| Skipton Girls' High | North Yorkshire | GL Assessment |
| Ermysted's Grammar (boys) | Skipton | GL Assessment |
| Crossley Heath | Halifax (Calderdale) | Calderdale consortium test |
| The North Halifax Grammar | Halifax (Calderdale) | Calderdale consortium test |
| Heckmondwike Grammar | Kirklees | Own bespoke test |
Because there is no county-wide test, you apply to each school separately and sit its assessment on its own test day. Some families sensibly sit two or three of these, since the underlying skills overlap heavily.
What the papers look like
For most Yorkshire grammars the pattern is two papers, sat in the autumn term of Year 6 (commonly September or October), each lasting around 45-50 minutes, covering the four core 11+ skill areas between them:
- English — comprehension of a passage plus spelling, punctuation and grammar questions.
- Maths — Key Stage 2 arithmetic and problem solving, up to roughly Year 5 curriculum ceiling.
- Verbal Reasoning (VR) — word-based logic: codes, letter sequences, hidden words, analogies, odd-one-out, closest meaning and opposites.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR) — shape-based logic: series, matrices, analogies, reflections, rotations and spatial reasoning.
The Calderdale consortium (Crossley Heath and North Halifax) traditionally combines subjects into a longer paper rather than splitting them cleanly, so the on-the-day experience differs slightly from the North Yorkshire GL schools. Our exam guides break down each question type, and the free worksheets let a child drill the exact VR and NVR types named above.
Qualifying scores: high thresholds up north
Marks are reported as standardised scores, which put every child's raw mark onto a common, age-adjusted scale (average 100, most children falling between roughly 70 and 140). Ripon Grammar and Skipton Girls' are among the most competitive grammars in the country and often expect scores in the region of 125+, well above the ~111 typical of many grammar areas. Crossley Heath and Heckmondwike generally sit a little lower, around 120. Never treat a single figure as a guaranteed cut-off: exact qualifying marks move with each year's cohort and the number of places, and passing the test is separate from securing a place if the school is oversubscribed within its catchment.
Age standardisation: why the birth-month uplift matters
Standardised scoring adjusts for age in months, so a summer-born child is not penalised for being up to eleven months younger than an autumn-born classmate. Two children who get the exact same raw mark can end up with different standardised scores: the younger child receives a small uplift. For Yorkshire's high thresholds this matters, because a few standardised points either side of 125 can decide an outcome. It is not something to prepare for, but it is worth understanding so you read mock results correctly.
How to prepare for a Yorkshire application
Because most Yorkshire grammars use their own version of a GL-style test, general GL practice serves the majority of them well. A sensible routine looks like this:
- Drill by question type. GL is predictable, so master each named VR and NVR type one at a time rather than practising randomly.
- Build timed stamina. Move to full-length, separately-timed mocks once the individual types are secure — pace is what catches most children.
- Strengthen vocabulary and mental maths. These underpin both the English and reasoning papers.
- Sit realistic practice. Quest Arena's mock library includes Yorkshire-style GL mocks, and every mock is free with no account needed to practise.
For a week-by-week plan tied to the autumn test window, use the revision hub, and check the key dates page so you register before each school's deadline. If you are still deciding where to apply, the grammar school directory lists catchment and admissions details.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Yorkshire 11+ GL or CEM?
For most Yorkshire grammars in 2026 it is GL Assessment. CEM's separate paper 11+ was discontinued a few years ago, so ignore older guides that still describe a live CEM test, and confirm the current format on each school's admissions page.
What score do I need for Ripon or Skipton Girls'?
Both are highly competitive and typically look for a standardised score around 125 or above, though the exact qualifying mark changes each year with the cohort and available places.
Do I sit one test for all Yorkshire schools?
No. There is no single county-wide test. You apply to each school separately and sit its own assessment, though the skills overlap enough that one preparation routine can cover several applications.