Choosing the Right 11 Plus Books & Resources
With dozens of 11 plus books on the shelves, choosing the right resources can be one of the more confusing parts of preparation for parents. This guide reviews the best-known 11 plus books by subject, then looks honestly at how books compare with online tools and video tutoring — so you can build a preparation toolkit that actually works.
The big-name publishers — CGP, Bond and Letts — dominate the 11 plus books market for good reason: their 11 plus exam books are affordable, widely available, and aligned with the main GL Assessment and CEM exam formats. But books are only one piece of the puzzle. The most effective preparation combines quality 11 plus practice books with resources that show your child how to solve questions, not just whether they got them right.
Key Takeaways
- CGP, Bond and Letts are the leading 11 plus book publishers — affordable, widely used, and aligned with GL and CEM formats.
- Mix three types of book: a daily-practice book, a topic workbook, and full mock papers — quality beats quantity.
- Books have one big limitation: a static answer key shows the answer, not the method behind it.
- Video-led practice papers close that gap by walking through every question — like having an online tutor at home.
- Look for full answers and explanations in any resource, so mistakes become learning opportunities.
Top 11+ Practice Books for Maths, English & Reasoning
Here are the most widely recommended 11 plus practice books, broken down by subject. Each is tutor-tested and aligned with the GL and CEM exam boards — the 11 plus exam books most parents will recognise. As a rule, look for books with full answers so every mistake can be reviewed and understood.
📖 English
Comprehension, grammar, spelling and vocabulary.
- CGP 11+ English 10-Minute Tests — quick daily drills for stamina and timing
- CGP 11+ English Practice Book — strong grammar and comprehension coverage with diagnostics
- Bond 11+ English — graded, age-by-age progression
- Bond Stretch English — for more able readers
🔢 Maths
KS2 maths, mental arithmetic and word problems.
- Schofield & Sims Mental Arithmetic — short, sharp fluency practice
- CGP 11+ Maths Practice Book — full topic coverage with assessment tests
- Bond 11+ Maths — structured, graded papers
- CGP 10-Minute Tests (Maths & Word Problems) — quick daily routine
🗣️ Verbal Reasoning
Word codes, synonyms, antonyms, analogies.
- CGP 11+ Verbal Reasoning Practice Book — covers the full range of question types
- Bond 11+ Verbal Reasoning — graded workbooks by age
- CGP VR 10-Minute Tests — cloze and comprehension drills
- Synonyms & antonyms word-list books for vocabulary building
🧩 Non-Verbal Reasoning
Patterns, rotations, sequences and spatial logic.
- CGP 11+ Non-Verbal Reasoning Practice Book — clear coverage of all NVR types
- Bond 11+ Non-Verbal Reasoning — graded practice
- First Past the Post (NVR) — skill-by-skill focus blocks
- Letts NVR — realistic mock practice
For full timed practice nearer the exam, the popular mock-paper sets include Bond Complete Papers, CGP 11+ Practice Test Packs, Letts mock papers, the Scholastic 11+ pack, and GL's own official papers. These build exam technique and timing — but, as we'll see, what happens after the paper matters even more than the paper itself.
11 Plus Resources — Books, Online Tools & Video Tutoring Compared
Books are just one category of 11 plus resources. Modern preparation also includes online practice platforms and video tutoring. Here's how the three compare:
| Resource | Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Practice books | Affordable, portable, no screen time, easy to dip into | Static answer keys — show the answer, not the method; no feedback on why a child went wrong |
| Online platforms | Auto-marking, adaptive questions, progress tracking, instant data | Subscription cost; can feel like a quiz rather than teaching the method |
| Video tutoring / video-led papers | Demonstrate the full method for each question; learn at your own pace; like a tutor on demand | Needs a device; best paired with written practice for exam stamina |
| 1-to-1 private tutor | Fully tailored, accountable | Expensive (£25-£50/hr); limited to scheduled sessions |
The best toolkit usually blends categories: practice books for routine and portability, plus video-led practice papers so your child can see exactly how each question is solved. This combination gives the affordability of books with the teaching power of a tutor.
Why Video-Led Practice Papers Outperform Traditional 11+ Books
Traditional 11 plus books share one fundamental weakness: the answer key. When a child gets a question wrong, a printed answer tells them the correct response — but not the method, not where their thinking went astray, and not how to approach a similar question next time. As experienced tutors consistently point out, it's not the doing of practice papers that drives improvement — it's the marking, feedback and gap-filling afterwards. A static answer key simply can't provide that.
This is exactly the gap ExamTutor's video-led practice papers are built to close. Every question is paired with a short tutor video that walks through the full method step by step — so a child preparing at home effectively has a tutor explaining each question, on demand and as many times as needed.
📕 Traditional books
- Question + static answer key
- Child must self-diagnose mistakes
- No demonstration of method
- Hard to learn reasoning techniques alone
- Parent often needed to explain
🎬 ExamTutor video-led papers
- Question + full tutor video walkthrough
- Shows exactly how to reach the answer
- Method demonstrated for every question
- Reasoning techniques taught visually
- Independent learning — like a tutor at home
This matters most in the reasoning sections and maths word problems, where the method is everything. Seeing a worked solution explained aloud is far more powerful than checking a letter against an answer grid. It's the difference between knowing you got something wrong and understanding how to get it right.
Best of both worlds: Use 11 plus books for daily routine and portability, then use free video-led sample papers to see the method in action. You can benchmark your child for free before deciding on a full pack.
How Many 11 Plus Books Does Your Child Actually Need?
It's tempting to buy a stack of 11 plus books, but more material rarely means better results. A focused, practical set looks like this:
- One daily-practice book per subject (e.g. a 10-minute test book) to build a steady routine.
- One topic/practice workbook to fill specific gaps revealed by a diagnostic.
- One set of full mock papers for timed exam practice from the Year 5 summer term.
- 11 plus recommended reading books — wide, challenging reading is the highest-yield "resource" of all for vocabulary and comprehension. Classic children's literature, quality non-fiction and age-appropriate novels with rich vocabulary all build the comprehension and word knowledge that underpin every section of the exam.
Beyond that, extra books offer diminishing returns. The time is far better spent reviewing completed work, filling gaps, and — crucially — making sure your child understands the method behind every question they get wrong. Whichever 11 plus books and resources you choose, consistency and review matter more than the specific titles on your shelf. A child who works steadily through a small, well-chosen set — and genuinely understands every mistake — will out-perform one who rushes through a large pile of unmarked papers. For a full plan of how to use these resources week by week, see our complete 11 plus preparation guide, or start with what the exam actually involves in what is the 11 plus exam?