Essex 11+ · CSSE
I passed the CSSE and won a place at Westcliff High School for Boys, where I stayed from Year 7 to Year 13. Now I prepare other Essex children for the same exam, one to one and online.
The exam
The Essex 11+ is set and marked by the consortium itself, not by an external provider, so it looks quite different from 11+ exams elsewhere in the country.
This catches families out, because most 11+ material sold nationally is built around reasoning papers your child will never sit. Time spent on those is time taken from English and Maths.
The date is the thing most families get wrong. The CSSE is sat at the very start of Year 6, on a Saturday in September. The next sitting is Saturday 19 September 2026, for entry in September 2027.
That means the preparation years are Year 4 and Year 5, with the summer beforehand as the final push. Please always confirm dates and registration deadlines directly with csse.org.uk, as they are the only official source.
Where it leads
One exam covers all of them, so your child only sits the test once.
Admission criteria differ between schools, so check each school's own policy alongside your CSSE result.
What I cover
I cover both the English and the Maths paper, so you do not need to arrange two separate tutors. Preparation is built around what the exam actually rewards.
One tutor for the whole exam. Because I cover both papers, your child gets a single consistent approach and you only have one person to deal with. It also means I can shift the balance week to week toward whichever paper needs the work.
I remember which topics genuinely catch children out, how quickly the hour goes, and how it feels to sit that paper at ten years old.
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Times tables, mental arithmetic, place value and fractions. Where a calm CSSE run begins.
Arithmetic, problem solving, fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.
A timed paper under real conditions, marked personally with a written feedback report.
Questions
It is sat on a Saturday in September, at the very start of Year 6. The next sitting is Saturday 19 September 2026, for entry in September 2027. Always confirm the current date and registration deadline at csse.org.uk.
Because the exam falls at the start of Year 6, the working years are Year 4 and Year 5. Starting in Year 5 is perfectly normal and workable. Starting in Year 4 means the same ground is covered far more calmly, which matters at this age.
No. The CSSE is English and Maths only. A lot of nationally sold 11+ material is built around reasoning papers, so be careful not to spend months on something your child will never sit for a CSSE place.
If your child is also sitting an exam elsewhere that does include Verbal or Non-Verbal Reasoning, I teach those too, so just tell me which schools you are aiming at.
Yes. I prepare children for both the English and the Maths paper, so you do not need to find a second tutor. That also means I can move the emphasis between the two depending on where your child needs the work at the time.
Beyond the CSSE I also teach Verbal Reasoning, which some other selective and independent school exams include even though the CSSE does not.
All my lessons are online over Google Meet, which is why the rate is lower than most in-person tuition. It also means it does not matter whether you are in Westcliff, Southend, Chelmsford, Colchester or anywhere else.
Plenty of children do not, and it is not a verdict on them. The work done for the CSSE, particularly arithmetic fluency and problem solving, carries straight into secondary school Maths. I teach Years 7 to 11 as well, so I can keep working with your child either way.
Book a free 20-minute call. I will ask about where they are, tell you honestly what I think, and you decide what to do next.
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