Results day mechanics vary by region, but the underlying rhythm — letter, response, allocation — is broadly similar across the country.
Typical results dates
Most English regions release 11+ results in mid-October of Year 6, around four to six weeks after the September sitting. Northern Ireland's post-primary transfer results land in late January following the November sittings.
The exact date is published by the local authority each summer. Mark it in your calendar — you will want to be at home (or somewhere private) when the result arrives, not at work.
How results are delivered
Most local authorities deliver results by post on a specific morning, with some adding an online portal that opens at a specific time on the same day. A few regions still use a hybrid system where letters arrive over several days depending on postcode.
Confirm the delivery method for your region in advance — there is nothing worse than waiting all day for a letter that was never going to arrive that day.
What the result tells you
The result document typically contains the scaled score (or scores by subject), a statement of whether the child has qualified, and instructions for the next step in the local-authority admissions process.
In some regions the result also includes percentile information ("your child scored in the top X% of the cohort") which can be useful context but should not be over-read — percentile and scaled score say substantially the same thing.
After a qualifying result
You have qualified for consideration at grammar schools — you have not yet been allocated a place. The next step is submitting your secondary school preference list to your local authority by the published deadline (usually 31 October).
List the schools in genuine preference order. The local authority will allocate based on each school's oversubscription criteria, with your highest-preference school for which you meet criteria offered as the place.
After a non-qualifying result
You retain your full set of preference choices for non-selective schools, and you may still list grammars (with the understanding that the offer would only come through an appeal). Submit your preference list within the deadline regardless of the 11+ result.
If you intend to appeal, the appeals window opens after national offer day in March. The decision to appeal can be made later — focus on the immediate preference list first.
National offer day
National secondary school offer day is 1 March (or the next working day if 1 March is a weekend). On this day all secondary school allocations across the country are released. You either accept the offered place, decline it, or accept while remaining on a waiting list for a higher preference.
The waiting-list dynamics through March, April and May produce some movement — children regularly receive late offers from higher-preference schools as other families decline. Stay on the waiting list if there is any preferred school you have not been offered.