A curated list of the books that consistently appear in successful preparation, with honest notes on what each does well and what it does not.
The publisher landscape
Three publishers dominate the UK 11+ workbook market: Bond (CGP), Letts and Schofield & Sims. All produce competent material; the differences are in style and progression rather than quality.
Do not buy materials from all three publishers in parallel — the overlap is high and the cognitive load on the child is unnecessary. Pick one publisher per subject and stay with it through the preparation.
For Maths
Bond 11+ Maths Assessment Papers (yellow series) for topic coverage at three age bands. CGP 11+ Maths Practice Book for question-type breadth. Letts 11+ Maths Targeted Practice for shorter focused drills.
For genuinely strong mathematicians, the Galore Park "So You Really Want to Learn Maths" series stretches significantly beyond standard 11+ — useful for independent school applicants but overkill for state grammar.
For English
Bond 11+ English Assessment Papers and Comprehension Papers as the spine. CGP 11+ Comprehension for additional passages with mark schemes. A vocabulary book — either Bond's Word Hour or Schofield & Sims Vocabulary — read aloud at bedtime.
The single highest-impact addition is not a workbook at all but a daily reading habit across genres — broadsheet children's sections, classic short stories, well-written non-fiction.
For Verbal Reasoning
Bond 11+ Verbal Reasoning is the gold standard for topic coverage. Susan Daughtrey workbooks for individual question-type drills. CGP for variety and timed papers.
For CEM-style regions, supplement with vocabulary-led materials specifically — generic verbal reasoning practice will under-prepare for CEM's demanding word range.
For Non-Verbal Reasoning
Bond 11+ Non-Verbal Reasoning Assessment Papers for topic coverage. Schofield & Sims Mental Reasoning for breadth. CGP for timed practice.
Several apps now offer non-verbal reasoning practice — these can be useful for short bursts but should not replace paper practice, which is what the live test will be (in most regions).
Books to skip
Avoid: any "guaranteed pass" branded materials (the claim alone is a red flag); free PDF compilations of unknown provenance from auction sites; and any book that does not specify the format (GL, CEM, ISEB, etc.) it is preparing for.
In doubt, the publisher's own website is the best source — Bond, Letts and S&S all have clear filtering by format and age.