On this page
- How much does a private 11+ tutor cost per hour?
- What do tuition centres and group courses cost?
- What do 11+ specialists and online one-to-one lessons cost?
- How much do self-study 11+ platforms cost?
- What should you budget per month and per year?
- When should you start 11+ tuition, Year 4 or Year 5?
- How can you spend less on 11+ preparation?
- What to do next
Short answer
As of October 2026, a private 11+ tutor in the UK typically charges £40 to £80 an hour (about £55 on average, more in London), so a year of weekly lessons costs roughly £2,000 to £4,000. Explore Learning's 11 Plus course is £190 a month for two group sessions a week, ARK Tuition charges £35 an hour one-to-one, and self-study platforms cost £7.50 to £70 a month. TaleemSquare maths tutoring is £69 a month.
Key takeaways
- Private 11+ tutors typically charge £40 to £80 an hour (about £55 average), roughly £2,000 to £4,000 for a year of weekly lessons.
- Explore's 11 Plus plans are £180 to £280 a month; ARK charges £35 an hour one-to-one or £65 per subject per four weeks.
- Self-study platforms cost far less: Bond Online is £7.50 a month and Atom Learning is £39.99 to £69.99.
- Most families start tutoring in Year 5; Year 4 suits low-cost foundations. Use self-study for volume and tutoring for weak topics.
What TaleemSquare costs, for comparison
- Format
- Live one-to-one math lessons online
- Price
- From £69 a month for 2 classes a week (about £8.63 a class)
- Fees and contract
- No registration fee, no contract, cancel any month
- First step
- Free 45-minute assessment, then a 4-class money-back promise
How we wrote this
TaleemSquare offers online one-to-one maths tutoring, so we compete with some of the services named here and are listed as one option. Prices come from each provider's own pages or the sources listed at the end, checked in October 2026. Atom Learning's cost guide is published by a self-study platform, so we cross-check its tutor estimates against prices providers publish themselves.
The 11+ is the entrance test for grammar schools and some independent schools in England, usually sat early in Year 6. Preparing for it can cost anything from a few pounds a month to several thousand pounds a year, depending on whether you choose a private tutor, a centre, a group course or a self-study platform.
Below are the published prices as of October 2026, a monthly and yearly budget table, and advice on when to start and how to spend less. No provider can promise a place, because each school decides its own offers.
How much does a private 11+ tutor cost per hour?
Atom Learning's cost guide, published on 21 October 2026, puts one-to-one 11+ tutors at £40 to £80 an hour, with an average of about £55. Prices rise in the South East and in areas where the test is most competitive.
| Area | Per hour | Weekly lessons for a year |
|---|---|---|
| London and South East | £60 to £80 (specialists in super-selective areas £80 to £120) | £3,000 to £4,500+ |
| Buckinghamshire, Kent, Essex | £50 to £70 | £2,500 to £3,500 |
| Birmingham, Trafford, Lincolnshire | £40 to £60 | £2,000 to £3,000 |
| UK overall | £40 to £80, about £55 on average | About £2,750 (50 sessions at £55) |
Atom estimates tutor-led preparation, including resources and mock exams, at £3,000 to £5,000 in total for one child. Because Atom sells a self-study product, treat these as estimates and compare them with the published prices below.
What do tuition centres and group courses cost?
Explore Learning publishes a national price list for its 11 Plus and Entrance Exams course. There is no joining fee, and a sibling discount of £10 a month off for a second child and £20 off for a third.
| Format | Sessions a week | Per session | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group (up to 6 children per tutor in centre) | 2 | £22 | £190 |
| One-to-one | 1 | £42 | £180 |
| One-to-one | 2 | £32 | £280 |
The 11 Plus course has no listed group price for one session a week. Explore does not state session length on its pricing page, though its centre pages describe weekly 60-minute lessons.
ARK Tuition, a firm with a dedicated 11+ programme, publishes a 2026-27 fee list. Its Standard group classes cost £65 per subject for four weekly lessons, or £130 for two subjects, and its Access option is £10 an hour, paid before each class. ARK's 11+ page says groups never exceed 6 students and that online sessions are available for all programmes. Its fees are VAT exempt.
What do 11+ specialists and online one-to-one lessons cost?
Specialist firms publish their one-to-one rates, which gives you a cross-check on the estimates above:
- ARK Tuition Premium: £35 an hour for primary and 11 Plus one-to-one tuition.
- Club 11 Plus: £35 an hour including unlimited access to its online school, or £45 an hour with daily homework set and monitored.
- National Learning Group (NLG): £39.90 per 40-minute one-to-one lesson, about £59.85 an hour, billed weekly. Its 11 Plus page states prices as correct in August 2026.
TaleemSquare's 11+ maths tutoring is live one-to-one maths in 45-minute lessons for Years 4 to 6, from £69 a month for two lessons a week (£95 for three, £119 for four). We also teach English (reading comprehension and writing), but not verbal or non-verbal reasoning, so if your area tests those you will need a separate resource.
How much do self-study 11+ platforms cost?
Self-study platforms cost a fraction of tuition, and many families use them for the bulk of practice.
- Atom Learning: English, Maths, Science is £39.99 a month (£31.99 on yearly billing). Exam Prep, which adds verbal and non-verbal reasoning, is £59.99 (£47.99 yearly). Exam Prep Plus, with unlimited mock tests, is £69.99 (£55.99 yearly). Plans cover Years 3 to 8.
- Bond Online: £7.50 a month or £65 a year, with unlimited practice in maths, English and both reasoning types, timed mock tests and parent progress reports. You need one subscription per child.
- Club 11 Plus membership: £24.99 a month, with no minimum term, covering online lessons, quizzes, diagnostic tests and mock tests.
Atom estimates that home preparation with structured resources and mock exams costs £350 to £600 in total.
What should you budget per month and per year?
| Route | Published price | Per month | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private tutor, one hour a week | £40 to £80 an hour (about £55 average) | £167 to £333 | £2,000 to £4,000 |
| Explore 11 Plus, group, 2 a week | £22 a session | £190 | £2,280 |
| Explore 11 Plus, one-to-one, once a week | £42 a session | £180 | £2,160 |
| Explore 11 Plus, one-to-one, twice a week | £32 a session | £280 | £3,360 |
| ARK Tuition, group, one subject | £65 per 4 weeks | About £70 | About £845 |
| ARK Tuition, one-to-one, weekly | £35 an hour | About £146 | About £1,750 |
| Club 11 Plus, one-to-one, weekly | £35 or £45 an hour | About £146 to £188 | £1,750 to £2,250 |
| NLG, one-to-one, weekly | £39.90 per 40 minutes | About £166 | About £1,995 |
| Atom Learning, self-study | £39.99 to £69.99 a month | £32 to £70 | £384 to £840 |
| Club 11 Plus membership | £24.99 a month | £24.99 | About £300 |
| Bond Online | £7.50 a month or £65 a year | £5.42 to £7.50 | £65 to £90 |
| TaleemSquare, maths only | £69, £95 or £119 a month | £69 to £119 | £828 to £1,428 |
How we calculated the totals: weekly lessons assume 50 sessions a year; ARK's four-week blocks assume 13 a year; Explore, Atom, Bond and Club 11 Plus assume 12 months of payments. Atom's yearly totals use its yearly billing price (£383.90 to £671.90) and its monthly price (up to £839.88). Real bills depend on holidays and whether you pause.
When should you start 11+ tuition, Year 4 or Year 5?
Atom describes a typical tutor-led programme as weekly lessons for about twelve months, starting at the beginning of Year 5, with the test early in Year 6. ARK Tuition treats Year 4 as the start of a two-year exam pathway and says children who start in Year 5 typically need 12 to 18 months.
The cost of starting early is easy to see. Six extra months of weekly lessons at £55 an hour is about £1,400. Many families therefore use Year 4 for low-cost foundations (times tables, fractions, reading widely) and begin paid tuition in Year 5. Our Year 4 maths tutoring and Year 5 maths tutoring pages explain what each year covers, and starting in Year 4 or early Year 5 leaves time to secure Key Stage 2 content before adding timed papers.
How can you spend less on 11+ preparation?
- Check what your area tests. Formats differ by region and not every 11+ includes maths, so find out before paying for the wrong thing.
- Use self-study for volume and tutoring for gaps. A platform at £7.50 to £70 a month covers practice; a tutor at £35 an hour or more is best spent on topics your child cannot do alone.
- Compare per-session cost, not the monthly bill. Explore's one-to-one once a week (£180) looks cheaper than its group course (£190), but it is half the sessions.
- Choose group for general preparation. Group places cost less per session, but the tutor's attention is shared.
- Use free trials and sibling discounts. Explore, Atom and Club 11 Plus offer trials, and Explore takes £10 off a second child.
What to do next
- Confirm which test your local grammar schools use, and when, with your local authority or the school.
- Pick a monthly budget from the table and decide whether your child needs foundations (Year 4) or focused practice (Year 5).
- Book a free 45-minute assessment with TaleemSquare to find the maths gaps, or read our guide to maths tutor costs in the UK and how lessons work for families in the UK.
Sources
- 1.Atom Learning, 11+ tutoring cost guide (21 October 2026) Private tutor rates by region, annual cost, home preparation estimate. Published by a self-study platform, so treat as an estimate. Checked Oct 2026.
- 2.Explore Learning, Pricing 11 Plus and Entrance Exams group and one-to-one prices, no joining fee, sibling discount. Checked Oct 2026.
- 3.ARK Tuition, Fees 2026-27 Premium one-to-one £35 an hour, Standard group £65 per subject per 4 weeks, VAT exempt. Checked Oct 2026.
- 4.Club 11 Plus, Online one-to-one 11+ tuition £35 and £45 an hour including online school access. Checked Oct 2026.
- 5.Atom Learning, Pricing Self-study plans, monthly and yearly prices, years covered. Checked Oct 2026.
- 6.Bond 11+, Bond Online 12-month subscription £65 a year or £7.50 a month, one subscription per child. Checked Oct 2026.
Written and fact-checked by the TaleemSquare Editorial Team
We research every figure against the provider's own pages or independent sources, list them above, and update posts when prices or policies change. See our editorial process and teaching method.
