Redbridge 11+ Results 2026: Final Guide to Scores and Places

The Redbridge results email is short. Annoyingly short, really, because the number in it doesn't explain itself. Is 108 good? Is 104 a pass? Well, it depends, and not just on the score. Ilford County High and Woodford County High rank every eligible child against each other, so what matters is how your child's number compares with everyone else's, and whether your house sits inside the catchment line. We've put the lot below: what the score means, how places get shared out, six years of past cut-offs, last year's full score breakdown and a plan for the 31 October deadline.

When are Redbridge 11+ results released in 2026?

By Wednesday 21 October 2026. For weeks the Council only said "mid-October", but it has now put a firm date on its Redbridge 11 plus page. (We've written a short piece on what to do in the ten days between results and the deadline.)

So keep checking the inbox you registered with (and the junk folder, because these emails do go astray). For the record, the test was on Friday 18 September. If the 21st has come and gone and you've still got nothing, ring or email the admissions team.

Got another area on the go as well? We've written full guides to Kent Test results and Buckinghamshire 11+ results, and the Essex dates sit in our round-up of every area's 11+ results days.

Redbridge 11+ pass mark and what the score really tells you

Quick bit of background first. GL Assessment writes the test. One paper mixes English and verbal reasoning; the other combines maths and non-verbal reasoning. You get one number back, the "total standardised score". It's been adjusted for age and squashed onto a common scale, which is why it looks so odd. It isn't a percentage. And please don't ignore the decimals, because children really are separated by hundredths of a point (108.47 and 108.52 are not the same result, as far as the ranking's concerned).

What does 104 mean?

It's the minimum, written into Redbridge's 2027-28 admission arrangements. Under 104 and your child isn't ranked at all, and can't go on either grammar's waiting list. On 104 or more, they're in the running.

That's it, though. In the running. For 2026 entry, 820 children got to 104 and there were 360 places, going by the Council's test data. We'd describe 104 as getting into the queue. It isn't getting through the door.

Qualifying score vs cut-off score

These two terms sound alike, so they get confused a lot. The qualifying score is fixed: 104, every year. The cut-off isn't fixed at all. It's simply the point where offers happened to run out in a particular year, for a particular group of children. Plenty of kids clear the first and miss the second. That isn't failing. There just weren't enough seats.

And before anyone asks about a recount: there isn't one. Redbridge doesn't have a review stage, and its earlier 11 plus guidance said GL papers aren't remarked. If you're unhappy with the result, the 2027-28 arrangements send you to your child's primary head first, then (formally) to an appeal.

What to do once the result arrives

1. Jot the score down, decimals and all. Keep the email.
2. Make sure you're inside the catchment area (how to check is further down).
3. Pupil Premium might apply? Ask what proof the Council wants.
4. Hold the score up against the past offer figures below.
5. Start sketching out your six schools, grammar and non-grammar.

Then get the form in before 31 October. The final evening is when the portal is busiest, so aim to finish sooner.

How are Redbridge grammar school places allocated?

Good news here, for once: Redbridge is simpler than most 11+ areas. The Council runs admissions for both schools. One test, one rulebook, 180 children into Year 7 at each.

How competitive is it, year by year?

These are past rounds, not this year's applicants. Fewer children sat the test in each of the last three, and fewer hit 104:

Sources: Redbridge Council's "pupils who sat the test" reports for 2024, 2025 and 2026 entry.

You'd think that would mean an easier ride. Not necessarily. Ilford County High's line actually went up for 2025, then dropped to 106.02 for 2026 (the year with the smallest field). So the numbers don't move in a neat straight line.

Step 1: Reach the 104 threshold

No 104, no ranking. Simple as that. At 104 or above, the priority order below takes over.

Step 2: The priority order

The 2027-28 arrangements take eligible children in this order, highest score first inside each group:

1. Looked-after and previously looked-after children.
2. 45 children (25%) at each school who are entitled to Pupil Premium.
3. Other children living in the Common Catchment Area.
4. Children living outside it.

Two children on exactly the same score? Whoever has the shorter safe walking route to the school wins.

Here's the thing that catches a lot of families out, though. An older brother or sister already at the school counts for nothing. Neither grammar gives siblings (or staff children) any priority. The order you list schools in does matter, mind you, and we've covered that under choosing schools.

The Common Catchment Area: how to check your address

1. Open Redbridge Council's map.
2. Pick the "Education" category, then "11+ Common Catchment Area".
3. Type in your postcode and see whether your home falls inside the blue line.

Do this even if you're sure. "We live in Redbridge" and "the school's five minutes away" aren't the same as being in the catchment area, because the line doesn't follow the borough boundary. It's actually bigger than the borough: the information Redbridge has shared with primary schools describes it as taking in all of Redbridge and Waltham Forest, plus parts of Barking and Dagenham, Newham and Essex. So families just over the border can be inside it too.

Being inside it won't get your child a place by itself (the score still decides that). Being outside it is a different story. Out-of-area children are only looked at after everyone inside has been placed, and the Council's own arrangements say only catchment-area children have been admitted for the last ten years.

What if you're close to the boundary?

Zoom right in. Your house, not your road. If it's still not obvious which side you're on, ask the admissions team before you apply rather than after. Which address counts, and how to prove it, is covered in the rules section further down.

Pupil Premium places

Under the 2027-28 arrangements, 45 places at each school, a quarter of the intake, are offered to children entitled to Pupil Premium. That covers any child who's had free school meals at some point in the past six years. The Council checks eligibility as it was when you applied, and the arrangements mention entitlement in Year 5; Woodford County High's own page describes these as places for catchment-area children.

It still isn't a guarantee, sadly. Inside that group it's a straight ranking by score, so if more eligible children apply than there are places, the higher scores get them. If this is you, apply under that criterion, ask the admissions team what evidence they need, and double-check your application actually shows it.

Redbridge 11+ cut-off scores: what do previous years tell you?

Every March, Redbridge publishes the score of the last catchment-area child offered a place on time. One thing to keep straight: every figure on this page comes from earlier admission rounds. Children getting results this October are applying for September 2027, so their line hasn't been set yet. Here are the previous six years, straight from the Council's offer-day report:

Source: Redbridge Council's published allocation scores. Figures are for the last on-time catchment-area offer on National Offer Day; they don't cover Pupil Premium places or later waiting-list offers.

Can last year's cut-off predict this year's offer?

Not really. No.

Each figure is a snapshot of one year, and the line shifts because a different crowd of children applies each time, scoring differently and ranking the schools differently. Over these six years Ilford County High's line has wandered between 106.02 and 111.38. Woodford County High's has sat between 109.28 and 112.47, and it's been higher than Ilford's every single year.

How we'd read it, roughly: comfortably above the whole range is a good sign, though still not a promise. Somewhere in the middle of it, nobody can really say, and a fraction of a point either way tells you very little. Below all six figures? An on-time offer looks harder, but waiting lists do move. And if your child's in a priority group, like Pupil Premium, these numbers don't quite apply to them anyway.

Where would your child's score have ranked last year?

Redbridge also publishes every single score from the test, boys and girls separately. We counted through last year's list (September 2026 entry), and this is what it shows:

Source: Redbridge Council's published total scores for September 2026 entry. The Council notes this is a list of scores, not a ranked list.

Here's the part that tends to catch families off guard. The 180th-highest boy on that list scored 113.63, and the 180th-highest girl 114.06. Yet in March, offers went way further down than that, to 106.02 for Ilford's catchment-area boys and 110.62 for Woodford's girls.

Why the gap? Because that list is everyone who sat the test. Some of them never applied. Some put another school first. Some live outside the catchment area. So if your child's spot on the raw list looks a bit grim, don't panic just yet. It tells you where they sit among everyone who took the test, which isn't the same as their place in the queue.

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How to choose schools after the Redbridge 11+

eAdmissions gives you six slots, and you can use them on schools in Redbridge or anywhere else. What you want is a list that says what you'd really like, but still leaves your child somewhere decent if the grammar falls through.

1. Does the order of your preferences matter?

Yes. More than people expect.

If your child could get into more than one school on your list, they're offered whichever one you put highest, and everything below it drops off. Anything above it keeps them on its waiting list. So picture this: grammar first, local comprehensive second, and only the comprehensive can take your child. Fine. They get the comprehensive and stay on the grammar's waiting list. Now flip those two round. The comprehensive's offer would wipe the grammar off your list completely. Moral of the story: rank by what you want, not by what feels safe. (The Council's guide to how offers and waiting lists work has the full detail.)

2. Include non-grammar schools you'd be happy with

Think about the journey on a wet Monday, the pastoral side, the clubs, and whether your child would actually like it there. The Council suggests including schools close to home, since they're likelier to have room. If none of your six can take your child, they'll be given the nearest school that can, and that might not be one you'd ever have chosen.

3. Check every school's rules

Most comprehensives go on catchment and distance. Faith schools might want a Supplementary Information Form by 31 October. Read the small print for each one before you commit.

4. Apply on time

The deadline is 31 October 2026. Save the confirmation email and the reference number, and sort out your proof of address early (exactly what the Council accepts is listed in the next section).

A worked example. Take a girl who lives inside the catchment area and scores 110.30. That would have got her into Woodford County High in 2021 and 2022, but not in the other four years. So: a maybe. Her family puts Woodford first, then their favourite comprehensive, then a couple of other local schools. If no Woodford offer turns up on 1 March, she's on its waiting list in score order, and she's already got a decent school lined up nearby.

One more thing. If your child also sat another area's test (Essex CSSE, say), each result only counts for that area's schools. You'll still only get one offer, and every school goes on the same eAdmissions form.

All 19 Redbridge secondary schools: how offers went in 2026

Whatever the 11+ score, five of your six choices will probably be non-grammar schools, so it helps to know how each one filled its places. Redbridge has 19 secondary schools in its coordinated scheme, and the Council's offer-day report sets out how far each one's offers reached on 2 March 2026 for September 2026 entry. Treat them as last year's picture, not a forecast; distances change every year.

Year 7 places are shown for the schools whose admissions the Council runs, from its 2027-28 arrangements; for the others, check the school's own admission arrangements. Faith schools give priority by their own criteria and may ask for a supplementary form.

A few things stand out. Six schools (Atam Academy, Caterham High, King Solomon High, Mayfield, Oaks Park High and The Forest Academy) offered a place to every on-time applicant last year. Others filled up within a very short distance: Seven Kings High reached 0.563 miles, Isaac Newton Academy 0.653 miles, and The Ursuline Academy's non-Catholic places just 0.149 miles. Loxford, Isaac Newton and Seven Kings also fill a large share of Year 7 with their own Year 6 pupils first. So "close to home" means very different things depending on the school. Check which comprehensive's catchment you're in on the Council map (the "Secondary School Catchment Area" layer), because that's often where your best non-grammar chance lies.

One practical difference: the Council runs admissions for eight of these schools, while the rest set their own rules, offers and waiting lists, even though you apply for all of them on the same eAdmissions form. Chadwell Heath Academy and The Palmer Catholic Academy also ask families to reapply directly to them for waiting lists after 31 August each year.

The small print: rules that trip Redbridge families up

None of this is exciting, but every point below has caught someone out. It all comes from Redbridge's 2027-28 arrangements, the Council's rulebook for September 2027 entry.

Registering for the test isn't the same as applying

This is the big one. The registration you did back in May or June only got your child into the exam hall. To be considered for Ilford County High or Woodford County High, you also have to name the school on the Common Application Form on eAdmissions by 31 October. The Council is explicit that registration on its own doesn't count as an application. (For the record, the same rules say no late registrations were accepted, and a child turned away on test day for not bringing the right photo ID wasn't offered another sitting.)

Which address counts

It has to be where your child normally lives on 31 October 2026, and where you expect them to be living in September 2027 and beyond. A few addresses are ruled out completely: a business address, a child-minder's address, an address you rent out to a tenant, and future addresses (except in exceptional circumstances). A second home on a short-term lease doesn't count as the permanent home either.

If you're separated, you can only give one address. Where only one parent has parental responsibility, it has to be theirs. Where both do, the Council will normally go with the address your child's primary school has on file.

Proving your address

You'll need at least two documents, and one of them has to be your council tax bill. The second can be a rent book, a tenancy agreement, a utility or broadband bill dated within the past three months, a TV licence or a UK driving licence. The Council's application page is where you'll find eAdmissions and the latest guidance. If you're renting, have proof of your deposit protection scheme ready too, because the Council normally asks for it alongside a tenancy agreement. Can't produce two? Contact the admissions team rather than guessing. And be aware that an offer can be withdrawn if proof can't be provided, or if an application turns out to be fraudulent or deliberately misleading.

How the tie-break distance is measured

Distance only comes into play when two children have identical scores, but it's worth knowing how it works. The Council measures the shortest safe walking route from your home to the school's main entrance, using public roads and recognised footpaths. "Recognised" is doing real work there: routes need to be paved or tarmac, lit and properly maintained, so a shortcut across private land or an unlit alley may not count. If you live in a block of flats, the measurement starts at the block's main entrance, so neighbours in the same block share a distance. And if two children really are level on both score and distance for the last place, the Council's admissions system picks at random.

Missing the deadline, or changing your mind

Applications that arrive after 31 October are only looked at once every on-time application has been dealt with, unless you can show it genuinely couldn't have been sent in time. You also can't add a new school or reshuffle your order after the closing date, except in exceptional circumstances. With the grammars always oversubscribed, a late application will normally be refused and your child put on the waiting list instead. In other words: get the order right before you press submit.

Moving from abroad, or a Forces family?

You can apply from overseas, and the application itself is treated as proof that you intend to move to the area. The Council will then want evidence such as a mortgage or rental agreement for a local property, the deeds to one, a letter from an employer confirming a transfer, or registration with a local GP. Service families and Crown servants with a confirmed posting can be allocated a place before they arrive, as long as the application comes with an official letter giving the relocation date; a unit or quartering address can be used if you ask.

Ilford County High vs Woodford County High: what's the difference?

On the admissions side? Hardly anything. Same rules for both. The real difference is that Ilford County High takes boys and Woodford County High takes girls.

Children sit the test at one of the two schools. If you want a feel for whether either would actually suit your child, things like the curriculum, the clubs, the pastoral care and the daily trip there and back, go to the open events and dig around the school websites. They'll tell you far more than a table of scores ever will.

What to do if the score is below 104, or below past cut-offs

It's hard when the number isn't the one you'd hoped for, especially after months of practice papers and Saturday mornings spent on verbal reasoning.

Try to keep it in proportion, though. A single sitting last month produced that number, and it tells you very little about who your child is. Sleep on it before you decide anything.

If your child scored below 104

They won't be ranked, and they can't go on a grammar waiting list for September 2027. The most useful thing you can do now is put your energy into a list of six schools your child could thrive in. It might also be worth asking the primary school where they're flying and where they could use a bit more support.

Thinking of appealing? Read the guidance properly first, because the odds are long. Redbridge's appeals page says 4 out of 129 secondary appeals succeeded in the last academic year, and that's across every secondary school in the borough, not just the grammars.

What if illness or something else affected the test?

It depends on whether your child sat the test at all. For children who were registered on time but couldn't sit on 18 September, the arrangements allow a late test, but only with a doctor's certificate or other proof of why they couldn't attend, such as religious observance or, sadly, a death certificate for a close relative. For children who sat the test while unwell, the arrangements don't describe a separate process. Talk to the primary head, contact Redbridge Council to ask what (if anything) can be taken into account, and carry on with your other school choices in the meantime.

If your child scored above 104 but below past cut-offs

That's a maybe, not a no. Your child's still on the ranked list. If the grammar's the one you want, put it down, but make sure the other five would hold up fine without it.

Other ways in later on

March isn't the last chance, either. The same arrangements say both grammars keep waiting lists for Years 7, 8 and 9 in case places come up, ranking children who've reached the threshold by score and then distance. Neither takes new pupils into Years 10 or 11. If either school does have a Year 7 to 9 vacancy, ask the Council how in-year applicants are assessed, because your child would need a qualifying score.

Then there's sixth form. The arrangements list 40 Year 12 places for students joining Ilford County High from outside and 23 at Woodford County High. Offers are based on predicted grades and confirmed on GCSE results, so for a child who just misses out now, a strong set of GCSEs can reopen the door.

Between the deadline and September: offers, waiting lists and appeals

Before 31 October 2026

Submit on eAdmissions, give your six schools one last look, upload proof of address and keep the confirmation email. Move before the deadline and you just update the application. Move after it and you'll need the Council's change of address form.

On 1 March 2027

Offers come through by email in the evening. The Council's guidance gives you two weeks to accept, but go by whatever deadline is in your own email.

If there's no grammar offer

Accept the place you've been given, and do this first. The Council recommends it before any appeal so your child has a school whatever happens.

Grammar waiting lists go in score order, not first come, first served, and only children on 104 or more can be on them. Places free up when other families turn them down, but nobody can tell you how far a list will move. Positions usually go online at the end of March on the Council's waiting lists page, using your application reference and your child's date of birth. For this intake, the lists run until 31 December 2027. After that, you'd need to make an online in-year application to stay on a list, and those lists then run until 31 August, with another fresh application needed each time to keep going. Places keep being filled from the waiting list throughout, whether or not you've appealed.

If you're considering an appeal

Year 7 appeals have to be in by Friday 2 April 2027, and they go to an independent panel whose decision the Council has to follow. Read the school's arrangements and the Council's appeal guidance, gather whatever evidence you've got, and keep all the paperwork together in one place. You normally only get one go: a second appeal for the same school in the same year is only heard if your circumstances have changed significantly.

Redbridge application checklist

Deadline: Saturday 31 October 2026. Tick things off as you go. Nothing's saved, so it'll reset when you leave the page.

After the 11+: help your child prepare for Year 6 SATs

The test is behind you, but Year 6 has barely started. SATs week runs from 10 to 13 May 2027. Reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling are tested; writing and science are judged by teachers instead. Whatever the email said, October's a good moment to take stock of what's going well and what could do with a bit more practice. If you'd like a hand, our KS2 SATs support is built for exactly this part of the year, and if there's a younger brother or sister just starting out, there's our 11+ grammar exam course.

Redbridge 11+ jargon, explained

The forms and emails are full of terms nobody bothers to explain. Here's a quick translation.

Redbridge 11+ results 2026: FAQs