At the age of 11 children in Essex, and surrounding areas, are able to sit Entrance Exams to a variety of Selective and Independent Schools. Those sitting the exam for a place in one of the 12 Selective Schools in Essex all take the same tests, usually on a Saturday in November. These tests are administered by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE), and are designed to allocate places to the top children from a total of over 4,000 applicants.

Applicants do not necessarily have to come from Essex, but may come from neighbouring counties. 11 Plus tests can also be arranged for children currently living elsewhere who will be moving to Essex in the near future.

These tests are entirely voluntary and are, by their very nature, far from easy.

Many of the top Independent Schools in the area also hold their own Entrance Exams - usually in or around January, for children of 11 seeking places for the following September. Most of these tests follow the same 11 Plus format, but are administered by the individual schools.