Bromley is a south-east London borough with two state grammar schools that each run a separate 11+ test for Year 7 entry: St Olave’s Grammar School, a boys’ school with 124 places for September 2027, and Newstead Wood School, a girls’ school with 168 places, both in Orpington. A third option, Beths Grammar School, sits across the border in Bexley with 192 places on a different council-run test.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppUpdated for 2027 entry - three separate admission tests, not one shared exam
Bromley’s two grammar schools do not share a single “Bromley consortium” exam: St Olave’s Grammar School (boys) set its own Stage 1 Selective Entrance Test on 18 September 2026 and Stage 2 paper on 13 November 2026, while Newstead Wood School (girls) set a separate two-paper Selection Test on 25 and 26 September 2026 testing verbal and non-verbal reasoning only, with no mathematics component.
Beths Grammar School, across the border in the London Borough of Bexley, is not part of either Bromley process: it is entered through the Bexley Selection Test, set by Quest Assessments and shared with three other Bexley grammar schools for 800 places in September 2027.
Published admission numbers for September 2027 entry are verified at 124 for St Olave’s and 168 for Newstead Wood, each confirmed on the school’s own current admissions page and in the London Borough of Bromley’s Secondary Education in Bromley 2027/2028 booklet. Beths Grammar School’s own current Year 7 admissions page states 192 places; Beths sits in the neighbouring London Borough of Bexley, so that figure is not covered by Bromley’s booklet, and the school’s page attaches no explicit 2027-entry label to it.
Bromley is one of a small number of London boroughs that still operates selective grammar schools, and two of them sit inside the borough itself. St Olave’s Grammar School, in Orpington, is a voluntary-aided grammar school for boys: its own Year 7 admissions page states that applications are invited “from boys who are in Year 6 at Primary School”, and the school has no co-educational entry point at 11+. Newstead Wood School, also in Orpington, is a highly selective girls’ school — its own site describes it as “a highly selective girls school, with a co-educational Sixth Form”, so the co-educational part applies only from Year 12, not Year 7. Newstead Wood is an academy and St Olave’s a voluntary-aided school, per the status each is given in the London Borough of Bromley’s own 2027/2028 admissions booklet; the same booklet states that Bromley’s schools “are all their own ‘admission authorities’”, and both St Olave’s and Newstead Wood set their own entrance tests.
A common misconception is that these two schools share one first-stage “Bromley consortium” exam. They do not. The London Borough of Bromley’s own admissions guidance is explicit that Bromley has “two selective (grammar) schools (St Olave’s Grammar School and Newstead Wood School)” and that “the Council is not involved” in arranging either school’s testing. St Olave’s sets its own Selective Entrance Test (SET); Newstead Wood sets its own, separately named Selection Test. The two tests run on different dates, are registered for separately, and assess different subjects — detail in the next section.
A third selective school, Beths Grammar School, is often grouped with the Bromley pair because it draws heavily from the same area, but it sits inside the neighbouring London Borough of Bexley and is entered through a wholly different, council-administered process, covered on its own below. Families who also want an independent alternative in the same corner of south-east London often look at Eltham College in Mottingham, which takes around 120 pupils into Year 7 each year — roughly half from its own Junior School — and sits its own written entrance papers on 5 or 6 January 2027.
St Olave’s Selective Entrance Test (SET) lasts one hour and, per the school’s own entrance-test guidance, “will comprise multiple choice questions in English, Logic (both Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning) and Mathematics.” Registration opens each year through the school’s own online Year 7 Application Form (referred to locally as the Supplementary Information Form, or SIF); for September 2027 entry it opened on Monday 8 June 2026 and closed on Monday 29 June 2026. The SET itself was sat on Friday 18 September 2026, with results released in mid-October, before half term. Boys who reach a high enough standard are invited back for a second, harder paper: St Olave’s own Year 7 FAQ confirms that “the top 450 performing boys will be invited to proceed to our Stage 2 test”, held on Friday 13 November 2026 — after the 31 October national closing date for the Common Application Form, so families must name St Olave’s as a preference before knowing their son’s Stage 1 result.
Newstead Wood’s test is a different exercise altogether. The school’s own “About the Selection Test” page states plainly that “the Selection Test consists of two papers. The first will assess Verbal Reasoning and the second will assess Non-Verbal Reasoning. We do not test on any other subjects” — there is no mathematics or English paper. Registration opens “from 1 May of each admissions year” through the school’s own Supplementary Information Form, and the test itself was held on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September 2026, with results confirmed by email during the first weeks of October.
Because the two schools test different subjects on different dates through different registration systems, preparation that treats “the Bromley 11+” as one exam risks leaving a child under-prepared for whichever paper it neglects: a child working only on verbal and non-verbal reasoning arrives well prepared for Newstead Wood but under-practised in the mathematics St Olave’s Stage 1 and Stage 2 papers both require, and vice versa for a child who has drilled mathematics without building non-verbal reasoning fluency.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppBeths Grammar School, in Bexley, is a boys’ grammar school and one of four grammar schools that share a single admissions test for that borough. The London Borough of Bexley’s own guidance lists the four as “Beths Grammar School (boys)”, Bexley Grammar School (mixed), Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School (mixed) and Townley Grammar School (girls), and states that “a single test is used for admission to all four grammar schools” and that “a total of 800 places will be available across these schools in September 2027.”
The Bexley Selection Test is set by an external provider, not by the schools themselves: Bexley’s own guidance confirms “Bexley Selection Test papers are provided by Quest Assessments.” The test assesses “verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning” — a different combination from either Bromley test: Newstead Wood’s Selection Test has no mathematics component at all, and St Olave’s SET combines English, reasoning and mathematics into one hour rather than testing English comprehension and numerical reasoning as separate papers.
Registration for the test held in September 2026 (for September 2027 entry) opened online on 1 March 2026 and closed at midnight on 31 March 2026, run by Bexley’s own School Admissions Team rather than by any individual school, with results emailed to parents in early October 2026. Passing the test is not, on its own, enough for a place: Bexley’s guidance states a child must be “among the top 180 highest scorers” borough-wide before distance and other oversubscription criteria are applied at each school.
At Beths itself, the school’s own Year 7 admissions page confirms it offers “192 places for students in Year 7”, ranked — once a child is deemed selective — largely “on the basis of proximity to the school measured by reference to the shortest radial distance” from a child’s home address to the school’s east entrance on Hartford Road, a criterion neither Bromley school applies at 11+.
For September 2027 entry, St Olave’s has a published admission number (PAN) of 124, plus up to four places reserved for the Wakeham Choristership Scheme — a final cohort of “128 students” once any unfilled chorister places are released to the local authority, in the words of the school’s own FAQ. Demand has been running well ahead of supply: the same FAQ reports that “applicant numbers have risen steadily each year with an average of around 1600 applicants for the 2025 and 2026 application seasons.” Of that average intake of around 1,600, the school invites its top 450 performers through to the harder Stage 2 paper, and ultimately offers around 128 places — roughly 128 of 1,600, or about 8%, of the boys who apply in a typical season actually gain a place. St Olave’s runs no catchment area and no sibling policy — its FAQ confirms both directly (“Does St. Olave’s have a catchment area? No.”) and reports a typical Year 7 cohort drawn from “around 90 different primary schools.”
Newstead Wood’s 2027 PAN is 168. The school does not publish a full applicant count for the current cycle in the same way, but its own guidance confirms a cut-off score of 225 on National Offer Day 2026 (the most recent completed cycle) and, unlike St Olave’s, a firm distance rule: the school’s catchment area is “9 miles from the main entrance of the school”, measured from the family home, and the London Borough of Bromley separately publishes the date by which a family must be living within that area, “usually a date within the second week of December.”
Newstead Wood School’s and Beths Grammar School’s places are set out alongside St Olave’s in the table below; unlike either Bromley school, Beths ranks eligible boys chiefly by home-to-school distance once the borough-wide “top 180” threshold has been met, rather than by test score alone.
| School | Sex | 2027 PAN | Test | Test date(s) | Distance/catchment rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Olave's Grammar School | Boys | 124 (+4 chorister) | Own SET: English, Logic (VR/NVR), Maths | 18 Sep 2026 (Stage 1); 13 Nov 2026 (Stage 2) | None |
| Newstead Wood School | Girls | 168 | Own Selection Test: VR and NVR only | 25–26 Sep 2026 | 9 miles from school |
| Beths Grammar School | Boys | 192 | Bexley Selection Test (Quest Assessments): verbal/English, numerical, NVR | Sep 2026 (LA-set date) | Distance-ranked after top-180 threshold |
Source: St Olave's Grammar School, Newstead Wood School, Beths Grammar School, London Borough of Bromley and London Borough of Bexley, retrieved 24 September 2026.
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Because St Olave’s and Newstead Wood register separately and on different timetables, the practical planning calendar looks different depending which school (or schools) a family is targeting. St Olave’s Supplementary Information Form opens in early June of Year 5 and closes roughly three weeks later — for the September 2027 cycle it ran from 8 June to 29 June 2026 — while Newstead Wood’s own form opens on 1 May and stays open for several weeks. Missing either window means a child cannot sit that school’s test at all, regardless of ability, so the safest approach is to calendar both dates as soon as a family decides to consider either school, typically in Year 5.
Most families who go on to receive offers begin structured preparation around 18 months before the test, which in practice means starting in Year 4 or early Year 5. This is not about drilling practice papers from day one — it is about building the underlying skills both tests reward: vocabulary and comprehension for St Olave’s English paper, mathematical fluency beyond the National Curriculum for St Olave’s Mathematics paper, and — for either school — focused non-verbal reasoning practice, a question style rarely taught explicitly in primary school and one both the SET and the Newstead Wood Selection Test test directly.
From around twelve months out, timed topic practice and stamina-building under exam conditions become useful. In the final months, full practice papers matter less for repetition than for making the format, pacing and pressure of results day familiar before it counts.
Leading Tuition provides specialist one-to-one tutoring for Bromley children preparing for St Olave’s, Newstead Wood, and Beths Grammar School. Because the three schools set different papers on different dates, our tutors build a programme around whichever combination of tests a family is targeting — the English, Logic and Mathematics of St Olave’s SET, the two-paper reasoning format of Newstead Wood’s Selection Test, or the three-paper Bexley Selection Test that decides a place at Beths Grammar School. Every child works from their own current strengths, target schools and the time available before their specific test date, rather than a single generic “11+ course” built around one exam that does not exist.
We work with families across Bromley and the surrounding boroughs, including many who are new to the grammar school process and some with older children who have already been through St Olave’s or Newstead Wood’s separate systems. Our students have achieved a 95%+ offer rate across selective school entry, and many families who start with 11+ preparation continue with us afterwards, including through A-level tuition in Bromley once their child reaches sixth form. Preparation for these exams is demanding, and we treat it as such, while keeping the process manageable and positive for each child throughout.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppReviewed September 2026: Bromley and Bexley grammar-school admissions arrangements for September 2027 entry checked against St Olave’s Grammar School, Newstead Wood School and Beths Grammar School’s own admissions pages, and the London Borough of Bromley and London Borough of Bexley’s own published admissions guidance.
No. St Olave’s Grammar School is a voluntary-aided selective grammar school for boys; its own Year 7 admissions page states that applications are invited from boys in Year 6 at primary school. Girls are not admitted to the school at 11+. Newstead Wood School, also in Orpington, is the girls’ equivalent in the same corner of Bromley, and Beths Grammar School across the border in Bexley is a separate boys’ grammar school. A family with both a son and a daughter considering grammar school in this part of south-east London will therefore be applying to different schools with different tests for each child.
No, despite sometimes being described together as ‘the Bromley 11+’. The London Borough of Bromley’s own guidance confirms it has two selective schools that each set their own test and states plainly that the Council is not involved in arranging either school’s testing. St Olave’s Selective Entrance Test (SET) covers English, reasoning and mathematics in one hour; Newstead Wood’s separate Selection Test covers only verbal and non-verbal reasoning, with no mathematics or English paper at all. The two schools also register and test on different dates, so a family targeting both must apply to each separately.
Beths Grammar School sits in the London Borough of Bexley, not Bromley, and is entered through the Bexley Selection Test rather than either Bromley school’s own paper. Bexley’s own guidance confirms the test papers are provided by an external assessment company, Quest Assessments, and cover verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning. The same test also serves three other Bexley grammar schools, with about 800 places shared across all four for September 2027 entry. Places at Beths itself are then largely allocated by home-to-school distance once a child clears the borough-wide selective threshold.
St Olave’s has a published admission number of 124 for September 2027 entry, plus up to four Wakeham Choristership places, giving a final cohort of around 128 boys; Newstead Wood’s published admission number is 168 girls. Both figures are confirmed on each school’s own site and in the London Borough of Bromley’s 2027/2028 admissions booklet. Beths Grammar School’s own current Year 7 page states 192 places out of the 800 shared across Bexley’s four grammar schools — Beths is in Bexley, not Bromley, so that figure is not in Bromley’s booklet and carries no explicit 2027-entry label.
Very. St Olave’s own FAQ reports an average of around 1,600 applicants across the 2025 and 2026 application seasons, from which the top 450 performers are invited to a harder Stage 2 paper, and around 128 places are ultimately offered — roughly 8% of applicants in a typical year. The school runs no catchment area and no sibling policy, so proximity to the school does not affect a boy’s chances; a typical Year 7 cohort is drawn from around 90 different primary schools, reflecting how widely families travel for a test-only place.
Yes, unlike St Olave’s. Newstead Wood’s own admissions guidance sets its catchment area at 9 miles from the main entrance of the school, measured from the family home, and the London Borough of Bromley separately publishes the date by which a family must already be living inside that area — usually a date in the second week of December of the admissions year. Passing the Selection Test alone is not enough if a family lives outside the published catchment on that date, so families near the boundary should confirm their position well before applying.
Most successful families begin structured preparation around 18 months before the test, typically in Year 4 or early Year 5, building vocabulary, mathematical fluency beyond the school curriculum, and non-verbal reasoning skills gradually rather than cramming. Because registration windows close early — St Olave’s Supplementary Information Form and Newstead Wood’s own form both open and close months before the actual test — families should confirm which school or schools they are targeting, and register for the right test, well before Year 6 begins. Missing a registration window rules a child out of that school’s process entirely, regardless of ability.
Our specialist tutors build a programme around whichever school or combination of schools a family is targeting, because St Olave’s, Newstead Wood and Beths Grammar School test different subjects on different dates through different application systems. That means focused mathematics and English work for St Olave’s Stage 1 and Stage 2 papers, concentrated verbal and non-verbal reasoning practice for Newstead Wood, or preparation across all three papers of the Bexley Selection Test for Beths. Every programme is built around a child’s current strengths and the time available before their specific test date, not a single generic course.
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