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Book a Free ConsultationIf you're a parent in Enfield starting to think about selective secondary schools, the landscape here is both exciting and demanding. Enfield is home to three grammar and selective schools — Latymer School Edmonton, Enfield Grammar School, and Edmonton County School — each with its own entry route and level of competition. Pursuing a place at any of them requires more than hoping your child is bright; it requires understanding exactly what each school tests, how many children are competing for the same seats, and what a serious, structured preparation programme looks like. Getting that clarity early is the single most useful thing you can do.
Enfield's three selective schools sit within a broader North London grammar landscape, but each has its own character and admissions process. Latymer School Edmonton is a co-educational state grammar school with a national reputation for academic excellence. It sets its own entrance examination entirely independently of any consortium, which means preparation for Latymer is a distinct undertaking. Enfield Grammar School is a boys' selective school with deep roots in the borough, and Edmonton County School is a co-educational selective school — both use the GL Assessment North London consortium test, which is shared across several selective schools in the region. Understanding which exam your child needs to sit — and that Latymer requires separate, additional preparation — is the first practical decision every Enfield family needs to make.
For families targeting Enfield Grammar School or Edmonton County School, the GL Assessment North London consortium test covers English, mathematics, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning. GL Assessment papers are multiple-choice in format and are designed to be completed under strict time pressure. The verbal reasoning section tests vocabulary, word relationships, and the ability to identify patterns in language — skills that don't develop automatically and benefit significantly from deliberate practice. The mathematics section covers the full Key Stage 2 curriculum but applies it in unfamiliar problem-solving contexts, which catches many children off guard if they've only revised standard classroom methods.
For Latymer School Edmonton, the entrance exam is set by the school itself and is considerably more demanding in both style and depth. It typically includes English comprehension and creative writing alongside mathematics, and the questions are designed to stretch the most able applicants — not simply to confirm competence. The writing component in particular requires children to produce work that is genuinely expressive and technically controlled, not merely adequate. Families should treat Latymer preparation as a separate workstream from consortium preparation, even if their child is sitting both.
One concrete tip: for the GL Assessment papers, many children lose marks not through lack of knowledge but through poor time management. Practising under timed conditions from an early stage — rather than completing practice questions at leisure — is essential. A child who can answer 80% of questions correctly but runs out of time will score far lower than their ability warrants.
Latymer School Edmonton is among the most competitive state schools in England. With over 2,000 applicants competing for approximately 180 places, the ratio alone signals the level of preparation required. Children who gain places are typically performing at the very top of the national ability range, and many have been preparing for 12 to 18 months. Enfield Grammar School and Edmonton County School are also heavily oversubscribed — selective entry in this part of North London is not a fallback option; it is a genuine competition. There is no published pass mark for any of these schools, but the effective threshold is set by the cohort each year, meaning your child's score is measured against every other child who sat the same paper.
For most children, a preparation window of 12 to 18 months before the exam is realistic and appropriate. This doesn't mean intensive drilling from the outset — it means building the right foundations early and increasing the pace and specificity of practice as the exam approaches. In Year 4 or early Year 5, the priority is strengthening core skills: reading widely and analytically, developing mathematical fluency, and beginning to encounter verbal and non-verbal reasoning for the first time. Many children have never seen these question types before, and early exposure removes the element of surprise.
From around Easter of Year 5, preparation should become more structured and exam-focused. This is the point at which timed practice papers, targeted gap analysis, and exam technique work become central. For Latymer specifically, the writing component deserves sustained attention throughout — a child who writes with confidence, range, and precision has a meaningful advantage. Families targeting both Latymer and the consortium schools should plan their preparation to address both exam formats without allowing one to crowd out the other.
Avoid the common mistake of treating practice papers as the entirety of preparation. Papers reveal gaps — they don't fill them. When a child answers a question incorrectly, the follow-up work to understand why and correct the underlying misunderstanding is where real progress happens.
Leading Tuition provides specialist 1-to-1 tutoring for children preparing for selective entry in Enfield, including tailored programmes for the Latymer School entrance exam and the GL Assessment North London consortium test. Every programme is built around the individual child — their current strengths, the specific gaps in their knowledge, and the schools they are targeting. There is no single template, because no two children arrive at the same starting point or need the same support.
Our tutors are experienced with the specific demands of these exams and understand what distinguishes a strong Latymer application from a merely competent one. Sessions are structured to build genuine understanding rather than surface familiarity with question types, and progress is tracked consistently so that preparation remains focused and purposeful throughout the year.
Do Enfield Grammar School and Edmonton County School use the same entrance exam?
Yes. Both schools use the GL Assessment North London consortium test, which covers English, mathematics, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning. Sitting the consortium test means your child's results can be considered by both schools, though each school manages its own admissions process and ranking separately.
Does Latymer School Edmonton use the consortium test?
No. Latymer sets its own independent entrance examination, which is separate from the GL Assessment consortium test used by Enfield Grammar and Edmonton County. Families targeting Latymer need to prepare specifically for its exam format, which includes English comprehension, creative writing, and mathematics at a highly demanding level.
When should we start preparing for the 11+ in Enfield?
Most families benefit from beginning structured preparation in Year 4 or early Year 5, with more intensive, exam-focused work from Easter of Year 5 onwards. Starting earlier allows time to build genuine skills rather than rushing through practice papers in the final months. For Latymer in particular, the writing component rewards sustained development over time.
How many children apply to Latymer School Edmonton each year?
Latymer typically receives over 2,000 applications for approximately 180 places, making it one of the most oversubscribed state schools in England. The level of competition means that children who gain places are almost always those who have prepared thoroughly and consistently — not simply those who are academically able.
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