11 Plus Hong Kong UK Grammar School Entry 2027

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The 11+ for a Hong Kong family is one route into an English state grammar school through the BN(O) visa and each area's own entrance test. The visa usually takes 12 weeks to decide, the nine 2027-entry registration windows listed below closed between 31 March and 1 September 2026, and Buckinghamshire offers late testing to families who move in by 18 June 2027.

Leading Tuition prepares Hong Kong families for the 11+. Our expert 11+ tutors plan back from the date your child must be in the UK for the target area's sitting.

Which Hong Kong children can take a state grammar place, and how long does the BN(O) visa take?

The Department for Education’s guidance for schools and councils names the route. Among the “Specific named UK immigration routes” that let children under 18 enter the UK and attend a school, it lists “Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) (BNO) and their dependants who have applied, at the same time, to move to the UK as a family”. The gov.uk BN(O) visa page gives the permission in the visa’s own words: “study (including at school, college or university)”. An unaccompanied child on a Child Student visa is in a different position: the guidance says they “cannot lawfully, under their UK entry conditions, study at a state-funded school”.

Decision time is the first clock. For an application made from outside the UK, gov.uk says: “You’ll usually get a decision within 12 weeks of your application date.” The 12 weeks run from the day the online application is submitted if the ID check app was used, or from the appointment where fingerprints are taken at a visa application centre. The same page warns that “Your visa will start on the day it’s approved, even if you request a specific start date when you apply” and that children under 18 “must travel with one or both parents, unless they’re joining their parents who are already in the UK”.

The Home Office table for the route (BNO_01, year ending June 2026) shows how far the wave has thinned. Arrivals fell from 15,700 in the year ending June 2025 to 8,000 in the year ending June 2026, and out-of-country applications from 11,149 to 5,995. The route opened on 31 January 2021; out-of-country visa grants peaked at 86,439 in the year ending March 2022, and the total since the route opened is 187,552. The six yearly arrivals figures, each rounded by the Home Office to the nearest 100, add up to 174,200 between 2021 and 30 June 2026.

For entry at 13+ (Year 9) to a UK boarding school, see 13+ and UK boarding entry from Hong Kong.

Is your child in the 2027 or the 2028 cohort? How Hong Kong school years map onto the UK 11+

Hong Kong groups children by calendar year of birth. The Education Bureau’s rule for Primary One in September 2027 is “All Hong Kong children reaching the age of 5 years 8 months as at 1 September 2027 (i.e. born on or before 31 December 2021)”. ESF says: “Students are placed in year groups according to their date of birth (1 January – 31 December). Students usually start Year 1 during the calendar year in which they turn 5 years old.” UK 11+ cohorts run from 1 September to 31 August. Kent’s 2027-entry test is for children “born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016”, and Buckinghamshire’s 2028 timeline is for children “born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017”.

Source: our mapping from the Education Bureau and ESF rules quoted above and the UK 1 September cut-off. Typical placement only.

A Primary 5 child at a Hong Kong local school can sit on either side of the line. Born January to August 2016 they are in the 2027 cohort, whose windows have closed in the areas covered below. Born September to December 2016 they are in the 2028 cohort. An ESF Year 7 pupil born September to December 2015 is a UK Year 6 child. The Hong Kong grade does not set the sitting; the birth date does.

These are typical placements. The Education Bureau counts children “born between 1 September 2020 and 31 December 2021” as the right age for Primary One in September 2027, a band wider than one calendar year, so deferred and early-entry children exist. The Admissions Code says “Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group” (paragraph 2.18) and that admission authorities “must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned” (paragraph 2.19).

Buckinghamshire has published its 2028-cohort timeline: registration in “May to June 2027”, a home-address cut-off on 1 September 2027 and testing in early September 2027. See our guide for returning expat families for the general admissions calendar.

Where do Hong Kong families live, and what does each nearby grammar area publish?

The Census 2021 table is the nearest local-authority measure of where Hong Kong-born residents live. Census day was 21 March 2021, seven weeks after the BN(O) route opened on 31 January 2021, and at least 127,800 of the 174,200 arrivals recorded since came in 2022 or later. The table therefore shows the established communities that newcomers joined, not where BN(O) families have settled. For BN(O) holders, the government’s guidance for local authorities cites a 2023 survey by the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers: “Approximately 1 in 5 BN(O) visa holders lives in the North West (20%), South East (19%) and London (18%) – with the West Midlands (12%) and East Midlands (8%) also home to large populations.”

Source: ONS Census 2021 table TS012, country of birth, England and Wales local authorities, usual residents on 21 March 2021, via Nomis. Per-1,000 figures are our calculation: Hong Kong-born residents divided by all usual residents, multiplied by 1,000.

Tower Hamlets, with 1,865, is fourth by count. Each area below carries only what its own body publishes; registration windows are in the closing-date table further down.

Barnet

Barnet is second by count and tenth by rate. Barnet Council’s page for children from abroad says that for transfer to secondary school at the start of September 2027 “you will need to be living in Barnet or have a link Barnet address where you intend to take up residency by the start of the school year.” Queen Elizabeth’s School held its entrance test on 16 and 17 September 2026. More on Barnet, Queen Elizabeth’s School and Henrietta Barnett.

Birmingham

Birmingham has the highest count; its rate of 2.32 per 1,000 ranks 92nd of 318, above the median area rate of 1.38 (our calculation). The King Edward VI Foundation set the 2027-entry test for the grammar schools in Birmingham on Saturday 12 September 2026. It says that if a home address “is not within a reasonable commutable distance to The Grammar Schools in Birmingham, you may be contacted by the Admissions Office to provide further information to support your application to sit the test – including a request for evidence of your intention to relocate, such as a recent house purchase in the area for example.” It adds: “You will not have the option of choosing where your child sits the entrance test.” See King Edward VI Birmingham.

Manchester and Trafford

Manchester is third by count. Trafford, the borough beside it, has 1,309 Hong Kong-born residents, and Trafford Council’s page says “Five of the seven grammar schools in Trafford are in the Trafford Consortium” and share one entrance test, dated 14 September 2026, while Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College have “a different test, scheduled for 18 September 2026”. Registration is direct: “You must contact your preferred grammar school directly to register to sit the test.” See Trafford.

Reading

Reading has the third-highest rate of the 318 areas. Reading School lists “Testing date for Day and Boarding applicants: Thursday 16th July” and “Test date for Day applicants outside of catchment: Friday 25th September” for 2027 entry. Its admissions policy adds that boarding places are “open to British citizens and anyone with a right of residence in the UK.” See Reading School.

Kingston upon Thames

Kingston is sixth by rate. Tiffin School’s FAQ says: “Do all applicants need to sit the admissions tests at Tiffin School? Yes. There is no provision to sit the tests at any other location.” The Tiffin Girls’ School says “we do not offer the option to sit the tests at alternative locations.” See Kingston, Tiffin School and Tiffin Girls’ School.

Sutton

The Sutton Grammar School FAQ for the Selective Eligibility Test (SET), set for Tuesday 15 September 2026, says: “There is no overseas provision; in order to sit the test, your child must be present at one of the participating schools.” Asked whether a child at school abroad can sit it there: “No. We do not provide any form of overseas testing and all candidates will be expected to travel to the UK to sit the SET at one of the Sutton school test centres.” On the address for the common application: “applicants living outside England may only submit an application if they have a linked address within an English Local Authority area. Documentary evidence must be supplied to the Local Authority at the time of application to show you will return to the address prior to September in the year of entry.” See Sutton.

Greenwich and Bexley

Greenwich is fifth by count and eighth by rate. Bexley, which borders it, has 744 Hong Kong-born residents. Bexley Council says: “The test is open to all children, regardless of where they live, but places are allocated according to each school's oversubscription criteria.” The test centres were “the four Bexley Grammar Schools”, with testing between Monday 7 and Thursday 10 September 2026. Pupils at Bexley primary schools that run their own test sat it between Wednesday 2 and Thursday 10 September 2026, and the page’s list of school-based test centres covers schools “inside and outside of Bexley”. See Bexley.

Buckinghamshire and Kent

Buckinghamshire’s council page says: “If your child currently lives abroad, we will not be able to test them until they return to the UK. You should then contact us.” Its 2027-entry test was set for 10 September 2026. Kent’s Kent Test page opens registration to “parents of children resident in England”, with service families holding a UK posting and Crown Servants returning from overseas also eligible; the test was held on 10 September 2026 for pupils at Kent primary schools and on the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2026 for others. See Buckinghamshire grammar schools and Kent.

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When did the 2027-entry windows close, and what is left after them?

For 2027 entry the nine published windows below closed over 154 days, from 31 March to 1 September 2026 (our arithmetic).

Source: each body’s own admissions page, quoted in the sections above; ordered by closing date.

Four bodies publish a way in after the close. Buckinghamshire: “Families who move into Buckinghamshire by 18 June 2027 will be offered late testing for their child, as long as they can provide evidence that they have moved.” (Our Buckinghamshire late transfer test guide covers entry to Year 8 or Year 9, not the Year 7 sitting.) Kent tells a family that has not registered to email kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk with the child’s details, and adds “We will then let you know of the next steps.” Reading School says: “If you feel you have an exceptional reason why you cannot make an application between 27th March and 17th May 2026, please contact: admissions@reading-school.co.uk.” Bexley’s route is testing in secondary school, not the Year 7 sitting: if a family moves into the area while the child is in Year 6 and did not register from the previous address before 31 March 2026, “your child can be tested for the first time in secondary school”.

Five bodies state a refusal for the 2027-entry test, in their own words. Sutton: “No late registrations will be accepted under any circumstances.” Tiffin School: “You will not be able to register for the Stage One Tests after the deadline of 12.00 noon on Tuesday, 1 September 2026.” The Tiffin Girls’ School: “we are unable to accept any late registrations”. Bexley: “late registration requests will not be accepted under any circumstances”. The Henrietta Barnett School: “Applications for the Entrance Examination in September 2026 for Entry in September 2027 are now closed. We do not accept late applications.”

The arithmetic that matters is the visa. Twelve weeks before Buckinghamshire’s 18 June 2027 late-testing cut-off is 26 March 2027 (our arithmetic), so on gov.uk’s “usually” timing a later application may not be decided in time.

What does a Hong Kong address do to your child’s priority?

The Department for Education’s guidance on applications from overseas says that “local authorities should consider the application as adequate proof of an intention to move or return to the area”. It then warns that where a parent cannot show a move or return to the area, an authority with a catchment area or distance tie-break may use the parents’ home at the point of application, and “If this is in another country, it might give the child a lower priority for admission if the admission authority operates a catchment area or if the child is tied for the final place available with other applicants.”

Barnet says: “If you are living abroad at the time of application, your overseas address will be used for home-to-school distance calculations.” The distance “will be recalculated to your UK address once you have arrived and taken up residence locally.” For an in-year place the council says the earliest application is “four weeks before your child’s expected date of arrival to the UK”, with evidence that includes “booked flights”.

Tiffin School’s Priority Area: “All applicants who live within 10km of Tiffin School, measured in a straight line, live in the Priority Area. In recent years all places have been offered to applicants in the Priority Area.” At The Tiffin Girls’ School, “Those in the designated area will be ranked above those who live outside it.”

For most Buckinghamshire grammar schools, 1 September 2026 was “the cut-off date for the home address they’ll use for applicants in the main allocation of school places”, and the same line applies on 1 September 2027 for the 2028 cohort. If the home address changes after the date, Buckinghamshire says “your previous address will be used until a later allocation round.”

Councils can check the move happened: if the child “does not attend school on the first day of term the admission authority could, in some circumstances, remove the offer”.

One duty is written for two named groups. Paragraph 2.21 of the Admissions Code reads: “For families of service personnel with a confirmed posting, or crown servants returning from overseas, admission authorities must: a) allocate a place in advance of the family arriving in the area (as long as one is available), provided the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date.” The groups it names are service personnel with a confirmed posting and crown servants returning from overseas, and Trafford’s page for those groups describes the same arrangement. Service families have their own guide to 11+ applications from overseas.

What changes when a child leaves a Hong Kong school mid-year?

The Admissions Code, paragraph 2.9, lists reasons for which an admission authority “must not refuse to admit a child solely because”, including “they followed a different curriculum at their previous school” and “they have missed entrance tests for selective places”.

ESF states: “All Year 6 students enrolled in an ESF primary school by 1 December are guaranteed a place in an ESF secondary school on completion of Year 6.” On our reading, that guarantee applies to a child who completes Year 6 in an ESF primary school, which a family weighs when choosing a move date.

The government’s Welcome Pack for BN(O) visa holders tells arriving families: “Please note if you are applying for a place outside the normal timescales then the number of places remaining in popular schools is likely to be limited. We therefore strongly recommend contacting the local authority you live in early to arrange a place for your child.” The national closing date for secondary applications to the home council is 31 October (Admissions Code). Our guides to relocating mid-cycle and joining after Year 7 cover the in-year routes; our BN(O) families guide covers Forms 4 to 6.

How does Leading Tuition prepare a child who is still in Hong Kong?

1. Fix the cohort. We read the child’s birth date against the mapping above, so the plan starts from the right sitting and not from the Hong Kong grade.
2. Fix the area and the sitting. The date, venue rule and address rule for the target area are above; the programme is planned back from the date the child has to be in the UK.
3. Prepare for that area’s papers, one to one. Our expert 11+ tutors teach to what the area actually sets.
4. Keep the programme going through the move. Teaching is one to one, online or in person. Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online.

Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades. Families in other countries can start from our 11+ from overseas hub.

Reviewed 3 October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against the sources named above.

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