Channing School Overseas Applicants: 11+ for 2027 Entry

Channing School is an academically selective girls’ school in Highgate, London, and it accepts 11+ applications from girls living abroad for Year 7 in September 2027. Registration closes on 6 November 2026, a family that prefers an overseas sitting of the London 11+ Consortium assessment is asked to contact a Consortium school’s Admissions team, and Channing arranges an online interview for candidates overseas.

Leading Tuition prepares children for UK 11+ entry from abroad: tuition can be one to one, and families outside the UK can take the whole programme online.

This page covers one school. The other London independent schools’ overseas rules are in our London independent schools from-overseas guide, and Channing’s school page on this site is our Channing School 11+ page.

What does Channing tell a girl applying from abroad for Year 7 in September 2027?

Channing’s 11+ FAQ answers the question first: “Yes. Overseas applicants are very welcome to apply to Channing School.” The same page says “There are three parts to the Channing 11+ admissions process” and numbers them: a School Reference, an Assessment and an Interview. The sections below follow those three parts in the order a family abroad meets them, then cover the offer and the acceptance deadline, and Channing’s separate Chance Vacancy route.

Every date and rule on this page is for 11+ entry into Year 7 in September 2027 unless it is labelled otherwise. Channing’s admissions overview lists its main points of entry and gives the Senior School as “11+ (Year 7) for the Senior School”. Its Admissions Policy adds “Most pupils are admitted to Channing School following assessments at 4+, 11+ and 16+, but Chance Vacancies in other year groups occur from time to time.” This page covers the 11+ route and the Chance Vacancy route.

Channing’s policy places it inside the London 11+ Consortium: “Channing is a member of The London 11+ Consortium and follows its agreed Code of Practice for entry at 11+.” The Consortium’s own key dates for September 2027 entry give “Closing date for registrations: Friday 6th November 2026”. A family that cannot travel to an open event can use the virtual route Channing describes: “You can also explore our school anytime you want from the comfort of your home.”

Which dates does Channing set for September 2027 entry, and what is the UK clock on each?

Dates are as Channing’s and the Consortium’s own pages gave them when read on 9 October 2026, for 11+ entry into Year 7 in September 2027; the weekdays are calculated for this page. The UK clock column names the clock the UK keeps on each date: GOV.UK gives 25 October 2026 for the clocks going back and 28 March 2027 for the clocks going forward, so the UK is on BST on 12 October 2026 and on GMT from 3 November 2026 to 28 March 2027.

Registration and the School Reference when the girl’s school is abroad

Channing’s 11+ page lists what to have ready for the online application form: “a passport size photograph of your daughter, a headshot image taken on your mobile phone is absolutely fine”, “a picture or scan of the photo page of your daughter’s passport (not the parent passport)”, any reports relating to special educational needs if applicable, and a debit or credit card for the registration fee, whose amount is on that page. The passport is the daughter’s own, so a family abroad needs it to hand before 6 November 2026.

After the form and fee: “You will receive an acknowledgement and your daughter will be registered for the entrance exam.” Channing then sends details: “We will send you various communications regarding the assessment and interview.” It asks families to “Please ensure that the admissions@channing.co.uk email account is in your contacts and our correspondence does not go into the parent’s Spam or Junk folder in their email account.”

The reference is requested from the girl’s current school, not by the family. Three sources word the timing differently:

• Channing’s 11+ page: “After you apply, we ask your current school Headteacher for a confidential reference for your daughter.”
• Channing’s Admissions Policy: “A request for a reference is sent to the pupil’s current school after the closing date for applications has passed and before the interviews take place.”
• The London 11+ Consortium: “Each Consortium school to which a candidate applies will seek a reference separately from the Head of the candidate’s current school, prior to the entrance examination.”

The first places the request after the application, the second after the closing date and the third before the assessment. Confirm in writing with the Admissions Office which applies to a school abroad and where the request will be sent; the questions section below has the wording.

Assessment Day: where can a girl living abroad sit the assessment?

Channing’s FAQ gives a girl abroad two options in one answer: “Your daughter is welcome to travel to sit the test in one of our Consortium schools and please indicate to us if she can do this. If you would prefer your daughter to sit the exam overseas, please contact the Admissions team at one of the Consortium schools you have applied to, to find out how to proceed.” The Consortium’s own FAQ answers the same question in nearly identical words.

Channing also states a general order: “We prefer that your daughter sit the assessment in her primary school if they are able to host it. If they cannot, your daughter can sit the assessment in any of the London 11+ Consortium schools that you have applied to.” “The onus is on the applicant family to ask their current school if they are hosting the assessment and to find out the arrangements.” Where the current school hosts, “Channing will provide the applicant’s Headteacher with a unique access code for their daughter to be able to sit the assessment at her current school.”

At Channing itself the sitting is on one day: “The Channing 11+ Assessment will be held on 27 November 2026.” “We will only offer the assessment at Channing on one day. If this clashes with your diary, your daughter can sit the assessment in any of the London 11+ Consortium schools that you have applied to.” “Candidates can only sit the assessment once, irrespective of the number of Consortium schools to which they are applying.”

At a Consortium school: “If the applicant is sitting at a Consortium school, the applicant may have either a morning or an afternoon assessment. Consortium Schools will advise their applicants of the exact date and start time for their sitting.” The centre is chosen on the application: “If your daughter’s school does not offer this facility, the Consortium schools you apply to will ask you to indicate a 1st and 2nd choice Consortium exam centre when you apply. The 1st and 2nd choice must be a Consortium school to which you have applied.”

How the paper is built and how offers are decided is in our guide to the London 11+ Consortium schools, and this page does not repeat it.

Interview Day: what does Channing arrange for candidates overseas?

“Channing invites all candidates to attend a face-to-face interview. These take place on Tuesday 5 January 2027.” For a girl abroad the same section adds “An online interview will be arranged for those candidates who are overseas.”

On timing, Channing’s Interview Day paragraph says “In December, parents will receive a personalised email with an interview time unique for their daughter.” It also says “Unfortunately there is no scope to change the original appointment time.” Both sentences sit in the description of Interview Day, so whether they apply in the same way to the online interview is a question for the Admissions Office. “All Channing applicants are interviewed regardless of the assessment result.”

On preparation Channing writes “We actively discourage preparation for the interview.” How an online interview is run, and what time zones do to its scheduling, is covered in our guide to video interviews for overseas 11+ and 13+ applicants.

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What do Channing’s UK times become on a Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore clock?

Channing writes its closing date for acceptance of offers as “Closing date for acceptance of offers: 12pm noon, 3 March 2027”. Read as UK time, which on 3 March 2027 is GMT, the deadline falls at 16:00 in Dubai and 20:00 in Hong Kong or Singapore. The table is our working.

The offsets come from two sources. For the UK, GOV.UK says “When the clocks go back, the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).” and gives 25 October 2026 and 28 March 2027 as the changes either side of the winter. For the other clocks, the IANA time zone database lists Asia/Dubai at 4 hours ahead of UTC and Asia/Hong_Kong and Asia/Singapore at 8.

The same arithmetic applies to any UK time in an email from Channing between 25 October 2026 and 28 March 2027. A UK time of 16:00 or later is already the next calendar day in Hong Kong or Singapore, and 20:00 or later is the next day in Dubai, so check the date as well as the hour before arranging a school day around it. Other regions, and the weeks when the gap changes, are in our time-zones guide for 11+ families abroad.

Offer and acceptance, 12 February to 3 March 2027

Channing’s outcome date is “Outcome of application emailed to parents: 12 February 2027” and the Consortium gives the same date as “Offer date: Friday 12th February 2027”. Offers can be accepted until 12 noon on 3 March 2027, as the dates table and the clock conversion above show.

Channing’s Fees page sets out what acceptance involves: “A legally binding contract, based on the terms of an offer of a place and the completed Acceptance Form, is formed on receipt of the signed form and the deposit.” The same page states the deposit payable on acceptance of a place and the termly fees, and the amounts are there.

Chance Vacancy: Channing’s route with an online assessment for overseas pupils

A Chance Vacancy is a different route from the September 2027 entry above, and the Admissions Policy sentence quoted in the first section names it as the exception to the main entry points. The Chance Vacancies page says “We accept applications all year round, there is no application deadline.” and “All chance vacancy applicants are placed on a waiting list for their year group, if a vacancy occurs we will be in touch.” It adds “We welcome applications for chance vacancies but it is impossible to say how long it will take for a place to become available, if at all.” and “Please note we do not accept applications for Year 11 or Year 13 entry.”

For overseas pupils, the page says “An online assessment and Virtual interview can be arranged for overseas pupils.” The Senior School assessment it describes is “In Senior School, applicants sit an online assessment in English, Maths and a Modern Foreign Language. Some candidates are invited back on a separate date for an interview with our Headmistress.” As on the 11+ route, a reference is required: “We are unable to make a decision on any application without being in receipt of a confidential reference from the child’s current school.”

Education outside the British system: what Channing’s Admissions Policy asks of parents

Channing’s Admissions Policy is version 26.1, updated in January 2026, with a review date of January 2027. Its section on special circumstances reads “We recognise that a candidate’s performance may be affected by particular circumstances, for example:” and the list includes “Educational history, for example education outside of the British system;” and “English is not their first language.”

The section on disclosures puts a duty on parents: “Parents must, as soon as possible, disclose any particular known or suspected special circumstances relating to their child’s health or circumstances that may affect their child’s performance, including but not limited to allergies, disabilities, learning difficulties or English not being their first language. Withholding this information during the admissions selection process may forfeit any subsequent offer and signed contract.” A family whose daughter was educated outside the British system, or whose first language is not English, can read the two sections together and put the disclosure question to the Admissions Office in writing; the next section words it.

Which questions should a family abroad put to Channing’s Admissions Office in writing?

Channing says “For any query relating to the 11+ application process or your existing 11+ application, please contact the Admissions Office on admissions@channing.co.uk or 020 8340 2328 (option 2).” A written question gives the family an answer it can keep and forward to its daughter’s school. Each question below is about the family’s own case.

1. Our daughter’s school is abroad: can it host the assessment with the access code Channing sends to a Headteacher, or should we ask a Consortium school’s Admissions team to arrange an overseas sitting?
2. On which of 27 November, 1 December or 3 December 2026 will our daughter sit the assessment, and what is the start time in UK time?
3. What UK clock time is our daughter’s online interview, on which day will it be held, and which video platform will it use?
4. Our daughter’s current school is abroad: when will Channing write to its Headteacher for the reference, to which address will the request go, and does the Headteacher need anything from us first?
5. Is the 12 noon deadline on 3 March 2027 UK time, and may the signed Acceptance Form and the deposit be returned electronically from abroad?
6. Our daughter was educated outside the British system and English is not her first language: what should we disclose under the Admissions Policy, and by when?
7. While we live abroad, who will our daughter live with in term time, and what does Channing need to know about that arrangement?
8. If our daughter applies for the Year 7 Music Scholarship, may the audition in January 2027 be held online? Channing’s first stage is a video: “Please submit the video by Friday 6 November 2026 at admissions@channing.co.uk” “The format should be MP4 or MOV or a YouTube link can also be provided.” “Please do not send it via wetransfer or drop box (or any method that is time restricted or requires permission to allow us to access it).” The second stage is “STAGE TWO: Selected applicants from Stage One will be invited to the audition stage in January 2027 in the Senior School.”

Our expert 11+ tutors can talk through the options with you on a free consultation. Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online.

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