City of London School Overseas Applicants: 2027 Entry

City of London School is a London day school that admits boys only, and it holds its September 2027 entrance assessments on Wednesday 25 November 2026 (10+) and Friday 27 November 2026 (11+). “By prior arrangement, candidates living overseas may be permitted (at additional cost) to take the assessments under exam conditions at their current school.” The June 2026 and June 2025 admissions policies word Child Student Visa sponsorship differently.

What has passed and what is still ahead for September 2027 entry?

Every row in the calendar below is read from the school’s own admissions pages on 9 October 2026 and carries its entry point and entry year. A date before 9 October 2026 is marked as having taken place. The school’s visit page says “Open Events for 2027 admissions have already taken place and we enjoyed welcoming the many families who visited CLS for these events in June and September.” It adds “Open Events for 10+ and 11+ 2028 entry will be open for booking from Spring 2027.” The London independent schools hub places this school beside the others.

Table 1. Calendar for City of London School entry in September 2027, from the school’s own pages

Two of the school’s three standard points of entry, 10+ and 11+ (the third is 16+ Sixth Form), are for a boy of primary age, and the school sets each by age on 1 September. Table 2 gives its names for them, the birth dates on its 10+ and 11+ pages and the approximate places.

Table 2. The 10+ and 11+ points of entry for September 2027, two of the school’s three standard points of entry for a boy of primary age, with approximate places

The places come from policy Appendix 2, which opens “The exact number of places available varies from year to year, but the approximate number of places available in the current admissions cycle is:” On age, policy 3.2 reads “A child’s age is reckoned as on 1 September of the year of desired entry. The School may accept an application from a candidate who is slightly over-age or under-age, at the Director of Admissions’ discretion, if it is in the interests of the candidate and the School.” How a school year abroad lines up with these birth dates is worked through in our guide to which UK year group a child enters from abroad.

How does a family abroad register for Old Grammar or First Form?

Registration is the school’s step 02, and it is online: “Registration and payment of the non-refundable registration fee must be completed online.” The 10+ page carries the same sentence. Each registration form opens with “This form will take 15-20 minutes to complete.” (the 10+ form says the same), and a boy becomes a candidate only when the fee is paid: “Your details will not be saved and your child will not be registered as a candidate until you successfully make payment of the registration fee.”

After that the channel is e-mail. Policy 2.3 says “Parents should expect all communication from the School to be by e-mail.” Documents go to the Registrar by post or “by email to admissions@cityoflondonschool.org.uk.”

The deadline in Table 1 is the same for both entry points, and policy 2.4 reads “All candidates registered by the published deadline are assessed and considered on their merits, irrespective of the date of their registration.” The declaration on the 11+ form includes “We consent to the sharing of our child’s entrance assessment results with their current school.” and the 10+ form carries the same line.

Can a boy abroad sit the assessments away from London?

The school words one exception in an FAQ answer, which appears in the same words on the 10+ page and the 11+ page, and in passages of two admissions policies. Table 3 quotes the relevant wording of each, with the entry point it serves.

Table 3. What the school’s own texts say about a sitting away from London

The FAQ names the boy’s “current school” as the place; policy 5.1 names “a member of CLS staff” as the person who usually conducts a remote assessment. A family should ask which arrangement would apply to its own son, and keep the reply with the registration e-mail. Test format, fees and the inspection finding sit on our City of London School 11+ guide.

Which clock applies to UK business hours in Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore?

Policy 5.1 says remote assessment “will usually be conducted by a member of CLS staff during UK business hours”. GOV.UK gives the rule for the UK clock: “In the UK the clocks go forward 1 hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March, and back 1 hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October.” Its table lists 25 October 2026 as the day the clocks go back and 28 March 2027 as the day they go forward. Wednesday 25 November 2026 (10+) and Friday 27 November 2026 (11+) therefore fall after the clocks go back, when “the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).”

Table 4. Offsets from the UK clock on 25 and 27 November 2026

Whatever hour the Admissions team gives for a sitting, a family reads it on its own clock by adding 4 hours (Dubai/UAE, UTC+4) or 8 hours (Hong Kong or Singapore, UTC+8) to the UK time. A UK start at or after 16:00 on 25 November 2026 is already 26 November in Hong Kong or Singapore, and at or after 16:00 on 27 November 2026 it is already 28 November there. Other regions are worked through in our guide to online tuition and time zones.

Will the interview and group activity be in London or on screen?

The 10+ and 11+ pages use the same words for the stage after the assessments: “Candidates who perform well in these assessments will be invited back for an interview and group activity in January 2027. The interview lasts around 15-20 minutes and affords us an opportunity to get to know your child beyond their assessment results. It is also useful for them to be able to find out more about us. No specific preparation is required or expected for the interview.” The 10+ page gives the same paragraph.

Two policy passages speak to the place. Policy 6.4 reads “Interviews may be conducted remotely or in person, as arranged by the School.” The June 2025 policy, in its section on families relocating to London, reads “We welcome applications from families relocating to London. Candidates are expected to sit their entrance assessments at the School in London, and we usually arrange for them to be interviewed whilst in London.”

The two policy passages are not headed by an entry point, so a family should put its own case to the Admissions team: whether a boy shortlisted for January 2027 would be interviewed remotely or in person, and how the group activity would run if he is not in London. For how other UK independent schools run interviews for children abroad, see our guide to video interviews for overseas applicants.

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Who writes the confidential report when the boy attends school abroad?

Every offer rests on a reference from the boy’s current school. Policy 7.1 sets out what it covers: “The Head of the candidate’s current school will be asked to provide a written confidential reference regarding the candidate’s academic ability, behaviour, involvement in the school community, talents and interest, and any other special circumstances. The confidential report is also likely to include the results of any standardised tests taken at the school (such as CATs) and predicted grades at GCSE/IGCSE, as appropriate.”

Policy 4.1 limits other letters: “We are unable to consider additional references or testimonials about candidates and their achievements, unless specifically requested by us (for example, in respect of Music Scholarships or Sports Prizes).” For a family abroad the practical questions are who at the boy’s school receives the school’s request, and which items in the reference apply to a boy at 10+ or 11+.

What happens at offer, reserve place and acceptance?

Offers are sent by email in Early February 2027 for 10+ and Mid February 2027 for 11+. Policy 8.2 says offers are made “on the dates published” and adds “For 11+, this date is agreed by many London independent schools.” The 11+ acceptance deadline is Early March 2027. Policy 8.1 reads “At the end of the admissions cycle, the outcome of the application for candidates who were interviewed is e-mailed to parents. This outcome will be one of the following: a. An offer of a place b. An offer of a reserve place c. No offer of a place.” On reserve places, policy 8.4 says “The School may offer a place to a candidate unable to follow our standard admissions procedures before a candidate on a reserve list, at our discretion.”

Acceptance is a signed document and a payment. Policy 8.3 reads “The offer of a place is accepted by the parents completing and signing an acceptance form, and paying the Acceptance Fee.” It continues “All holders of parental responsibility are required to sign the acceptance form.” and “At 10+ and 11+ and non-standard points of entry, the Acceptance Fee is due in full when the offer of a place is accepted.” The same clause allows withdrawal: “If any parent or carer provides inaccurate or untruthful information, or fails to disclose relevant information as part of the registration and admissions process, the School has the right to withdraw the offer of a place at any point up to the time when the candidate joins the School, even after the offer has been accepted.”

Where does a boy live at a day school when the family is abroad?

Section 11.1 of the June 2026 policy reads “As a day school, families will generally relocate to London with their child. We do not assist in arrangement of guardians. Where a candidate’s family is not resident in the UK, we must be satisfied that an appropriate guardian has been arranged.” The June 2025 policy carries the same three sentences as section 11.3. Our guide to educational guardians quotes the national boarding standards and the visa rules on guardianship.

Bursary applications carry residence conditions of their own. The 10+ page says the school will “award means-tested transformational bursaries at 11+ and 16+”, and policy 10.6 reads “The child must have right to live and study in the UK; in addition, at least one of the parents and the child must have lived in the UK for at least two continuous years at the time of applying for a bursary. Families must live inside the M25 at the time of applying for a bursary and throughout the time the child is in receipt of a bursary from the School.” The bursary section ends “Should parents declare their intention to relocate closer to the School, they will need to outline their plans clearly on the registration form. Any offer will be contingent on the relocation being completed before the child joins the School.”

What do the two policy versions say about the right to study and a Child Student Visa?

On the right to study, section 11.2 of the June 2026 policy reads “All pupils at the School must have the right to study in the UK. Parents must supply the School with evidence (usually a copy of the child’s passport, together with a visa or supporting documentation as required) no later than the pupil’s first day of school.” Table 5 sets the two policies side by side.

Table 5. Child Student Visa sponsorship in the two admissions policies, quoted whole

The two documents word sponsorship differently, and neither section is headed by an entry point. A family should put its son’s entry point and entry year to the Director of Admissions in writing, ask which wording applies to him, and keep the reply with the registration e-mail. For the Home Office side of the visa, see our guide to the Child Student visa.

Third Form (Year 9) and Fourth Form (Year 10): how do occasional places work?

Entry in Third Form, the Year 9 (13+) age group, and in Fourth Form, Year 10, runs outside the standard points of entry in Table 2. The occasional places page opens “We consider candidates for occasional places to join Third Form (Year 9) and Fourth Form (Year 10) as they arise”. Policy 3.3 says “There is no regular entry at other ages, but occasional places arise, and parents should contact the Registrar at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss any application proposed outside the regular points of entry.”

The windows follow, each labelled with its entry year. For Third Form it reads “We have already selected our pupils for Third Form starting in September 2027 but, should you be interested in this year group, please contact the Admissions Team at admissions@cityoflondonschool.org.uk”, and for September 2028 “To join Third Form starting in September 2028, we may consider candidates in the Autumn Term of Year 8. We cannot guarantee that we will be looking to assess candidates at this time”. For Fourth Form it reads “To join Fourth Form starting in September 2027, we may consider candidates in the Spring Term 2027. We cannot guarantee that we will be looking to assess candidates at this time”.

Policy 5.6 describes who these places are for: “Occasional places in other year groups may occur from time to time. Such entry is usually restricted to families expecting to relocate or having recently relocated to the area and who could not have followed our standard admissions procedures. The School may prioritise applications from families in these categories.” For 13+ entry at other schools, our 13+ from overseas hub sets out the routes by entry year.

What should a family ask the Admissions team in writing?

The Admissions team’s e-mail address, as printed on the school’s registration form and occasional places page, is admissions@cityoflondonschool.org.uk. Each question is about one family’s case and can be pasted into one e-mail with the boy’s date of birth, school year and country.

1. Our son’s school year starts in a different month from England’s: which entry point would the school place him in, and would the over-age or under-age discretion in policy 3.2 apply?
2. Where may our son sit the assessments on 25 or 27 November 2026, and who would conduct the sitting: staff at his current school or a member of CLS staff?
3. What UK start time has the school set for his sitting, what is that on our clock, and which additional assessment fee would apply, confirmed in writing before we agree?
4. If he is shortlisted, will his interview and group activity in January 2027 be remote or in person, and on which date?
5. Who at his current school will receive the request for the confidential reference, and which items in it apply to a boy at 10+ or 11+?
6. If he has access arrangements for SEND, may he sit on the usual day, or must he attend the School on the SEND date?
7. Which guardian arrangement would the school accept for a boy whose parents live outside the UK, and does the June 2026 or the June 2025 visa wording apply to his entry point and year?
8. For Third Form or Fourth Form, which term counts as the Autumn Term of Year 8 or the Spring Term 2027 for a school calendar like his?
9. Does the registration deadline of Monday 2 November 2026 run to the end of that day in London, and what moment is that on our clock?

Questions parents abroad ask about City of London School entry

Reviewed 9 October 2026 against City of London School’s 10+ page, 11+ page, visit page, occasional places page, registration forms and its June 2026 and June 2025 admissions policies, GOV.UK’s clock-change page and the IANA time zone database.