South Hampstead High School Overseas Applicants: 11+ for 2027 Entry

South Hampstead High School is a Girls’ Day School Trust school in London that admits Year 7 (11+) entrants through the London 11+ Consortium exam. Its September 2027 FAQ tells a family abroad: “Yes, it is possible for candidates to take the Consortium exam overseas.” A girl born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 applies by noon on Friday 6 November 2026 and sits the exam on one of three dates from 27 November 2026.

Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online.

This page follows the application in the order a family abroad meets it. The exam format is on our South Hampstead High School 11+ page; the London independent schools hub sets the schools side by side; and 11+ for families abroad covers the wider route. The school’s rules below are quoted from its own pages, read on Friday 9 October 2026.

Which Girls Count as Year 6 for Entry in September 2027?

The school’s Entry at 11+ page heads its timeline with a birth-date range for September 2027 entry: “Girls born between 1 September 2015 - 31 August 2016”. It adds the age rule: “Girls must have reached the age of 11 before 1st September in the year of entry, and will be in Year 6 when they sit their entrance examination.”

The cohort is given by birth date. Where a girl’s school abroad numbers its years differently from England’s, our page on which UK year group a child moving from abroad belongs in lines the school years of other countries up against the English ones.

The FAQ says what each application contains: “There are three elements to each 11+ application.” It lists them as the Consortium exam, the school reference and the interview.

Where Does a Girl Abroad Sit the Consortium Exam?

The FAQ asks the question a family abroad would put, and answers it: “We live abroad. Can our daughter take the Consortium exam/interview abroad? Yes, it is possible for candidates to take the Consortium exam overseas.” The answer then sets out an order:

1. “Please ask your daughter’s current school if they can invigilate the exam.”
2. “If this is not possible, please contact the British Council in your country to see if they have suitable facilities nearby.”
3. “If neither of these options are possible, parents will need to find an alternative venue which provides invigilation/exam services.”

The same answer adds: “The Consortium does not allow candidates to be tested at their home, a tutor’s house or anywhere which is not considered a professional venue.” It also says what passes between the family and the school: “You will need to provide details of the venue arrangements to us and we will communicate directly with the venue in order to provide candidate login details and supporting documentation.”

The FAQ sets the dates: “All candidates will need to sit the exam on one of three dates: Friday 27th November 2026, Tuesday 1st December 2026 or Thursday 3rd December 2026.” On the Entry at 11+ page the school adds: “South Hampstead will host the test on the first two dates for those candidates whose school is unable to host the test.” The FAQ also says: “It is expected that children will take the exam in their own schools.”

A family is told not to register with the exam provider itself. In the FAQ’s answer to that question: “No, as candidates are registered by the school to which they apply, parents should not register their daughter for the Consortium exam.” The Admissions Policy covers where the paper may be sat and how that sitting is considered: “Candidates whose school is unable to host the exam will be able to sit the exam at any Consortium school to which they have applied and will be given equal consideration by South Hampstead wherever they take the test.”

The exam is shared by the Consortium’s schools. Its format and member schools are in our guide to the London 11+ Consortium, and the test each London school sets is compared in which entrance test each London school sets.

Apply Online, Assessments, Interviews, Offers: Dated for September 2027 Entry

These are the steps for Year 7 (11+) entry in September 2027 as the school’s Entry at 11+ page, FAQ and other pages date them, read on Friday 9 October 2026. A date after 9 October 2026 is still ahead; the one event already past is marked as such. Each row links the page that holds its words.

Noon on 6 November 2026 and 3 March 2027 on a Dubai, Doha, Hong Kong or Singapore clock

The school prints “noon” and “12 noon” for its two deadlines. The conversion below holds if this is UK time, and which clock the school means is one of the written questions further down. On both dates the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time: “When the clocks go back, the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).” GOV.UK’s table puts the clocks going back on 25 October 2026 and forward on 28 March 2027, so 6 November 2026 and 3 March 2027 both fall in the GMT period.

The offsets follow the IANA time zone database: UTC+4 for the UAE and Oman (Dubai and Muscat), UTC+3 for Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (Doha, Manama, Kuwait City and Riyadh; Bahrain and Kuwait share the zones of Qatar and Saudi Arabia), and UTC+8 for Hong Kong and Singapore. The working is 12:00 GMT plus 4 hours, 3 hours or 8 hours, and the calendar date does not change in any of the three.

Our page on 11 plus online tuition and time zones shows the same clock workings for lesson hours and other UK closing times.

Can the Interview Be Held Online?

The FAQ words the interview in two ways, set out side by side below. The online sentence sits inside the FAQ’s answer to the question about living abroad.

Who is invited is worded on two of the school’s pages, each with its own scope. The Entry at 11+ page, on interviews: “Candidates who do well in the entrance test will be invited for interview at South Hampstead.” The FAQ, in its list of the three elements: “The interview: in January we will invite as many applicants as we can for an interview.” And on timing: “We will contact you in January 2027 to confirm whether we are able to invite your daughter for an interview.”

Whether a particular girl’s interview is in person or online is a question for the school in writing; it is the question about the interview in the list below. For how other UK schools word their online interviews, our page on video interviews for overseas 11+ and 13+ applicants gives each school’s words.

The School Reference From a Current School Abroad

The reference is the second element. The FAQ: “The school reference: we apply to every applicant’s school in late November for a reference/feedback on your daughter’s social and academic progress.” The Admissions Policy adds what follows if the school declines to provide one: “The candidate’s current school will be asked to provide a reference. If the school declines to provide a reference, the candidate’s application will not be disadvantaged as a result.”

The same section of the policy says what offers rest on: “Offers of places at South Hampstead High School will be made on the basis of the examination results, interview and reference (if available).”

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Where Will She Live, and What Does the Policy Say About Her Right to Study?

The Admissions Policy’s residence and right-to-study clauses are quoted whole below. The policy is the version that gives its last review as August 2026.

In the closing section, which sets out the Girls’ Day School Trust’s admissions policy, the policy says: “A pupil (other than a boarder) must reside with her parent/s or legal guardian while attending the school, or with someone else approved by her parent/s or legal guardian and the Head. Pupils whose parents are overseas must have an educational guardian in the UK and parents must notify the school of the name and address of the guardian.”

The next clause in that section reads: “A pupil must have the right to study in the UK for the duration of her enrolment at the school. The school will request evidence of this during the admissions process, normally in the form of a British or Irish passport or valid visa documentation. The school reserves the right to rescind an offer where the right to study cannot be evidenced.”

Whether either applies to a particular family is one of the written questions below. For the general rules, our page on educational guardians sets out who requires one, and our page on the Child Student visa sets out what gov.uk and the Immigration Rules say for a family abroad.

Occasional Places in Years 8 to 10

Beyond the Year 7 route, the Admissions Policy has a paragraph on entry between Years 8 and 10: “Where occasional places arise, candidates are required to take appropriate entrance papers and are interviewed by senior members of staff. Arrangements may be made for an overseas applicant to sit the entrance papers under supervision in her current school.” A family registers interest through the school’s occasional vacancies page.

These places arise when a vacancy does, so the entry year is the year group the vacancy is in. For September 2027 that means Year 8 for a girl in Year 7 in 2026-27, Year 9 (the 13+ entry year) for a girl in Year 8, and Year 10 for a girl in Year 9. Our 13+ from overseas hub covers the 13+ route for families abroad.

After the Offer: Acceptance by Noon, the Autumn Term 2027 Start and the EAL Policy

Offers are dated in the school’s steps: “Offers will be made on Friday 12th February 2027.” The FAQ sets the reply date: “The deadline to accept is Wednesday 3rd March 2027 at 12 noon.” The clock table above converts that noon for the UAE, Qatar and Hong Kong or Singapore if it is UK time.

The term-dates page lists, under Autumn Term 2027, staff days on Tuesday 31 August and Wednesday 1 September (no school for pupils), then “Pupils return Thursday 2 September”. The start date for a new Year 7 is one of the written questions below.

The school’s EAL policy (English as an Additional Language, issued September 2026) has a transition paragraph with a line for other entrants: “Other Entrants: Senior staff liaise with feeder schools and families to ensure smooth transition and accurate initial assessment of language needs.”

What to Ask the Head of Admissions in Writing

The Admissions Policy invites written notice: “Parents are requested to inform the Head in writing of any particular circumstances which might affect a candidate’s application.” The FAQ gives the Head of Admissions as the contact for further questions, at senioradmissions@shhs.gdst.net. Each question below is about the family’s own case, so the answer can be kept in writing.

1. Our daughter’s current school abroad has said it can invigilate the exam: which of the three dates should we give you, and by what date do you need the venue details?
2. What time does the exam start at our daughter’s venue, and is that time set in UK time or in the venue’s local time?
3. The deadline to apply is noon on Friday 6 November 2026 and the deadline to accept is noon on Wednesday 3 March 2027: are both noon UK time?
4. If our daughter sits the exam abroad, will her interview be in person or online, and by what date will you tell us?
5. Our daughter’s current school follows a school year that does not match England’s: whom will you ask for the reference in late November, and what do you need from us for that request?
6. We live outside the UK: does the educational guardian clause in the Admissions Policy apply to our daughter’s case, and what must we tell the school, and by when?
7. At what stage of the admissions process do you ask for evidence of our daughter’s right to study in the UK, and which documents do you need in her case?
8. On what date does our daughter start Year 7 in September 2027, and is it the same date as the one the term-dates page lists for pupils to return?

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