How 26 London independent schools word the first-stage test for Year 7 (11+) entry in September 2027, plus Westminster Under School (page headed 2028).
Book a Free ConsultationLondon independent school 11+ tests vary by school. Our table covers 26 schools for Year 7 (11+) entry in September 2027, plus Westminster Under School (page headed 2028). In our own grouping by the test each school’s page names, 9 sit the London 11+ Consortium exam, 4 the ISEB Common Pre-Test, 5 further schools name Quest, 1 names Cambridge Select Insight, 2 describe another online first stage and 5 other exams or papers.
Where a child abroad sits each first stage, with dates, visas and fees, is in our London independent schools hub. Quotations below link to their pages and were read on 10 October 2026.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppEach line is a school’s or test body’s own wording, linked, for Year 7 (11+) entry in September 2027 unless the line says otherwise.
Alleyn’s School, in its 11+ syllabus PDF marked “Updated July 2025” and linked from its page for September 2027 entry: “Candidates from overseas should be aware that in Britain the decimal point is denoted by a period” The same document says: “Candidates are expected to be aware of the British system for decimal points and should note that questions will be set in this style; however, the candidate’s own answer may be written in the style that is familiar to them.”
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppYear 7 (11+), September 2027 entry for 26 schools, with Westminster Under School (page headed 2028) in its own group. The groups are ours; each quotation is the school’s own, linked.
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Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppEach description below is taken from the page of the body that publishes the test, read on 10 October 2026.
The Consortium’s site, which gives its dates for September 2027 entry, lists its members: “The following London independent schools form the London 11+ Consortium: Channing School, Francis Holland (Regent’s Park), Francis Holland (Sloane Square), Godolphin and Latymer, More House, Northwood College for Girls, Notting Hill and Ealing High School, Queen’s College, Queen’s Gate School, South Hampstead High School, St Augustine’s Priory, St Helen’s School, St Margaret’s School.” It describes the exam: “The exam is 100 minutes long (1 hour 40 minutes). There will be a 30-minute break in the middle.” “There are six distinct components, taken in the following order:”
On who builds the test, the Consortium says: “We worked hard with our test provider, Quest Assessments, to design creative questions to assess problem-solving and analysis skills, something our previous assessment did not do.” For the Consortium schools and how offers are decided, see our Consortium guide.
ISEB’s page for families says: “The ISEB Pre-Tests, sometimes referred to as ‘the 11+’, the ‘Pre-Tests’, or ‘the ISEB’ are a set of four multiple-choice, adaptive, online tests used by leading independent schools as part of the admissions process for Year 7, or delayed entry in Year 9.” “The tests cover English, mathematics, verbal reasoning (VR) and non-verbal reasoning (NVR) and will take 2 hours 15 minutes to complete.” The page says “Your child will most likely take the ISEB Pre-Tests once during their Year 6 for Year 7 entry (11+)”
Three ISEB pages we read give different testing windows. The families page, for the 2026-27 session: “Tuesday 1st September 2026: Live testing for the 2026-27 session commences.” “Late May 2027: Testing for the 2026-27 session ends.” The support page: “The Common Pre-Tests can be taken between August and May of each academic year.” The framework PDF, headed 2026-27: “Tests can be taken between the beginning of October and the end of June, but can only be sat once by a pupil in any academic year.” Confirm the window with the invigilation centre and with each school in writing. For the same tests on the 13+ route, see our ISEB Pre-Test and ISEB Pre-Test abroad guides, and for 13+ tests school by school, our 13+ entrance tests guide.
The Cambridge page for the test says: “Cambridge Select Insight computer assessments are designed for selective independent schools, partially selective state schools, Grammar Schools and schools with fair banding admissions.” “Avg Duration: 60 minutes Assessment: Digital (download) Sections: Numerical, Verbal and Non-verbal ability” “They measure verbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills that form the foundations of further learning.” “To maintain the fairness of our assessments, we do not provide any commercially available practice materials (including practice or past papers) nor endorse any other commercially available resources or tuition services.”
Quest’s admissions page describes its entry assessments as: “Bespoke and branded to your school” “Easily administer in-person or remotely” “Paper and online” “For ages 7+ to 16+” Five further schools name Quest in their own sentences, in the table above, and the Consortium names Quest Assessments as its test provider. The table gives each school’s own format. For Quest in the London areas, see our Quest admissions page, north London guide and south London guide.
Each line is the school’s or test body’s own wording, linked, for Year 7 (11+) entry in September 2027 unless the line says otherwise.
Which of these schools is on your child’s list?
Tuition can be one to one, and families outside the UK can take the whole programme online.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppMy son was low in confidence after COVID and the gaps in learning were building up. Using this service helped plug those gaps, rebuild confidence, and improve his ability to learn properly again.
We arranged maths and English tuition ahead of GCSEs and both tutors were brilliant. My daughter's grades improved, and by results day she achieved two grades higher than in her mock exams.
Send these to the admissions office of each school on your list, name your child’s date of birth, and keep the reply.
Tuition can be one to one, and families outside the UK can take the whole programme online. See also our guide to online tuition across time zones and our 11+ school and area guides.
A shared test covers the schools that use it. The Consortium says “(Candidates only sit the assessment once, irrespective of the number of Consortium Schools to which they are applying.)” ISEB says “children only have to take the tests once.” Alleyn’s, by contrast, says “The ISEB Common Pre-test does not form part of the 11+ process at Alleyn's.” City of London School for Girls names Cambridge Select Insight. Check each school’s name against its group in the table before booking any sitting.
ISEB’s own words are “The ISEB Pre-Tests are adaptive, so children are presented with questions based on their previous answers. This means children don't spend time answering questions that are too hard or too easy, and the test can be shorter while still giving an accurate score.” ISEB gives the total as “will take 2 hours 15 minutes to complete.” Ask the school that receives the result, in writing, how it uses the score.
These schools say so in their own words: North London Collegiate says “The entrance exams are sat on paper rather than on a computer. Each paper lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes.” Wimbledon High School says “We use paper tests, with candidates filling in the answers in pencil.” Haberdashers’ Girls’ School describes a “bespoke Habs paper-based assessment”, and Alleyn’s says “Answers are marked in pencil on a pre-printed multiple-choice answer sheet where the selected answer is marked in the correct box.” For the Consortium, “The assessment will be taken as an online assessment.”
Whitgift says “Past papers are not released, but there are some sample papers available here.” St Paul’s Prep School says “Whilst we are not able to send out past papers in Mathematics and English, we do provide a syllabus for the 11+ examination”. Alleyn’s lists “11+ English Sample Paper”, “11+ Maths Sample Paper 1” and “11+ Maths Sample Paper 2”. North London Collegiate says “You can find some sample papers for the Maths and English exams here: Please note we do not provide answers for these sample papers.” Emanuel says “There are no specimen verbal reasoning papers available.”
The schools answer in their own words. The Consortium says: “We recommend that all candidates look at the familiarisation materials available on the Consortium website. Beyond that, the exam tests knowledge of the Year 5 Maths National Curriculum, and candidates will need to know how to read an extended passage of fiction and answer questions on it. These are all skills that your daughter will be developing in school anyway, so your daughter does not need special tuition or intensive practice for this assessment.” Wimbledon High School says: “Tutoring is not necessary, nor something we encourage. We do recommend that your daughter practises some Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning papers (at home or in school).”
The Consortium says, in its Maths section, “The questions are based on the National Curriculum for Year 5 and we do not test anything on the Year 6 curriculum.” Westminster Under School, whose page carries a button reading “11+ Entry for 2028”, says “It is expected that all children sitting the 11+ Mathematics test will have completed the standard programme of study contained within the National Curriculum at Key Stage Two, or its equivalent.”
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