What the six Sutton SET schools and Sutton Council ask of a family living abroad, from their own 2027 policies
Book a Free ConsultationThe Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) is the shared first-stage 11+ test for six Sutton schools, and it has no overseas provision: for 2027 entry a child had to sit it in Sutton on Tuesday 15 September 2026, after registering by Friday 31 July 2026, with no late registration. A family abroad still applies through a council form that carries the child’s current overseas address, backed by evidence of a linked address and a return before September.
Preparing a child abroad for the Sutton SET?
Our expert 11+ tutors help families living outside the UK prepare for the SET’s multiple-choice papers and, for the five selective schools, the second stage, building each programme around the child’s own curriculum and the dates on this page. Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppOur expert 11+ tutors prepare children who will meet the SET for the first time in a Sutton school hall: two multiple-choice papers, maths and English, whose content the consortium says “is broadly based on the Key Stage 2 curriculum”. We start by assessing the child against Key Stage 2 maths and English and finding the gaps an international curriculum leaves, then run the plan backwards from the dates a family abroad cannot move. Teaching is one to one, online or in person. Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online. Test format, school weightings and pass marks are in our complete guide to the Sutton SET; the same questions for other areas are in our hub for families applying to UK grammar schools from overseas. For a family moving rather than applying from abroad, see our guides to relocating to the UK mid-cycle, in-year grammar school admissions, forces families applying from overseas and returning as an expat family.
Only in Sutton. Sutton Grammar School’s FAQ for 2027 entry asks the question for a family abroad and answers it: “My child is at school abroad. Is it possible for my child to sit the SET at his/her current school? 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.” The consortium’s SET FAQ agrees: “There is no overseas provision”.
The test was on Tuesday 15 September 2026, at all six schools at once. The child does not choose where: “Regardless of your preferences, girls will be allocated to sit the test at either Nonsuch High School for Girls or Wallington High School for Girls”, and boys at Sutton Grammar, Wallington County Grammar or Wilson’s; boy/girl twins or siblings sit at Sutton Grammar. Venue requests are refused, and the centre is notified “about a week before the test date”, so the route to a particular school cannot be planned until test week. The one exception to the single date is a child who “is not fit to sit the test on the day”, with a medical certificate, and “Children can only sit the Selective Eligibility Test once.”
A child who passes the SET for one of the five selective schools is invited to a second stage: Saturday 26 September 2026 for the girls’ schools, eleven days after the SET, and Saturday 3 October 2026 for the three boys’ schools, eighteen days after it. Greenshaw High School “does not hold a Second Stage Entrance Examination”. The SET outcome email arrives “during the week after” the test, so the family learns whether a second visit is needed only after making the first. The choice is one stay long enough for both dates, or two visits.
One online form registers a child for all six schools. For 2027 entry it opened on Friday 1 May 2026 and closed at midnight on Friday 31 July 2026: “No late registrations will be accepted under any circumstances.” It is not the school application, which is the council form below. The registration guidance asks for a recent photograph, for names that “must also match” those on the Common Application Form, and for the child’s permanent address, “the address where the child permanently lives, or lives for the majority of the time”.
Addresses are picked from a postcode lookup, and parents are told to “not enter the address manually unless you cannot find it”. Registration for 2027 entry has closed, so this applies to the next round: a family whose child lives abroad should ask the SET administrator how an overseas address is entered well before that round’s closing date. For 2027 entry the FAQ gave set2027entry@suttongrammar.school for SET queries; check the next round’s FAQ for the current contact.
The SET is for children “who will be in Year 6 of primary school at the date of the test”, with an expected date of birth from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016. A child in Year 6 but born outside that range must be raised with the SET administrator, with a letter from the child’s primary school, and each participating school then decides.
For the next round, Wallington High School for Girls says: “Selective eligibility test registration opens on 1 May 2027 for entry in September 2028.” That is Saturday 1 May 2027, and registration “normally opens annually in May, when your child is in year 5”.
The Common Application Form (CAF) is the school application, and it comes from the council the family will live in. Sutton Council says: “If you are living abroad and want to apply to start school in September 2027, you can request an application form by emailing suttonadmissions@cognus.org.uk.” That covers Year 7. The 2027 round opened on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and closes on Saturday 31 October 2026, with offers on Monday 1 March 2027. Sutton Grammar’s FAQ lists contacts at Sutton, Merton, Croydon and Surrey and advises asking “your likely future home Local Authority”.
Four schools’ documents (Nonsuch, Sutton Grammar, Wilson’s and Wallington High) and the council’s booklet share one rule for a child outside England. Nonsuch’s 2027 policy reads: “Applicants living outside of England may only submit an application if they have a linked address within the Local Authority area and documentary evidence must be supplied to show they will return to the address prior to the September in the year of entry; this address must not be an address of convenience.” The Greenshaw Learning Trust’s 2027/28 arrangements for Wallington County Grammar and Greenshaw High say applicants “may submit”, and add: “Where a linked address is not available the overseas address will be used to determine the home to school distance.”
Planning the trip and the paperwork from abroad?
Our expert 11+ tutors help families living outside the UK prepare for the Sutton SET papers while the application is built, starting from the child’s own level in Key Stage 2 maths and English. Teaching is one to one, online or in person.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppThe linked address is not the address on the form. The council’s 2027 booklet says: “When an application is accepted, the address used will be the current overseas address – not the future address.” Its page for families abroad adds: “You are not able to use a future Sutton address.” Where the family has moved ahead of the child, “you should use the child’s international address”, with the Sutton address as the contact address. The council’s list of addresses not to use includes “a local address while the child lives overseas”.
What the linked address does is prove the return. The council says it “may be able to process your application” on evidence that the family owns a property in Sutton it will return to, has “a signed tenancy agreement from a recognised letting agency”, or will live with family in Sutton, together with evidence that the child will be there “on or before the date of admission”. The council’s examples of that evidence are “evidence of booked flights”, “end of lease/notice to tenants in property”, “start of employment contract in London/South East England area” and “end of employment contract abroad”. DfE’s guidance says the evidence a council asks for “might include” a mortgage or rental agreement, deeds, a letter from an employer showing a transfer date, or registration with a local GP. A temporary move does not qualify until there is “a permanent address”.
One check sits outside the address rules, and it is the parents’ to make. The six schools are state-funded, and GOV.UK says unaccompanied children entering the UK on a Child Student or Student visa “cannot lawfully, under their UK entry conditions, study at a state-funded school”. Sutton Council’s in-year admissions page gives families applying from abroad the same advice: “check your child is eligible for free education (GOV.UK)”. Independent schools take applications separately; our guide to Sutton High School covers one.
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It decides which places the child can compete for. The schools measure address-based places on a fixed date: Nonsuch’s catchment places go to girls “whose permanent place of residence on 31 October 2026” is inside the circle, and Sutton Grammar’s postcode places need the child “resident at the home address on the final date for submission of the CAF (being 31 October 2026)”. On that reading, with the council measuring the current overseas address, a child still abroad on Saturday 31 October 2026 competes for the middle column below, not the right-hand one. DfE’s guidance says the same of a family that cannot evidence a return: residence in another country “might give the child a lower priority for admission if the admission authority operates a catchment area”.
| School and policy year | Places an overseas address can compete for | Places tied to a circle or postcode list |
|---|---|---|
| Nonsuch High School for Girls 2027 admission year |
85 places “irrespective of home address” | Up to 125 places within 5.25 km of the front door on 31 October 2026 |
| Wallington High School for Girls 2027 admission year |
100 places “irrespective of home address” | Up to 110 places within a 6.7 km radius of the main entrance on 31 October 2026 |
| Sutton Grammar School Year 7 entry 2027 |
The places left after the postcode places: home address “may be in any postcode” | 75 places, plus up to 10 Pupil Premium places, for SM1-7, KT4, KT17, CR0 4-- and CR4, resident on 31 October 2026 |
| Wallington County Grammar School 2027/28 arrangements |
Priority 3, the entrance-test priority, “in rank order of performance”; the total under priorities 1 to 3 “will not initially exceed 110” | Up to 15 places for SM1 to SM7, KT4 8--, CR0 4-- and CR4 4--, by permanent home address on 31 October |
| Greenshaw High School 2027/28 arrangements |
Up to 60 places “based on the outcome of the Selective Eligibility Test (SET)” | Remaining places by “proximity of the child’s home address to the school” |
| Wilson’s School September 2027 entry |
No catchment, postcode or distance criteria “except in the case of determining the last places” | None, but a tie on score goes first to boys who “live in the London Borough of Sutton before those who live outside the Borough” |
Source: each school’s determined admission arrangements or admissions FAQ for the 2027 round and Sutton Council’s 2027 secondary booklet, retrieved 3 October 2026.
At Wallington County the overseas address, where there is no linked address, separates tied candidates; at Greenshaw, applications are ranked by distance “within each priority, with the exception of Priority 4: Academic Ability Test”. So, on that reading, a plan for a family still abroad rests on the address-blind places: 85 at Nonsuch and 100 at Wallington High, the open places at Sutton Grammar, the rank-order places at Wallington County, the SET-only places at Greenshaw, and Wilson’s, where address enters only at a tie. Which address the council measures for a particular school is a question for suttonadmissions@cognus.org.uk in writing before the closing date. The full admission order and weightings are in our guide to the six Sutton grammar schools.
Aiming at Nonsuch, Wallington or Wilson’s from overseas?
Tell us which of the six schools the family is aiming at and our expert tutors will build the preparation around that school’s papers: the SET alone for Greenshaw, the SET and a second stage for the other five. Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppAn on-time application uses “the address that you are living at when you submit your application”, and the council’s page for families abroad adds that if the whole family “has already moved to Sutton, you should use your address in Sutton”. A move after the closing date but by Monday 7 December 2026, the booklet’s “Sutton late with good reason date”, must be reported; changes “can only be considered” on documentary evidence and are “thoroughly investigated to ensure there is a permanent commitment to the new address”, and reporting one “does not guarantee that the new address can be used”. After Monday 7 December 2026 the council’s secondary page says: “If you move after 7 December, we are not able to change your application.” The booklet’s examples of an address of convenience, which “may fall under this definition”, include “renting a property to fall within a catchment area or postcode criteria, leaving another owned or rented property empty or available for rent”.
Families of service personnel with a confirmed posting, and of crown servants returning from overseas, have a separate rule in paragraph 2.21 of the School Admissions Code: a place allocated in advance of arrival “(as long as one is available), provided the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a relocation date”.
For a child who was not registered, the five selective schools publish waiting lists followed by a test; Greenshaw works differently:
For an in-year application from abroad, Sutton Council says to apply “up to 4 weeks before you need the school place”, with “evidence of arrival (such as a boarding pass)” once in the UK.
No. Sutton Grammar School’s FAQ for 2027 entry answers a child at school abroad with “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.” The test was on Tuesday 15 September 2026, and the FAQ allows an alternative date only for a child not fit to sit on the day.
Email the council. Its page for families abroad says you “can request an application form by emailing suttonadmissions@cognus.org.uk” for a September 2027 start, including Year 7. A family moving to another council area applies through that council, because the Common Application Form comes from the home local authority. The 2027 round opened on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and closes on Saturday 31 October 2026.
The child’s current address. The council’s booklet says “the address used will be the current overseas address – not the future address”, and its page for families abroad says “You are not able to use a future Sutton address.” The Sutton address you will move to is the linked address, evidenced with property, tenancy or family papers plus proof of arrival.
For 2027 entry, registration closed at midnight on Friday 31 July 2026: “No late registrations will be accepted under any circumstances.” The five selective schools publish waiting lists and test a child only if a place opens. Greenshaw’s 60 ability places rest on the SET, though a child who misses the pass mark “may still be eligible for a place at Greenshaw under one of the school’s other criteria”.
It depends on the places. Nonsuch’s 2027 policy has 85 places “irrespective of home address”, Wallington High 100; both also have circle places for girls whose “permanent place of residence on 31 October 2026” is within 5.25 km (Nonsuch, up to 125) or 6.7 km (Wallington High, up to 110). One reading of the council’s “current overseas address” rule is that a girl still abroad competes for the first group only; confirm it in writing with suttonadmissions@cognus.org.uk, since Greenshaw’s and Wallington County’s arrangements say outright that “Where a linked address is not available the overseas address will be used to determine the home to school distance.”
Not on that visa. GOV.UK says unaccompanied children entering the UK on a Child Student visa or Student visa “cannot lawfully, under their UK entry conditions, study at a state-funded school”. Checking a child’s right to study is the parents’ job, and Sutton Council’s in-year admissions page tells families applying from abroad to “check your child is eligible for free education (GOV.UK)”.
The SET is for children “who will be in Year 6 of primary school at the date of the test”, with an expected date of birth from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016 for 2027 entry. For a child outside that range, the FAQ says to contact the SET administrator (set2027entry@suttongrammar.school for 2027 entry) with supporting evidence from the child’s primary school.
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