Latymer Upper School 11+ Preparation

Latymer Upper School is a co-educational independent day school in Hammersmith that sets and marks its own 11+ entrance exam for Year 7, testing English and Mathematics only. For 2027 entry the exam is on Wednesday 2 December 2026, registration closes at midday on Monday 12 October 2026, and the registration fee is £220. Latymer Upper is a separate school from The Latymer School in Edmonton, a state grammar with its own test and dates.

The Latymer Upper Own Exam — What the Exam Looks Like

The Latymer Upper 11+ entrance exam is set and marked entirely by the school. For September 2027 entry it takes place on Wednesday 2 December 2026, not October as in earlier cycles, and consists of one Maths paper and two English papers. There is no standardised verbal or non-verbal reasoning component, so revision aimed at CEM- or GL-style reasoning questions is wasted effort here.

The school sets two English papers and one Maths paper on exam day, with a 20-minute break built into the schedule. The English comprehension paper runs 35 minutes and is multiple choice — but the passages are chosen to test inference, tone and authorial intent, not simple retrieval, so a child who answers only what a text states explicitly will still lose marks. The second English paper is 45 minutes of descriptive or creative writing, marked on imagination, structure, vocabulary and control of sentence construction. Short, formulaic answers score poorly on both.

The single Maths paper lasts 60 minutes and covers the full range of the Key Stage 2 curriculum, extended well beyond it in difficulty and question style. Problems are multi-step, often worded in ways that require careful reading before any calculation begins, and some questions test mathematical reasoning rather than procedural recall. Speed matters: a child who is accurate but slow will not finish in 60 minutes, and an incomplete paper costs marks at a school this selective.

Whatever the exact split between multiple-choice and open-response questions on the day, showing full working on any calculation is good exam practice — it earns partial credit where available and makes checking under time pressure much easier. Practising this — setting out a solution clearly and checking it systematically — is something most children never do in primary school and must be trained deliberately well before the 2 December exam.

When Is the Latymer Upper 11+ Exam for September 2027 Entry?

Latymer Upper School publishes a single key-dates table each cycle, and every family applying for September 2027 entry works to the same table below. Two deadlines matter most: registration must be submitted by midday on 12 October 2026, and any learning-support or means-tested bursary documentation is due by that same midday cut-off — there is no separate, later window for either.

The non-refundable registration fee is £220 (inc. VAT), waived only for families applying for a full, 100% bursary. Families who accept an offer pay a separate, non-refundable confirmation deposit of £2,400 (inc. VAT) within three weeks of the offer being made.

About Latymer Upper School — Selectivity, Culture and What to Expect

Latymer Upper School does not publish the number of applicants or places available at 11+ entry, so treat any specific ratio quoted elsewhere with caution. What the school does publish is the process: candidates sit the written exam, the school writes to their current school for a reference, and those the school invites forward attend the Interview Session in January before any offer is made — so a strong written paper is one step in the process, not a guarantee of a place on its own. Families weighing up Hammersmith options often also look at Godolphin and Latymer School, a short walk away, which sets its own separate exam and timeline — see our Godolphin and Latymer 11+ preparation guide.

Latymer Upper publishes its own university destinations record: the school states that a large number of leavers go on to top-ranking institutions in Britain and worldwide, including Oxford and Cambridge, Ivy League and Russell Group universities, and that the vast majority of students who applied to university secured a place — 96% in 2024. But the school is also known for a broad, energetic culture: drama, music, sport, and debate are taken seriously alongside academic work. It is looking for children who are intellectually curious and capable of sustaining effort, not simply those who have been drilled to perform on a single test.

For September 2027 entry, the exam is sat on Wednesday 2 December 2026, when children are in Year 6, and registration must be completed by midday on Monday 12 October 2026. This means preparation needs to be well underway by the summer of Year 5, and children should be working at full exam standard well ahead of the December exam.

Common Weaknesses and How to Address Them Before the Test

In our experience preparing children for the Latymer Upper exam, the same gaps appear repeatedly. Addressing these early makes a measurable difference to outcomes:

• Weak extended writing: Many children can write competently but not compellingly. Latymer Upper rewards writing that has a clear structure, varied sentence construction, and a sense of the writer's own perspective. This takes months to develop, not weeks.
• Slow mental arithmetic: If a child reaches for a written method for every calculation, they will run out of time on the Maths paper. Fluency with number — including fractions, percentages, and mental multiplication — needs to be automatic.
• Comprehension at inference level: Children who answer only what the text explicitly states will lose marks on questions that ask why a character behaves a certain way, or what a word suggests about the author's attitude.
• Unfamiliarity with multi-step problems: Primary Maths rarely asks children to chain three or four operations together. Practising this structure — and checking work systematically — is essential.
• Exam stamina: Sitting a full-length paper under timed conditions is physically and mentally demanding for a ten-year-old. Children who have not practised this regularly often underperform relative to their actual ability.

What Does a Month-by-Month Preparation Plan Look Like?

Year 5, January to April: Begin with a diagnostic assessment to identify genuine gaps in Maths and English. Focus on building fluency in core number skills and introducing the habit of reading widely — fiction, non-fiction, and quality journalism. Start practising comprehension responses that go beyond surface answers.

Our 11+ specialists work with Latymer Upper applicants on the school's own English, Maths and Interview Session, tailoring preparation to its exam format and the January interview rather than a generic 11+ syllabus. Our students have achieved a 95%+ offer rate across selective school entry, including recent offers at Latymer Upper itself. Book a free consultation to discuss a preparation plan for the Latymer Upper 11+.

Year 5, May to July: Introduce extended writing practice with structured feedback. Begin working on multi-step Maths problems and ensure the child is comfortable with topics including fractions, ratio, area, and algebra at an introductory level. Introduce timed practice in short bursts to build pace without creating anxiety.

Year 5 summer holiday: Maintain momentum without burning out. Two or three focused sessions per week is sufficient. Use this period to consolidate weak areas identified in the spring and to begin practising full-length comprehension passages.

Year 6, September and October: Move to full exam-condition practice. Sit complete papers under timed conditions — the 35-minute comprehension paper, the 45-minute writing paper and the 60-minute Maths paper separately at first, then combined — and review every error carefully. Registration for the exam itself must be completed by midday on 12 October 2026.

Year 6, November: Continue full-paper practice at exam pace, now combining all three papers in one sitting with the same 20-minute break the school builds into exam day. Refine creative writing so it is distinctive and well-structured, not just technically correct, and keep drilling the habit of showing full working in Maths.

Year 6, early December (exam day, 2 December 2026): Reduce new content in the final week. Consolidate, rest, and ensure the child feels confident and calm going into the exam itself.

Year 6, December to early January: Once decisions on the written papers arrive (8 December 2026) and interview invitations follow (15 December 2026), shift preparation towards the Interview Session on 6 January 2027 — unscripted conversation practice, comfort working alongside unfamiliar peers, and calm handling of an unexpected task, rather than further academic drilling.

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What Happens in the Latymer Upper Interview Session?

A strong written paper is not the end of the process. On Monday 7 December 2026, the school writes to the child's current primary or prep school for a reference. Latymer Upper then sends every candidate a decision on the written exam on Tuesday 8 December 2026, and those shortlisted for the next stage are told their interview schedule by Tuesday 15 December 2026, ahead of the Interview Session itself.

The Interview Session itself takes place on Wednesday 6 January 2027. It runs for half a day and combines immersive learning activities in classroom settings with a one-to-one interview. The school describes the session as designed to let its academic staff assess character, curiosity and 'teachability' — qualities that do not show up on a Maths or English paper. Reasonable adjustments are made for candidates with a learning difference, in line with the Equality Act 2010.

Preparing a child for this stage looks different from exam revision. It means practising unscripted conversation about their own interests and reading, giving them experience of working alongside unfamiliar peers in a classroom setting, and building the confidence to attempt an unfamiliar task calmly rather than freezing when the format is unexpected. Families who treat the interview as an afterthought once the written papers are done are preparing for only part of the selection process.

How Do Bursaries and the Latymer Foundation Work?

Latymer Upper School's bursary programme is funded by the Latymer Foundation at Hammersmith, the charitable trust Edward Latymer endowed in 1624 to educate local children regardless of background. Fundraising through the Foundation's Inspiring Minds campaign has let the school reach a target of offering around one in four Upper School pupils a means-tested bursary, with an average fee remission of over 80%. Individual awards range from 25% to 100% of fees, assessed against a family's financial circumstances by an external company appointed by the school.

Families applying for a partial bursary complete the standard 11+ Registration Form and pay the £220 registration fee. The school states that if a partial-bursary applicant is made an offer of a place and is then assessed as qualifying for a full bursary, the registration fee is refunded upon acceptance; a family assessed as qualifying for a partial or no bursary instead pays the registration fee upon acceptance. Families applying for a full bursary from the outset complete a separate Full Bursary Registration Form and pay no registration fee. Either way, the bursary application deadline is the same midday cut-off as 11+ registration: Monday 12 October 2026. The school states that bursary awards are made in February at the same time as an offer of a place, with full award details set out in the offer letter.

Bursaries are also available for pupils joining Latymer Upper at 16+ — see our separate guide to Latymer Upper's Sixth Form admissions for that entry point's own timeline and requirements.

Working With Leading Tuition on Latymer Upper School Preparation

Leading Tuition provides 1-to-1 specialist tutoring for children preparing for the Latymer Upper 11+ entrance exam. Our tutors are familiar with the specific demands of this school's own exam — the multiple-choice comprehension paper, the descriptive writing paper, the reasoning expected in Maths, and the classroom-based Interview Session that follows for shortlisted candidates.

We begin with a thorough diagnostic assessment so that preparation is targeted from the outset, not generic. Sessions are structured to build the skills the Latymer Upper exam actually tests: analytical comprehension, confident extended writing, mathematical reasoning, and exam technique under timed conditions. We work with children from Year 5 onwards and can also support families who are starting preparation later and need to work efficiently.

Every child we work with receives a preparation plan that is specific to them — their current level, their timeline, and the particular areas where focused work will make the greatest difference.

For official entry requirements and registration details, see the Latymer Upper School 11+ admissions page, and the school's own Joining at 11+ key dates for the full 2027 entry timeline.

Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.

Reviewed September 2026: 11+ exam dates, format, interview process and bursary detail checked against Latymer Upper School's own admissions pages.

For a family living abroad, our guide to Latymer Upper School from overseas gathers what the school publishes for applicants outside the UK, stage by stage.

Frequently Asked Questions