Do You Need a Prep School for London’s 11+?

On the schools’ own published rules, a state-primary child does not need a prep school to sit the London 11+. For September 2027 entry the London 11+ Consortium bases maths on the Year 5 National Curriculum, with added challenge, and says that beyond its familiarisation materials candidates need no special tuition or intensive practice. Highgate, North London Collegiate School (NLCS) and Channing publish 70 to 80 Year 7 places for outside applicants. A school’s own junior school is the exception.

School figures below come from the schools’ own pages, policies and tables, read on 24 October 2026 and dated to the entry year; the national figure is from the Independent Schools Council (ISC) census, and derived figures show working.

What do London’s 11+ day schools say about children from primary and prep schools?

The schools name both kinds of applicant. Latymer Upper says children from a range of primary and preparatory schools sit its exam each year. City of London School calls 11+ entry its largest intake, for children finishing primary or preparatory school. Trinity in Croydon says the vast majority of its joiners come from co-educational primary schools and prep schools.

The London 11+ Consortium (Channing, South Hampstead High School and others; see our Consortium schools guide) states its aim as an application process accessible to children from all schools and backgrounds. Its test is taken in the candidate’s current school where possible, and three sitting dates exist so that as many primary and prep schools as possible can host it.

For a national backdrop, the ISC’s 2026 census of its UK member schools counts 96,828 pupils of all ages who joined their current school in 2025/26, of whom 27.7% came from the state sector and 34.8% from the independent sector, so it is context, not a London 11+ count.

Those sentences say who applies, not how a school treats its own junior school, and that is where a prep school can change the route.

If a school has its own junior school, how many Year 7 places are left for outside candidates?

Several London and Surrey schools state what happens to pupils of their own junior school, and the rules differ.

Source: South Hampstead admissions policy; Wimbledon High senior admissions; Notre Dame Year 7 admissions; Notre Dame admissions FAQs.

The share column is our arithmetic from the schools’ approximate figures.

Source: Highgate Year 7 admissions; NLCS admission to Year 7; Channing joining the Senior School.

The schools write “approximately”, “around” and “or so”, so read the shares as roughly four in ten at Highgate and six in ten at NLCS. Each figure counts outside applicants as one group, and none of the three sentences splits them between state-primary and prep-school children. They show that outside places exist, and how many, not who wins them.

What do the papers assume a child has already covered?

Where a school says what level its English and maths papers are set at, the answer is the national curriculum. City of London School says its assessments test National Curriculum knowledge and that candidates will not need special tuition or intensive additional practice.

Source: London 11+ Consortium; Tiffin Girls’ Year 7 admissions; Highgate; Kingston Grammar School; NLCS; King’s College School; Wimbledon High; Quest guidance for Trinity; Whitgift; Notre Dame.

The reasoning content is where the papers differ: the Consortium, King’s College School, Wimbledon High, Trinity and Notre Dame set verbal or non-verbal reasoning, NLCS says it does not, and Highgate, Kingston Grammar and Tiffin Stage One list English and maths papers. Check each school’s own list before choosing practice material.

What does a state-primary child still need to add?

The schools’ own guidance touches three areas beyond the curriculum content: reasoning question styles, unfamiliar formats and the exam’s style, and the interview.

Reasoning question styles. The Consortium says non-verbal reasoning questions can seem strange to candidates who have never seen them, and that verbal reasoning may feel unfamiliar to candidates new to the style. It recommends its familiarisation materials but not intense preparation. King’s College School sets verbal reasoning and says sample reasoning papers are readily available from booksellers.

Unfamiliar formats and the exam’s style. Tiffin Girls’ says some questions will be in unfamiliar formats. It publishes no past papers, runs no mock tests and endorses no providers, though it says practice with other selective schools’ papers can help familiarisation. South Hampstead says no special preparation is required, but candidates should be familiar with the nature and style of the exam; a degree of practice may build confidence, but repeated practice is not encouraged.

The interview. Kingston Grammar strongly discourages interview coaching, the Consortium actively discourages interview preparation, and Trinity says candidates will not need to prepare anything in advance. What a family can do is make sure a child is used to talking about what they read and enjoy.

The Consortium says that beyond its familiarisation materials candidates do not need special tuition or intensive practice, and Kingston Grammar does not recommend tutoring in English and maths. The schools’ guidance therefore points to familiarisation: the Consortium and school familiarisation tests, the reasoning question types each target school names, and the format of the sitting.

Who hosts the test, and who writes the headteacher’s reference?

The Consortium test is taken in the candidate’s current school where possible, on one of three dates in November and December 2026. If the school cannot host it, the child sits it at a Consortium school the family has applied to, and the Consortium says the location has no bearing on the outcome. Channing says the onus is on the family to ask the primary school whether it is hosting.

The other schools set their own sittings. Tiffin Girls’ tests every child at Tiffin and offers no alternative locations, Wimbledon High holds its first stage in person at the school on 17 and 18 November 2026, and King’s College School holds its examinations on Saturday 5 December 2026.

Each Consortium school asks the head of the candidate’s current school for a reference separately, before the exam. NLCS asks the primary school after registration closes, and Highgate requests a confidential reference from the headteacher. Kingston Grammar contacts the current headteacher before the exam and asks parents to upload the latest school report. King’s College School asks for the end of Year 5 report at registration and says it weighs the examination marks, the information parents supply and the head teacher’s reference when deciding who to interview. South Hampstead’s policy also covers a school that declines: the application will not be disadvantaged as a result.

Tiffin Girls’: one test for every child, with a catchment on top

Tiffin Girls’ School is an academy and its own admissions authority. The prep-school question reaches it from the other side: it admits by test and address, and every child sits the tests at the school. For September 2027 entry its Year 7 intake is 180 children in six forms of 30.

Source: Tiffin Girls’ Admissions Information 2024–26.

The ratios are shown for one year only, with their working. Tiffin publishes its table “to promote transparency” and says it “should not be used to make comparisons”, because the admissions policy can vary each year and each cohort is different.

The 2027 arrangements allocate in steps. Girls with an Education Health and Care Plan naming the school come first, then looked-after children at or above the 350th ranked Stage Two mark. Next, up to 60 of the 180 places go to girls living in the Inner Area, or in the Designated Area with pupil premium, at or above that mark. The remaining places go in rank order of the combined mark, Designated Area girls first. The school’s table records that all places offered in 2024, 2025 and 2026 went to girls living in the Designated Area or the Inner Area.

Joining a prep in Year 5 or 6: the routes the schools publish

Some families consider a move to a prep school for Year 5 or 6. The schools publish what that changes at their own gates.

Notre Dame, Cobham (Surrey). Its Early Offers Programme is the admissions process for girls joining Notre Dame Prep School in Year 5 or Year 6: applicants sit the 9+ or 10+ CAT4 assessment, a comprehension paper and a piece of creative writing. Students joining in Year 6 will not be required to sit the 11+ exam, and the school says entry into Years 5 and 6 guarantees a place in its Senior School. It says it prefers the focus in those years to be on monitoring and progress rather than preparation for one exam on one day.

Whitgift and Trinity. Both take children into Year 6 at 10+. Whitgift lists Year 6 (Lower First Form) and Year 7 as separate day entry points, holds its 10+ exams on 5 December 2026 and says unsuccessful Year 6 applicants may apply again for Year 7. Trinity assesses 10+ entry on 14 November 2026, and its first co-educational Year 7 arrives in September 2027 with between 70 and 100 girls expected alongside around 100 boys.

These are routes into a particular school: Notre Dame’s waiver applies to its own Prep, and the junior-school blocks at Highgate and NLCS to their own Junior Schools. For 13+, where the tests and the prep-school question differ, see 13+ entry from a state school.

Which dates apply to a child in Year 5 in autumn 2026?

A child in Year 5 in autumn 2026 sits for September 2028 entry. The table gives September 2027 entry dates (children in Year 6 in 2026–27): the order of the calendar, not the 2028 dates. Highgate gives the September 2027 birth range as 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016, and King’s College School lists 1 September 2016 to 31 August 2017 as September 2028 entry.

Source: Tiffin Girls’; Kingston Grammar; Trinity key dates; King’s College School; Notre Dame; Wimbledon High; Highgate; London 11+ Consortium; Whitgift; NLCS.

On 24 October 2026 the Tiffin, Kingston Grammar and Trinity pages say registration or applications are closed; the other seven closing dates fall between 2 and 13 November 2026. Offers are dated Friday 12 February 2027 on the Consortium, Trinity and Whitgift pages.

What schools say about September 2028 entry.

• King’s College School: registration for September 2028 entry opens in May 2027 and closes in early November 2027.
• Kingston Grammar: exam for September 2028 entry in November 2027, interviews in January 2028, offers emailed in February 2028.
• Highgate: details of the next open event for 2028 entry will be announced in Spring 2027, with the event in Autumn 2027.
• Trinity and Notre Dame: both invite enquiries or registrations of interest for 2028 entry and beyond.

Wimbledon High states a standing rule, not a 2028 date: it opens applications from the start of the summer term of Year 5.

Frequently asked questions