Grammar School Exam Dates by Region: 2027 Entry

Nine selective regions run nine different tests, and for September 2027 entry the first sitting of each test in the second table below fell between 8 September and 19 September 2026; Henrietta Barnett held Round One earlier, on 2, 3 and 4 September 2026. What is still ahead is Henrietta Barnett's Round Two on Tuesday 6 October 2026 and results: Buckinghamshire on 9 October 2026, Essex on 12 October 2026, Kent on 15 October 2026, and Birmingham and Warwickshire on 16 October 2026, all before the closing date for applications to your home local authority.

Who Actually Runs Your Region's Test?

This is the question to answer first. The organising body determines what the paper contains, when it closes, and how many schools a single registration covers. Get it wrong and a family prepares for the wrong exam and registers with the wrong organisation.

Two rows in that table need particular care. The Sutton test contains no verbal or non-verbal reasoning at all — Sutton Grammar School states that it is two multiple-choice papers, Maths and English — so a Sutton candidate drilled on reasoning prepared for a paper that was not set. And Queen Elizabeth's and Henrietta Barnett run separate processes, with separate registrations and separate papers, so a family applying to both is doing everything twice.

When Is Each Region's Test for September 2027 Entry?

Every date below is published by the body that runs the test, and the results dates are given.

Read down the date column and the pattern is plain: the first sitting of every test in the table fell between 8 September and 19 September 2026, so a family applying across regions was stacking dates rather than choosing between them. Buckinghamshire's transfer test and the Kent Test for pupils at Kent primary schools were both on 10 September 2026, and Kent tested children from other schools on the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2026.

The registration column is the part that has already closed. Every closing date in the table fell between 2 June and 31 July 2026. For September 2027 entry the regional registration windows in the table have closed, with the Kent exceptions set out below, and our 11+ exam dates timetable has the wider calendar.

Which Region's Test Is About to Change?

Trafford, and the change is larger than a date move. The Trafford Grammar School Consortium has appointed Future Stories Community Enterprise as its new admissions test provider for entry from 2028, and two things follow from it.

The first is content. Beginning with the entrance test sat in September 2027, the paper changes from verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning to a test drawing on the Key Stage 2 curriculum. A Trafford family buying reasoning practice for a child who will sit in September 2027 or later is buying preparation for a paper that will not exist.

The second is timing, and it is more disruptive still. For entry to Year 7 from 2029 onwards, the consortium has decided to move the test date from September of Year 6 to the summer term of Year 5. That moves the test to the summer term of Year 5, so preparation has to be finished before the summer holidays of Year 5 rather than after them, for children who are in Year 4 or below in the 2026/27 school year.

Neither change affected the sitting on 14 September 2026 for 2027 entry, which used the existing format. But a family with two children of different ages in Trafford is now looking at two different exams.

How Long Does Each Region's Test Actually Take?

The date tells you which morning to keep free. It does not tell you how long the child will be sitting, and the regions differ enough for that to matter when a family is comparing them.

Kent's programme has three parts. Kent County Council publishes its first paper, covering English and maths, as one hour in total, with each section made up of a 5 minute practice followed by a 25 minute test. There is also a writing exercise of 40 minutes, including 10 minutes of planning, which is not marked but may be used by a local headteacher panel at the headteacher assessment stage.

Sutton is shorter on the day but repeated. Sutton Grammar School states that the two Selective Eligibility Test papers take between 40 and 50 minutes each, with a rest break between them, and that the second-stage papers run to around 45 minutes to 1 hour each. The shared second-stage examination for Sutton Grammar, Wilson's and Wallington County Grammar was held on Saturday 3 October 2026, and the one for Nonsuch and Wallington High School for Girls on Saturday 26 September 2026. Sutton Grammar School's page also lists an Aptitude Test Day on Saturday 10 October 2026 for Wilson's School only. Those second-stage papers are not multiple choice, so the format changes as well as the length.

Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet sits both of its multiple-choice papers in a single session, and holds those sessions over two days for a Published Admission Number of 180. Buckinghamshire runs a practice test on 8 September 2026, two days before the Transfer Test on 10 September 2026, and pupils at its state-funded primary schools and Partner Schools sit both in their own school.

Does Distance Still Matter, or Only the Score?

It depends on the region.

Altrincham Grammar School for Girls defines its catchment as an 8-mile radius from the main entrance of the school, and in Buckinghamshire a qualifying score of at least 121 makes a child eligible for any of the 13 grammar schools, each of which has its own admissions policy.

In Kent, the threshold does the work: for the 2025 test it was a total of 332 or more with no single score below 108, on a scale running from 69 to 141 with a maximum total of 423, and Kent says the threshold for 2026 will be available in October 2026. Clearing it was what earned a grammar school assessment, and an uneven profile could clear the total and still fail on the per-section floor.

In parts of London, neither applies. Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet has no catchment at all and admits solely on entrance test score. Our guide to London's super-selectives sets out how those schools differ from one another, and our 11+ pass mark guide covers which authorities publish a figure at all.

What If You Have Missed Your Region's Window?

It is worth being straightforward about this. Every regional registration window in the table above has closed. The King Edward VI Foundation says it is not possible to register for its test after 4pm on 26 June 2026, and Henrietta Barnett School says it does not accept late applications. Kent is the exception worth knowing. Kent County Council says that a parent who would like their child to take the Kent Test for September 2027 entry but has not registered should email kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk with the child's name, date of birth, full address and current school, and the council will then say what the next steps are. Its Secondary Determined Scheme arranges testing by 31 December 2026 only where a child was ill on the test dates, confirmed by a doctor's certificate, or moved into the Kent area after registration closed and applied for a secondary school place by 7 December 2026; otherwise a child who has not registered cannot sit the test until after 27 April 2027, when parents can apply through the post-reallocation process or in-year admissions, or appeal if refused.

Two things are still worth doing. The first is to ask the body that runs your test, in writing and without argument, whether any late route exists: in Kent that is Kent County Council, at the address above, and each body's own page is the place to check what it allows.

The second is to look at the year below. A family that has missed this cycle for a Year 6 child has, for a younger sibling, a clearer run: most of the 2027-entry registration windows in the table opened between 23 April 2026 and 1 June 2026, and CSSE says the important dates for 2028 entry will be published by Easter 2027.

If the child is in Year 6 and the window has gone, the application to your home local authority is still made in the ordinary way, but in Kent a grammar school named for a child who has not taken the test is treated as invalid for National Offer Day on 1 March 2027. Waiting lists do move: Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet reports that its Year 7 waiting list for September 2026 has reached position 24, and Kent re-allocates places that have become available on Tuesday 27 April 2027.

What Happens After the Test?

Two dates matter for every region. The Common Application Form is due at your home local authority by its closing date: 31 October 2026 for Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Medway and Warwickshire, and Monday 2 November 2026 under Kent's scheme. Offers are made on National Offer Day, 1 March 2027.

The awkwardness is the order. Buckinghamshire results arrive on 9 October 2026, Kent's on 15 October 2026 and Warwickshire's on 16 October 2026, which leaves about two to three weeks to redraw a preference list before the form closes. But Sutton's second-stage outcomes are emailed by the end of October 2026, in advance of the application deadline, and Queen Elizabeth's gave 1 October 2026 only as a provisional date for its results. The form has to be completed on the assumption that a child might qualify, not on the knowledge that they have — and naming a school you have not yet heard from is the normal, correct thing to do.

Lincolnshire, Medway and Henrietta Barnett: Test Dates and Results

Three more selective tests for September 2027 entry sit outside the two tables above.

Lincolnshire

The Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools set its first 11+ test, in verbal reasoning, for Friday 11 or Saturday 12 September 2026. Its second test, in non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness, was set for Friday 18 or Saturday 19 September 2026. Results are emailed to parents at 12:00 (midday) on Friday 9 October 2026. The closing date for Lincolnshire local authority applications is Saturday 31 October 2026.

Medway

Children at a Medway maintained primary or junior school sat the Medway Test at their own school on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September 2026. Children who do not go to a primary or junior school in Medway sat it at a Medway Test Centre on Saturday 19 or Sunday 20 September 2026, with one day allocated; St Andrew's School pupils sat it at their own school on Saturday 19 September 2026. Medway Council emails results after 10am on Wednesday 14 October 2026 to parents who gave an email address; otherwise results are sent by post on results day. A parent who has not received the result by Thursday 15 October 2026 should email medwaytest@medway.gov.uk. Medway says applications for secondary school places are due by 31 October 2026. Medway says there is no alternative test date, including where the Medway Test clashes with other tests.

Henrietta Barnett School

Henrietta Barnett School held Round One of its test on 2, 3 and 4 September 2026 and said it would write to all candidates with the outcome by Monday 28 September 2026. The school says the top 300 candidates are invited to sit Round Two on Tuesday 6 October 2026. Round Two is a 60 minute English paper and a 50 minute Maths paper. The school says it does not accept late applications.

Reviewed October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against Buckinghamshire Council, Kent County Council's Kent Test pages and Secondary Determined Scheme for 2027 to 2028, Warwickshire County Council, Medway Council, Redbridge Council, the King Edward VI Foundation, CSSE, the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, Sutton Grammar School, Queen Elizabeth's School, Henrietta Barnett School and Altrincham Grammar School for Girls.

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