Nonsuch High School 11+ Preparation Guide 2026

Nonsuch High School for Girls in Cheam is one of the most sought-after grammar schools in the country, ranked #24 in the UK for GCSE results. It offers 210 Year 7 places each year and uses a distinctive two-stage selection process that differs significantly from many other grammar schools. If your daughter is preparing for 2027 entry, this guide covers everything you need to know: the Stage 1 Sutton Selective Eligibility Test, the Stage 2 NWSSEE, registration dates, catchment, and a clear preparation roadmap.

What Is the Nonsuch High School 11+ Selection Process for 2027 Entry?

Nonsuch High School for Girls uses a two-stage admissions process, coordinated through the Sutton grammar school consortium. Unlike some schools that run a single entrance exam, Nonsuch requires candidates to clear two separate hurdles before qualifying for a Year 7 place. The first stage is a shared consortium test — the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) — taken alongside candidates for other Sutton grammar schools. Candidates who reach the required standard are then invited to sit the second stage, the Nonsuch and Wallington Second Stage Entrance Examination (NWSSEE), which is specific to Nonsuch and Wallington High School for Girls. Only those who pass both stages and name Nonsuch on their Common Application Form by 31 October 2026 will be considered for a place. With 1,052 applications recorded for 2025 entry and just 210 places available, competition is genuinely high.

The school is an academy converter within the Girls' Learning Trust, situated at Ewell Road, Cheam, SM3 8AB, and is Ofsted-rated Good. Its Progress 8 score of +1.02 places it well above both the grammar school and national averages, and 98.3% of pupils achieve grade 5 or above in both English and Maths at GCSE.

Stage 1: The Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) Explained

The Sutton SET is the shared first-stage assessment used by all grammar schools in the London Borough of Sutton. It is a multiple-choice test covering two subjects: English and Maths. Verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning are not included in the published format, which is an important distinction from many grammar school tests elsewhere in the country. Results are reported as age-standardised scores, meaning your daughter is benchmarked fairly against other children of exactly the same age rather than against a single raw-mark threshold.

For 2027 entry, the registration window opens on 1 May 2026 and closes on 31 July 2026. You register via the Sutton admissions portal — there is a separate process for children requiring access arrangements, with a deadline of 12 June 2026. The SET itself takes place in September 2026. Results are released in mid-October 2026, at which point you will be told whether your daughter has qualified to proceed to Stage 2. You should prepare for the SET with timed multiple-choice practice across the GL Assessment-style English and Maths question types that Sutton uses.

Our dedicated Sutton SET Complete Guide 2026 covers the full question format, sample materials, and subject-by-subject preparation strategies for Stage 1 in detail.

Stage 2: What to Expect From the NWSSEE at Nonsuch

The Nonsuch and Wallington Second Stage Entrance Examination (NWSSEE) is where many candidates are surprised. Unlike the SET, Stage 2 is not multiple choice and does not test verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, or comprehension. It consists of exactly two papers:

The Maths paper at Stage 2 tests the same curriculum content as the SET — arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, algebra, geometry, and data handling — but requires candidates to show full working and demonstrate understanding, not just select the right answer. The English paper is a piece of extended writing: typically a story, descriptive piece, or discursive essay. There is no comprehension passage and no multiple-choice element. This is a significant shift from Stage 1 preparation and from most other grammar school entrance exams, and candidates who have only practised multiple-choice papers can struggle at Stage 2 even if they performed strongly in the SET.

The NWSSEE takes place in late September 2026, approximately two weeks after the Stage 1 SET. Only candidates who have been notified that they reached the required SET standard are invited to sit Stage 2.

Key Dates for Nonsuch 11+ Registration 2026

Understanding the timeline is essential for families preparing for 2027 entry. The process runs from May 2026 through to National Offer Day in March 2027. Missing the registration window means your daughter cannot sit the SET, so this is the one non-negotiable deadline in the whole cycle.

If your daughter qualifies after Stage 2, you must name Nonsuch on your Common Application Form by 31 October 2026 — submitted to your home local authority, not directly to the school. Places are then allocated on National Offer Day, 1 March 2027, using the school's oversubscription criteria. You can find the official admissions arrangements for 2027 entry on the Nonsuch High School for Girls official website.

For a comprehensive look at how the SET process compares across all Sutton grammar schools, see our guide to the best grammar schools in Sutton.

Who Is Eligible? Catchment Area and Residence Requirements

Nonsuch has both a residence eligibility requirement and a catchment priority area. Any child living within a 25km radius of the school is eligible to sit the SET. However, within that wider zone, the school gives oversubscription priority to children who live within a 5.25km catchment circle measured from the school at Ewell Road, Cheam, SM3 8AB.

The 5.25km catchment covers a broad swathe of south-west London and north Surrey, including:

• Banstead
• Carshalton
• Cheam
• Epsom
• Ewell and West Ewell
• Morden
• Sutton
• Worcester Park

If your daughter qualifies and lives within the catchment, she will be ranked above qualifying candidates who live outside it. If two children have the same score and only one place is available, the tiebreak is the straight-line distance from home to school — closest takes priority. Children outside the 5.25km catchment can and do receive offers, but they will typically need a stronger Stage 2 score to be allocated a place ahead of in-catchment candidates who also qualify. Around 50.7% of Nonsuch pupils have English as an additional language, reflecting the diverse communities across the Sutton and north Surrey catchment.

You can read more about admissions at our dedicated Nonsuch 11+ tuition page, which gives an overview of how our specialist tutors support Cheam and Sutton-area families.

How to Prepare Your Daughter for Both Stages of the Nonsuch 11+

Effective preparation for Nonsuch requires a different approach to most grammar school preparation because there are genuinely two distinct exams with two distinct skill sets. Stage 1 rewards speed, accuracy, and efficient multiple-choice technique; Stage 2 rewards depth, communication, and the ability to sustain extended work under timed conditions. Many families begin preparing for Stage 1 in Year 4 or early Year 5 and then pivot their focus to Stage 2 skills in the spring of Year 6 once Stage 1 skills are consolidated. Our 11+ preparation timeline guide gives a full year-by-year roadmap you can adapt to this two-stage structure.

Stage 1 SET preparation

For the SET, the core curriculum areas are primary Maths (arithmetic, fractions, decimals, algebra, geometry, and data) and English comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. Practice under timed multiple-choice conditions is essential, and our specialist tutors recommend working with GL Assessment-style materials rather than general 11+ papers from other regions. Age-standardised scores mean that high raw accuracy is needed — children consistently scoring 75% or above in timed practice conditions are on track for Stage 1. Identify weak topics early and address them methodically rather than repeating papers without targeted review.

Stage 2 NWSSEE preparation

The Stage 2 preparation shift is significant. For the Maths paper, the focus moves from selecting answers quickly to demonstrating method clearly. Our specialist tutors work on extended problem-solving, multi-step reasoning, and the habit of showing full working even when an answer feels obvious — examiners reward method, not just the correct number. For the English essay, our tutors build planning discipline, paragraph structure, and vocabulary range. A strong NWSSEE English response typically features a clear structure, well-chosen vocabulary, controlled sentence variety, and a consistent voice. Children who have only practised comprehension and vocabulary questions need to spend time writing extended pieces under timed conditions, with feedback on each draft.

Understanding how age-standardised scores work is also valuable for interpreting your daughter's SET performance and setting realistic targets before Stage 2 invitations are issued.

School Results, Sixth Form, and What Nonsuch Offers

Nonsuch is one of the strongest-performing schools in the country. Its GCSE Attainment 8 score of 80.5 and Progress 8 of +1.02 both place it significantly above national and grammar-school averages. In the most recent data, 99.1% of pupils achieved grade 4 or above in both English and Maths, and 98.3% achieved grade 5 or above. At A-level, the school averages 47.80 points per entry, with 58.9% of entries graded AAB or above — and 86% of leavers progress to higher education.

The curriculum is broad. The Ofsted report from June 2021 (rated Good) highlighted that pupils achieve well through an ambitious curriculum, including GCSE Astronomy using a rooftop telescope, and that behaviour and attitudes are consistently positive. The school has a sixth form and serves 1,494 pupils aged 11–18. In 2024/25, the average A-level result was an A-minus equivalent (47.8 points), putting Nonsuch among the most academically successful schools in London. Nationally, the school ranks #24 for GCSE results among all UK grammar schools.

Frequently Asked Questions