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Book a Free ConsultationThe Tiffin Girls' School entrance test consists of two papers — one assessing English and one assessing mathematics — sat by Year 6 girls applying for Year 7 entry. Both papers are set and marked by the school itself, not by a commercial provider such as GL Assessment or CEM, which means the format has its own distinct character and is worth understanding carefully before your daughter sits it.
Tiffin Girls' School is a highly selective grammar school in Kingston upon Thames, part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It is consistently ranked among the top state secondary schools in England, and competition for places is intense — typically several hundred girls sit the test for around 120 Year 7 places each year.
The entrance assessment takes place in September of Year 6, ahead of the standard secondary school application deadline in October. There are two separate papers:
Both papers are sat on the same day. The school does not publish exact timings publicly each year, but historically each paper has run for approximately 50 to 60 minutes. Families should check the school's official admissions page each summer for the confirmed format for that year's sitting.
The English paper at Tiffin Girls' is not a simple comprehension exercise. The reading passage is typically a literary extract — often from a novel or short story — and the questions are designed to reward girls who can move beyond surface-level understanding. Markers look for the ability to infer meaning, explain the effect of specific word choices, and support answers with evidence from the text.
The writing component usually asks girls to produce a piece of creative or descriptive writing, sometimes linked to the theme of the reading passage. Examiners reward originality, precise vocabulary, varied sentence structure, and a clear sense of voice. A girl who writes competently but formulaically is unlikely to score as highly as one who takes considered creative risks.
It is worth noting that this is not an 11-plus paper in the traditional GL Assessment or CEM sense. There are no verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning sections in the Tiffin Girls' test. The English paper is closer in spirit to a junior version of a GCSE English Language assessment, which means preparation should focus on close reading skills and extended writing rather than on practising multiple-choice verbal reasoning questions.
The mathematics paper draws on the Key Stage 2 curriculum but extends well beyond what most girls will have covered in a standard Year 6 classroom. Topics regularly tested include fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion, area and perimeter, basic algebra, number sequences, and problem-solving questions that require multi-step reasoning.
The paper rewards mathematical thinking rather than rote recall. Girls who have only memorised methods without understanding the underlying concepts often find the problem-solving questions difficult. Some questions are presented in a way that requires careful reading — the mathematical challenge is sometimes embedded within a worded scenario.
There is no calculator permitted. Neat working is important, both because it helps avoid errors and because some marks may be awarded for method even where the final answer is incorrect. Practising under timed conditions is essential, as the paper is designed to be challenging to complete within the allotted time.
Tiffin Girls' School ranks all applicants by their combined score across both papers. There is no separate pass mark for each paper — the two scores are combined, and places are offered to the highest-scoring girls, subject to the school's admissions criteria. Girls who live within the qualifying distance area are prioritised, and the school uses a defined catchment radius that has varied in recent years depending on the volume and quality of applicants.
The school does not release individual scores to families, and there is no automatic right of appeal based on score alone. If a girl is not offered a place, families can appeal on procedural grounds, but appeals based solely on disagreement with the marking outcome are rarely successful.
Leading Tuition works with a number of families preparing for the Tiffin Girls' test each year, and one consistent finding is that girls who begin structured preparation in Year 5 — rather than rushing in the summer before the test — tend to approach the papers with greater confidence and flexibility.
Because the test is school-set rather than produced by a national provider, there are no official past papers available. The school does not release previous years' papers publicly. However, preparation is still very achievable with the right approach:
Unofficial practice materials from reputable publishers, combined with targeted tuition, can replicate the style and difficulty level of the Tiffin Girls' papers closely enough to be genuinely useful preparation.
Is the Tiffin Girls' School test the same as the standard 11-plus?
No. The Tiffin Girls' test is set by the school itself and does not include verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning sections, which are common in GL Assessment and CEM 11-plus papers used by many other grammar schools. It focuses specifically on English comprehension and writing, and mathematics.
When does the Tiffin Girls' entrance test take place?
The test is sat in September of Year 6, before the standard secondary school application deadline in October. Families must register their daughter with the school in advance — registration typically opens in the summer term of Year 5 or early Year 6. Check the school's admissions page for exact dates each year.
Are there past papers available to practise with?
The school does not release official past papers. However, a range of unofficial practice materials designed to reflect the Tiffin Girls' style and difficulty level are available from educational publishers, and a tutor experienced with the test can provide targeted practice that closely mirrors the real papers.
Does my daughter need to live in a specific area to apply?
Tiffin Girls' School is open to girls across England, but places are allocated by ranked score within a defined qualifying distance from the school. In recent years, the qualifying distance has been relatively tight, meaning girls who score highly but live further away may not receive an offer. Always check the current admissions policy on the school's website before applying.
Understanding the Tiffin Girls' School test format is the first step towards preparing purposefully rather than anxiously. The test is genuinely demanding, but it rewards the kind of careful reading, clear thinking, and mathematical reasoning that can be developed steadily over time — and girls who prepare with focus and consistency give themselves a real advantage on the day.
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