Exam format not yet verified. We have not confirmed this school's exam board or paper format from an official source. Where this guide describes the test, treat it as a working assumption and check the school's admissions page before relying on it.
The exam at a glance
Bishop Wordsworth's School is a selective boys' grammar school in Salisbury admitting pupils to Year 7 through the 11+ process. For September 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that the test uses GL Assessment and covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
That matters for preparation. GL-style papers reward children who can work accurately across several short question types, keep their concentration over timed sections and switch calmly between subjects. In practice, that means a balanced approach usually works better than over-focusing on one area.
The school's published Year 7 admissions information explains that children sit the school's entrance test as part of the admissions process. The exact delivery details for 2028 entry are not yet confirmed in the information we hold (not yet verified with the school) we hold, so parents should check the school's admissions page when the new round opens.
On the day itself, families should expect a structured test session run under exam conditions. Children are typically checked in, given instructions by invigilators and taken through the paper section by section. Because this is a GL-style assessment, good preparation is less about trying to guess exact questions and more about becoming comfortable with the pace, instructions and mix of skills tested.
- Exam board: GL Assessment
- Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
- Format: one GL Assessment paper across all four areas
- Best preparation focus: steady, even practice across every subject
- Delivery: not yet confirmed for 2028 entry on the information we hold (not yet verified with the school) available
Registration and key dates
For Bishop Wordsworth's School, registration for the 11+ is handled through the school's admissions process. The school publishes Year 7 admissions information and an entrance test registration route on its admissions pages. For the most recently published timetable available at the time of writing, the process opened in late March and closed in early July, with the test in late September.
Because you are preparing for September 2028 entry, the full 2028 timetable may not yet be published. The safest approach is to treat the latest published pattern as a guide only, then check the school site regularly from spring onward.
So, for a child sitting for 2028 entry, a sensible working assumption is:
- registration usually opens in spring
- the deadline is typically in early summer
- the test is usually in late September
- results are often issued in October
- the local authority application must still be submitted by 31 October in the normal secondary transfer round
When registration opens, read the instructions carefully and complete both parts of the process if required: the school's selective test registration and the local authority's secondary school application. Missing either can cause problems later.
Keep copies of confirmation emails and note any documents requested on the school's form. If your child has an access arrangement need, do not leave that to the last minute: check the school's guidance as soon as registration opens so there is time to provide any supporting evidence requested.
For ongoing updates, parents may also want to bookmark The Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that Bishop Wordsworth's School has 160 Year 7 places.
The school is a boys' grammar school, so parents should expect the admissions process to combine two separate elements:
- your child must be registered for and sit the school's selection test, and
- you must also name the school on your local authority's secondary school application.
At the time of writing, we have not found a safely publishable official source confirming the full current catchment or oversubscription priority wording for September 2028 entry that should be stated here as fact. Because catchment rules can change, it is better not to guess. Please check the school's current admissions policy and the local authority's coordinated admissions booklet when the 2028 round opens.
What parents can do now is read the policy with three questions in mind:
- Is there a defined catchment or designated area?
- How are places prioritised if more boys qualify than there are places available?
- Are there any faith, looked-after child, pupil premium or distance-based priority rules that apply after qualification?
If you live some distance from Salisbury, it is especially important to read the admissions policy line by line rather than relying on forums or older summaries. Grammar-school allocation depends not just on passing the test, but also on the published oversubscription rules for that exact year.
A month-by-month preparation plan
For a child aiming at a late-September test in Year 6, the most useful preparation usually starts in Year 5 and builds steadily. The goal is not to create a highly pressurised routine. It is to make the question styles familiar, strengthen core skills and introduce timed work gradually.
January to March of Year 5
Keep it light: around 1 to 1.5 hours a week split over short sessions is enough for most children at this stage.
- Read widely and discuss vocabulary in context.
- Strengthen arithmetic fluency: the four operations, times tables, fractions, decimals and word problems.
- Introduce Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning gently so the formats do not feel strange later.
- Notice which areas your child finds naturally easy and which need patient explanation.
April to June of Year 5
Increase to about 2 hours a week.
- Build regular practice in all four tested subjects.
- Use short untimed exercises first, then begin adding light time pressure.
- Start keeping an error log: not just what was wrong, but why it went wrong.
- Practise following instructions carefully, especially where a section changes quickly from one task type to another.
July and August before Year 6
Aim for 2 to 3 hours a week, but keep the tone calm.
- Consolidate methods already learned rather than racing ahead.
- Introduce longer mixed exercises that require switching between skills.
- Do some work at a desk under quiet conditions, but keep sessions short enough to preserve confidence.
- Use one session each week for review only: revisit mistakes and improve accuracy.
September to December of Year 6
This is the point to become more organised, usually 3 to 4 hours a week across several sessions.
- Begin regular timed practice in small sections.
- Teach pacing: when to move on, when to guess sensibly if required by instructions, and how to stay composed after a difficult item.
- Continue core English and Maths work alongside reasoning practice.
- If your child is tiring, reduce length before increasing frequency.
January to April of Year 6
For many children, 4 hours a week is enough if the work is focused.
- Introduce full or near-full mixed papers from time to time.
- Review timing patterns: is your child slower in comprehension-style English work, arithmetic, VR code types or NVR sequences?
- Make corrections active. Your child should redo missed questions a day or two later, not just read the answer.
- Keep schoolwork and wellbeing in balance.
May to July of Year 6
This is often the most productive phase. Around 4 to 5 hours a week is realistic for many families, with at least one lighter day each week.
- Use timed papers regularly, but not every day.
- Practise transitions between subjects.
- Keep sharpening weak spots while protecting strong areas from slipping.
- If your child becomes anxious, scale back and rebuild confidence with shorter, winnable tasks.
August to test month
In the final weeks, aim for steady rather than intense work.
- Do a small number of well-reviewed timed papers.
- Focus on accuracy, stamina and calm routines.
- Reduce workload in the final few days.
- Prioritise sleep, normal family rhythm and confidence.
A good rule of thumb is this: start timed papers only when your child broadly understands the question types. Timing too early can make children feel they are failing when they are really still learning.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For a GL-style selective test, Maths practice should be quick, accurate and broad. Children often need secure arithmetic, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, basic algebraic thinking, measures, shape and straightforward data handling. Word problems matter because they test whether a child can decide what method to use under time pressure.
- Practise mental arithmetic daily in short bursts.
- Work on multi-step word problems without overcomplicating methods.
- Teach your child to underline key information and estimate whether an answer is sensible.
- Use timed sets only after the method is secure.
English
In GL-style English work, children may need strong vocabulary, careful reading and secure spelling, punctuation and grammar knowledge. Some tasks reward precision more than creativity, so it helps to practise close reading rather than relying only on general literacy confidence.
- Read demanding fiction and non-fiction aloud and discuss word meanings.
- Revise grammar terms that primary pupils are expected to know.
- Practise finding evidence in a text quickly and accurately.
- Build vocabulary steadily through reading, not just word lists.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning tests pattern-spotting and language-based logic. In GL-style papers, children usually do best when they have seen the main question families before and know how to approach them methodically.
- Learn one question type at a time before mixing them.
- Build confidence with codes, letter patterns, word relationships and logical deductions.
- Keep vocabulary work going alongside VR because unfamiliar words can slow children down.
- Use short timed drills to improve pace once accuracy is stable.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning focuses on shapes, patterns, rotation, reflection, symmetry and visual sequences. Many children improve quickly once they learn to look for the right kind of change.
- Teach your child to scan systematically for rotation, reflection, shading, size and position changes.
- Practise breaking a puzzle into one rule at a time.
- Encourage neat visual checking rather than rushing.
- Mix easier and harder sets so confidence stays intact while skill rises.
Across all four subjects, the biggest gains usually come from careful review. If a child knows why an answer was wrong, they are much less likely to repeat the same mistake.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are used sparingly and reviewed well. One carefully analysed paper teaches more than several rushed ones.
- Start with untimed or lightly timed work when your child is still learning the formats.
- Move to timed sections before attempting full papers.
- After each paper, sort mistakes into three groups: knowledge gap, misread question, or timing error.
- Redo mistakes later without looking at the answers straight away.
- Keep a note of recurring patterns so revision stays targeted.
For school-specific support, use these free ElevenReady resources:
- Free Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers)
- The Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates)
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates
If you book a mock exam anywhere, treat it as a diagnostic tool rather than a verdict. A mock can help with timing, stamina and exam-room familiarity, but one score never tells the whole story. What matters is what your child learns from it next.
On the day
The aim on exam day is calm routine, not last-minute cramming.
- Prepare everything the night before once the school has confirmed what to bring.
- Allow extra travel time so the morning does not begin with stress.
- Keep breakfast familiar and simple.
- Do not squeeze in a heavy revision session on the journey.
- Remind your child that one difficult section does not mean the whole paper has gone badly.
Useful phrases for children are practical rather than emotional: read the instructions carefully, keep moving if you are stuck, listen for timing notices, start each section fresh.
After the test, try not to interrogate your child. A calm, ordinary rest-of-day often helps more than a detailed post-mortem. Most children remember the questions they found hard, not the many they answered well.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
For the latest published cycle available at the time of writing, results letters were available on 16 October 2026. That suggests families usually receive results before the local authority deadline of 31 October, giving time to finalise school preferences.
After results are issued, the next step is the normal coordinated secondary admissions process through the local authority. Parents list their preferred schools in order, and offers are made on National Offer Day in March for that admissions round.
For the latest published cycle, National Offer Day was 1 March 2027.
If your child qualifies, an offer is still subject to the published admissions rules and the local authority process. If your child does not receive an offer, you can usually:
- ask to remain on or join the waiting list if the policy allows, and
- appeal the admission decision through the formal admissions appeals process.
The exact appeal timetable and paperwork are normally published after allocations. Appeals are not about repeating the test at home or arguing that a child deserved more marks; they focus on the admission authority's decision and the individual grounds of the case. If you reach that stage, read the school's and local authority's appeal guidance carefully and stick closely to deadlines.
What has changed recently
For September 2028 entry, our directory, not yet verified with the school, records the test is GL Assessment across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with balanced preparation needed across all four areas.
We have not found an official published announcement, within the sources reviewed, of a recent change in the last two years to places, catchment, or a different exam board that can be stated here safely as fact for this guide.
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does Bishop Wordsworth's School use for 2028 entry?
our working assumption for this entry year, not yet verified with the school, is that the school uses GL Assessment.
What subjects are tested for Bishop Wordsworth's School 11+?
For 2028 entry, the test covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
How many Year 7 places are there?
our directory, not yet verified with the school, records 160 Year 7 places.
When should my child start preparing?
For most children, a gentle start in Year 5 works well, with timed practice building gradually through Year 6.
Do I need to register for the test and also apply through the local authority?
Yes. Selective schools normally require both the test registration and the separate local authority secondary school application.
Does Bishop Wordsworth's School publish a pass mark?
We have not found a published pass mark that can be stated safely here. Check the school's admissions page for the current process and any score information it chooses to publish.
Sources
- Bishop Wordsworth's School Year 7 Admissions: The school admits pupils to Year 7 through the admissions and entrance test process; parents should use the school's Year 7 admissions information and registration route.
- Bishop Wordsworth's School website: The school is Bishop Wordsworth's School, a selective boys' grammar school in Salisbury with Year 7 entry via admissions information on its website.
Preparing for other schools in Wiltshire
- Brunel College · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Dauntsey's School 11+ · practice papers
- Emmaus School · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Godolphin School 11+ · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Leehurst Swan School 11+ · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Marlborough College 11+ · practice papers
Written by ElevenReady from the school's published information and reviewed by a person before publishing. Last reviewed 4 October 2026. Exam arrangements change. Check the school's admissions page for the current year.