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
For Year 7 entry to Bootham School in September 2028, children sit the school’s own entrance assessment. For this intake, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that the paper follows a GL Assessment style across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, so preparation needs to be balanced across all four areas.
Bootham’s Senior School admissions information says that applicants for Years 7 and 9 sit the school’s own entrance assessment, and may also meet the Head. The school’s published admissions information for the current cycle describes the assessment as taking place usually in January. That is useful for planning, but parents should still check the school’s admissions page each year because the school does not appear to publish the full future timetable this far ahead.
The school’s website does not clearly set out, on the pages reviewed, whether the assessment is taken on paper, on screen, or in a mixed format, so it is best to treat the exact delivery method as unconfirmed until the school releases the arrangements for the 2028 entry round.
What the day is likely to involve is straightforward: an arrival and registration process, the entrance assessment itself, and for some candidates a meeting or informal interview with senior staff. As with many independent school assessments, the day is designed to help the school build a rounded picture of each child rather than rely on a single impression from one paper.
- Board/format: school’s own paper, GL-style across four subjects
- Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
- Year groups assessed for senior entry: Years 7 and 9 applicants sit the entrance assessment
- Interview/meeting: the school says applicants may meet the Head
- Likely timing: usually in January, based on the school’s current admissions page
Registration and key dates
Bootham runs its own admissions process rather than using a grammar-school style local authority testing system. The school’s Senior School admissions page invites families to contact the Admissions team directly, and it provides an enquiry form and contact details. For practical purposes, that means parents should begin with the school rather than York Council when registering interest for Year 7 entry.
For 2028 entry, the exact registration opening date, deadline, assessment date and results date were not published on the pages reviewed. The school’s current Senior School admissions page is headed for September 2027 Admissions and says that pupils entering Years 7 and 9 take the school’s own entrance assessment usually in January. Because that is the latest official wording available, the safest assumption is that Year 7 entry for September 2028 will also be assessed around January 2028, but families must confirm this directly with Bootham once the 2028 cycle opens.
If you are planning ahead, a sensible approach is:
- Register your interest with the school well in advance through the admissions route on the Bootham website.
- Attend an open event if possible, so your child can see the setting and you can ask how the assessment day works.
- Ask the Admissions team what documents they require for Year 7 applications, as this is not fully listed on the public page reviewed.
- Check when the school expects to send assessment invitations and decisions.
One currently published event on the school site was the next open event for Senior School entry in September 2027, listed as Saturday 7 November. That date is specific to that admissions cycle, so it should not be used as a 2028 deadline, but it does show that autumn open events are part of Bootham’s pattern.
Until Bootham publishes the 2028 schedule, parents should think in terms of autumn contact and visits, followed by an assessment usually in January. Keep checking the school’s admissions page and consider signing up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
For a concise summary page, see The Bootham School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
Bootham is an independent coeducational school, so there is no catchment area in the state-school sense. Children do not need to live within a defined postcode radius to apply.
Where applications exceed the number of places available, ElevenReady’s directory (not yet verified with the school) school information for this guide is that boarding status and date of registration will be taken into account. Parents should not treat this as a simple first-come, first-served system, but it does mean that applying early is sensible, especially if you are considering boarding.
The school’s public admissions material reviewed for this guide does not publish a Year 7 pass mark, a standardised score threshold or a cut-off. It also does not appear to publish a fixed number of Year 7 places on the pages reviewed. If you want the most accurate picture of likely availability for your child’s year, ask Bootham Admissions directly.
Bootham describes itself as a Quaker school, and that ethos often comes through in the admissions experience: schools of this type are usually looking for children who can cope academically and will contribute positively to school life. In practical terms, that means families should prepare not only for the assessment paper but also for a calm, thoughtful conversation if the school invites the child to meet senior staff.
- Catchment: none
- School type: independent, coeducational
- Oversubscription: boarding status and date of registration are taken into account
- Published pass mark: not found on the school pages reviewed
- Published Year 7 place number: not found on the school pages reviewed
A month-by-month preparation plan
Because Bootham’s entrance assessment is usually in January for Year 7 entry, most families will be preparing through Year 5 and the first term of Year 6. The aim is not to create a crammed schedule. A steady routine works much better: short, regular practice, careful review, and confidence-building in all four subjects.
March to May of Year 5
Start gently with core skills. Two to three hours a week is enough at this stage, split over several short sessions. Focus on arithmetic fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary growth and a first look at verbal and non-verbal reasoning question types. This is the stage for learning methods, not racing the clock.
June to July of Year 5
Increase to around three hours a week if your child is coping comfortably. By now, they should have seen the main question types in all four subjects. Begin mixing subjects within a single week so they get used to switching between English, Maths, VR and NVR. If a child has a clear weakness, give it extra time without dropping the stronger areas.
Summer holiday before Year 6
Keep work light but consistent: perhaps two or three sessions a week, around 30 to 40 minutes each. Read widely every day, keep Maths facts fresh, and do occasional mixed reasoning practice. A few short papers or section tests are useful, but do not make the whole summer about exam preparation.
September of Year 6
This is the point to become more structured. Aim for about four hours a week, still spread out across the week. Move from untimed practice into timed sections. Children should learn how long they can afford on a question, how to move on when stuck, and how to check efficiently.
October of Year 6
Continue at roughly four to five hours a week if needed, depending on your child’s stamina and school workload. Start doing one fuller mixed paper or a cluster of timed sections at weekends, followed by careful review. Review matters more than volume: every mistake should be sorted into one of three causes — knowledge gap, misunderstanding, or timing slip.
November of Year 6
Keep timed work regular. This is a good month for practising under realistic conditions at a desk, with a watch or clock visible and no interruptions. If your child tends to panic, include one deliberately easier session each week to keep confidence steady.
December of Year 6
Do not overdo it. By now, children should mainly be consolidating. Reduce the number of brand-new tasks and revisit familiar question types. Keep one or two timed sessions each week, but protect rest, sleep and normal family life in the run-up to Christmas.
January of Year 6, before the assessment
In the final fortnight, focus on rhythm rather than intensity. Short mixed practice, light review of methods, and plenty of reassurance are enough. Avoid last-minute marathons. A child who goes into the assessment calm and well-rested will usually do better than one who has done too much.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For a GL-style independent school paper, children should be secure with the Key Stage 2 core: number operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio foundations, measures, shape, angles, perimeter, area and straightforward data handling. Bootham-specific sample papers were not published on the pages reviewed, so the safest preparation is broad coverage rather than trying to second-guess narrow topics.
Practise mental arithmetic first, then written method accuracy, then timed problem-solving. Many children lose marks not because the Maths is beyond them, but because they misread a question or rush a basic calculation. Encourage your child to underline key information and estimate answers where possible as a sense-check.
English
Preparation should cover reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling patterns, punctuation and clear written expression. In GL-style English work, children often need to retrieve information precisely, infer meaning from tone or detail, and choose vocabulary carefully.
The most useful preparation is still regular reading. Read fiction and non-fiction, talk about meanings of unfamiliar words, and practise writing concise but complete answers. If the paper includes writing, focus on structure, sentence control and thoughtful vocabulary rather than over-complicated ideas.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning usually rewards familiarity with recurring question types. Children should practise codes, letter sequences, word relationships, vocabulary-based logic, moving letters through words, and selecting patterns in language. The exact mix can vary, so broad exposure is important.
Success in VR comes from three things: knowing the common formats, having strong vocabulary, and working accurately at speed. Build a notebook of new words and prefixes, suffixes and roots. Short, frequent VR sessions often work better than long ones because recognition of question types develops through repetition.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning practice should include shape sequences, rotations, reflections, symmetry, codes, nets and odd-one-out style pattern work. Children need to learn how shapes change from one box to the next and to spot more than one rule operating at once.
For NVR, use step-by-step explanation at first: what changed in shape, position, shading, size or number? Once your child can describe the rule clearly, then move to timed work. Many children improve quickly in NVR once they realise the questions are rule-based rather than mysterious.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are used diagnostically rather than as a score-chasing exercise. Start with untimed or lightly timed work to learn the formats. Later, move to proper timed sections and mixed papers. After each paper, spend as long reviewing as your child spent completing it.
A simple routine works well:
- Choose one paper or section with a clear aim.
- Complete it under realistic conditions.
- Mark it carefully.
- Review every wrong answer and every guess.
- Redo a handful of similar questions a few days later.
Mock exams can also help, especially for children who are academically able but unsettled by timed conditions. A mock is useful not because it predicts an exact result, but because it teaches pacing, stamina and how to recover after one difficult section.
For home preparation, use these resources:
- Free Bootham School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/bootham-school-mock-tests
- The Bootham School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/bootham-school
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=bootham-school
As Bootham uses its own assessment in a GL-style format, it is sensible to use materials that cover all four tested subjects rather than specialising too early in only Maths and English.
On the day
Keep the practical side simple. Lay out clothes, stationery if requested, and directions the night before. Aim to arrive in good time so your child is not carrying the stress of a rushed journey into the assessment room.
At breakfast, keep things familiar. This is not the morning for a grand motivational talk. A calm tone helps most children more than repeated reminders about how important the day is.
Useful phrases are brief and steady: “Do one question at a time”, “If one section feels hard, that will be true for other children too”, and “Keep moving and come back if you can.” If Bootham includes a meeting with the Head or another member of staff, encourage your child simply to answer naturally and politely. Schools are not looking for a rehearsed performance.
- Get there early enough to settle
- Use the loo before going in
- Read instructions slowly at the start of each section
- If stuck, make the best decision you can and move on
- Do not try to judge the whole paper from one difficult page
Afterwards, avoid a forensic post-mortem in the car. Most children feel better if the family moves on quickly and treats the rest of the day normally.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
Because Bootham is an independent school, the post-exam process is different from state grammar school allocation. There is no local authority national offer mechanism for the school itself. Instead, the school assesses candidates, decides whom it can offer places to, and then communicates directly with families.
For the 2028 cycle, the exact results timeline was not published on the pages reviewed, so parents should ask Bootham Admissions when they can expect decisions after the January assessment. If your child is offered a place, the school will normally set out the next steps clearly, including acceptance deadlines and any deposit arrangements where applicable.
If your child is not offered a place, ask politely whether there is a waiting list and whether the school can explain the next stage. Independent schools do not run admission appeals in the same formal way as local authority schools, but they may have a complaints procedure or a process for handling admissions queries. The school’s policies page is the right place to check the current procedure.
If Bootham is one of several schools you are considering, it is worth keeping your alternatives moving until you have a confirmed outcome and have accepted a place.
What has changed recently
From the official pages reviewed, Bootham’s current Senior School admissions information is presented under September 2027 Admissions and states that applicants for Years 7 and 9 sit the school’s own entrance assessment, usually in January. We did not find an official announcement on the reviewed pages of a recent change to the exam board, catchment rules, place numbers or admissions structure for Year 7 beyond that published wording. If Bootham announces any updates for 2028 entry later, parents should rely on the school’s admissions page first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bootham School have an 11+ exam?
Yes. For Year 7 entry, Bootham says applicants sit the school’s own entrance assessment, and applicants may also meet the Head.
What subjects are in the Bootham School entrance assessment?
For 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that preparation should cover Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
When is the Bootham School Year 7 entrance exam?
The school’s current admissions page says the entrance assessment for Years 7 and 9 is usually in January. Check Bootham Admissions for the exact 2028 date when it is published.
Is there a catchment area for Bootham School?
No. Bootham is an independent school, so there is no state-style catchment area.
How are oversubscribed places decided at Bootham School?
For this guide, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that if places are oversubscribed, boarding status and date of registration are taken into account.
Does Bootham School publish a pass mark?
We did not find a published pass mark, cut-off score or qualifying standard on the school pages reviewed. Families should ask the Admissions team if they want the latest position.
Sources
- Bootham School Senior School Admissions: Applicants for Years 7 and 9 sit the school’s own entrance assessment; applicants may meet the Head; the page is headed September 2027 Admissions; the entrance assessment is usually in January.
- Bootham School website: Bootham School is a Quaker school; the school runs its own admissions process and provides admissions contact routes from its website.
Preparing for other schools in York
- OneSchool Global York Campus · practice papers
- St Peter's School 2-18 · practice papers
- The Mount School (York) · practice papers
- York Steiner School · 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.