How to prepare for the Borden Grammar School 11+

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

Borden Grammar School uses its own assessment for Year 7 entry. For 2028 entry, the working assumption for this guide is a GL-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. That means preparation needs to be broad and steady rather than heavily weighted towards one area.

The school’s admissions page for current entry rounds refers to the Borden Assessment as a separate process from the Kent Test route, with its own procedure document and application information. For families, the practical takeaway is simple: read the school’s admissions page carefully each year, because Borden’s own assessment arrangements matter just as much as the wider local authority application timetable.

The school website currently confirms that registration for the present cycle is closed, but it does not clearly set out the full test-day structure for 2028 entry yet. In particular, the delivery method is not confirmed in the information we hold (not yet verified with the school) we hold, so parents should wait for the next published assessment procedure before relying on assumptions about whether the test is paper-based, computer-based or split into sessions.

What the day usually involves at a school-run selective assessment is:

arrival and registration
a brief settling-in period with instructions
timed sections testing the four assessed areas
short breaks if the schedule allows
a collection point for parents afterwards

Because Borden assesses across all four subjects, a sensible preparation approach is to build accuracy first, then timing, and finally stamina. Children do best when they are used to switching between different question styles without becoming flustered.

Registration and key dates

Borden Grammar School runs a separate Borden Assessment, and the school’s admissions page links to the school’s own procedure documents and supplementary information forms. That tells parents that registration is handled through the school’s admissions arrangements rather than through a single county-wide grammar test application alone.

For the current cycle, the school states that Borden Assessment registration is now closed. The page also links to documents for Year 7 2027 entry, including the assessment procedure, the admission policy and the supplementary information form.

At the time of writing, the school has not yet published 2028 entry dates on the pages reviewed. Because of that, parents should treat any timing for the next round as provisional until the school updates its admissions page.

Based on the pattern of secondary admissions in Kent, families should expect to watch for:

the school’s new admissions and assessment documents appearing during the summer term or by early autumn
registration for the school’s own assessment closing before the test
the local authority’s secondary school application deadline on 31 October in the year before entry
National Offer Day on 1 March (or the next working day if it falls on a weekend)

When the school opens registration for 2028 entry, check carefully whether you need:

a school registration form or online portal submission
a supplementary information form
proof of address if requested
evidence for any priority category you are applying under

For the latest published details, start with the school’s admissions page and then cross-check the Kent County Council secondary admissions information. If you want a reminder when dates are updated, you can use Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=borden-grammar-school.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Borden Grammar School is a boys’ grammar school, but one current point on the school website is especially important: the school states that eligible Pupil Premium children, both boys and girls, can access free Atom Learning preparation. That preparation support is not the same thing as an admissions category, so parents should read the actual admission policy carefully rather than assuming it changes who can apply for a place.

The admissions page links to the school’s Admission Policy 2027–28 and to the local authority’s Secondary Admissions Leaflet 2027. Those are the documents to use for oversubscription rules, priority order and any supplementary information requirements.

From the sources reviewed, the school clearly operates a defined admissions policy and a separate Borden Assessment, but the specific details that matter most to families choosing schools year to year — such as the exact number of places, the full oversubscription order, or any distance and catchment measurements — should only be taken from the current policy once the 2028 documents are published. We have not included unverified figures here.

For parents, the practical process is:

Check whether your child is eligible to sit the Borden Assessment under the school’s current arrangements.
Submit any school-specific registration or supplementary form by the published deadline.
Also complete the Kent secondary Common Application Form through the local authority by the county deadline.
Read the school’s admission policy line by line if you expect to rely on a particular priority rule.

If your child may qualify for Pupil Premium support, it is worth checking the school’s page early, because the free Atom Learning preparation is specifically highlighted there.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child sitting the exam in the autumn of Year 6 for September 2028 entry, the most useful approach is calm, regular practice through Year 5 and the start of Year 6. Borden’s format rewards children who can handle a range of question types without rushing.

January to March of Year 5

Keep it light: around 1 to 1.5 hours a week in short sessions. Focus on core arithmetic, reading comprehension, vocabulary growth and simple reasoning habits. This is the stage for learning method, not speed.

Read widely and discuss meaning, tone and inference.
Secure number facts, times tables and written methods.
Introduce verbal and non-verbal reasoning gently so the formats do not feel strange later.

April to May of Year 5

Increase to about 1.5 to 2 hours a week. Start mixed practice across all four subjects. Children should begin to switch between topics confidently.

Add short comprehension tasks with written answers.
Practise mental maths and multi-step word problems.
Build vocabulary little and often.
Use untimed reasoning sets to teach patterns and technique.

June to July of Year 5

Move to 2 to 3 hours a week. This is a good point to introduce gentle timing on short sections, but not full papers every week.

Start section practice under realistic but manageable time limits.
Keep an error log: what went wrong, and why?
Review weaker areas before moving on.

Summer holiday before Year 6

Aim for 3 hours a week, spread across several shorter sessions. Consistency matters more than long study blocks.

Begin the first full mixed papers once your child knows the main question types.
Alternate full papers with focused repair work.
Practise staying calm after one difficult question or section.

September of Year 6 until the exam

Keep work focused and realistic at about 3 to 4 hours a week. By now, most children benefit from regular timed papers, but quality review still matters more than quantity.

Use one timed paper or set of timed sections each week.
Spend at least as long reviewing mistakes as completing the paper.
Reduce workload slightly in the final few days so your child arrives fresh.

If your child is prone to worry, avoid daily testing. Two strong practice sessions and one lighter review session each week is often enough.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For a GL-style maths paper, children need secure Key Stage 2 number skills and the ability to apply them quickly. Expect arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio ideas at an age-appropriate level, measures, shape, data handling and worded problems.

Practise mental fluency alongside written methods.
Use short timed sets for arithmetic accuracy.
Teach children to underline the important information in word problems.
Revisit mistakes in fractions and multi-step questions regularly.

English

English preparation should cover both comprehension and the language knowledge that selective tests often draw on, such as vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling awareness. The strongest preparation comes from reading, discussing texts and then answering concise questions with care.

Read fiction and non-fiction regularly.
Build vocabulary from books, not just word lists.
Practise retrieval, inference and finding evidence in a text.
Revise punctuation, sentence structure and common spelling patterns.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning rewards children who know the common question types and can recognise them quickly. Typical GL-style work includes codes, letter sequences, word relationships, vocabulary-based items and other language-pattern tasks.

Teach one question type at a time before mixing them.
Build vocabulary steadily, because it helps across many verbal tasks.
Encourage children to spot the rule first rather than guess.
Use short timed drills once methods are secure.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-verbal reasoning usually focuses on patterns, shape sequences, rotations, reflections, similarities, differences and spatial logic. Many children improve quickly once they learn what to look for.

Teach the common transformations explicitly: rotation, reflection, shading and movement.
Use simple language to describe patterns aloud before answering.
Practise eliminating unlikely options when a question feels difficult.
Return to errors to identify the missed pattern.

Across all four subjects, the goal is not to cram tricks. It is to help your child become familiar with the style, accurate under time pressure and resilient if one section feels harder than expected.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers work best when they are used sparingly and reviewed properly. Many families do too many papers and too little analysis. For Borden, where the assessment covers four different areas, review is where most progress happens.

Start with untimed or lightly timed sections so your child learns the method.
Move to timed sections before full papers.
Keep a notebook of recurring mistakes.
Redo only the questions that were genuinely not understood, not the whole paper every time.
Practise bubbling answers or recording them neatly if the final instructions require it once published.

Use school-specific resources where possible. ElevenReady’s free materials for this school are here:

Free Borden Grammar School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/borden-grammar-school-mock-tests
The Borden Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/borden-grammar-school
Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=borden-grammar-school

If you use mock exams, treat them as a confidence-building rehearsal rather than a verdict. One or two well-timed mocks are usually enough. The most useful mock is one that helps your child practise pacing, sitting still for the full session and recovering after a question they cannot do straight away.

On the day

The best exam-day advice is practical and calm.

Check the school’s instructions the night before and pack anything requested.
Allow extra time for travel so your child does not arrive rushed.
Give a familiar breakfast rather than something unusual.
Keep conversation light on the journey.
Remind your child that some questions are meant to feel challenging.

What children need to hear is simple: read carefully, keep moving, and do not let one hard question spoil the next section. If there is time at the end, they can return to anything left unanswered if the instructions allow.

After the test, resist the temptation to conduct a detailed post-mortem. Most children feel better if the family simply marks the day as done and moves on.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

The school pages reviewed confirm the existence of the Borden Assessment procedure for the current cycle, but they do not clearly publish the full 2028 timetable yet. So for now, the safest guide is the standard admissions sequence used for secondary transfer in Kent.

In general, families should expect:

the school to issue assessment outcomes or the information needed for admissions ranking according to its published procedure
parents to submit the local authority secondary application by the county deadline
school places to be allocated on National Offer Day
waiting list and appeal information to follow for families who do not receive an offer

Kent County Council publishes the wider secondary admissions process, including applying for secondary school, National Offer Day arrangements and appeal guidance. If you are considering an appeal, always read both the local authority information and the school’s own admissions policy and appeal notes for that entry year.

Where Borden publishes school-specific result timing or additional steps for the Borden Assessment, those details should be taken directly from the latest procedure document rather than from older parent forums or unofficial summaries.

What has changed recently

The main recent point clearly visible on the school’s admissions page is that the current admissions information is organised around a separate Borden Assessment, with linked documents for Year 7 2027 entry, including the assessment procedure, admission policy and supplementary information forms.

The school also highlights that it partners with Atom Learning to provide free 11+ preparation for eligible Pupil Premium pupils. The site wording specifically notes access for eligible Pupil Premium children, both boys and girls.

We did not find a clearly announced recent change, within the last two years, to the published exam board, subject mix, catchment wording or number of places on the sources reviewed. If the school publishes an updated 2028 assessment procedure later in the cycle, that is the document to check first for any confirmed changes.

Frequently asked questions

Does Borden Grammar School use the Kent Test?

Borden runs its own Borden Assessment for entry, with information published on the school’s admissions page. Parents should read the school’s latest assessment procedure each year.

What subjects are in the Borden Grammar School 11+?

For 2028 entry, the subjects to prepare for, pending the school's confirmation, are Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

When do you register for the Borden Assessment?

The school page reviewed says the current registration is closed, but 2028 dates were not yet published. Check the school’s admissions page regularly for the new cycle.

Is Borden Grammar School only for boys?

It is a boys’ grammar school. The school also states that eligible Pupil Premium children, both boys and girls, can access free Atom Learning preparation.

How early should my child start preparing?

For most children, light familiarisation in Year 5 followed by more structured practice from late spring or summer of Year 5 is sensible. The aim is steady progress, not an intense early start.

Does Borden publish a pass mark?

We did not find a published pass mark or qualifying score in the sources reviewed. Parents should check the school’s admissions page and current policy documents for any score information it chooses to publish.

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Sources

Borden Grammar School – Admissions and Borden Test Application: Borden has an admissions page for Year 7 entry; it refers to a separate Borden Assessment; registration for the current cycle is closed; the page links to The Borden Assessment Procedure for Admissions to Year 7 2027, Secondary Admissions Leaflet 2027, Admission Policy 2027-28 and supplementary form

Preparing for other schools in Kent

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.