How to prepare for the Cranmore 11+ exam

The exam at a glance

For September 2028 entry to Year 7, Cranmore uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test. This is an online, computer-based assessment taken in the first term of Year 6. The test covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

The ISEB pre-test is designed to be adaptive, which means the level of difficulty changes according to a child’s answers. In practice, that means pace matters as much as accuracy: children need to read quickly, stay calm and move on sensibly if they are unsure.

At Cranmore, the admissions page explains that boys normally take the test at their current school if that school can invigilate it. If not, Cranmore may offer a sitting at the school on a set date. The admissions process for 11+ also includes a visit day at Cranmore, so families should expect more than just the online test itself.

On the day of the test itself, children should expect a sequence of short, timed online sections rather than one long paper. Because it is on screen, preparation should include screen-based practice as well as paper practice. Children do not need to second-guess how the adaptive element works; the useful preparation is to build secure core skills in all four subjects and to get used to answering accurately under time pressure.

Board: ISEB Common Pre-Test
Format: adaptive online test
Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
Delivery: computer-based
When taken: first term of Year 6 for 2028 entry
What else to expect: Cranmore also refers to an 11+ visit day as part of the process

Registration and key dates

Cranmore runs its own admissions process, so parents should begin on the school’s admissions page rather than through a local authority portal. The school’s entry-process page says families can apply online and also gives a direct email contact for admissions. For 11+ entry, the same page explains that the process uses the ISEB Common Pre-Tests in the first term of Year 6.

For 2028 entry, the school’s page gives one date that can be used with confidence: the registration deadline is 10 October 2027. The page also sets out the previous cycle as an example. It says that for boys joining in September 2027, tests had to be completed by Friday 20 November 2026, boys could sit the test at Cranmore on that date if their current school could not invigilate, and boys also attended Cranmore on Monday 16 November 2026. Offers were then made in the week commencing Monday 30 November 2026.

Because those November and offer dates are published as examples for the earlier cycle, the safest way to use them is as a guide to typical timing. For 2028 entry, families should therefore plan on the basis that testing is usually completed by mid to late November in Year 6, with decisions typically following shortly afterwards, but they should check Cranmore’s admissions page for the live 2027 timetable when it is published.

In practical terms, registration usually means completing the school’s application route directly and then following the admissions team’s instructions about test arrangements. If a child’s current school cannot host the ISEB pre-test, Cranmore’s page suggests the school can arrange for the test to be taken at Cranmore instead.

Who runs registration? Cranmore
How to register? Via the school’s admissions/application route on its website
Verified deadline for 2028 entry: 10 October 2027
Typical testing window: first term of Year 6, usually completed by mid to late November based on the example cycle on the school page
Typical offers timing: shortly after testing, based on the example cycle given by the school

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Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Cranmore is an independent day school in West Horsley, Surrey. Its admissions page says applications can be made for boys and girls at ages 2 to 6, and for boys at ages 11 and 13. For Year 7 entry, there is no catchment area in the state-school sense.

The school does, however, publish one clear priority rule: pupils who have brothers or sisters at Cranmore and/or St Teresa’s and/or Manor House are, where possible, given priority on entry. For parents, that means sibling connection may matter, but it does not remove the need to go through the admissions process and assessment route set by the school.

Cranmore does not publish a standardised pass mark, cut-off score or distance rule on the admissions page consulted for this guide. As an independent school, places are offered through the school’s own admissions decisions rather than through local authority allocation rules. If you want the most up-to-date picture of availability, waiting lists or year-group capacity, it is best to ask the admissions team directly.

The school also publishes its senior-school fees. For the academic year 2026–2027, Year 7 fees are £9,095 per term and a compulsory lunch charge of £410 per term is added from Year 7 to Year 11. Fees can change from year to year, so parents applying for 2028 entry should check the latest schedule before accepting a place.

School type: independent day school
11+ applicants: boys
Catchment: none published
Priority: siblings at Cranmore, St Teresa’s or Manor House are given priority where possible
Published fees for 2026–2027: Year 7 £9,095 per term, plus £410 per term lunch charge

A month-by-month preparation plan

The Cranmore 11+ uses an adaptive online test, so the aim is not endless worksheets. It is steadier than that: secure skills, regular reading, short timed practice and enough screen familiarity that the format does not feel strange on the day.

Below is a realistic plan for a Year 5 child working towards an autumn Year 6 test. It assumes a sensible balance with school, hobbies and family life.

January to March of Year 5: start gently with 1 to 2 hours a week. Build arithmetic fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension and pattern recognition. This is the time to spot weak areas early.
April of Year 5: move to around 2 hours a week. Introduce short mixed tasks across all four subjects. Keep sessions brief and positive.
May: work for 2 to 3 hours a week. Begin occasional timed bursts of 5 to 10 minutes so your child gets used to making decisions under pressure.
June: continue at 2 to 3 hours a week. Start doing more practice on screen, especially for comprehension-style reading, mental maths and reasoning questions.
July: increase to around 3 hours a week if your child is coping well. Review mistakes carefully. At this stage, accuracy still comes before speed.
August: aim for 3 to 4 hours a week, broken into short sessions. This is a good month to begin more structured timed sets and to rotate evenly through all four subjects.
September of Year 6: 4 to 5 hours a week is usually enough. This is the point to use properly timed practice sections. Focus on pacing, staying calm and moving on from tricky items.
October: keep the routine steady at around 4 to 5 hours a week. Use one or two mixed sessions each week to mimic switching between subjects and question styles.
November, up to the test: reduce volume slightly and protect confidence. Short, sharp practice is better than cramming. In the final week, prioritise sleep, routine and a calm mindset.

When should timed papers start? For this exam, a good rule is to introduce short timed sets in late Year 5 and save regular timed practice for September of Year 6 onwards. Because the test is adaptive, there is little value in obsessing over one raw score. What matters more is whether your child can work steadily, recover after a hard question and keep concentration across the whole assessment.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For Cranmore’s ISEB pre-test, Maths preparation should focus on quick, accurate core skills. Useful areas include the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, basic ratio ideas, measures, shape and data handling at primary level. Because the test is timed and adaptive, mental fluency matters: children should be able to estimate, rule out unlikely answers and avoid getting stuck in long calculations.

Good practice includes short arithmetic drills, mixed problem-solving and regular review of methods your child already knows. On screen, children also need to be comfortable reading carefully and holding information in mind without writing everything out in full.

English

English in the pre-test typically rewards strong reading rather than coached tricks. Build vocabulary, inference, understanding of tone, retrieval of information and the ability to follow meaning precisely. Spelling, grammar and sentence structure may also feed into the wider English profile a child brings to assessment.

The best preparation is steady daily reading, discussion of unfamiliar words and short comprehension tasks from a range of fiction and non-fiction. Encourage your child to justify answers from the text, not just guess what sounds right.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning usually tests how well a child can work with words, codes, patterns in language and logical relationships. That may include synonyms, antonyms, letter sequences, word connections and other language-based reasoning tasks.

Practise little and often. The key is to make methods automatic: spotting the instruction quickly, identifying the pattern and moving on. Vocabulary development is especially helpful here, as children with a broader word bank often work faster and more confidently.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning focuses on shapes, visual patterns, similarities, rotations, reflections and spatial logic. Children need to learn how to compare features methodically rather than staring at a question and hoping the answer appears.

Useful practice includes identifying what changes from one shape to the next, noticing position, number, shading and orientation, and talking through the rule aloud before choosing an answer. Because this section can feel abstract at first, short regular exposure works better than occasional long sessions.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used to improve habits, not just to produce a score. For Cranmore, where the real assessment is adaptive and online, the best approach is to use papers to strengthen subject knowledge and timing, then add some screen-based practice so your child gets used to reading and deciding quickly on screen.

Start untimed so your child learns the method.
Move to short timed sets once accuracy improves.
Review every mistake: was it knowledge, vocabulary, rushing or misreading?
Keep an error notebook with brief notes on recurring issues.
Mix subjects across the week so switching feels normal.
In the final run-up, do not overdo full mocks; confidence matters.

You can use ElevenReady’s free resources here:

If you book an external mock, treat it as a practice experience rather than a verdict. A mock is helpful if it teaches your child how to manage nerves, timing and concentration. It is not helpful if it knocks confidence months before the real test. Choose sparingly and always follow up with calm review.

On the day

For an online test, practical calm makes a real difference. The aim is for your child to arrive feeling that the format is familiar and manageable.

Make the morning simple: normal breakfast, comfortable uniform or clothing as instructed, no last-minute revision.
Leave in good time if your child is sitting at Cranmore.
Remind your child that some questions will feel hard because the test is adaptive. That is normal.
Encourage a steady rhythm: read carefully, choose the best answer, then move on.
If a section feels difficult, tell your child not to panic. One hard patch does not mean the whole test has gone badly.
After the test, avoid a detailed post-mortem in the car home. A calm "well done" is usually enough.

If your child is sitting the test at their current school, try to keep the rest of the day as ordinary as possible. If they are coming to Cranmore for the assessment or visit day, frame it as a chance to see the school and meet people, not as a performance they must get exactly right.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

As an independent school, Cranmore does not follow the local-authority national offer process used by grammar and other state schools. Instead, the school contacts families directly as part of its own admissions timetable.

On the admissions page consulted for this guide, Cranmore gives an example from the previous cycle in which offers were made in the week commencing 30 November 2026. That suggests decisions are normally made fairly soon after testing, but for 2028 entry families should check the live admissions page for the exact date once published.

The school page consulted does not publish a pass mark, cut-off score or formal appeal process in the way a state admission authority would. If your child is not offered a place, the practical next steps are to ask politely whether a waiting list operates, whether further assessment is possible, and whether there is any scope for reconsideration if circumstances change.

For families offered a place, read the offer carefully, note any acceptance deadline and check the latest fees and joining arrangements before replying.

What has changed recently

For the most recent information visible on Cranmore’s admissions page, the school states that the 11+ process uses the ISEB Common Pre-Tests in the first term of Year 6. In the material checked for this guide, no separate announcement of a board change, catchment change or places change for the last two years was clearly published on the school’s admissions page.

The page does, however, provide updated example-cycle dates for testing, the visit day and offers, which is helpful for families planning ahead. If Cranmore publishes a new 2028 timeline or any further changes to the process, that page is the first place to check.

Frequently asked questions

Does Cranmore have a catchment area for 11+?

No catchment area is published for Year 7 entry. Cranmore is an independent school, though it does say that siblings at Cranmore, St Teresa’s or Manor House are given priority where possible.

What exam does Cranmore use for 11+ entry?

For 2028 entry, Cranmore uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test. It is an online, adaptive assessment covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

When should my child start preparing for the Cranmore 11+?

For most children, a gentle start in Year 5 is sensible. Build up gradually, then make practice more timed and more screen-based from the start of Year 6.

Does Cranmore publish a pass mark?

Not on the admissions material checked for this guide. If you want score information, ask the admissions team directly and check the school’s admissions page for any updates.

Where does my child sit the Cranmore pre-test?

Usually at their current school if that school can invigilate the ISEB pre-test. If not, Cranmore’s admissions page says boys may be able to sit it at Cranmore on the school’s arranged date.

When is the registration deadline for 2028 entry?

The school page gives 10 October 2027 as the registration deadline for 2028 entry. Always recheck the live admissions page in case the school updates it.

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Sources

Cranmore School – The Entry Process: Cranmore uses the ISEB Common Pre-Tests in the first term of Year 6 for 11+; registration deadline for 2028 entry is 10 October 2027; example 2027-cycle dates include boys attending Cranmore on Monday 16 November 2026, tests completed by Friday 20 November 2026, boys able to sit tests at Cranmore on
ISEB – Common Pre-Tests: The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online assessment used for school admissions.
ISEB – Common Pre-Tests Familiarisation: Parents can familiarise themselves with the style of the online ISEB Common Pre-Test; the assessment is designed for on-screen practice and familiarisation.

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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.