How to prepare for the Crosfields School 11+

The exam at a glance

For Year 7 entry, Crosfields School says applicants attend a Year 7 assessment day rather than sitting a single traditional 11+ paper. The school’s admissions information for the current published cycle says this day includes CAT4 tests, a creative writing task, an interview with a senior teacher and team-building activities.

For families preparing for 2028 entry, the exact board or provider for that cycle has not been confirmed. However, the current pattern strongly suggests that the first stage is an ability-based screen rather than a taught-syllabus exam. In practical terms, that means children need to be ready for questions that assess English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, with an emphasis on vocabulary, logic, pattern-spotting and mental agility.

CAT4-style assessment is designed to look at how a child reasons, not just what they have memorised in class. Parents should therefore expect a process that feels different from school tests: it may be more tightly timed, and it may reward calm pacing and quick decision-making. The school also uses the wider assessment day to build a fuller picture of each child through writing, conversation and group interaction.

What the day looks like, based on the school’s published admissions page and Year 7 event information, is likely to include:

arrival and registration
an assessment session including CAT4 testing
a creative writing exercise
an interview with a senior member of staff
team or group activities

Because Crosfields is an independent school, the admissions process is run by the school rather than by the local authority’s grammar-school testing system. Families should treat the school’s own admissions page as the main source for the 2028 cycle once new dates and arrangements are published.

Registration and key dates

Crosfields handles its own admissions. The school’s apply page says families can apply at any time throughout the year, and for the current published Year 7 cycle it lists a separate deadline for that round of applications. The application route is through the school’s admissions process, and the school invites families to contact the admissions team directly. The same page also links to enquiry and visit arrangements, which is useful if you want to see the school before applying.

For children starting Year 7 in September 2028, the full set of dates has not yet been published. The most recent dated information available on the school site is for 2027 entry. Based on that published cycle, the timing was:

Year 7 application deadline: 2 November 2026
Bursary application deadline: 9 November 2026
Year 7 experience days: 8 October 2026 and 12 November 2026
Year 7 assessment day: 26 November 2026
Offers sent: 11 December 2026
Scholarship assessments: in January

For 2028 entry, parents should therefore plan on the process usually running through the autumn of Year 6, with registration and school events in the first half of the autumn term, the assessment day typically in late November, and offers in December. Treat that as a guide only until Crosfields publishes the next cycle.

What documents or information will you need? The school’s public page does not set out a full checklist on the page we found, so it is safest to expect the normal independent-school admissions basics: the child’s details, parent contact information and, where relevant, separate bursary forms by the bursary deadline. If you are applying for financial support or scholarships, check the school’s admissions team early, because those routes often have their own paperwork and timelines.

Useful links for staying organised:

The Crosfields School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/crosfields-school
Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=crosfields-school

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Crosfields is an independent co-educational school in Reading for children aged 2 to 16. Unlike a state grammar school, it does not use a local-authority catchment system in the same way. From the admissions information we found, the school does not publish a Year 7 catchment area or a distance-based priority rule on its apply page.

That means families should assume that application is not restricted by a formal grammar-school catchment boundary, but admissions decisions are still made by the school through its own assessment and selection process. For Crosfields, Year 7 applicants are considered through the assessment day, including CAT4 testing, writing, interview and group activity.

The school’s website says families may apply throughout the year, which is useful if you are moving schools outside the normal timeline. Even so, if you are aiming for the main Year 7 2028 intake, it is sensible to work to the autumn deadlines once they are published, because that is the school’s main admissions round.

On places and competition, the school page we found does not publish a fixed number of Year 7 places, a published pass mark or a published score threshold. If you need current availability, cohort size or oversubscription detail, contact Crosfields admissions directly and check the school’s own admissions pages for the 2028 update.

Fees are published. For the 2026–2027 academic year, the fee for Year 7 is £8,495 per term, and the school says this figure includes £180 per term for a digital device. The school also advertises bursaries and scholarships, with bursary applications in the current cycle closing shortly after the Year 7 application deadline.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because Crosfields uses an assessment day rather than a narrow taught-content test, preparation should be steady and balanced. The aim is not endless worksheet practice. It is to build confidence in reasoning, reading, writing and calm timed work.

January to March of Year 5

Keep preparation light: around 1 to 2 hours a week in short sessions.
Build strong reading habits, especially vocabulary-rich fiction and non-fiction.
Start gentle reasoning work: verbal codes, analogies, odd-one-out, sequences and simple spatial patterns.
For maths, focus on mental fluency: number bonds, times tables, fractions, quick calculation and multi-step arithmetic.

April to June of Year 5

Increase to around 2 to 3 hours a week.
Add short timed bursts, such as 10-minute mental maths or vocabulary drills.
Practise creative writing once a fortnight: planning quickly, writing clearly and finishing within a limit.
Begin talking practice for interview confidence: hobbies, books, teamwork, challenges and why a child is interested in the school.

Summer holiday before Year 6

Aim for 2 to 4 hours a week, spread across several days.
Do not make every session formal. Reading, word games and puzzle books all help.
Introduce computer-based practice where possible, because adaptive on-screen tasks can feel different from paper exercises.
Keep one short writing task each week and review it for structure, punctuation and clarity.

September of Year 6

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week.
Practise mixed sessions, because the real process may switch between different skills.
Start properly timed practice now. Children need to learn when to move on, not get stuck.
If the school offers experience days or open events, attend if you can. Familiarity lowers stress.

October of Year 6

Keep practice regular but not excessive: usually 4 hours a week is enough.
Use one longer session each week to simulate concentration over a fuller stretch.
Refine interview preparation through natural conversation, not rehearsed speeches.
For writing, focus on planning in a few minutes, then writing a complete piece with a clear beginning, middle and end.

November of Year 6, up to the assessment day

Reduce the volume slightly in the final week.
Use short refreshers: mental maths, vocabulary recall, a few reasoning questions and one light writing plan.
Prioritise sleep, routine and confidence.
Avoid giving a child the impression that every mark matters. This style of assessment also looks at how they think and how they approach new tasks.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For Crosfields, maths preparation should focus less on long written methods and more on mental arithmetic, number sense and quick reasoning. Children should be comfortable with the four operations, times tables, place value, fractions, percentages, simple ratio and interpreting information quickly. Practise short timed calculations, estimation and deciding which method is quickest. If the first stage is adaptive, accuracy matters, but so does keeping momentum.

English

The school’s admissions process includes a creative writing task, so children need both technical control and ideas. Practise planning quickly, writing with clear paragraphs and varying vocabulary without sounding forced. Encourage wide reading, because vocabulary and comprehension support both CAT4-style verbal work and writing quality. It is also helpful to practise describing a setting, building a short narrative and writing from a prompt within a time limit.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning preparation should centre on vocabulary, relationships between words, patterns in letter or word sequences, codes, classifications and logical deduction. Build vocabulary steadily rather than cramming word lists at the end. A child who reads widely and talks about word meanings is usually better equipped for this kind of assessment. Timed practice matters because verbal reasoning can be deceptively slow if a child double-checks every item.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-verbal reasoning usually involves shapes, patterns, rotations, reflections, codes and similarities or differences between figures. The key skill is learning to spot the rule quickly. Children should get used to looking systematically: shape, number, shading, position, rotation and symmetry. For an adaptive screen, short and regular practice works better than long sessions, because visual reasoning speed improves with familiarity.

Practice papers and mock exams

For Crosfields, practice papers are useful, but they should be used in the right way. Because the school’s process includes CAT4 tests and a broader assessment day, the goal is not to memorise question types only. It is to become comfortable with timed reasoning, concise writing and switching between tasks calmly.

Use practice papers in three stages:

Learn the method first. Start untimed, especially for verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Make sure your child knows how each task works.
Add time pressure gradually. Move to short timed sets before full papers. This builds pacing without panic.
Review properly. Go through mistakes and ask why they happened: misunderstanding, rushing, weak vocabulary, missed pattern or mental maths slip.

Mocks can help if your child needs experience of working under pressure, but one or two is usually enough. Too many mocks can dent confidence and crowd out the quieter work that matters more: reading, vocabulary growth, writing and reasoning accuracy.

Use these ElevenReady resources:

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

If you use any third-party CAT4-style materials, keep the sessions short and varied. The best preparation for an ability screen is often a mix of puzzles, mental maths, reading and thoughtful review, rather than endless full tests.

On the day

Keep the morning calm and ordinary. A good breakfast, plenty of time and familiar routines will help more than last-minute drilling. If your child tends to worry, remind them that Crosfields is looking at the whole child across the day, not just one score on one page.

Practical tips:

Arrive in good time so your child is not rushed.
Bring anything the school has asked for and check emails the night before.
Dress appropriately for the school’s instructions and the possibility of both indoor assessment and group activity.
Avoid heavy practice on the same morning; a few easy mental warm-ups are plenty.

For the assessment itself, give your child three simple reminders:

Listen carefully to instructions, especially if any test is delivered on screen.
Keep moving if a question is taking too long.
Be yourself in the interview and group activity: polite, engaged and willing to contribute.

Afterwards, avoid a full post-mortem in the car. A simple “well done” is usually enough. Most children know where they felt strong or shaky, and they do not need immediate analysis.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For the most recently published Year 7 cycle, Crosfields said that offers were sent on 11 December 2026 following the assessment day on 26 November 2026. For 2028 entry, parents should expect a similar pattern only if the school confirms it; for now, treat December offers as the most recent published example, not a guaranteed future date.

Because Crosfields is an independent school, its process is different from state-school National Offer Day arrangements. If your child is offered a place, the school will normally set out the next steps directly, such as accepting the offer and paying any required deposit. If your child is not offered a place, ask politely whether a waiting list operates and whether there is any further feedback available.

The school’s current information also notes that scholarship assessments are in January. If your child is being considered for a scholarship route, keep that additional step in mind when planning the winter term.

On appeals, independent schools do not run the same statutory admissions appeal process as state schools. Any review, complaint or request for reconsideration would usually follow the school’s own procedures. If that situation arises, check Crosfields’ policies and contact the admissions team promptly and courteously.

What has changed recently

From the sources reviewed, the main published information for the current cycle is that Crosfields uses a Year 7 assessment day including CAT4 tests, creative writing, an interview with a senior teacher and team-building activities. We did not find an official school page announcing a change of exam board, a new catchment rule or a revised number of places for the last two years.

The dated update we did find is the school’s published 2027 entry timeline, including the autumn application deadline, November assessment day, December offers and January scholarship assessments. If Crosfields announces any changes for 2028 entry, parents should expect them to appear first on the school’s admissions pages.

Frequently asked questions

Does Crosfields School use a standard 11+ exam?

Not in the same way as a state grammar school. The school’s published Year 7 process is an assessment day including CAT4 tests, a creative writing task, an interview and team activities.

Is there a catchment area for Crosfields School Year 7?

We did not find a published Year 7 catchment area or distance rule on the school’s admissions page. Crosfields is an independent school and runs its own admissions process.

When is the Crosfields Year 7 assessment day usually held?

The latest published cycle showed the assessment day on 26 November 2026 for 2027 entry. For 2028 entry, check the school website for confirmed dates.

What should my child revise for Crosfields?

Focus on maths, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, with extra attention to vocabulary, mental arithmetic, pattern-spotting and timed work. Also prepare for creative writing and a relaxed interview.

Does Crosfields publish a pass mark?

We did not find a published pass mark, score threshold or cut-off on the school’s admissions page. If you need more detail, contact the admissions team directly.

Are bursaries and scholarships available?

Yes, the school’s admissions information refers to bursaries and scholarships. The latest published cycle gave a separate bursary deadline and said scholarship assessments take place in January.

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Sources

Crosfields School Admissions - Apply: School runs its own admissions; families can apply at any time throughout the year; 2027 entry Year 7 deadline 2 November 2026; bursary deadline 9 November 2026; Year 7 experience days on 8 October 2026 and 12 November 2026; Year 7 assessment day on 26 November 2026; offers sent on 11 December 2026;
Crosfields School: Crosfields School is a co-educational independent school in Reading for ages 2 to 16.

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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.