How to prepare for the Dame Allan's Schools 11+

The exam at a glance

Dame Allan’s Senior School is selective for Year 7 entry. For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that children sit the school’s own entrance assessment in a computer-based format, covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The school also says that for Years 7 to 9, the admissions process includes an entrance assessment, group interviews and a school reference.

Because the assessment is taken on screen and timed, preparation should include more than paper practice. Children need to be comfortable reading carefully on a screen, moving on briskly when needed, and keeping their concentration across different question styles.

In practical terms, families should expect the process to have a few parts rather than a single one-off test. The assessment is only one element. The school’s admissions information also points parents towards events such as its annual Open Morning and a Year 7–9 Jump In session, which can help children get a feel for the school before assessment day.

What the day looks like can vary from year to year, and the school does not publish a detailed public timetable for every stage on its admissions page. Parents should therefore treat the invitation from the school as the key document for timings, arrival arrangements and any interview or reference steps.

Registration and key dates

Dame Allan’s handles its own admissions. The school’s Senior School admissions page includes an online enquiry form, and its joining information says parents should contact the Admissions Team to discuss availability and the admissions process. For Year 7 entry, the school also offers an annual Open Morning in September, and a Jump In experience for children applying to Years 7 to 9 in the week beginning 9 November.

For the key dates that matter most to Year 6 families, the clearest published point is the offer timetable. The school states that most offers are sent in early March each year. That is later than many state grammar school timelines, so it is worth watching the school’s own admissions page closely and signing up for updates.

The school’s public admissions pages viewed for this guide do not give a confirmed registration opening date, application deadline or entrance test date for 2028 entry. Where dates are not yet published, the safest approach is:

check the Senior School admissions page regularly from the summer term of Year 5 onwards;
attend the September Open Morning if you can;
use the school’s enquiry route early so you are on the Admissions Team’s radar;
keep records ready, including your child’s current school details, recent school information if requested, and any documents the school asks for during the process.

If you want a quick overview page and reminders, see The Dame Allan's Schools 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Step	What we can verify
Who runs registration	The school’s own admissions team
How to start	Via the school’s admissions/enquiry route
Open event	Open Morning in September each year
Taster event	Years 7 to 9 Jump In session in the week beginning 9 November
Offers	Most offers sent in early March each year
Test date / deadline	Not published on the pages reviewed for 2028 entry

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Dame Allan’s is an independent school, so it does not operate like a state grammar school with local-authority co-ordination for Year 7 places. The public admissions information reviewed for this guide does not set out a state-style catchment area or distance priority. ElevenReady’s verified directory also records catchment as unknown.

What the school does make clear is that the Senior School admits new pupils in all year groups, and that Year 7, 8 and 9 entry involves an entrance assessment, group interviews and a school reference. In other words, admission is selective and holistic rather than based on one score alone.

The school’s joining information also says that families should contact the Admissions Team about availability. That matters because independent schools can sometimes have different numbers of places available from one year to the next.

The pages reviewed for this guide do not publish a fixed number of Year 7 places, a catchment map, a priority order by postcode, or a published cut-off score. If those details become important to your planning, check the school’s current admissions page directly rather than relying on forum posts or older unofficial guides.

For parents, the practical takeaway is simple:

there is no verified published catchment rule on the sources reviewed here;
you should expect selection to be based on the school’s own process rather than local authority distance rules;
early contact with admissions is sensible, especially if you are moving area or considering an application outside the usual pattern.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For 2028 entry, your child will usually be in Year 6 when they sit the assessment in the autumn term. A calm, steady build-up through Year 5 is usually the best fit for a computer-based, multi-subject test.

January to March in Year 5

Keep it light: around 1 to 2 hours a week split over short sessions.
Focus on core fluency in arithmetic, reading comprehension, vocabulary and basic reasoning habits.
Introduce gentle exposure to verbal and non-verbal reasoning so nothing feels unfamiliar later.
If your child has done only paper work so far, start mixing in short on-screen tasks.

April to June in Year 5

Build to around 2 to 3 hours a week.
Start rotating all four areas every fortnight: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Work on accuracy first: reading instructions properly, showing method in Maths rough work, and spotting patterns systematically.
Begin short timed mini-sections rather than full papers.

July to August before Year 6

Aim for 3 hours a week, with some weeks lighter if you are away.
This is a good time to identify weaker areas. Many children find one reasoning type harder simply because it is less familiar.
Move from skills practice into mixed practice, where subjects change from task to task.
Start doing some work on a laptop or desktop rather than printing everything.

September in Year 6

Increase to about 3 to 4 hours a week, still broken into manageable chunks.
Once school starts, switch into exam-mode routines: timed sections, quick transitions, and review afterwards.
If the school’s Open Morning is running, attend if you can. Familiarity with the school often lowers nerves.
Now is the time to begin fuller timed papers or computer-based sets.

October until the exam

Keep to 4 hours a week at most for most children. More is not always better.
Do one or two timed mixed assessments each week, then spend more time reviewing mistakes than taking yet another paper.
Practise screen stamina: scrolling carefully, clicking accurately and keeping pace without rushing.
In the final week, reduce volume slightly and prioritise confidence, sleep and routine.

A useful rule of thumb is this: start untimed, then short timed work, then full timed practice. Children usually make the biggest gains from steady review, not from cramming lots of papers at the end.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For a selective independent school test using a GL-style format, Maths practice should focus on secure Year 5 arithmetic and problem solving under time pressure. That means number bonds, times tables, place value, the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measurement and straightforward multi-step word problems.

Practise in two ways: first with short skill drills to make methods automatic, then with mixed timed sets where your child has to decide which method to use. On screen, children also need to avoid losing marks through misreading. Encourage them to identify the exact question before calculating.

English

English preparation should cover both careful reading and precise writing skills. In practice this often means comprehension, vocabulary in context, spelling, punctuation, grammar and sentence control. Children should get used to retrieving information, inferring meaning from a passage, and noticing how words are used.

The best preparation combines regular reading with short focused tasks. Ask your child to explain why an answer is right using evidence from the text. For technical accuracy, revise punctuation and grammar little and often rather than in long blocks.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning usually tests how well a child handles language patterns, codes, letter and number relationships, vocabulary and logical manipulation of words. Many children improve significantly once the common task types become familiar.

Work methodically. Introduce one question type at a time, teach the steps, then mix types together. Vocabulary building matters here too: wide reading, discussion of unfamiliar words and quick synonym work all help.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning focuses on shapes, patterns, rotations, reflections, similarities, differences and visual sequences. Children often benefit from being taught to look for changes in a fixed order: shape, size, shading, position and number.

Use short, regular practice and encourage your child to say what has changed from one figure to the next. This builds a repeatable process, which is especially helpful in timed computer-based work where it is easy to guess too quickly.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are part of a simple cycle: learn the method, try a short set, review mistakes, then revisit the same skill later. Children rarely improve just by ploughing through more and more papers.

For Dame Allan’s, make sure your preparation reflects the verified format: all four subjects, timed work, and practice that includes screen-based tasks. If your child only ever works from printed papers, the real assessment can feel faster and less familiar than expected.

Use free school-specific resources here:

When to introduce timed papers:

start with untimed familiarisation;
move to short timed sections once methods are secure;
save fuller mixed papers for the final weeks before the exam.

Mock exams can help if your child needs practice managing nerves, following instructions and keeping focus for longer stretches. They are most valuable when followed by detailed feedback. One thoughtful mock is usually better than several rushed ones.

After every paper, review in three groups:

questions your child could do but rushed;
questions they partly understood;
questions that revealed a genuine gap in knowledge.

That review tells you what to do next week. Without it, papers become a score-chasing exercise rather than preparation.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for a calm start, a familiar breakfast and plenty of time to travel. Children take their cue from the adults around them, so quiet confidence helps more than last-minute quizzing.

For a computer-based assessment, practical comfort matters. Your child should be used to reading from a screen, using a mouse or trackpad confidently, and moving through questions without fuss. In the final days, avoid introducing brand-new techniques.

Useful reminders for your child:

read the instructions carefully before starting;
watch the time, but do not panic over one difficult question;
move on and come back if the system allows;
keep concentration after each section change, because different subjects need different thinking styles;
treat interviews or group activities as a chance to be polite, engaged and thoughtful, not perfect.

The night before, pack anything the school has asked for, lay out comfortable clothes and avoid a late evening of revision. A rested child almost always performs better than a tired one who did an extra paper.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For Dame Allan’s, the process after assessment is different from the state-school national offer system. Because it is an independent school, decisions are made by the school rather than through your local authority’s secondary allocation process.

The clearest published timing is that most offers are sent out in early March each year. Before that point, families may also go through the remaining parts of the admissions process for Years 7 to 9, including group interviews and a school reference.

If your child is offered a place, the school will explain the next steps, which usually include accepting the offer by a stated deadline and completing any joining paperwork. If your child is not offered a place, ask the Admissions Team politely whether a waiting list operates and whether there is any formal review route. The pages reviewed for this guide do not set out a published independent-school appeals procedure for Year 7 entry.

Because policies can change, rely on the school’s own written communication at this stage rather than assumptions based on state-school practice.

What has changed recently

From the official and reputable sources reviewed for this guide, we did not find a publicly announced change in the last two years to Dame Allan’s Year 7 entrance assessment board, published catchment rules, or published place numbers. The school’s current admissions messaging continues to describe selective entry for Years 7 to 9 through an entrance assessment, group interviews and a school reference, alongside annual events such as the September Open Morning and the November Jump In session.

Frequently asked questions

What does Dame Allan's test for Year 7 entry?

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the assessment covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, taken on a computer.

Is Dame Allan's 11+ paper GL Assessment?

The verified format for 2028 entry is the school’s own paper in a GL-style format across the four tested subjects. Prepare broadly across all four areas rather than trying to second-guess one narrow paper style.

Does Dame Allan's have a catchment area?

No published catchment rule was confirmed on the sources reviewed for this guide. As an independent school, it does not operate like a state grammar school admissions process.

When do Dame Allan's Year 7 offers come out?

The school says most offers are sent out in early March each year. Check the current admissions page for the exact timetable for your application year.

Are there interviews as well as the entrance test?

Yes. The school says Year 7, 8 and 9 entry involves an entrance assessment, group interviews and a school reference.

When should my child start preparing for Dame Allan's?

A gentle start in Year 5 is sensible. Most children do well with light skills work first, then timed mixed practice from the start of Year 6.

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Sources

Dame Allan's Schools – Senior School Admissions: Senior School is selective; Year 7, 8 and 9 entry involves an entrance assessment plus group interviews and a school reference; Open Morning in September each year; children applying for Years 7 to 9 can sign up for a Jump In session taking place week beginning 9 November; most offers are sent out i
Dame Allan's Schools – Contact Us: Senior School and Sixth Form site at Fowberry Crescent, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 9YJ.

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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.