The exam at a glance
For September 2028 entry, Derby Grammar School has not publicly confirmed an exam board for Year 7 entry. What the school does make clear is that entry is part of a broader admissions process rather than a single one-off test.
ElevenReady’s verified information for 2028 entry is that the first assessment stage is an adaptive, computer-delivered screen of developed ability. In practice, that means pupils are tested on skills such as vocabulary, reasoning and mental arithmetic rather than a narrow taught syllabus. Because it is adaptive, the questions typically adjust in difficulty as a child works through the test, so calm pacing matters as much as accuracy.
The tested areas for this school are:
- Maths
- English
- Verbal Reasoning
- Non-Verbal Reasoning
The school’s published admissions process also includes an enquiry, a visit, an entrance assessment, a taster day, an interview and review of a school report and reference. So families should think of admission as a sequence of steps, with the assessment helping the school decide who progresses to the next stage.
On the day itself, parents should expect a computer-based assessment rather than a traditional paper exam. For some applicants, this may be followed by later admissions stages such as a school visit or taster activity, depending on the point at which the family enters the process and the school’s usual arrangements for that year.
Because Derby Grammar School accepts applications throughout the year, the exact structure and timing can vary slightly from family to family. The safest approach is to treat the school’s admissions page as the main source of current detail and to ask directly what the next assessment step will be for your child’s cohort.
Registration and key dates
Derby Grammar School runs its own admissions process. Families begin by contacting the school through its admissions route rather than through a local authority 11+ portal or a grammar-school consortium. The school’s own admissions page says applications are accepted throughout the year.
For 2028 entry, the school has not published a single fixed Year 7 registration opening date, a hard entrance-test deadline or one universal exam day on the pages reviewed. That is quite typical for an independent school with rolling admissions activity.
What the school does set out is the overall application route:
- Make an enquiry or register interest with the school.
- Arrange a visit or attend an open event if helpful.
- Complete the school’s admissions steps, which may include an entrance assessment.
- Provide school information requested by Derby Grammar School, such as a recent school report and reference.
- Attend later stages such as a taster day and interview where applicable.
If you are applying for September 2028 entry, it is sensible to contact the school in Year 5 or at the start of Year 6 so that you can ask about the assessment window for your child’s year group. Because the school accepts applications throughout the year, some families may also ask about entry at other points, although places outside the normal intake are considered case by case.
One published date that gives a flavour of the school’s admissions calendar is a Year 7 Experience Day scheduled for 12 November 2026 for current Year 6 pupils looking to join in September 2027. That does not confirm the 2028 timetable, but it does suggest that autumn events can form part of the admissions journey.
In practical terms, parents should be ready with:
- basic pupil details
- contact details for parents or carers
- the child’s current school information
- a recent school report if requested
- any reference details the school asks for
As soon as you register interest, ask three specific questions: when your child would sit the assessment, whether there is more than one assessment stage, and when the school expects to communicate outcomes. If current-year dates have not yet been published, ask what the usual timing is for Year 6 applicants.
For a quick overview and future updates, parents may also find these useful:
- The Derby Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates)
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
Derby Grammar School is an independent, coeducational school and there is no published catchment area for Year 7 entry. That is an important difference from state grammar schools: families are not competing within a local-authority catchment rule on the sources reviewed.
The school says applications are accepted throughout the year, and it also notes that admission at other times in the year may be possible on a case-by-case basis. For families interested in financial support, the school says bursary applications can be considered once interest has been registered.
The admissions process is broader than a single score. The school’s own information says that entry can include:
- an enquiry
- a visit
- an entrance assessment
- a taster day
- an interview
- a school report and reference
On the pages reviewed, the school did not publish a Year 7 pass mark, a standardised score threshold, a last successful score, a precise number of Year 7 places, or a competition ratio for the relevant entry year. Parents should therefore avoid relying on online claims about cut-offs or “safe scores”. If you need a current picture of availability, ask the admissions team directly.
Because there is no catchment rule to navigate, the most useful things families can do are to understand the school’s ethos, prepare steadily for the assessment, and make sure the child is ready for the interview or taster elements as well as the academic screen.
The school also publishes fees. For the 2026–27 academic year, senior school fees are listed as £6,531 per term for Years 7 to 9 and £6,712 per term for Years 10 to 13. Fee levels for 2028 entry may change, so parents should check the current fees page when planning ahead.
A month-by-month preparation plan
Because Derby Grammar School uses a computer-based developed-ability screen and then looks at the wider profile of the child, preparation should be steady and balanced rather than intense. For most Year 5 children, a realistic plan is usually 2 to 3 hours a week at first, increasing to 3 to 4 hours a week nearer the assessment if your child is coping well.
12 months before the exam month
Start lightly. Focus on reading, vocabulary, mental arithmetic and simple reasoning puzzles. At this stage, short sessions work best: perhaps four sessions of 20 to 25 minutes each week. The aim is to build confidence and familiarity, not speed.
9 months before
Begin structured practice across all four areas: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Keep most work untimed. If your child is new to computer-based testing, introduce short on-screen tasks so that clicking, reading from a screen and moving on quickly feel normal.
6 months before
Increase regularity. This is a good point to identify patterns: perhaps vocabulary is strong but mental arithmetic is slow, or non-verbal reasoning is fine when untimed but shaky under pressure. Use one session each week for pure skills and one for mixed practice.
4 months before
Begin light timed work. Because the first-stage screen is tightly timed and adaptive, children need to learn how to keep moving without panicking. Try short timed sets rather than full papers at first. Review errors carefully afterwards: was it a knowledge gap, a misread instruction, or simply rushing?
3 months before
Introduce fuller mixed sessions that switch between subjects. This helps with the mental reset children need in computer-based assessments. If your child tends to dwell on difficult questions, practise making a calm decision to move on and return mentally to the next item with a fresh start.
2 months before
Now is the time for regular timed practice, but not every day. One or two timed sessions a week is usually enough for a Year 5 child, alongside shorter skill-building work. If the school is likely to include an interview or taster day, begin gentle conversation practice too: speaking clearly, answering thoughtfully and showing curiosity.
1 month before
Shift from learning lots of new content to consolidating. Keep Maths facts sharp, continue vocabulary work, and make sure your child has seen the main reasoning styles. Do a few realistic computer-based practice sessions, then spend time reviewing rather than endlessly testing.
The final two weeks
Keep things calm. Reduce workload slightly so your child goes in fresh. A couple of short timed tasks are enough to keep pace. Prioritise sleep, routine and confidence. Children do better when they feel familiar with the format and know that one tricky question does not mean they are doing badly.
The final few days
No cramming. Read, chat, do light mental maths, and stop early in the evening. If the school has contacted you with practical details, go over them together so the day feels predictable.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For this school, Maths preparation should focus less on long written methods and more on quick, accurate number handling. Mental arithmetic matters. Practise number bonds, times tables, division facts, place value, fractions, percentages, ratio basics and interpreting short problem-solving questions. Because the screen is adaptive and timed, children need to recognise the quickest route rather than always writing everything out. Use short bursts of mental work and mixed arithmetic drills.
English
English in a developed-ability setting often leans heavily on reading precision and vocabulary. Build breadth through regular reading, especially fiction and well-written non-fiction that stretches vocabulary naturally. Practise understanding meaning in context, spotting shades of meaning, choosing the best word, and reading short passages carefully. Keep a vocabulary notebook, but always attach new words to real reading so they are remembered properly.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning is usually where children benefit most from explicit familiarity. Practise common task types such as vocabulary-based items, letter and number codes, sequences, analogies, classifications and careful instruction-following. The key is not just getting the answer but understanding the pattern quickly. Children should also learn not to freeze when a question looks unfamiliar: in adaptive tests, keeping composure is vital.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
For Non-Verbal Reasoning, focus on recognising visual patterns efficiently. That includes rotations, reflections, shapes changing in sequence, symmetry, similarities and differences, and odd-one-out style thinking. At first, talk through why a pattern works. Later, move to short timed sets so your child learns to scan options methodically without overthinking.
Across all four areas, one of the most useful habits is review. After each practice session, sort mistakes into three groups:
- did not know the skill
- knew it but misread the question
- ran out of time or lost focus
That makes preparation much more efficient than simply doing more and more questions.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are used for diagnosis, not just for scoring. Start with untimed or lightly timed work so your child learns the question styles properly. Move to timed practice later, once the underlying patterns feel familiar.
A sensible sequence is:
- learn one question type at a time
- do short mixed sets
- move to timed sections
- only then use fuller mock-style practice
Because Derby Grammar School’s assessment is computer-based and adaptive, paper practice still helps for core skills, but it should be combined with some on-screen work. Children need to get used to reading carefully from a screen, staying calm when items become harder, and continuing with confidence.
Mock exams can be helpful if your child is likely to benefit from the experience of working to time in an unfamiliar setting. They are particularly useful for children who know the content but become anxious or slow down when the pressure rises. The best mocks are followed by clear feedback and a measured plan for improvement.
Use these ElevenReady resources:
- Free Derby Grammar School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers)
- The Derby Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates)
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates
One final tip: never judge readiness from a single score. Look instead for trends over several weeks. Is your child becoming calmer, quicker and more accurate? Are the same mistakes reducing? That tells you far more than one standout paper, good or bad.
On the day
Keep the morning simple and predictable. Aim for a calm start, a normal breakfast and plenty of time to arrive without rushing. Children usually do best when adults sound confident and matter-of-fact rather than overly intense.
Before the assessment, remind your child of three things:
- some questions will feel easy and some will feel hard
- harder questions do not mean they are failing
- if they get stuck, they should stay calm and keep moving
Because the test is computer-based, practical confidence matters too. Encourage your child to read each screen carefully, avoid clicking too quickly, and keep their focus on the question in front of them rather than wondering how they are doing overall.
If there are later stages such as a taster day or interview, the same advice applies: politeness, listening carefully, and answering naturally are far more valuable than trying to sound rehearsed. Schools want to see a child who can engage, cope and join in.
After the assessment, avoid a detailed post-mortem in the car or on the way home. A simple “well done, you handled that” is usually enough. Most children remember the handful of questions they found difficult and forget the many they managed perfectly well.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
For Derby Grammar School, the post-exam process is different from the state grammar-school allocation system. As an independent school, it handles admissions directly rather than through National Offer Day in the same way as maintained schools.
On the sources reviewed, the school did not publish a universal results day for Year 7 assessment, nor a formal appeal timetable comparable to a local-authority school-admissions appeal round. Instead, outcomes appear to form part of the school’s own admissions sequence, which may also include a taster day, interview, and review of school information.
In practice, families should expect the school to contact them directly after the relevant admissions stages have been completed. If your child is successful, the school will explain the next step, which may include an offer and acceptance arrangements. If your child is not offered a place, ask politely whether there is a waiting process, whether re-application is possible later, and whether occasional places arise.
If you need clarity, ask the admissions team these questions:
- when should we expect to hear after the assessment?
- are there any further stages?
- is there a waiting list?
- is there a review or complaints route if we have concerns about process?
For families considering financial support, remember that the school says bursary applications can be considered once interest has been registered, so that conversation should start early rather than after every admissions stage has finished.
What has changed recently
On the official pages reviewed, Derby Grammar School continues to present admissions as a rolling process with enquiry, visit, entrance assessment, taster day, interview and review of a school report and reference. We did not find an officially announced change in the last two years to a newly named 11+ exam board, a published catchment policy, or a fixed selective-test timetable for Year 7 entry.
One concrete recent update on the school’s own site is the publication of senior-school fees for 2026–27, including £6,531 per term for Years 7 to 9 and £6,712 per term for Years 10 to 13. Another current admissions-related item is the school’s published Year 7 Experience Day on 12 November 2026 for pupils looking to join in September 2027.
If the school announces a confirmed assessment board or a more fixed Year 7 testing window for 2028 entry, parents should treat that as the key update to watch for next.
Frequently asked questions
Does Derby Grammar School have a catchment area?
No published catchment area was shown on the sources reviewed. Derby Grammar School is an independent school and handles admissions directly.
Is the Derby Grammar School Year 7 assessment paper-based or computer-based?
For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the first-stage screen is computer-based and adaptive.
What subjects should my child prepare for?
Prepare for Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with a strong focus on vocabulary, reasoning and mental arithmetic.
When do I need to register for Derby Grammar School?
The school says it accepts applications throughout the year. A fixed 2028 Year 7 deadline was not published on the pages reviewed, so contact admissions early for your child’s timeline.
Does Derby Grammar School publish a pass mark?
No pass mark or score threshold was published on the sources reviewed. Ask the school directly if you want the most current admissions information.
Can I ask about bursaries before my child has a place?
The school says bursary applications can be considered once interest has been registered, so it is worth asking early.
Sources
- Derby Grammar School - How to Apply: School runs its own admissions process; applications accepted throughout the year; admissions process includes enquiry, visit, entrance assessment, taster day, interview, school report and reference; bursary applications can be considered once interest has been registered; admission at other times i
- Derby Grammar School: School identity as an independent, coeducational school in Derby with primary, senior and sixth form phases.
- Derby Grammar School - Fees: 2026-27 fees: Years 7 to 9 £6,531 per term; Years 10 to 13 £6,712 per term.
Preparing for other schools in Derby
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.