How to prepare for the Devonport High School for Boys 11+

The exam at a glance

Devonport High School for Boys uses its own paper for 2028 entry. For this school, preparation should focus on Maths and English. Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not part of the assessed subjects for this entry route, so families are usually better off building strong core skills in arithmetic, problem solving, reading and writing.

The assessment is paper based. The school’s familiarisation information for the most recently published cycle says the 11+ assessment includes English, Maths and a DHSB writing task. That means children need to be ready not only for comprehension and technical English skills, but also for producing clear written work under time pressure.

Because the school’s pages currently available are mainly for the 2026 entry cycle, not the full 2028 cycle, some practical details for your child’s sitting are not yet published. In particular, the school does not appear on the pages reviewed to publish a full minute-by-minute breakdown of paper lengths for 2028 entry. Parents should therefore treat the broad format as confirmed, but check the school’s admissions and familiarisation pages again when the new cycle opens.

On the day, families should expect a formal assessment session at the school, with children working through separate paper-based tasks. Schools usually provide supervision and clear instructions between papers. For this exam, the most helpful preparation is less about mastering a wide range of test styles and more about being secure in school-based English and Maths, then learning to apply those skills calmly in an exam hall.

Exam board: the school’s own paper
Delivery: paper based
Tested subjects: Maths and English
Also mentioned by the school: a DHSB writing task within the assessment process
Main preparation priority: depth in core skills rather than broad 11+ reasoning practice

Registration and key dates

For the most recently published admissions cycle on the school website, registration was handled by the school through its 11+ registration form. The familiarisation and registration pages currently visible are aimed at children who were in Year 5 for 2026 testing, so parents applying for 2028 entry should use them only as a guide to the usual pattern and wait for the school to publish the new form.

The school states that the registration form for children then in Year 5 was open, and that the deadline to complete and submit it was 31 August 2026. The same familiarisation page says there were two 11+ familiarisation sessions in June 2026 and refers to an 11+ assessment scheduled for September 2026. That gives parents a useful sense of the school’s normal timetable: registration appears to run through the summer, familiarisation takes place in June, and the assessment is held in September.

At the time of writing, we could not find a fully published 2028-entry timetable on the school pages reviewed. So for your child’s application, the safest wording is that registration usually appears during Year 5, with a deadline by late August in the published cycle reviewed, and the exam typically taking place in September.

It is sensible to check the school’s website regularly from the summer term of Year 5 onwards. You can also use Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Who runs registration? The school, via its own 11+ registration form
Verified deadline on the latest published cycle reviewed: 31 August 2026
Verified familiarisation timing on that cycle: June 2026
Verified assessment timing on that cycle: September 2026
Open evening mentioned on the school page reviewed: Tuesday 7 July 2026 at 4.30pm

If the school asks for supporting information when the new form opens, follow the instructions on that year’s form carefully. Because the current published pages are tied to an earlier cycle, parents should not assume the same documents or steps will apply unchanged for 2028 entry.

For a running summary of the school’s format, dates and admissions information, see The Devonport High School for Boys 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Based on the pages reviewed for this guide, Devonport High School for Boys presents itself as a selective grammar school and says it is open to students from all backgrounds. The school also says it offers free familiarisation materials for Pupil Premium families, which is helpful practical support for some applicants.

However, on the specific pages reviewed for this article, we did not find a clearly published catchment area, distance rule, or full oversubscription summary for the 2028 cycle. We also did not find a verified figure for the number of places to quote here from the official sources we reviewed. Because admissions rules can change and grammar school allocations are often governed by formal admission arrangements, parents should read the school’s current admissions policy as soon as the 2028 documents are published and avoid relying on older summaries.

In practical terms, that means any family interested in the school should do two things: first, make sure the child is registered for the 11+ by the school’s deadline; second, later complete the relevant local authority secondary application in the normal admissions round. Passing an entrance assessment does not remove the need to submit the preference form on time.

If you are trying to work out whether where you live affects your chances, the safest answer is that the school pages reviewed here do not clearly state the rule. Check the latest admissions arrangements on the school website and your local authority’s admissions pages before making decisions about tutoring, school preferences or travel.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For this school, a calm and steady plan works better than doing lots of generic 11+ material. Because the assessment focuses on Maths and English, most children benefit from regular weekly practice across Year 5 rather than a late rush.

January to March of Year 5

Start gently with the basics. Aim for about 2 to 3 hours a week, split into short sessions. In Maths, make sure number fluency is secure: the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, place value and multi-step word problems. In English, build reading stamina, vocabulary, spelling accuracy and sentence control. This is also a good time to encourage short written responses based on what your child has read.

April to May

Increase to around 3 to 4 hours a week. Begin doing work in a more exam-like style, but still untimed for most of the time. In Maths, ask your child to explain methods clearly. In English, include comprehension that requires evidence from the text, not just general impressions. Start occasional guided writing tasks so that planning, paragraphing and checking become routine.

June

This is the point to look out for school familiarisation materials and sessions. Keep practice steady at 3 to 4 hours weekly. If the school offers a familiarisation event, use it to reduce uncertainty rather than to chase secrets about the test. By now your child should be moving from pure learning into application: answering carefully, following instructions and working at a sensible pace.

July

Move towards 4 hours a week, but keep one day completely free. Start timed sections rather than full papers if your child is new to exam conditions. For example, time a short Maths set or a single comprehension. In writing practice, encourage planning in a few bullet points before starting. The aim is confidence under mild pressure, not exhaustion.

August

This is usually the most useful month for rehearsal. Aim for around 4 to 5 hours a week, broken into manageable sessions. Complete short timed tasks most weeks and at least a few full practice runs across the month. After each one, review errors properly: was the problem knowledge, misunderstanding, rushing or presentation? Keep a notebook of recurring slips.

Early September

Taper slightly. In the final stretch, children usually do better with lighter, sharper practice than with heavy drilling. Review key Maths methods, read daily, and do one or two brief confidence-building tasks. Avoid introducing whole new topics. Prioritise sleep, routine and calm.

When to start timed papers

For most children, start with short timed sections in July and build up to fuller timed practice in August. If your child becomes flustered easily, start earlier but keep timings soft at first.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

Because this school tests Maths directly, children need secure Key Stage 2 content and the ability to apply it in unfamiliar-looking problems. Focus on arithmetic accuracy first, then on multi-step questions. Common areas to revise include place value, the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, perimeter and area, interpreting tables or simple data, and worded problems that require choosing the right method.

A good routine is to combine three strands: quick fluency work, one or two deeper problems, and careful error review. Encourage your child to set work out clearly on paper, because that supports accuracy in a paper-based exam. If they make mistakes, ask whether the issue was the method, the reading of the question or the final checking.

As the exam approaches, practise deciding when a question needs a written method and when mental maths is enough. Children who do well are often not the fastest calculators, but the ones who stay organised and avoid avoidable slips.

English

For Devonport High School for Boys, English preparation should cover both reading and writing. Build comprehension by reading a mixture of fiction and non-fiction and discussing meaning, inference, tone, vocabulary and evidence. Your child should get used to answering in full, precise sentences when needed, and to going back to the passage to justify an answer.

For technical accuracy, revise punctuation, grammar and spelling in context rather than as isolated drills only. The school’s familiarisation information also mentions a writing task, so it is worth practising planning and producing a short piece of clear, structured writing within a time limit. That might include descriptive or narrative writing, but the most important habits are universal: understand the task, plan briefly, write in paragraphs, vary sentences where possible, and leave time to check.

One useful approach is to keep a short weekly writing cycle: read a model text, discuss why it works, plan a response, write it under light timing, then edit it together. This builds independence without making writing feel like a constant test.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used as a learning tool, not just as a score generator. For this school, choose materials that reflect the fact that the assessment is centred on Maths and English. Generic reasoning packs are much less relevant here than strong subject-based practice.

Start with untimed or lightly timed work so your child can learn the style. Once they are more secure, use timed practice to develop pacing. After every paper, spend longer reviewing than marking. Ask:

Which errors came from weak knowledge?
Which came from misreading the question?
Which came from rushing?
Which could have been avoided by neater working or checking?

A simple mock routine works well: one paper or half-paper at the weekend, then two short review sessions during the week to fix the problems it revealed. That is usually more effective than doing several papers back to back.

Useful next steps:

If you book a mock exam elsewhere, use it mainly for stamina and confidence. The best mock is one that helps your child practise working in silence, managing time and recovering calmly if one section feels hard.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim to arrive in good time, with the basics sorted the night before. Your child does not need last-minute teaching on the doorstep; they need calm adults, a normal breakfast and reassurance that they only have to do their best on the paper in front of them.

Remind them of a few straightforward habits:

Read every instruction carefully.
If a question looks difficult, stay calm and use what you do know.
Show clear working in Maths.
For English, keep handwriting readable and leave a moment to check punctuation and spelling.
If there is a writing task, plan briefly before beginning.

It also helps to normalise nerves. Most children feel some. You can say that nerves are just a sign that the day matters, not a sign that something is going wrong. A steady routine, comfortable clothes within any guidance given by the school, and a positive but low-key send-off usually help more than long pep talks.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

After the assessment, grammar school admissions usually move through three separate stages: the school shares the test outcome or ranking information it has chosen to publish for that cycle; parents submit or confirm their secondary school preferences through the local authority process; then national allocation takes place on the standard offer day.

For Devonport High School for Boys, the pages reviewed for this guide did not provide a full 2028 results timetable, so parents should check the school’s admissions information when the cycle opens. Do not assume that sitting the test automatically creates an application for a place. In almost all cases, families still need to complete the local authority secondary application form by the published deadline.

If your child does not receive an offer, there may be a waiting list and an appeal process, but the detailed route depends on the admission arrangements for that year. Follow the official instructions in the school’s and local authority’s admissions documents. Keep copies of emails, forms and any evidence you submit.

If results are lower than hoped, try to separate the emotion from the practical next step. First confirm what the result means. Then check whether the school has explained eligibility, waiting lists or appeals for that year. Finally, make sure your local authority preferences are realistic and in order.

What has changed recently

From the sources reviewed, the clearest recent published information is about the 2026 admissions cycle rather than a later one. The school’s familiarisation page states that there were two familiarisation sessions in June 2026, that the registration form for children then in Year 5 was open with a 31 August 2026 deadline, and that the 11+ assessment was scheduled for September 2026. The same page also points families to free familiarisation materials for Pupil Premium families.

We did not find, in the official sources we reviewed, a clearly announced recent change to the exam board, catchment rules, number of places or admissions structure for the next cycle. If the school publishes an updated 2028 familiarisation or admissions page, parents should read that first because this is an area where details can be refreshed from year to year.

Frequently asked questions

What subjects are tested for Devonport High School for Boys 11+?

For 2028 entry, the confirmed tested subjects are Maths and English. Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not part of the assessed subjects for this school.

Is the Devonport High School for Boys 11+ computer based?

No. The confirmed delivery format is paper based.

When do you register for the Devonport High School for Boys 11+?

The latest published school information reviewed says the school handled registration through its own 11+ form, with a deadline of 31 August 2026 for that cycle. For 2028 entry, check the school website for the new form and dates.

Does Devonport High School for Boys have a catchment area?

We could not verify a published catchment rule from the pages reviewed for this guide. Check the school’s latest admissions arrangements before relying on any unofficial summaries.

Does the exam include a writing task?

The school’s familiarisation page says the assessment includes English, Maths and a DHSB writing task. That makes regular writing practice worthwhile as part of preparation.

How early should my child start preparing?

For most children, steady preparation from the start of Year 5 works well. Begin with core Maths and English skills, then add timed practice later in the year.

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Sources

Devonport High School for Boys - 11+ Familiarisation: School website source for the school's own paper; paper-based 11+ familiarisation and assessment information; assessment includes English, Maths and a DHSB writing task; registration form for children currently in Year 5 was open; deadline 31 August 2026; two familiarisation sessions in June 2026; 1
Devonport High School for Boys website: School identity and general admissions context for Year 7 and sixth form.

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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.