How to prepare for the Dunottar School 11+

Exam format not yet verified. We have not confirmed this school's exam board or paper format from an official source. Where this guide describes the test, treat it as a working assumption and check the school's admissions page before relying on it.

The exam at a glance

Dunottar School’s Year 7 admissions process for this guide uses the school’s own assessment route. For 2028 entry, our directory, not yet verified with the school, records the academic testing is a GL Assessment-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with a mixed delivery model. Alongside academic testing, the school’s admissions process also includes broader assessment activities and an interview-style element.

From the school’s Year 6 admissions page, families should expect the process to include three main parts: Warrior Learner activities, an interview, and academic assessments. The school presents Year 7 entry as both a Year 6 admissions route and, for some families, an earlier Year 5 route.

In practice, that means your child is preparing for more than a single paper. The academic side needs steady, balanced work across all four tested subjects, but the day may also involve opportunities for the school to see how pupils approach tasks, communicate and engage.

Board/format: school’s own process, using a GL Assessment-style paper
Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
Delivery: mixed
Other elements: Warrior Learner activities and interview, according to the school’s admissions process page

Because Dunottar is an independent school, the admissions timetable and assessment arrangements are run by the school rather than by Surrey County Council’s grammar-school testing system.

Registration and key dates

Dunottar runs its own admissions process. The school’s Year 6 admissions page says families are encouraged to register in early May of Year 5 so children can attend its Year 5 taster event and so the admissions team can keep families updated through the process. For 2028 entry, that means parents should start watching the school’s admissions page during spring and early summer 2027.

The most recent dated information publicly available appears to relate to 2027 entry, not yet the full 2028 cycle. Using that published timetable as a guide, the school stated the following:

Registration deadline: Friday 2 October 2026
Year 5 “Spooktacular” Taster Day: Saturday 10 October 2026
Warrior Learner and Academic Assessments: Saturday 7 November 2026
Offers sent: November and December 2026
Acceptance deadline: Monday 8 March 2027

For families aiming at September 2028 entry, treat those dates as typical timing only until Dunottar publishes the next cycle. In other words, registration may open around May of Year 5, the deadline may fall in early October of Year 6, and the main assessment day may be in early November.

The school’s admissions pages also confirm a £150 registration fee.

What should parents do now?

Check the school’s Year 6 admissions page regularly: https://www.dunottarschool.com/year-6-admissions-process.
Ask admissions what documents are needed when registration opens, as the public page does not clearly list every item.
Use ElevenReady’s school page for a quick overview: /schools/dunottar-school.
Sign up for reminders here: /school-alerts?school=dunottar-school.

If your child is currently in Year 5, it is sensible to contact the school before summer ends so you do not miss the opening of registration.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Dunottar School is an independent coeducational school, and ElevenReady’s directory (not yet verified with the school) states that there is no catchment area for Year 7 entry. That means admission is not based on living within a defined priority radius in the way some state grammar schools operate.

Instead, the process is centred on the school’s own admissions stages. The Year 6 admissions page says applicants are considered through Warrior Learner activities, an interview and academic assessments. The school also offers a Year 5 early offer pathway as well as the standard Year 6 route.

The public information we found does not clearly state a published number of Year 7 places for the relevant entry cycle, and we did not find any official cut-off score, pass mark or standardised-score threshold. For independent schools, this is common: decisions are often made using the whole admissions process rather than one published qualifying score.

So, for parents, the key points are:

There is no catchment restriction in the published school profile used for this guide.
Applications are handled directly by the school.
Assessment is broader than a single exam paper.
If you need current availability, oversubscription detail or exact place numbers, check directly with Dunottar admissions because those figures were not published in the sources reviewed.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child sitting in the autumn of Year 6, the most helpful preparation is steady and balanced rather than intense. Because Dunottar’s testing spans four subjects and the school also considers interview and activity-based assessment, aim for a calm routine that builds confidence across the board.

January to March of Year 5

Keep things light: around 1 to 1.5 hours a week is enough for most children at this stage. Focus on strong core literacy and numeracy, plenty of reading, and short reasoning tasks once or twice a week. The aim is not speed yet; it is familiarity.

April to June of Year 5

Increase to about 1.5 to 2 hours a week. Start covering all four subjects regularly. This is also the right time to watch the school for admissions updates, because the current school guidance says families are encouraged to register in early May of Year 5.

At this stage:

build secure arithmetic and problem solving in Maths
develop comprehension and vocabulary for English
introduce the main Verbal Reasoning types gradually
work on visual pattern recognition for Non-Verbal Reasoning

July to August before Year 6

Keep momentum over the summer with 2 to 3 hours a week, split into short sessions. Do not turn the holiday into a constant revision block. One paper section at a time is usually enough. Summer is a good point to identify weaker areas and tidy them up before timed work becomes more important.

September of Year 6

This is when preparation becomes more structured. Move to about 3 to 4 hours a week. If registration is following the previous cycle’s pattern, this is likely to be close to the application deadline. Start doing some timed sections now, but not full papers every day. Accuracy still matters more than rushing.

October of Year 6

Use 4 hours a week as a sensible ceiling for most children. Mix timed sections with careful review. One full or near-full mixed paper each week is usually enough, followed by proper correction. If your child attends a school taster event or interview-related activity, keep the rest of the week lighter.

Late October to exam week

Taper slightly. Focus on confidence, routines and avoiding avoidable mistakes. Revisit familiar question types rather than introducing lots of new material. In the final few days, short practice is better than long sessions.

If your child is also likely to be interviewed or observed in group tasks, make room for simple preparation there too: answering in full sentences, listening carefully, showing curiosity and speaking politely without over-rehearsing.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For a GL-style independent school paper, prioritise secure Key Stage 2 arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, averages, measures, basic geometry and multi-step word problems. Children often lose marks through misreading or weak number fluency rather than very hard content.

Practise by mixing short fluency drills with worded problems. Once methods are secure, move to timed sets so your child learns to work steadily and skip then return if needed.

English

English preparation should cover both comprehension and SPaG/vocabulary-style work where appropriate. Dunottar’s broader admissions process also makes strong reading habits especially valuable, because vocabulary, inference and clear expression help across the whole day.

Practise inference, retrieval, vocabulary in context, sentence meaning and precise written expression. Regular reading at home matters a great deal: fiction, nonfiction and quality children’s journalism all help.

Verbal Reasoning

GL-style Verbal Reasoning usually rewards familiarity with recurring question types. Children need quick recognition of what each task is asking as well as accuracy under time pressure. Common preparation areas include codes, letter sequences, word relationships, hidden words, combinations, directions and vocabulary-based logic.

Practise one question type at a time first. Once your child can identify the method confidently, start mixing types in timed sets. Keep a notebook of errors, especially where the child knew the method but rushed.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning is about spotting visual rules and changes. Work on patterns, rotations, reflections, symmetry, shape combinations, codes and odd-one-out tasks. Many children improve quickly once they learn how to compare shapes systematically.

Practise by teaching your child to look for one rule at a time: shape, size, position, shading and rotation. Timed practice is useful later, but early progress usually comes from talking through why an answer works.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are part of a routine, not used as a last-minute test every weekend. For Dunottar, balanced preparation across all four subjects matters more than chasing one standout score in a favourite area.

Use papers in three stages:

Learn the method with untimed topic work.
Build control with short timed sections.
Build stamina with occasional mixed papers under realistic conditions.

After every paper, spend at least as long reviewing as answering. Ask:

Was the mistake due to knowledge, vocabulary, timing or rushing?
Did the child misread the instruction?
Is this an isolated slip or a pattern?

For free school-specific practice, use these ElevenReady resources:

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

If you use external mock exams, treat them as a way to practise routine and resilience, not as a prediction of whether your child will receive an offer. Independent school decisions often reflect the whole admissions process, not one mock result.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for a calm start, a familiar breakfast and plenty of time to arrive without rush. Children usually perform better when the day feels organised and predictable.

Pack any requested documents or stationery the night before if the school has asked for them.
Dress according to the school’s instructions for the event.
Avoid last-minute cramming in the car or at the gate.
Remind your child to listen carefully to instructions before each section.
If a question seems hard, move on and return if time allows.
For interview or activity elements, encourage polite conversation, careful listening and simply being themselves.

The best final message is usually: read carefully, work steadily, and do your best on the question in front of you. For a mixed admissions day like Dunottar’s, calm focus matters as much as raw speed.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For the most recently published Year 7 cycle we found, Dunottar said that offers were sent in November and December, with an acceptance deadline of Monday 8 March 2027. For families applying for 2028 entry, that gives a useful indication of the likely sequence, but you should wait for the school to publish the new cycle before relying on exact dates.

As an independent school, Dunottar’s offer process is separate from the local authority secondary allocation day used for state schools. If your child is offered a place, the school will set out the acceptance steps directly.

We did not find a published appeals timetable equivalent to a maintained school admission appeal process. If your child is unsuccessful and you want feedback on next steps, contact the school’s admissions team directly and ask whether a waiting list, reconsideration process or formal appeal route applies for that year.

If you are applying to both independent and state schools, keep both sets of deadlines in a diary. They run on different systems, and it is easy to miss one while focusing on the other.

What has changed recently

The main recent point to note is that the most recent dated admissions information publicly available is for 2027 entry rather than the next cycle. The school’s Year 6 admissions page sets out the 2027 timeline, including the October registration deadline, October taster event, November assessment day, and offers in November and December.

The school also continues to describe Year 7 entry as having both a Year 6 admissions pathway and a Year 5 early offer pathway, with admissions decisions informed by Warrior Learner activities, interview and academic assessments.

We did not find any official announcement from the school or other authoritative source confirming a change in catchment, a new published pass mark, or a revised number of Year 7 places in the last two years.

Frequently asked questions

Does Dunottar School have an 11+ exam?

Dunottar runs its own Year 7 admissions process rather than a state grammar-school 11+ test. For 2028 entry, our directory, not yet verified with the school, records the academic element is a GL-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Is there a catchment area for Dunottar School?

No. ElevenReady’s directory (not yet verified with the school) for this guide states that Dunottar has no catchment area for Year 7 admissions.

When should we register for Dunottar Year 7 entry?

The school says families are encouraged to register in early May of Year 5. The latest dated cycle we found had a registration deadline of 2 October 2026, which is useful as a guide but should be checked again when the 2028 cycle is published.

How much is the Dunottar registration fee?

The school’s admissions information lists a £150 registration fee.

Does Dunottar publish a pass mark or cut-off score?

We did not find an official published pass mark or cut-off score. If you want the latest admissions criteria, check directly with the school’s admissions page.

What else happens besides the academic paper?

The school says the process includes Warrior Learner activities and an interview, alongside academic assessments. So it helps to prepare your child for the wider admissions day, not just written papers.

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Sources

Dunottar School – Year 6 Admissions Process: School runs its own Year 7 admissions process; families are encouraged to register in early May of Year 5; process includes Warrior Learner activities, interview and academic assessments; 2027 entry timeline including registration deadline Friday 2 October 2026, Spooktacular Taster Day Saturday 10 O
Dunottar School – Home: School identity and general context: independent coeducational school in Reigate with sixth form.

Preparing for other schools in Surrey

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.