How to prepare for the Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation 11+

The exam at a glance

For September 2028 entry into Year 7, Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation says pupils applying to the senior school sit the school’s own entrance assessment as part of the admissions process. The school’s published entry requirements name four areas for Year 7 assessment: English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

The school’s admissions information makes clear that Year 7 is one of its main intake points. However, the admissions pages currently available do not set out the paper lengths, the order of papers, whether the tests are completed on paper or on screen, or the detailed structure of the assessment day. Because this is a school-set assessment, parents should treat the school’s own admissions page as the key source and check it regularly for updates.

In practical terms, families should expect the admissions process to include an entrance assessment and then a decision by the school on whether a place can be offered, subject to availability. If your child is applying for Year 7 in 2028, it is sensible to contact the admissions team well in advance to ask what the current assessment arrangement looks like for your entry year.

Exam board: the school’s own paper
Tested subjects: English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning
Delivery: not published on the admissions page currently available
Main intake point: Year 7
Places: applications are considered subject to availability

Registration and key dates

At present, the school’s published admissions page for entry requirements does not give a separate 11+ registration window, a deadline, a published test date or a results date for Year 7 entry. Instead, it says that applications are considered by the Foundation and that Year 7 is a main point of entry, subject to availability.

That means parents should assume the process is run directly by the school, rather than through a local authority grammar-school portal or a shared consortium test. The safest approach is:

Read the school’s admissions and entry-requirements pages carefully.
Contact the admissions team to ask when they expect to assess Year 7 applicants for your child’s entry year.
Ask what documents they need with the application, such as a completed application form, school reports or other supporting information.
If you are also applying to state schools, keep the independent-school process separate from your local authority secondary transfer application.

Because no official 2028-entry dates were published on the pages reviewed, it would be wrong to give exact deadlines here. Parents should check the school’s admissions page regularly and consider signing up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

You can also keep an eye on ElevenReady’s school page here: The Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation is an independent, coeducational school. The Foundation includes Chorister School for younger pupils and Durham School for older pupils, with Year 7 as one of the main joining points into the senior school.

On the admissions pages reviewed, there is no published catchment area. In other words, the school does not present Year 7 entry as tied to a defined distance area in the way many state grammar schools do. Applications are considered subject to availability.

The school’s published fees page gives the senior day fees for 2026–27. For families budgeting ahead, that page lists Day Pupil Senior School 7–8 at £7,355 + lunch per term, inclusive of VAT, and Day Pupil Senior School 9–13 at £8,048 + lunch per term, inclusive of VAT. Fees can change, so always check the latest fees page before making decisions.

The school also notes that bursaries and scholarships are available through its wider admissions and fees information, so families who may need financial support should ask the admissions team early in the process how these work and whether separate deadlines apply.

School type	Independent, coeducational
Main Year 7 intake	Yes
Catchment	No catchment area published on the admissions pages reviewed
Entry basis	Assessment and application, subject to availability

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because the school does not currently publish the detailed format of its Year 7 assessment, the best preparation is broad, steady and skills-based rather than narrowly coached. For most Year 5 children, a calm routine works better than a heavy timetable.

January to March in Year 5

Aim for around 1 to 1.5 hours a week in short sessions.
Build secure arithmetic, reading comprehension, vocabulary and pattern-recognition habits.
Start very gently with verbal and non-verbal reasoning so the question styles do not feel unfamiliar later.
Read widely: fiction, non-fiction and shorter articles. This helps English and verbal reasoning together.

April to June in Year 5

Increase to about 1.5 to 2 hours a week.
Work on one maths topic at a time: number, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, measures and multi-step problems.
In English, practise retrieval, inference, vocabulary-in-context and concise written responses.
Introduce short, untimed reasoning practice across both verbal and non-verbal areas.

Summer holidays before Year 6

Keep the routine light but regular: about 2 hours a week is usually enough.
Mix skills practice with reading and mental maths.
Begin joining topics together, for example a comprehension followed by vocabulary review, or a maths set with timed arithmetic.
If your child is coping comfortably, start a few short timed sections rather than full papers.

September to October in Year 6

Move to around 2 to 3 hours a week, depending on your child’s stamina and other school commitments.
Use timed practice more often, but keep most sessions focused on accuracy first.
Review mistakes carefully. The aim is not to race through materials but to spot recurring slips.
Practise switching between English, maths and reasoning, as independent-school assessments often require children to stay flexible.

The final few weeks

Use only a small number of timed papers or sections.
Do familiar work in the last few days rather than introducing new content.
Keep sleep, routines and confidence steady.

A good rule is this: if your child is becoming tired, tearful or resistant, reduce the volume and return to shorter sessions. Consistency matters far more than intensity.

Subject by subject: what to practise

English

The school names English as one of the Year 7 assessment areas. As the published admissions information does not give a detailed syllabus, prepare broadly. Focus on reading comprehension, careful use of evidence from a passage, vocabulary knowledge, spelling accuracy, punctuation and clear written expression.

Useful practice includes reading a short text and answering questions on meaning, inference and author choice; summarising a paragraph in a sentence or two; and writing neatly structured responses with full sentences. Encourage your child to explain how they found an answer, not just what the answer is.

Mathematics

For maths, make sure the Year 5 and early Year 6 basics are secure before moving to speed. Strong preparation usually includes arithmetic fluency, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, basic algebraic thinking, geometry, measures and worded problem solving.

Independent-school maths papers often reward careful reading as much as calculation. Practise setting work out clearly, checking whether the answer is sensible and returning to any question where a rushed method may have caused an error.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning is listed by the school as part of the Year 7 entrance examination. Because the school does not currently publish the exact question style on the page reviewed, use a wide practice base rather than drilling one narrow format.

Good preparation includes vocabulary building, synonyms and antonyms, word relationships, letter and number codes, sequences, logical deduction and careful following of written instructions. A child with a strong reading habit usually finds this section easier over time.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-verbal reasoning is also named by the school. Again, the detailed format is not published on the page reviewed, so broad familiarity matters most. Cover shape patterns, rotations, reflections, symmetry, sequences, odd-one-out tasks, spatial relationships and visual analogies.

When practising, encourage your child to talk through what changes from one figure to the next. This develops method and reduces guessing.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used sparingly and thoughtfully. Start with untimed work so your child understands each question type, then introduce timed sections once accuracy is reasonably secure. Afterwards, review mistakes in detail: was the issue knowledge, vocabulary, method, speed or nerves?

For this school, broad practice across all four named areas is sensible because the detailed structure is not fully published on the admissions page currently available.

If you use mock exams, choose them for confidence-building and routine, not as a source of pressure. A mock can help a child experience travelling to a venue, listening to instructions, working under timed conditions and recovering after one difficult section. But one mock is usually enough for most children. The value is in the review afterwards.

A simple rhythm works well:

Learn the topic or question type.
Practise a few questions untimed.
Try a short timed set.
Mark carefully and correct errors.
Repeat only the areas that still feel weak.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, comfortable uniform or clothes if the school has advised them, and plenty of time for the journey. Rushing is one of the easiest ways to make a child feel unsettled before they even begin.

Pack any documents or stationery the school has requested the night before.
Arrive with time to spare rather than discussing last-minute revision in the car.
Remind your child that one hard question does not mean the whole paper is going badly.
Encourage them to listen carefully to instructions and keep an eye on the time if timings are given.
Afterwards, avoid a detailed post-mortem. A calm “well done, you finished” is usually enough.

For children applying to an independent school, interviews, taster days or follow-up contact may sometimes form part of the wider admissions process. If the school tells you there is another step after the assessment, explain it positively and matter-of-factly so it feels familiar rather than intimidating.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

The school pages reviewed do not publish a Year 7 entrance-test results date or a detailed allocation timetable. In general, for an independent school, families can expect the school to contact them directly after assessment to say whether a place can be offered, often with a deadline for accepting it.

This process is different from state secondary allocation. If you are also applying to state schools, you will still need to follow your local authority’s separate application process and deadlines.

If your child is unsuccessful, the next sensible step is to ask the admissions team politely whether feedback is available and whether there is any waiting-list process. Independent schools do not use the same statutory appeals system as state schools, so any review or reconsideration process will be the school’s own. The best source for this is always the school’s admissions team.

Because Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation says applications are considered subject to availability, it is worth responding promptly to any offer or request for information.

What has changed recently

On the official pages reviewed for this guide, I did not find a published announcement in the last two years of a change to the Year 7 entrance-exam board, format, catchment or key dates. The current admissions information continues to present Year 7 as a main intake point and states that applications are considered subject to availability.

One published change relevant to families’ planning is on fees: the school’s fees page sets out the 2026–27 senior day fees, inclusive of VAT. Parents should check the latest fees page each year, as fees and related charges can change.

Frequently asked questions

Does Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation use GL or CEM for 11+?

The school’s own entry-requirements page indicates that Year 7 applicants sit the school’s own entrance examinations. The detailed provider or style is not published on the page reviewed, so parents should check directly with the school.

What subjects are in the Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation 11+?

The school’s admissions information names English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning for Year 7 entrance examinations.

Is there a catchment area for Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation?

No catchment area is stated on the admissions pages reviewed. As an independent school, it does not present Year 7 entry in the same catchment-based way many state schools do.

When is the Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation 11+ exam?

The school pages reviewed do not publish a Year 7 test date, registration deadline or results day. Contact the admissions team directly and check the school’s admissions page for the latest information.

How hard should my child revise for this exam?

For most children, steady weekly practice works better than long sessions. Aim for short, regular work across English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, increasing gently as the exam approaches.

Are there practice papers for Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation?

Yes. You can use ElevenReady’s free practice resources for all four named subjects, then review mistakes carefully rather than doing large numbers of papers.

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Sources

Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation - Entry Requirements: Year 7 is a main intake point; applications are considered subject to availability; Year 7 entrance examinations are in English, Mathematics, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning; the process is run by the school rather than a local authority consortium page being published for this school.
Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation - Admissions: The school is an independent coeducational foundation including Chorister School and Durham School; admissions are handled by the school.
Durham Cathedral Schools Foundation - Fees: 2026-27 fees: Day Pupil Senior School 7–8 £7,355 + Lunch and Day Pupil Senior School 9–13 £8,048 + Lunch, inclusive of VAT.

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Written by ElevenReady from the school's published information and reviewed by a person before publishing. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Exam arrangements change. Check the school's admissions page for the current year.