How to prepare for the Epsom College 11+ exam

The exam at a glance

For Year 7 entry to Epsom College in September 2028, the assessment route begins with the ISEB Common Pre-Test. This is an online assessment taken on screen and it covers English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

The school describes Year 7 admission as a three-stage process: first the application, then the ISEB Common Pre-Test, and then an Engagement Day. In practice, that means the test is important, but it is not the whole story. Families should prepare for a computer-based assessment in the autumn of Year 6 and, if shortlisted, a later visit to school for the engagement stage.

The ISEB Pre-Test is adaptive, which means the difficulty changes according to a child’s answers. It is also tightly timed. That matters for preparation: children need to be able to work accurately, but also steadily and confidently under time pressure on a screen.

On the day of the assessment itself, children usually work through the four sections online. Schools using the Pre-Test often supervise the sitting at school or arrange it through the child’s current prep or primary school, depending on the family’s circumstances. Epsom College’s own admissions process then continues with the engagement stage for selected candidates.

Board: ISEB Common Pre-Test
Format: computer-based, adaptive, timed
Subjects: English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
Admissions process: application, Pre-Test, Engagement Day
For 2028 entry: children will usually sit the test in the autumn of Year 6

Registration and key dates

Epsom College asks families applying for Year 7 to complete the school’s own application process. The school’s Year 7 admissions page says that the application deadline is 31 October in the year before entry. For September 2028 entry, that means the deadline is 31 October 2027.

The same page explains that the ISEB assessments take place in the autumn of Year 6. The school does not, on the page reviewed, publish one single fixed test date for all candidates, so it is best to think in terms of an autumn testing window rather than one nationally set day. If you are applying from a prep school, Epsom College notes that the child’s current school can administer the online assessment. If your child is at a state primary or another school not set up to do that, the admissions team can advise on arrangements.

After the test stage, Epsom College says that Engagement Sessions take place during a morning or afternoon in the first two weeks of January. The school also says that offers are made in early February, and parents then have until early March to decide.

Because independent-school processes can update from year to year, parents should check the current Year 7 page before applying and consider signing up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Application route: school application to Epsom College

Application deadline for 2028 entry: 31 October 2027

Assessment timing: ISEB assessments in autumn of Year 6

Engagement Sessions: first two weeks of January

Offers: early February

Decision deadline for parents: early March

What documents are needed can vary by school and by family circumstances. Epsom College’s website should be your first stop for the current application form and any supporting information required.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Epsom College is an independent coeducational school and it does not operate a catchment area for Year 7 entry. That is helpful for families applying from anywhere in the UK or from overseas: the key issue is meeting the school’s admissions requirements rather than living within a geographic priority zone.

The school’s Year 7 page sets out the admissions route as application, ISEB Common Pre-Test and Engagement Day. This tells parents two useful things. First, the process is selective and multi-stage. Second, preparation should not focus only on test technique. Children also need to be ready to engage well with adults and peers, listen carefully, and present themselves in a calm and thoughtful way when they attend the later stage.

We did not find a published Year 7 pass mark, minimum score, or published cut-off score for the ISEB Common Pre-Test. Independent schools commonly keep this information unpublished. Parents should therefore avoid online claims about "the score you need" unless they come directly from the school. If Epsom College publishes further detail for the 2028 round, it should appear on the school’s admissions pages.

We also did not find, in the sources reviewed, a confirmed published number of Year 7 places attached specifically to the admissions page for this entry route. Where a school does not publish a number on the page parents use to apply, it is safer not to rely on forum estimates.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because the ISEB Common Pre-Test is taken in the autumn of Year 6, the most sensible approach is to build steadily through Year 5 and the summer before Year 6. For most children, consistency matters much more than long study sessions.

January to March of Year 5

Aim for around 1 to 1.5 hours a week in total.
Focus on secure basics in arithmetic, reading comprehension, vocabulary and pattern recognition.
Begin very gentle reasoning practice: short verbal and non-verbal tasks, little and often.
If your child is not used to working on a computer, start introducing short on-screen tasks.

April to June of Year 5

Increase to around 1.5 to 2 hours a week.
Build breadth across all four subjects rather than overdoing one area.
Keep Maths work mixed: number, fractions, decimals, percentages, word problems and mental agility.
For English, read regularly and discuss meaning, inference, tone and vocabulary.
Start noticing timing, but do not make every task a race.

July to August before Year 6

Work at around 2 to 3 hours a week, spread across several short sessions.
Introduce proper computer-based practice where possible.
Start short timed sets, especially in reasoning, so your child learns to move on rather than freeze on a difficult question.
Review mistakes carefully. At this stage, understanding errors is more valuable than doing ever more papers.

September of Year 6

Move to around 3 hours a week if your child is coping well.
Use mixed practice that mirrors the feel of the Pre-Test: switching subjects, thinking at pace, and answering independently.
Do one timed practice session each week, then spend time reviewing techniques and weak areas.
Keep schoolwork and wellbeing stable. Tired children often underperform in adaptive tests.

October of Year 6

Keep practice purposeful rather than heavy: around 2.5 to 3 hours a week is usually enough.
By now, timed work should feel familiar.
Concentrate on accuracy under pressure, keyboard and mouse confidence, reading instructions carefully, and recovering quickly after a hard question.
If the school deadline is approaching, make sure the application is submitted on time.

The final fortnight

Reduce volume slightly.
Do short mixed refreshers, not marathon sessions.
Prioritise sleep, routine and confidence.
Remind your child that an adaptive test is meant to feel challenging at points.

Subject by subject: what to practise

English

For ISEB Pre-Test English, prepare for quick reading and careful understanding rather than long written answers. Children should practise reading short passages accurately, spotting the main idea, making straightforward inferences, understanding vocabulary in context, and choosing the best answer from close alternatives. A strong routine is regular reading, followed by brief discussion of meaning, tone and unfamiliar words.

Useful practice includes short comprehension tasks, vocabulary building, synonyms and antonyms, cloze-style work, and exercises where your child must find evidence in the text for an answer. Because the test is timed, children should learn not to reread every line repeatedly unless they need to.

Maths

Maths preparation should centre on secure Key Stage 2 knowledge used fluently. In an adaptive online test, children need good mental maths habits as well as the ability to handle straightforward multi-step problems. Practise arithmetic, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio at an age-appropriate level, measures, shape, and interpreting data.

Word problems matter. Children should get used to deciding what the question is really asking, choosing the operation, and estimating before answering. Timed maths practice should encourage steady pace, not panicky rushing.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning in the Pre-Test typically rewards vocabulary, logic and pattern-spotting with words and letters. Good preparation includes synonyms, antonyms, letter sequences, codes, analogies and related quick-thinking language tasks. The exact mix can vary, so broad familiarity is better than overtraining on one narrow type.

Build vocabulary little and often. Children who read widely often find this section easier, but explicit practice still helps. Encourage your child to recognise common instruction types quickly so they do not waste time working out what to do.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning focuses on visual patterns and relationships. Children should practise identifying changes in shape, rotation, reflection, symmetry, shading, position and sequence. The aim is to learn how patterns behave rather than memorising one worksheet style.

This is a section where timed practice becomes particularly useful. Many children can solve the pattern eventually; the challenge is spotting it efficiently. Encourage your child to look for one rule at a time: shape, number, orientation, size, shading, then position.

Practice papers and mock exams

For this school, the best practice is practice that reflects the real demands of the ISEB Common Pre-Test: computer-based, adaptive in feel, and completed at a sensible pace. Printed papers can still help with knowledge-building, but they should not be the only preparation method.

A good sequence is:

Learn the content and the common question types untimed.
Move to short timed sets by subject.
Build up to mixed sessions completed on screen where possible.
Review every mistake carefully: was it a knowledge gap, a misread question, or a timing issue?

Try not to use too many full papers too early. Children often gain more from repeating a weak topic well than from racing through another mock.

ElevenReady has school-specific materials here:

If you use mock exams, choose them carefully. The aim is not to create pressure for its own sake, but to help your child get used to working independently, staying calm when a section feels hard, and keeping focus on a screen for the full assessment.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, comfortable uniform or clothes if advised, and plenty of time so nothing feels rushed.

Remind your child that the test is designed to become easier or harder depending on answers. If one part feels difficult, that does not mean they are doing badly.
Encourage them to listen carefully to instructions and ask for help with procedures before the test starts if they are unsure.
For an on-screen test, steady mouse or trackpad use matters. Your child should know how to select answers confidently and move on.
Tell them not to dwell on one stubborn question. In a timed adaptive test, calm forward movement is important.
After the test, avoid conducting a post-mortem in the car home. A quiet, positive end to the day is usually best.

If your child is later invited to an Engagement Day or Session, prepare in a low-key way: polite conversation, listening well, joining in, and being themselves. Schools are usually looking for children who will contribute positively to school life, not children who sound over-rehearsed.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

At Epsom College, the process does not end with the autumn assessment. The school says that Engagement Sessions are held in the first two weeks of January, followed by offers in early February. Parents then have until early March to decide whether to accept.

Because this is an independent school, the process is different from local-authority secondary allocation for state schools. Families apply directly to the school, and the school communicates its own decisions and deadlines.

We did not find a published score report format or a public pass mark for Year 7 applicants. If your child is unsuccessful, the next practical step is to contact the admissions team politely and ask whether any feedback is available and whether there is a waiting list process.

Appeals at independent schools do not follow the same standard statutory route used for state-school admissions. If you need to query a decision, begin with the school’s admissions office and ask about the school’s own review or complaints procedure.

What has changed recently

In the sources reviewed, Epsom College’s current Year 7 admissions route is presented as application, ISEB Common Pre-Test and Engagement Day/Session. We did not find an official announcement of a new exam board, a published change to catchment arrangements, or a newly announced change in Year 7 admissions structure within the last two years beyond the current published process and timetable wording on the school’s admissions page.

As always, families should check the latest Year 7 page each spring and summer before applying, because independent-school admissions wording and event dates can be updated between entry rounds.

Frequently asked questions

Does Epsom College use the 11+ in the same way as a grammar school?

No. Epsom College is an independent school and uses its own admissions process. For Year 7, that includes the ISEB Common Pre-Test and a later engagement stage rather than a local-authority grammar school test and ranking system.

Is there a catchment area for Epsom College Year 7 entry?

No. Epsom College does not operate a catchment area for Year 7 admissions.

When is the application deadline for 2028 entry?

The school’s Year 7 admissions page gives the application deadline as 31 October in the year before entry, so for September 2028 entry that is 31 October 2027.

When do children sit the Epsom College pre-test?

The school says the ISEB assessments take place in the autumn of Year 6. Check the admissions page for the exact arrangements for your child.

Does Epsom College publish a pass mark for the ISEB Common Pre-Test?

We did not find a published pass mark or cut-off score on the sources reviewed. If the school releases more detail for a future round, it should appear on its admissions pages.

What happens after the test?

Selected applicants are invited to an Engagement Session in the first two weeks of January. Offers are then made in early February, with parents asked to decide by early March.

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Sources

Epsom College – Joining Year 7: Year 7 is a three-stage admissions process of application, ISEB Common Pre-Test assessment and Engagement Day/Session; application deadline is 31 October; ISEB assessments take place in autumn of Year 6; Engagement Sessions take place during a morning or afternoon in the first two weeks of January;
ISEB – Common Pre-Tests: The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online assessment used for school admissions and covers English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Epsom College – Home page: Epsom College is an independent coeducational school in Epsom, Surrey and has a 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.