How to prepare for the Farlington School 11+

The exam at a glance

For Year 7 entry, Farlington School’s own admissions information says the main intake into the Middle School is at Year 7 and that applicants are assessed as part of the admissions process. The school’s published admissions page explains that Middle School candidates sit CAT4 testing, ideally by the end of the autumn term before entry, with applications at other times of year sometimes tested later if needed.

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the exact exam board or platform is not yet confirmed. What parents can safely plan for, though, is an adaptive, computer-delivered screen of developed ability. In practice, that means questions in Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with a strong emphasis on vocabulary, reasoning and mental arithmetic rather than a taught curriculum. Because adaptive tests change level as a child answers, the day usually rewards calm pacing and confidence as much as raw accuracy.

The school does not, on the pages reviewed, publish a full public breakdown of the paper lengths, exact timings or the order of sections for Year 7 entry. It does make clear that the assessment forms part of a wider admissions process rather than being the only factor considered.

What the assessment day often looks like at an independent school such as Farlington is:

registration with the admissions team;
a computer-based assessment session;
in some cases, a visit, interview or informal meeting;
review of the child’s latest school report or reference.

As always, for 2028 entry, parents should check the school’s admissions page directly once the new cycle opens because schools sometimes adjust the order of stages, whether testing is done on-site, and whether further observations or interviews are used.

Registration and key dates

Farlington handles admissions directly through the school, not through a local authority selective test system. The admissions page invites families to contact the school and apply through its own process. The school’s enquiry and application information indicates that parents should expect to deal with the admissions team rather than a consortium portal.

For Middle School entry, the school says candidates sit CAT4 testing ideally by the end of the autumn term preceding entry. For children due to start Year 7 in September 2028, that points to assessment taking place during the autumn term of 2027. The school also says that applicants at other points in the year may take the CAT4 test at another time.

At the time of writing, we did not find a publicly published Farlington page giving a fixed registration opening date, a hard closing date, a single national-style test date or a published results day for 2028 entry. Because this is an independent school, timings may be more flexible than in grammar school systems, but parents should not assume that places remain open indefinitely.

So the safest approach is:

contact Farlington admissions during Year 5 or early Year 6 if you are considering Year 7 entry;
ask when the 2028 entry assessment window opens;
check what documents are needed, usually including recent school reports and basic applicant details;
book a visit early, especially because Year 7 is the school’s largest Middle School intake point.

If the school has not yet published the 2028 timetable, use the school’s own wording as your guide: testing is typically by the end of the autumn term before entry. Keep an eye on the school’s admissions page and consider signing up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

You can also bookmark The Farlington School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) for updates as soon as the school confirms them.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Farlington is an independent school, so it does not operate a grammar-school style local authority catchment test process. The school’s admissions page says it has “a very broad intake of pupils” and that admission is subject to space in the relevant year group. That is the clearest public statement available on who can apply.

The school also states that the largest intake in the Middle School is at Year 7, which matters for families because it usually means the best availability of places is at that point rather than through in-year moves.

We did not find a published maximum distance, named priority area, standardised score threshold, pass mark or oversubscription ranking list for Year 7 entry. Independent schools often do not publish these in the way state selective schools do. If you need a precise answer on current availability, boarding options or whether a place is likely to be offered, the best step is to ask Farlington admissions directly.

For budgeting, the school’s published fees for September 2026 to July 2027 list:

Year group	Fee per term
Years 7 and 8	£8,800
Years 9, 10 and 11	£9,200
Years 12 and 13	£9,200

Those figures are useful for planning, but they may change before 2028 entry, so parents should always check the latest fee schedule on the school website.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because Farlington’s Year 7 assessment is best thought of as an ability screen rather than a syllabus-heavy exam, preparation should be steady and low-pressure. For most Year 5 children, 2 to 3 hours a week at the start is enough. Closer to the assessment, 3 to 4 hours a week is usually plenty, split across short sessions.

January to March in Year 5

Start gently with vocabulary building, mental arithmetic and puzzle-style reasoning.
Read widely every day: fiction, non-fiction, quality children’s journalism and challenging vocabulary in context.
Use short sessions of 15 to 20 minutes, four or five times a week.

April to June in Year 5

Add structured practice in verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
Keep maths mental and fluent: number bonds, fractions, times tables, quick calculations and estimation.
Begin occasional screen-based work if your child is not used to answering quickly on a device.

July to August before Year 6

Increase to regular mixed practice across all four areas.
Do one short timed section each week, not full tests yet.
Notice any weak spots: slow reading, careless arithmetic, unfamiliar shapes or anxiety under time pressure.

September in Year 6

Move into more realistic timed practice.
Start short mixed papers that require switching between question types.
Keep sessions calm and review mistakes properly rather than chasing lots of scores.

October to November in Year 6

If the assessment window falls here, focus on pacing and confidence.
Practise deciding when to move on from a hard question.
Do one or two fuller timed sessions per week, balanced with lighter skills practice.

The final few weeks

Cut back on volume slightly.
Keep vocabulary, arithmetic fluency and short reasoning drills ticking over.
Make sure your child is comfortable using a screen, clicking answers and working under tight timings.

The biggest mistake for this sort of assessment is over-teaching school content that is unlikely to be tested directly. Strong habits matter more: careful reading, swift basic maths, pattern recognition and a calm response when the questions become harder.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For this kind of adaptive assessment, maths preparation should centre on mental arithmetic and numerical reasoning rather than long written methods. Children benefit from fast recall of number facts, times tables, place value, simple fractions, percentages, ratio ideas, estimation and selecting efficient methods. Practise short, timed bursts where your child explains how they spotted the quickest route.

Useful habits include checking whether an answer is sensible, keeping track of multi-step information mentally and staying accurate when under time pressure.

English

In an ability-style screen, English usually leans more towards vocabulary, comprehension at sentence level and language awareness than extended writing. Build a wide vocabulary through reading, discussion and quick quizzes on synonyms, antonyms and precise word choice. Encourage your child to infer meaning from context and to notice shades of meaning rather than guessing from one familiar word.

Reading stamina matters less than close attention. Short passages, definitions in context and verbal precision are often more useful practice than long comprehension drills.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning tends to test how well a child works with words, codes, patterns, logical relationships and language-based instructions. Practise common task types such as word relationships, letter sequences, coded words, classifications, analogies and finding logical links quickly.

The key is not memorising endless types in isolation. Instead, teach your child to slow down just long enough to spot the rule, then work briskly. Vocabulary depth is a major advantage here too.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-verbal reasoning preparation should include shapes, rotations, reflections, symmetry, matrices, visual sequences, odd-one-out tasks and spatial changes. Children often improve fastest when they learn to look systematically: first count sides or shapes, then notice position, size, shading and direction changes.

Because these questions can feel unfamiliar at first, regular short practice works better than occasional long sessions. It helps to talk aloud through the pattern before answering.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used to build familiarity, not fear. For an adaptive screen, parents should remember that no paper reproduces the exact feel of a live adaptive test. The aim is to strengthen the underlying skills and get your child used to working accurately at pace.

A good routine is:

start untimed, so your child learns the method for each question type;
move to short timed sections once accuracy improves;
review every mistake by category, such as vocabulary gap, rushed arithmetic or missed pattern;
repeat weak areas a few days later;
only use full mocks occasionally.

For Farlington-specific preparation, use these resources:

If you use mock exams, choose them for stamina, timing and confidence-building rather than score-chasing. One well-reviewed mock followed by careful feedback is usually more valuable than several back-to-back tests.

For this school, screen familiarity matters. If your child mostly practises on paper, add some computer-based work so clicking, scrolling and staying focused on screen do not feel new on the day.

On the day

Keep the day straightforward. A calm child nearly always performs better than a heavily coached one.

Arrive in good time so there is no sense of rushing.
Bring any documents the school has asked for and check practical details the day before.
Make sure your child has eaten something familiar and had enough sleep.
Remind them that adaptive tests are designed to become challenging; seeing harder questions is not a sign that they are doing badly.
Encourage them to read carefully, answer decisively and move on if stuck.
Afterwards, avoid a long post-mortem. A brief “well done, you handled it” is usually enough.

If there is also an interview, tour or meeting, the best preparation is simple conversation practice at home: speaking clearly, answering politely and showing genuine interest in school life.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

Because Farlington is an independent school, the post-exam process is different from state secondary allocation. There is no local authority National Offer Day mechanism for the school itself. Instead, families are usually informed directly by the school whether a place can be offered, whether further information is needed, or whether the child may be considered if space becomes available.

The school page reviewed does not publish a universal results date or a formal appeal timetable for Year 7 testing. Independent schools also do not usually run admissions appeals in the same way as maintained schools and academies. If a place is not offered, parents would normally need to ask the school whether there is a waiting list, whether a later assessment is possible if circumstances change, and whether re-application is possible at another intake point.

If you receive an offer, check the acceptance deadline, deposit arrangements and any conditions attached. If you do not, ask politely for clarity on next steps rather than assuming the decision is final in every case.

What has changed recently

From the sources reviewed, we did not find a publicly announced recent change in the last two years to Farlington’s Year 7 admissions format beyond the school’s current published statement that Middle School entry involves CAT4 testing and that the largest intake is at Year 7. Parents should watch the school’s admissions page for any 2028-specific updates, especially if the school confirms a different platform or revised assessment process.

Frequently asked questions

Does Farlington School use the 11+ in the same way as a grammar school?

No. Farlington is an independent school and runs its own admissions process. The school says Middle School applicants take CAT4 testing as part of assessment for entry.

What does Farlington test for Year 7 entry?

ElevenReady’s verified information for 2028 entry is Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning within an adaptive developed-ability style assessment. The exact 2028 board or platform is not yet confirmed.

When should my child start preparing for Farlington?

For most children, a gentle start in Year 5 is sensible. Begin with vocabulary, mental maths and reasoning, then add timed practice in Year 6.

Does Farlington have a catchment area?

We did not find a published catchment area or distance rule. The school says it has a very broad intake of pupils and that admission is subject to space in the relevant year group.

Are there published pass marks for Farlington School?

We did not find any published pass mark, qualifying score or cut-off for Year 7 entry. If you need current detail, check directly with the school’s admissions team.

When do Farlington Year 7 results come out?

The school page reviewed does not give a universal published results day for Year 7. Independent school offers are often sent directly by the school after assessment and review.

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Sources

Farlington School – Applying for a Place: Farlington is an independent school running its own admissions process; the largest intake in the Middle School is at Year 7; Year 7 and 8 are within the Middle School; Middle School entrance assessment is CAT4 testing; CAT4 testing is ideally by the end of the autumn term preceding entry; applicant
Farlington School – Home: Farlington School is in Horsham, West Sussex and offers day and boarding places from Reception to Year 13.
Farlington School – Fees: Fees for September 2026 to July 2027: Years 7 and 8 £8,800 per term; Years 9 to 11 £9,200 per term; Years 12 and 13 £9,200 per term.
GL Assessment – CAT4 overview: General background only: CAT4 is an assessment of developed abilities rather than a taught curriculum. Used only for context, not for school-specific claims.

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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.