How to prepare for the Frensham Heights 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

For September 2028 entry into Year 7, Frensham Heights uses its own admissions process rather than a shared grammar-school test. For this guide, the assessed paper format is a GL-style test across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, so preparation should be balanced across all four areas.

The school describes its middle and senior admissions process as one that aims to assess the whole child. For Years 7 to 11, this includes interviews, short tests, school references and recent school reports. The admissions information for Year 7 also shows a separate interview day in November and an entrance day in January before entry.

What this means in practice for families is that preparation should not focus only on test technique. Your child also needs to be ready to talk naturally about school, interests and learning, and to sit short, timed sections calmly and steadily.

The school website does not clearly set out, on the page reviewed, the exact room-by-room running order for the assessment day or whether the paper is delivered on paper or computer. Parents should therefore treat the admissions page as the key reference and confirm practical arrangements directly with the school when registering.

School type: independent, co-educational
Entry point covered here: Year 7
Tested areas: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
Wider assessment: interview, school reference and recent reports
Style of preparation: steady work across all four subjects, with some interview preparation as the autumn term approaches

Registration and key dates

Frensham Heights runs its own admissions process. Applications are made through the school rather than through a local authority selective-testing portal.

The school’s admissions page currently publishes dates for 2027 entry, which are useful as a guide for families planning ahead for 2028 entry. On the page reviewed, the school listed:

Admissions Adventure for Year 7: 1 October 2026
Registration deadline for Year 7 and above: 31 October 2026
Interview day for Years 7 to 10: 28 November 2026
Entrance day for Years 7 to 10: 16 January 2027

The same admissions information says that, for middle and senior school, interview day takes place in November before the intended September start and assessments take place in January before entry. In other words, for September 2028 entry, parents should expect the process to typically involve autumn registration, an interview day in November 2027 and assessments in January 2028, unless the school publishes different dates.

The admissions page also states that offers are normally sent within one to two weeks. Because the school page reviewed focuses on the current cycle, families applying for 2028 should check the admissions page regularly for the updated timetable as soon as it is published.

There is a £250 non-refundable registration fee.

When applying, expect the school to ask for the normal admissions paperwork used in independent-school applications, including recent school information. The school specifically refers to school references and recent reports as part of assessment. If you are unsure what documents are needed for your child’s year group, ask admissions before submitting the form.

Useful next steps:

Read the school’s admissions page first: /schools/frensham-heights-school
Set a reminder for updated dates, or use /school-alerts?school=frensham-heights-school
Book any open event or Year 7 admissions event as early as possible, since these often help children feel more settled before interview and testing

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Frensham Heights is an independent school, so there is no catchment area in the state-school sense. Families do not need to live within a defined priority zone to apply.

Instead, admission is based on the school’s own selection process. The school says that for Years 7 to 11 it aims to assess the whole child through interviews, short tests, school references and recent reports. That is a helpful sign for parents: the entrance process is not presented as a single-score hurdle alone.

The school website reviewed did not clearly publish a fixed number of Year 7 places, a published pass mark or a cut-off score. If you are looking for those figures, the safest approach is to assume they are not publicly published and to check directly with the school’s admissions team.

In practical terms, this means parents should focus on three things:

Suitability: is your child likely to thrive in the school’s academic and pastoral environment?
Readiness: can your child cope with short, timed academic assessment across all four tested areas?
Presentation: will your child come across as relaxed, thoughtful and engaged at interview?

If your child has any special educational needs, access arrangements or a recent change of school, raise this early with admissions so the school can tell you what evidence it needs and whether arrangements may be available.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child aiming at Year 7 entry, the most sensible approach is calm, regular preparation across Year 5 and the start of Year 6. Because Frensham Heights uses a four-subject paper and also interviews, children usually do best with short, consistent practice rather than bursts of heavy work.

January to March in Year 5

Aim for 1 to 2 hours a week in total.
Build strong arithmetic habits: number bonds, times tables, written methods and mental maths.
Start gentle English work: comprehension, vocabulary building and accurate spelling.
Introduce Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning slowly so the question styles do not feel unfamiliar later.

April to June in Year 5

Increase to around 2 hours a week.
Work through each subject separately so your child learns the different demands of each one.
Keep sessions short: 20 to 30 minutes is often enough.
Begin tracking which question types cause hesitation or repeated errors.

July to August before Year 6

Keep momentum without making summer feel like term time: around 2 to 3 hours a week.
Use mixed practice across all four subjects.
Begin light timing on short sections, especially in reasoning, where pace matters.
Read daily if possible; this quietly strengthens comprehension, vocabulary and written expression.

September in Year 6

Move to around 3 hours a week.
Check the school website for the live admissions timetable and register in good time.
Start doing short timed sets in each subject every week.
If your child is uneasy about interviews, begin simple conversation practice: talking about books, favourite subjects, activities and how they approach challenges.

October in Year 6

Keep to 3 to 4 hours a week, split across the week.
Start the first full mixed papers, but do not overdo them.
Review mistakes carefully: was the problem knowledge, attention, vocabulary or timing?
Make sure your child can switch cleanly between English, Maths and the two reasoning papers.

November in Year 6

Maintain 3 to 4 hours a week.
Prepare gently for interview day: eye contact, listening carefully, answering in full sentences and speaking honestly rather than trying to impress.
Use one timed paper or one substantial timed section each week, followed by review.

December in Year 6

Focus on consolidation rather than cramming.
Use shorter sessions, especially near the school holidays.
Revisit all high-frequency weak spots: fractions, multi-step comprehension, coded VR questions, shape and pattern work in NVR.

January before the assessment

In the final two weeks, keep work light and confident.
Do a small amount of timed practice to stay sharp, but stop chasing new content.
Prioritise sleep, routine and calm.

A good rule of thumb is this: start timed full papers only once your child broadly understands the question types. Timing is important, but rushing too early can create avoidable anxiety.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For a GL-style Maths paper, focus on secure Key Stage 2 number skills first. Children need fluent arithmetic, confidence with place value, the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, time and straightforward problem solving.

Practise short, mixed sets rather than long runs of one topic. Teach your child to underline key information, estimate before calculating and check whether an answer is sensible. Many avoidable marks are lost through rushing arithmetic or misreading what is being asked.

English

English preparation should cover both comprehension and the underlying literacy skills that support it. Work on retrieving information, making simple inferences, explaining word choice, understanding tone and using evidence from the passage.

Alongside comprehension, build vocabulary steadily. A wide reading diet helps far more than last-minute memorising. If the school’s short tests include written responses, practise writing clear sentences with accurate punctuation and spelling. The aim is not fancy writing, but precise, controlled writing.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning rewards familiarity. Children improve when they repeatedly see the main GL-style question types and learn the method for each one. This can include codes, letter sequences, word relationships, hidden words, moving letters, number-letter combinations and vocabulary-based tasks.

Practise one or two question types at a time until the method feels automatic, then mix them. Timing matters, so encourage your child to move on if stuck and return later if there is time. Vocabulary building is useful here too, because some VR questions depend on word knowledge.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning usually involves patterns, similarities, sequences, rotations, reflections, codes and shape-based logic. Children often find this easier once they learn what to look for: number of sides, direction, shading, position, symmetry and movement.

The best practice method is to talk through patterns aloud at first, then move to timed work later. Encourage your child to use a checklist in their head: shape, size, position, shading, rotation, count. That reduces random guessing and builds a more systematic approach.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most helpful when they are used as a learning tool, not just a score tool. For Frensham Heights, choose materials that reflect a GL-style approach across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Start with untimed or lightly timed work so your child understands the question types. Move to timed sections once accuracy is steady. Later on, use mixed papers to build stamina and switching speed between subjects.

A simple routine works well:

Do one short section or paper.
Mark it the same day.
Sort mistakes into: didn’t know, misread, ran out of time, or careless.
Redo only the missed questions after a break.
Record recurring weak areas and revisit them the following week.

Mock exams can be useful if your child needs practice working under formal conditions. They are not essential for every child, but they can help children who are academically ready yet unsettled by unfamiliar rooms, timings or invigilation.

Use these ElevenReady resources:

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

One caution: avoid doing too many full papers too early. A child who spends months sitting papers can become tired or score-focused. It is usually better to alternate between skill-building and timed practice.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Lay out clothes, stationery and directions the night before, and aim for an unhurried start. Children often take their cue from the adults around them, so a calm tone matters more than a motivational speech.

Before leaving, remind your child of just three things:

Read the instructions carefully.
If one question feels hard, move on and come back if you can.
Work steadily rather than rushing.

For the interview element, encourage your child to be polite, engaged and truthful. They do not need rehearsed answers. It is usually enough to speak clearly about school, hobbies, reading, interests and what they enjoy learning.

After the assessment, try not to conduct a detailed post-mortem in the car. Most children feel better if the day is allowed to end normally. A snack, some downtime and a change of subject are often all that is needed.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For Frensham Heights, the process after assessment is different from the state grammar-school allocation system. Because it is an independent school, families deal directly with the school regarding offers and acceptance.

The admissions page says that offers are normally sent within one to two weeks. The same page also notes that accepted places normally need to be confirmed by a stated deadline, though parents should check the current admissions information for the exact wording and timetable for their year of entry.

If your child is offered a place, read the offer paperwork carefully and note any acceptance deadline, deposit arrangements or conditions. If your child is not offered a place, you can ask the admissions team, politely, whether there is a waiting list and whether any feedback can be shared.

The school pages reviewed did not set out a formal public appeals process in the way maintained schools do. In the independent sector, the next step is usually a conversation with admissions rather than a statutory appeal route. If this matters for your planning, ask the school directly how waiting lists and unsuccessful applications are handled.

What has changed recently

From the sources reviewed, the clearest recent admissions information is the publication of the 2027 entry timetable on the school admissions page, including a Year 7 Admissions Adventure in October 2026, a registration deadline in October 2026, interview day in November 2026 and entrance day in January 2027. The same page also confirms the broader pattern that interviews are held in November and assessments in January before entry.

We did not find a separately announced recent change to catchment, published places, or a newly introduced test board on the official pages reviewed. If the school publishes an updated 2028 admissions page later, parents should treat that as the controlling source.

Frequently asked questions

Does Frensham Heights have an 11+ pass mark?

The school pages reviewed did not publish a pass mark or cut-off score. Because Frensham Heights assesses children more broadly through tests, interviews, references and reports, it is best to check directly with admissions if you want more detail.

Is there a catchment area for Frensham Heights?

No. Frensham Heights is an independent school and does not use a state-school catchment area for Year 7 admissions.

What subjects should my child prepare for?

For this guide, preparation should cover Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. It is sensible to prepare evenly across all four rather than focusing on only one strength area.

When should we start preparing?

For most children, a gentle start in Year 5 works well. Begin with short weekly sessions and increase gradually during Year 6 as registration, interview and assessment approach.

Is there an interview as well as an entrance test?

Yes. The school says that for Years 7 to 11 it assesses the whole child using interviews, short tests, school references and recent reports.

How much is the registration fee?

The school’s admissions information states that the registration fee is £250 and is non-refundable.

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Sources

Frensham Heights School Admissions: School runs its own admissions process; for Years 7 to 11 the school assesses the whole child using interviews, short tests, school references and recent reports; 2027 entry dates published as Admissions Adventure for Year 7 on 1 October 2026, registration deadline for Year 7 and above on 31 October
Frensham Heights School: School identity as an independent, co-educational school in Rowledge, Farnham with admissions from early years through 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.