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, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that Godolphin uses the school’s own assessment process for Year 7, with a paper in a GL Assessment style covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The safest preparation approach is balanced practice across all four subjects, building accuracy first and then steadier timed work.
The school’s admissions pages describe Year 7 entry as involving an assessment day in January of Year 6. On the pages reviewed, the school does not set out a detailed public breakdown of the order of tests, the exact length of each section or whether the paper is taken on paper or computer. Because of that, parents should treat the broad format as the key planning point and check the school’s admissions page for the latest arrangements when their child is in Year 5 and Year 6.
In practical terms, children preparing for Godolphin should expect a selective independent-school assessment rather than a single local-authority grammar-school style test date. That usually means the day may include some combination of written assessment, time on campus and contact with admissions staff, but only the assessment day in January is confirmed on the school pages reviewed.
- Board/format: school’s own paper, GL-style
- Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
- Timing: exact section lengths not published on the pages reviewed
- Delivery: not confirmed on the school pages reviewed
- What the day looks like: Year 7 applicants are invited to an assessment day in January of Year 6
Registration and key dates
Godolphin’s Year 7 admissions information is run by the school, not by a local authority portal. The main place to monitor is the school’s admissions section, especially the Year 7 entry page and the school’s published key dates.
For the 2028 intake, exact registration opening and closing dates were not stated on the Year 7 pages reviewed. The school does say that applicants for Year 7 are invited to attend an assessment day in the January of Year 6. That means families aiming for September 2028 entry should expect the main assessment point to fall in January 2028, unless the school announces a change.
The admissions pages also explain that families are encouraged to visit the school. Open Mornings are listed as running from 9.00am to 11.00am, and the Senior School open mornings shown on the page reviewed were Thursday 24 September, Thursday 15 October and Tuesday 10 November, with booking opening from August 2026. These are visit dates rather than application deadlines, but they are useful for getting a feel for the school before formal entry steps begin.
Because the school does not appear to publish a detailed Year 7 registration timetable on the pages reviewed, the most sensible approach is:
- Register interest with the admissions team well before the start of Year 6.
- Check the Year 7 entry page and key dates page regularly from spring and summer of Year 5 onwards.
- Ask admissions directly what documents they need for a Year 7 application, as the reviewed pages did not list a standard document set.
If you want a simple place to track updates, see The Godolphin School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
| Step | What is confirmed |
| Who runs registration | The school’s own admissions process |
| Assessment timing | Assessment day in January of Year 6 |
| Exact registration open date | Not published on the reviewed pages |
| Exact registration deadline | Not published on the reviewed pages |
| Results timing | Not clearly published on the reviewed pages |
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
Godolphin is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school in Salisbury for pupils aged 11 to 19. The school says it admits pupils at Year 7, Year 9 and Sixth Form. For families looking specifically at 11+ entry, Year 7 is the relevant main point of entry.
On the pages reviewed, the school did not publish a state-school style catchment map or a local-authority distance priority system for Year 7. That is not unusual for an independent school. Instead, admission is through the school’s own process.
The school’s website also states that, from September 2026, Godolphin will unite with Chafyn Grove to form Chafyn-Godolphin. For parents considering 2028 entry, that is an important context point: the school’s structure and branding may continue to evolve, so it is worth checking that you are reading the most up-to-date Year 7 admissions page when your child is in Year 5 and Year 6.
The reviewed pages did not give a published number of Year 7 places, a catchment area, or a published academic threshold for success. They also did not set out application volume or competition figures. If these matter for your decision-making, ask the admissions office directly and rely on the school’s own current admissions information.
- School type: independent
- Entry points: Year 7, Year 9 and Sixth Form
- Boarding: day and boarding
- Catchment: no catchment information published on the reviewed Year 7 pages
- Places and score thresholds: not published on the reviewed pages
A month-by-month preparation plan
Because Godolphin’s Year 7 assessment is in January of Year 6, preparation works best if it is calm and gradual through Year 5, with timed practice introduced later. For most children, steady consistency matters more than long sessions.
March to May of Year 5
Keep it light: about 1 to 1.5 hours a week in short sessions. Focus on core arithmetic, careful reading, vocabulary growth and simple reasoning practice. At this stage, avoid turning preparation into test-drilling. The goal is to secure the basics and notice any weak spots.
June to July of Year 5
Increase gently to around 1.5 to 2 hours a week. Start mixing the four subjects rather than working on one for weeks at a time. Children sitting GL-style assessments benefit from switching cleanly between different question types. Begin very short timed bursts of five to ten minutes, just to build pace without pressure.
Summer holidays before Year 6
A useful target is 2 to 3 hours a week, spread across several days. This is a good time for foundation work: number fluency, spelling and punctuation refreshers, vocabulary notebooks, and visual pattern practice for non-verbal reasoning. If your child is new to verbal or non-verbal reasoning, summer is a sensible point to learn the common formats slowly.
September of Year 6
Move to 3 hours a week if your child is coping well. Start regular timed sections, but not always full papers. Many children do better when they first learn to manage one section at a time: one Maths section, one English comprehension task, one verbal reasoning set and one non-verbal reasoning set.
October of Year 6
Keep to about 3 to 4 hours a week. Now is the point to review mistakes carefully. Look for patterns: rushing, weak vocabulary, careless arithmetic, misreading instructions or losing marks on longer English answers. Correction and reflection are where much of the improvement happens.
November of Year 6
Use one timed paper or paper-equivalent session each week, with lighter skills practice around it. If stamina is an issue, practise two shorter timed sections back to back. Keep one day each week entirely free of preparation.
December of Year 6
Keep work steady but reduce intensity close to the assessment. Around 2 to 3 hours a week is enough for most children. Revisit familiar question types, accuracy checks and confidence-building work. This is not the moment for a flood of new material.
January of Year 6
In the final week, do only light review. A calm child who knows the routine usually performs better than a tired child who has done one paper too many. Prioritise sleep, normal routines and confidence.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For a GL-style independent-school assessment, prioritise secure Key Stage 2 number skills: the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures and straightforward problem solving. Children should practise reading each question carefully, setting out work neatly and spotting when a question is really testing arithmetic accuracy rather than advanced method. Mental arithmetic speed helps, but not at the cost of avoidable mistakes.
A good routine is to combine quick fluency drills with mixed word problems. Ask your child to explain how they know an answer makes sense. Estimation is especially useful for catching slips.
English
English preparation should cover both reading and written accuracy. For comprehension, practise retrieving information, making sensible inferences, explaining word choices and understanding tone. For writing mechanics, revise punctuation, grammar, sentence control and spelling. Some independent-school English papers also reward clear, concise written expression even when the task is short.
Reading widely is one of the best long-term ways to prepare. Discuss unfamiliar vocabulary in context and get your child used to answering in full, precise sentences when needed.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning often tests how confidently a child works with words, codes, patterns in language and logical relationships. Because GL-style verbal reasoning includes recurring formats, children benefit from learning the common types one by one before attempting mixed sets under time pressure.
Build vocabulary alongside technique. A child who knows the method but has weak word knowledge can still be slowed down. Short, frequent practice usually works better than occasional long sessions.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Non-verbal reasoning focuses on visual patterns, shape changes, symmetry, rotation, reflection and sequence rules. The key skill is learning to scan systematically: what changes from one box to the next, what stays the same, and which features matter most.
Use worked corrections after every practice set. If a child gets an item wrong, ask which rule they missed rather than simply showing the answer. This helps them build a repeatable method for unfamiliar patterns.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are used sparingly and diagnostically. In other words, do not race through lots of papers just to collect scores. Instead, use each one to answer three questions: Which topics are secure? Which question types slow my child down? Which mistakes are avoidable?
A sensible sequence is:
- Learn the question types untimed.
- Move to short timed sections.
- Only then use fuller mixed papers.
- Review every wrong answer and every guessed answer.
For Godolphin-specific preparation, you can use Free Godolphin School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers). These are a helpful way to cover all four tested areas in a balanced way.
For a broader overview of format, admissions and updates, see The Godolphin School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates). If you want reminders when the school updates key information, sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
If you choose a mock exam, treat it as a practice event, not a verdict. One mock can be useful for stamina, timing and nerves; too many can dent confidence. For most children, a small number of well-timed mocks is plenty.
On the day
Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, comfortable uniform or clothing if specified by the school, and plenty of time to arrive without rushing. Last-minute cramming rarely helps.
Remind your child of a few basics only:
- listen carefully to instructions before each section;
- if a question feels hard, stay calm and move on sensibly;
- check answers if there is time, especially in Maths and reasoning sections;
- keep going steadily rather than aiming for perfection.
For parents, the best tone is calm confidence. Avoid discussing how competitive the process may be on the day itself. Children usually do best when they feel the assessment is important but manageable.
Because the school pages reviewed do not give a public checklist for the assessment day, check the invitation letter or email carefully when it arrives. That should confirm arrival time, equipment and any other arrangements.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
At an independent school such as Godolphin, the post-exam process is different from a local-authority grammar allocation round. The school normally manages its own assessments and communicates outcomes directly to families.
On the pages reviewed, Godolphin did not clearly publish a Year 7 results date or a detailed offer timeline. It also did not set out a public appeals framework in the way a state school would. That means parents should expect the next steps to come directly from the school after the assessment day, and should read admissions correspondence carefully for any acceptance deadlines or scholarship-related steps.
If your child is not offered a place, it is reasonable to ask whether there is a waiting list and whether there is any formal review route. For independent schools, processes vary, so the school’s own admissions team is the right point of contact.
If you are applying to both independent and state schools, keep the two systems separate in your planning. Independent-school offers may arrive on a different timetable from state secondary applications, so note every response deadline carefully.
What has changed recently
The main recently announced change visible on the school’s own website is that from September 2026 Godolphin states it will unite with Chafyn Grove to form Chafyn-Godolphin. For families applying for 2028 entry, this matters because admissions pages, school branding or process details may continue to be updated as the merged identity beds in.
The admissions page reviewed also listed Senior School open mornings for the Autumn Term as Thursday 24 September, Thursday 15 October and Tuesday 10 November, with booking opening from August 2026. Those are event dates rather than an admissions-policy change, but they are part of the current published information for families visiting the school.
Beyond that, we did not find a clearly announced recent change on the reviewed pages to the published Year 7 test subjects, catchment rules or a stated number of places. Since the school’s online information may be updated over time, it is worth checking the latest Year 7 admissions page directly before acting on older guidance.
Frequently asked questions
Does Godolphin School use the 11+?
For Year 7 entry, Godolphin uses its own admissions assessment process. the working assumption for this guide, not yet verified with the school, is a GL-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
When is the Godolphin Year 7 assessment?
The school’s admissions information says Year 7 applicants are invited to an assessment day in January of Year 6. The exact 2028 dates were not published on the pages reviewed.
Is there a catchment area for Godolphin School?
We did not find a published catchment area on the reviewed Year 7 admissions pages. As an independent school, Godolphin appears to run its own admissions process rather than a local-authority distance system.
How should my child prepare for Godolphin’s test?
Prepare evenly across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Start with untimed accuracy in Year 5, then build up to timed sections and a small number of mixed papers in Year 6.
Does Godolphin publish pass marks or score thresholds?
We did not find any published pass mark, qualifying score or cut-off on the reviewed pages. If you need the latest admissions criteria, check directly with the school.
Can we visit the school before applying?
Yes. The admissions pages reviewed include Open Mornings, and they state these run from 9.00am to 11.00am. Check the school’s admissions site for the latest booking information.
Sources
- Godolphin School admissions: 11+ entry: Godolphin admits at Year 7; Year 7 applicants are invited to attend an assessment day in January of Year 6; admissions process is run by the school.
- Godolphin School homepage: Godolphin is a co-educational day and boarding school in Salisbury for ages 11-19; from September 2026 it states it will unite with Chafyn Grove to form Chafyn-Godolphin.
- Godolphin School admissions: visit us: Open Mornings run from 9.00am to 11.00am; Senior School open mornings are listed as Thursday 24 September, Thursday 15 October and Tuesday 10 November; booking opens from August 2026.
Preparing for other schools in Wiltshire
- How to prepare for the Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School 11+ · practice papers
- Brunel College · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Dauntsey's School 11+ · practice papers
- Emmaus School · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Leehurst Swan School 11+ · practice papers
- How to prepare for the Marlborough College 11+ · practice papers
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.