How to prepare for the Gresham's School 11+

The exam at a glance

For Year 7 entry at Gresham’s School, the entrance assessment is the school’s own test rather than a shared 11+ consortium paper. For Prep School entry to Year 7, the school states that candidates for Years 4 and above sit assessments in Maths and English. That means families can keep preparation focused: there is no need to divide time across verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning.

The admissions pages describe Year 7 as one of the school’s main entry points. In practice, that usually means the assessment is one part of a wider admissions process, alongside registration and contact with the admissions team. The school’s website does not currently give a detailed public breakdown of how long each paper lasts or whether the assessments are taken on paper or on screen, so it is best to treat those practical details as something to confirm directly with the school once your child is registered.

What the day looks like will normally be straightforward for an independent-school assessment day: arrival, registration, the subject papers, and some waiting time between activities. Depending on the school’s arrangements for that year, there may also be time built in for meeting staff or seeing the school. Because Gresham’s runs its own process, parents should expect the exact timetable and instructions to come from the admissions office rather than from a local authority portal.

Exam board: Gresham’s School’s own paper
Subjects: Maths and English
Reasoning papers: not part of the assessed subjects for Year 7 entry
Delivery: not publicly confirmed on the admissions page
Main focus for preparation: secure Maths method, clear English comprehension and accurate writing

Registration and key dates

Gresham’s says that families must complete a registration form before moving through the admissions process, and the school publishes a registration fee of £216. The school also provides an online route to contact admissions and book visits, and its admissions pages make clear that entry assessments sit within the school’s own admissions process rather than a local-authority 11+ application system.

For the specific 2028 entry cycle, the school has not yet published a full set of dates on the page reviewed. Because of that, parents should avoid relying on guessed deadlines. What is published is useful for planning: the school states that for September 2026 entry, entrance assessments for Year 7 took place in Lent Term 2026, and the registration deadline for Years 3 and 7 was in Michaelmas Term. In other words, registration was earlier in the school year, with assessment following in the spring term.

The same admissions material says the school holds two Open Mornings each year, one in the spring and one in the autumn, and that the next Prep School Open Morning will take place in May 2027. If your child is aiming for Year 7 entry in September 2028, that makes the 2027–28 school year the one to watch closely for assessment dates and registration deadlines.

A sensible way to approach the timeline is:

Visit the school in spring or autumn if possible.
Register with the school directly once the Year 7 entry route opens for your child’s cohort.
Check whether the school asks for any supporting documents when registering.
Wait for the admissions office to issue assessment arrangements and timings.

If you want reminders when dates are published, you can use Free email alerts for this school's key dates. For a summary page, see The Gresham's School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

What we can verify now	What it means for 2028 entry
Registration form required	Apply through the school’s own admissions process
Registration fee: £216	Budget for this at the point of application
For 2026 entry, Year 7 assessments were in Lent Term	Assessment is typically later than an autumn grammar-school 11+
For 2026 entry, the registration deadline for Years 3 and 7 was in Michaelmas Term	Expect registration to close before the spring assessment period
Two Open Mornings each year; next Prep School Open Morning in May 2027	Useful chance to see the school before or during the application cycle

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Gresham’s is an independent school, so there is no catchment area in the way families might see with state grammar schools. Applications are made directly to the school, and decisions are based on the school’s published admissions process rather than home address priority zones.

The school describes Year 7 as a key entry point. For families, that means competition is likely to be strongest at that stage, but the school page reviewed does not publish a figure for the number of places available, nor a pass mark, nor a lowest qualifying score. It is important not to assume such numbers from forum discussion or from other schools’ systems. If place numbers or oversubscription detail become important to your decision, check the current admissions information with Gresham’s directly.

In practical terms, admissions at an independent school like Gresham’s usually work in three layers:

Registration: completing the school’s own form and paying the registration fee.
Assessment: for this stage, Maths and English.
Follow-up admissions steps: these may include contact with the admissions team and, depending on the year and applicant, other school-set procedures.

Because there is no catchment filter, preparation matters in a slightly different way than it does for state selective schools. Your child is not trying to clear a published standardised score for a local authority list; instead, they need to show the school that they can cope comfortably with its academic expectations in English and Maths.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because Gresham’s previous Year 7 assessments were held in Lent Term, families do not usually need to start intense test preparation as early as they might for a September grammar-school exam. A calm, steady Year 5 into Year 6 plan is usually the best fit.

12 months before the assessment

Keep things light. Aim for 1 to 2 hours a week in total, split across reading, basic Maths fluency and short written responses. The goal at this stage is not test technique; it is confidence. Build habits: regular reading, tidy working in Maths, and writing in full sentences.

9 months before the assessment

Increase to 2 to 3 hours a week. Start identifying weaker areas. In English, that may be comprehension inference, vocabulary or planning a piece of writing. In Maths, it may be fractions, multi-step problems or accuracy under light time pressure.

6 months before the assessment

Move to 3 hours a week, still spread over several short sessions. Begin doing occasional timed sections rather than full papers. For example, set 15 to 20 minutes for a comprehension task or a Maths worksheet with mixed topics. This is where children start learning how to work at a steady pace without rushing.

4 months before the assessment

Use 3 to 4 hours a week. Start practising in the style of school entrance papers: one Maths task and one English task each week. Mark work carefully and review mistakes the next day, not just immediately after the task. That helps children remember corrections.

3 months before the assessment

Introduce the first timed paper practice. One short paper or one substantial section per subject each week is enough for most children. Do not overdo it. The aim is to learn pacing and stamina, not to create fatigue.

2 months before the assessment

Keep to 4 hours a week at most, with one timed Maths task, one timed English task, and one or two lighter review sessions. This is the point to make an error log. If your child repeatedly loses marks on punctuation, fractions or reading the question properly, that pattern matters more than the score on any one paper.

1 month before the assessment

Reduce novelty. Focus on familiar routines, correction of common errors and a small number of realistic timed tasks. Sleep, reading and confidence matter more now than squeezing in extra content. In the final fortnight, most children do better with shorter sessions and clear wins.

Final week

Use light review only: vocabulary, mental arithmetic, reading, and one or two brief written tasks. Avoid marathon papers. If details for the day have arrived from the school, go through them calmly so your child knows what to expect.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For an independent-school Year 7 assessment, Maths preparation should centre on secure Key Stage 2 content done accurately and clearly. Children should be comfortable with the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, measures, perimeter and area, basic geometry, and word problems that require more than one step. School-set papers often reward method as well as answers, so encourage your child to show working neatly.

A good practice routine is to mix quick fluency with longer problems. For example, use one short session for arithmetic speed and another for written reasoning. Teach your child to underline key information, decide the operation before calculating, and check whether the answer is sensible. Careless slips are common in entrance tests, so checking habits are valuable.

English

English preparation usually has two main parts: comprehension and writing. In comprehension, children should practise retrieving information, explaining meaning from context, spotting clues in the text and supporting answers with evidence. They do not need complicated literary terminology, but they do need to read carefully and answer exactly what is asked.

For writing, focus on clarity, structure and accuracy. A strong Year 6 candidate can plan briefly, write in paragraphs, vary sentence openings, and maintain punctuation and spelling control. Useful practice includes story openings, descriptive paragraphs, short discursive pieces and responses to prompts based on reading. Marking should not just look at creativity; it should also check grammar, punctuation, handwriting or presentation, and whether the piece actually stays on task.

Reading aloud, discussing books and building vocabulary all help. So does regular short writing, especially when a child then edits their own work. Independent-school English papers often distinguish between children who have ideas and children who can organise those ideas well.

Practice papers and mock exams

Because Gresham’s uses its own papers, practice should be used to build skill rather than to chase an exact published format. Start with untimed work so your child learns what good answers look like. Then move gradually to timed sections and finally to whole-paper practice where appropriate.

A simple, effective cycle is:

Do one paper or section in realistic conditions.
Mark it carefully.
Sort mistakes into categories: knowledge gap, misunderstood question, timing, or careless error.
Spend the next week fixing those specific problems.
Repeat with a fresh paper later.

For free school-specific practice, use Free Gresham's School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers). These are useful for building familiarity with the level and balance of work expected.

You can also bookmark The Gresham's School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates so you do not miss updates from the school.

If you use mock exams, keep them in perspective. A mock is most useful when it teaches a child how to settle quickly, keep going after one difficult question and manage a timed session calmly. One or two well-chosen mocks are usually enough; more is not automatically better.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, comfortable school-appropriate clothes if the school has not instructed otherwise, and plenty of time to arrive without hurry. Children nearly always perform better when the adults around them are calm and matter-of-fact.

Before they go in, remind your child of just three things:

Read the question carefully.
Keep working even if one part feels hard.
Check what you can at the end.

It also helps to normalise nerves. You can say that feeling fluttery is expected and often settles once the paper starts. For English, encourage your child to leave a minute to read over written answers. For Maths, encourage them to show working and move on if they get stuck rather than losing too much time on one question.

After the assessment, avoid a detailed post-mortem in the car or on the train home. Most children find it much easier if the day simply ends with praise for effort and then a change of subject.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

At an independent school, the process after assessment is different from state-school National Offer Day arrangements. There is no local-authority allocation round for the school place itself in the same way families see with grammar schools. Instead, the school assesses applicants, communicates outcomes directly and then explains the next steps for families who are offered a place.

On the pages reviewed, Gresham’s does not publish a public results date for Year 7 entrance assessments, nor does it publish a pass mark or a lowest successful score. If your child sits the assessment, the school should tell you when to expect an outcome as part of the admissions process.

If a place is not offered, the right next step is to ask the admissions team, politely and promptly, whether there is any formal review or waiting-list process for that entry point. Independent schools do not all handle this in the same way, so families should follow the school’s own guidance rather than assume a state-school style appeal process.

Whatever the outcome, try to keep the assessment in proportion. A Year 7 entrance test is one route into one school, not a verdict on your child’s potential.

What has changed recently

The admissions information reviewed does not show a newly announced change in the last two years to the tested subjects for Prep School entry to Years 4 and above: the school continues to state that candidates are assessed in Maths and English. The clearest recent planning information published is that for September 2026 entry, Year 7 entrance assessments took place in Lent Term 2026, with the registration deadline for Years 3 and 7 in Michaelmas Term, and that the next Prep School Open Morning will take place in May 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Does Gresham's School test verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning for Year 7 entry?

No. For Year 7 entry, the assessed subjects are Maths and English, so preparation can stay focused on those two areas.

Is there a catchment area for Gresham's School?

No. Gresham’s is an independent school, so there is no state-school style catchment area for Year 7 entry.

How do I register for the Gresham's Year 7 assessment?

You register directly with the school through its own admissions process by completing a registration form. The admissions page also states a registration fee of £216.

When is the Gresham's School Year 7 entrance assessment?

The school has not yet published the full 2028-entry dates on the page reviewed. It does state that for September 2026 entry, Year 7 assessments took place in Lent Term 2026.

How early should my child start preparing?

For a school-set Maths and English assessment, many families find that steady preparation from Year 5 works well. Start with light skills-building, then introduce timed practice in the last few months before the assessment.

Does Gresham's publish a pass mark or cut-off score?

Not on the admissions pages reviewed. If you need the latest detail on outcomes or standards, check directly with the school’s admissions team.

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Sources

Gresham’s School Admissions – Entrance Assessments: Year 7 is a key entry point; applicants complete a registration form; for Prep School entry to Years 4 and above, candidates take an entrance assessment in Maths and English; for September 2026 entry, Year 7 entrance assessments took place in Lent Term 2026; the registration deadline for Years 3 and
Gresham’s School Admissions – Fees: Registration fee of £216.
Gresham’s School website: School identity and admissions contact route for direct independent-school application process.

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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.