How to prepare for the Halliford School 11+

The exam at a glance

Halliford School is an independent school for boys aged 11–18, with a co-educational Sixth Form, and it admits pupils at 11+ as well as 13+. For Year 7 entry, the school’s admissions process includes an entrance examination, an interview and a school reference.

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the assessment is a school-set paper. The school’s own admissions information confirms that candidates sit an entrance examination, but the exact style and structure of the paper for 2028 entry are not fully published in detail on the page reviewed. Parents should therefore treat the school website as the authority and check it again when 2028 registration opens.

Officially confirmed tested areas for this entry point are:

English
Mathematics
Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning

The delivery is mixed. In practice, that means families should be ready for a combination of assessment elements rather than assuming one single paper in one single format. The school also states that the 11+ entrance process includes an interview and a school reference, so the assessment day is not just about written work.

What does the overall process usually look like? Based on the school’s published admissions process, families should expect:

Registration with the school
Submission of the registration fee
An entrance examination
An interview
A reference from the child’s current school
An offer decision after the assessment process

Because Halliford sets its own assessment, preparation works best when it is balanced. Children should build secure core skills in English and maths, while also staying familiar with verbal and non-verbal reasoning question types. Just as important, they should be ready to talk naturally at interview about school, interests and learning.

Registration and key dates

For Halliford School, registration is handled by the school itself, not by a local authority or a regional grammar-school consortium. The admissions process is run through the school’s admissions team.

The school’s entrance-process page states a non-refundable registration fee of £150 inclusive of VAT, or £200 inclusive of VAT for overseas candidates. The same page also states that, for Year 7 September 2027 entry, registration is open and that scholarship assessment days take place during the first week of December.

For the cohort applying for September 2028 entry, the school page reviewed does not yet publish a full set of 2028 dates. The latest verified information available is:

Registration deadline for the published cycle reviewed: 16 November 2026
Typical entrance examination timing from the published cycle reviewed: 5 January 2027
Scholarship assessment days for the published cycle reviewed: first week of December
Results timing: the school says entrance examination results, together with scholarship results, are sent within three weeks of the examination date

For September 2028 entry, parents should therefore expect a broadly similar pattern unless the school announces changes: registration usually active in the autumn before the January assessment, scholarship activity in early December, and the main entrance examination in early January. Please check the school’s admissions page directly when your son is in Year 6, as independent-school timelines can change from one admissions round to the next.

In practical terms, it is sensible to prepare the following when registration opens:

Basic pupil details
Parent or guardian contact details
Current school details
Payment for the registration fee
Any information the school requests for the reference process

To keep track of updates, parents can use Free email alerts for this school's key dates. For a quick overview page, see The Halliford School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Halliford School is an independent day school, so its admissions process is separate from Surrey’s state grammar-school admissions arrangements. The school’s own admissions material states that boys can apply for entry at 11+ and 13+, with a co-educational Sixth Form.

For 11+ entry, the school confirms that the process includes:

an entrance examination
an interview
a school reference

No catchment or distance-based admissions policy is stated on the school page reviewed. In other words, families should not assume that living nearer the school gives priority unless the school publishes a clear rule saying so. If catchment or oversubscription criteria are added for a future round, those details should appear on the school’s admissions pages or in its published admissions information.

The school page reviewed also does not publish a verified number of Year 7 places for the 2028 round. Because this is an independent-school process, offers are typically based on the school’s assessment of suitability, availability of places and completion of the admissions steps, rather than on local-authority allocation rules.

If you are considering an application, the key point is to focus on whether your son is a good fit for the school academically and pastorally. Since interview and school reference form part of the process, preparation should include habits, attitude and readiness for a busy secondary-school environment, not only exam technique.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child aiming for Halliford School in January of Year 6, it is usually best to begin light preparation in Year 5 and build steadily. Because Halliford uses its own assessment process, a calm, skills-first approach is more useful than chasing one narrow paper style.

January to March of Year 5

Keep it light: around 1 to 1.5 hours per week in short sessions is enough. Focus on secure arithmetic, reading comprehension, spelling accuracy and vocabulary. If your child has not seen verbal or non-verbal reasoning before, introduce them gently without timing.

April of Year 5

Increase slightly to about 1.5 to 2 hours per week. Start identifying strengths and weaker spots. In maths, make sure methods are accurate before speeding up. In English, encourage complete written answers and careful reading of the question.

May of Year 5

Begin more regular work, still in short sessions. One good pattern is three sessions each week: one maths, one English, one reasoning. Keep a notebook of common mistakes. This is also a sensible point to look at the school’s admissions page again in case any updated information appears.

June of Year 5

Move to around 2 to 3 hours per week. Start small timed sections rather than full papers. The aim is not pressure; it is helping your child get used to working at a steady pace while staying accurate.

July of Year 5

By now, your child should be comfortable with the main content areas. Try one mixed weekly routine:

one comprehension or English task
one maths task
one reasoning task
one short timed section every other week

If interview confidence is likely to be an issue, start gentle conversation practice: talking about books, interests, school subjects and what they enjoy doing.

August before Year 6

Use the summer holidays for steady, not heavy, practice: around 2 to 3 hours per week is usually enough. Do not turn every week into mock-exam week. A better balance is a few focused sessions, plenty of reading, and some maths fluency. Towards the end of August, you can begin occasional longer timed tasks.

September of Year 6

This is the point to become more structured. Aim for around 3 hours per week. Start using fuller papers or paper sections under timed conditions, then review them carefully. The review matters more than the score: look for patterns such as rushing, weak vocabulary, or avoidable arithmetic slips.

October of Year 6

Keep practice regular and realistic. One full or near-full timed session each fortnight is plenty for many children, alongside shorter targeted work. Continue interview preparation in a natural way. Children do best when they can speak clearly about themselves without sounding rehearsed.

November of Year 6

If the school keeps to a similar schedule, registration activity and scholarship assessments may be in view around this stage of the cycle. Keep weekly work calm and consistent. By now, timed papers should be familiar, but avoid overloading your child with too many in one week.

December of Year 6

Consolidate rather than cram. Use brief revision sessions, re-do tricky question types and keep confidence high. Sleep, routine and calm encouragement matter a great deal at this stage.

January of Year 6: exam month

In the final days, stop heavy preparation. A few short refreshers are fine, but the priority is being rested, organised and positive. Children usually perform best when they go in feeling that this is an opportunity to show what they can do, not a test of their worth.

Subject by subject: what to practise

English

Build reading accuracy, inference and clear written expression. Practise comprehension from a range of fiction and non-fiction texts, making sure your child answers the exact question set. Work on spelling, punctuation and sentence control, and encourage concise, well-organised written responses. Regular reading aloud can help with attention to detail and vocabulary.

Mathematics

Focus on secure Year 5 and early Year 6 arithmetic and problem solving. Your child should be confident with the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, measures, shape and worded problems. Because school-set assessments often reward method as well as answer, practise laying out work clearly and checking calculations. Short mental-maths drills are useful, but they should sit alongside deeper problem solving.

Verbal Reasoning

Practise the main skills that commonly sit under verbal reasoning: vocabulary, word relationships, codes, letter and number patterns, and careful following of instructions. Since Halliford sets its own paper, avoid assuming one fixed question style. A broad approach works best: build strong vocabulary, keep spelling secure and help your child notice patterns quickly and accurately.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Work on visual patterns, similarities, sequences, rotations, reflections and shape-based logic. Children improve most when they learn to describe what they can see before choosing an answer. Encourage them to look for one change at a time: shape, position, shading, number or orientation. Accuracy first, then speed.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used thoughtfully. One paper done carefully, then reviewed properly, is usually worth more than several rushed attempts.

A good routine is:

Choose one subject area at a time
Do the work under sensible timed conditions
Mark it promptly
Write down every mistake type
Redo only the weak areas a few days later

For Halliford, because the assessment is school-set, use practice to strengthen underlying skills rather than trying to reverse-engineer a paper style that the school has not fully published. Aim for breadth across English, mathematics, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.

ElevenReady offers Free Halliford School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers). These are useful for checking core skills and building confidence across the subjects confirmed for this entry point.

You can also bookmark The Halliford School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) for updates, and sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

If you use mock exams, keep them in proportion. They can be helpful for stamina and nerves, but they should not dominate preparation. For many children, a small number of well-timed mocks in the autumn of Year 6 is enough.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Set out clothes, stationery and travel plans the night before. Leave in good time so that small delays do not raise stress levels.

Give your child a familiar breakfast and plenty of time to wake up properly. Avoid last-minute tutoring on the drive in. If they want a quick look at a few notes, keep it brief and reassuring.

Good reminders for children are:

read each question carefully
keep an eye on time, but do not panic
if stuck, move on and come back if allowed
check work where possible
listen carefully to instructions

Because Halliford’s process also includes interview, remind your child that politeness, listening and natural conversation matter. They do not need polished speeches. They just need to answer honestly, show interest and speak clearly.

For parents, the main job is to keep the tone calm. Children usually take their cue from the adults around them. Quiet confidence is far more helpful than repeated reminders about how important the day feels.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

Halliford School states that entrance examination results, together with scholarship results, are sent within three weeks of the examination date. As this is an independent-school admissions process, the next steps differ from state-school national allocation arrangements.

Typically, families can expect the school to contact them with the outcome after the assessment process is complete. If an offer is made, the school will explain any deadline for accepting the place and any further admissions paperwork.

Because Halliford’s 11+ process includes an interview and school reference as well as the examination, outcomes are not based on one published pass mark alone. The school page reviewed does not publish a pass mark, qualifying score or cut-off score, so parents should not rely on unofficial figures.

If your child is not offered a place, the best next step is to contact the admissions team politely and ask whether there is a waiting-list process or any further information the school can share. Independent schools do not use the same statutory appeal system as state schools, so any review or reconsideration process will be the school’s own rather than a local-authority school appeal.

What has changed recently

From the official material reviewed for this guide, no fully published 2028-entry change to the Halliford 11+ examination format, catchment arrangements or admissions rules has yet been announced on the school page. The clearest recent published update is that, for the current admissions cycle reviewed, registration is open, scholarship assessment days take place during the first week of December, and results are sent within three weeks of the examination date.

As soon as Halliford publishes its 2028-entry dates or any changes to the assessment process, parents should use the school’s admissions page as the first source to check.

Frequently asked questions

Does Halliford School have its own 11+ exam?

Yes. For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that Halliford uses a school-set assessment rather than a shared grammar-school test.

What subjects should my child prepare for?

The confirmed tested areas are English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The school also includes an interview and a school reference in its admissions process.

Is there a catchment area for Halliford School?

No catchment or distance-based rule is stated on the admissions page reviewed. If the school adds one for a future round, it should appear in its published admissions information.

When is the Halliford School entrance exam usually held?

For the published cycle reviewed, the entrance examination date is 5 January 2027. The 2028-entry date is not yet published, so parents should check the school website for updates.

How long does it take to get results?

The school says entrance examination results, together with scholarship results, are sent within three weeks of the examination date.

How much is the registration fee?

The school states a non-refundable registration fee of £150 inclusive of VAT, or £200 inclusive of VAT for overseas candidates.

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Sources

Halliford School – The Halliford Entrance Process: Halliford admits at 11+ and 13+ and has a co-educational Sixth Form; the 11+ process includes an interview, school reference and entrance examination; registration is handled by the school; registration fee is £150 inclusive of VAT and £200 for overseas candidates; for the published cycle reviewed r
Halliford School – Home: Halliford School is in Shepperton and is an independent school for boys aged 11–18 with a co-educational Sixth Form.

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Written by ElevenReady from the school's published information and reviewed by a person before publishing. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Exam arrangements change. Check the school's admissions page for the current year.