How to prepare for the Highgate School 11+

The exam at a glance

For September 2028 entry to Year 7, Highgate School uses its own entrance papers. For this entry point, children are assessed in Maths and English only. Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not part of the test, so preparation is best kept tightly focused on secure literacy and numeracy rather than spreading time across extra paper types.

The exam is paper-based and is taken at the school. Highgate’s published 11+ admissions information for the current cycle explains that the entrance exams are held in early December, with a second-stage assessment in January for shortlisted candidates. For families applying in the next cycle, that gives a sensible picture of the overall shape of the process, even though the school has not yet published a full 2028 entry timetable.

In practice, parents should expect an admissions process with:

a completed application and fee payment before the deadline;
written entrance papers in English and Maths at Highgate;
a later second stage for some candidates;
final offers after that second stage.

Because there are only two tested subjects, children benefit more from depth than from rushing through lots of unrelated material. In Maths, that means confident arithmetic, clear method and careful working. In English, it means accurate reading, thoughtful comprehension and fluent, well-structured writing. A calm, steady build-up over Year 5 and the start of Year 6 usually works better than intensive last-minute cramming.

Registration and key dates

Highgate runs its own admissions process. Families apply through the school’s admissions system rather than through a local authority 11+ test portal. The school’s Year 7 admissions page for the current cycle says that applications are made online and that the application fee is £210, payable by card or PayPal.

For the current published cycle, the school states that the deadline is noon on Wednesday 4 November 2026. The same page says entrance exams are held at the school in early December, shortlisted candidates attend a second-stage assessment in January, and offers are sent in early February. It also says there is an offer-holder event in late February and an accept/decline deadline in early March.

For 2028 entry, Highgate had not yet published a full new timetable on the pages reviewed. So the safest guidance is:

register your interest with the school if you are applying for September 2028 or beyond;
expect applications to open once the school releases the next cycle;
use the current cycle as a guide only, not a guarantee.

Based on the school’s currently published information, parents should typically expect:

applications to be open by the autumn before entry;
the deadline to fall in early November;
written exams to take place in early December;
second-stage assessment in January;
offers in early February.

If you want a simple way to keep track, see Free email alerts for this school's key dates and The Highgate School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Before submitting an application, it is sensible to have to hand any details the school requests in its online form, and to check the admissions page carefully for supporting documents, bursary information and any optional award application deadlines.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Highgate School is an independent coeducational school, so there is no standard catchment area for Year 7 entry in the way there would be for a state grammar school. Admission is by the school’s own assessment process.

The school says it hopes to welcome approximately 80 new children into Year 7 each September, alongside around 105 pupils moving up from Year 6 of its Junior School. That means external applicants are competing for a relatively modest number of places at a well-known London independent school, so families should expect the process to be selective.

Highgate also says that there is one full-fee equivalent keyworker bursary allocated each year for a child of parent(s) or carer(s) who are keyworkers living in the local area. The school’s admissions pages also refer families to information about bursaries and music awards for eligible applicants.

Because this is an independent school process, there is no published state-style catchment map or local authority distance rule on the pages reviewed. Instead, the key things for parents to understand are:

there is no general catchment restriction for ordinary entry;
places are limited;
the school assesses applicants through its own papers and later stages;
bursary and award routes have their own information and deadlines, which should always be checked on the school website.

If you are comparing schools, it is worth treating Highgate as a school where strong academic preparation in English and Maths matters most, but where families also need to be organised about the application timeline and any bursary paperwork.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For most children aiming at Highgate, the most effective preparation is steady and manageable. You do not need an overwhelming timetable. What usually works is a regular routine across Year 5, then a more exam-aware approach from the summer before the test.

January to March in Year 5

Aim for about 1.5 to 2 hours a week in total, split over several short sessions.
Focus on core skills: number fluency, fractions, problem solving, reading comprehension, spelling, punctuation and sentence control.
Read widely every week: fiction, non-fiction and shorter passages that can be discussed aloud.
In writing, work on planning simple responses, paragraphing and checking work carefully.

April to May in Year 5

Increase gently to about 2 to 3 hours a week.
Begin school-specific familiarisation: Highgate tests only Maths and English, so trim away reasoning practice that does not serve this exam.
Introduce one short comprehension task each week and one piece of timed or semi-timed maths.
Keep written work neat and legible. Paper-based exams reward clear layout.

June to July in Year 5

Work at around 3 hours a week.
Start using longer Maths and English tasks so your child learns to sustain concentration.
Build exam habits: reading the question carefully, underlining key instructions, checking answers and managing time.
At this stage, light timing is helpful, but accuracy still matters more than speed.

Summer holiday before Year 6

Keep preparation consistent but not excessive: around 3 to 4 hours a week is usually enough.
Use a mix of skill-building and occasional full or half papers.
This is a good time to identify weak areas: perhaps arithmetic speed, multi-step word problems, inference in comprehension or structuring a longer writing task.
Do not turn every week into a mock exam. One focused paper followed by careful review is more useful than several rushed attempts.

September in Year 6

Move to around 4 hours a week, depending on your child’s stamina and school workload.
Start doing timed papers more regularly, especially in the subjects and formats your child now recognises.
Review every mistake: was it knowledge, vocabulary, method, attention or time pressure?
If your child writes too briefly in English, work on extending answers with precise evidence and clear explanation.

October in Year 6

Keep a steady rhythm with one substantial Maths task and one substantial English task each week, plus shorter correction sessions.
Practise complete papers under realistic conditions.
Refine technique rather than cramming new content: estimating, checking, planning before writing and leaving time to review.
If applying this year, watch the school deadline closely and complete the application in good time.

November to exam period

Use short, purposeful sessions.
In the final weeks, prioritise confidence and consistency over volume.
Reread corrected work, revisit common error types and keep sleep and routine steady.
In the last few days, avoid marathon study. A calm child who knows the routine will usually perform better.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For Highgate, Maths preparation should centre on secure Key Stage 2 knowledge used accurately under test conditions. Because there is no reasoning paper to carry weaker arithmetic, children need to be genuinely comfortable with the building blocks: the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, perimeter, area and multi-step word problems.

Useful practice includes:

mental arithmetic and written arithmetic with consistent accuracy;
word problems that require children to decide the method, not just spot a routine pattern;
showing full working clearly on paper;
checking whether an answer is sensible by estimating first or reviewing at the end;
short timed sets to improve fluency without creating panic.

If your child tends to rush, slow them down and insist on method. If they are accurate but slow, build speed gradually through repeated practice with familiar question types.

English

English matters just as much as Maths here, and usually deserves equal preparation time. Children should be comfortable with both reading and writing. A good preparation programme includes demanding comprehension work, strong vocabulary development and regular written responses.

Useful practice includes:

reading comprehension with a mix of retrieval, inference, vocabulary-in-context and explanation questions;
learning to support answers with evidence from the text when appropriate;
building vocabulary through reading, discussion and a personal word bank;
short grammar and punctuation refreshers where needed;
planning and writing coherent responses with clear paragraphs and accurate sentence control.

For writing, encourage your child to plan briefly before they begin, keep an eye on structure, and leave a little time to check punctuation, spelling and missing words. In comprehension, teach them to return to the text rather than relying on memory.

Because Highgate does not test verbal or non-verbal reasoning for this entry route, families can give extra time to reading quality literature, discussing texts, and improving written expression. That extra depth often makes the difference in English.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used sparingly and reviewed properly. A common mistake is to race through lots of papers and learn very little from them. A better approach is:

start with untimed or lightly timed work to learn the format;
move to timed sections once methods are secure;
sit occasional full papers under realistic conditions;
mark carefully and categorise every error;
revisit weak topics before attempting another paper.

For Highgate-specific preparation, start with Free Highgate School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers). These are a helpful way to focus on the two subjects that matter for this school.

You can also keep the school overview to hand here: The Highgate School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

If your child would benefit from mock-exam experience, choose mocks that match the reality of this school: paper-based English and Maths, rather than broad multi-paper reasoning batteries. The goal is not to create pressure for its own sake, but to make timings, answer layout and test-day routines feel familiar.

When reviewing papers, ask:

Were mistakes caused by knowledge gaps or by rushing?
Did your child misread instructions?
In Maths, was the method correct even when the answer was wrong?
In English, were answers too brief, too vague or unsupported?
Did handwriting or layout make it harder to present good work clearly?

One well-analysed paper can do more good than three hurried ones.

On the day

For a paper-based exam day, practical preparation really helps. The aim is to make the day feel predictable.

Check the school’s instructions in advance and read them again the evening before.
Prepare everything needed the night before, including travel plans.
Aim to arrive in good time without making the morning feel frantic.
Keep breakfast familiar and avoid turning the journey into a final lesson.
Remind your child that they are not expected to find every question easy.

Helpful exam habits to reinforce beforehand are simple:

read the question fully before answering;
underline or note key words if that helps;
in Maths, show working clearly and check at the end if there is time;
in English, plan briefly before writing and leave time to reread;
if stuck, stay calm, move on and return later if possible.

Parents can help most by keeping their tone steady. Children usually do best when the message is: do your best, work carefully, and let the school see how you think.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For the current published Highgate cycle, the school says there is a second-stage assessment in January after the written exams, and that offers are sent in early February. It also says there is an offer-holder event in late February and that families reply by early March.

Because Highgate is an independent school, the process is not the same as state school National Offer Day. The school makes its own offers directly to families. If your child is not offered a place, the next steps will depend on the school’s own admissions procedures rather than a local authority allocation system.

On appeals, independent schools do not run the same statutory admissions appeal process as state schools. If you need to query an outcome, the right first step is to check the school’s admissions information and contact the admissions team politely for the correct procedure.

If you are applying for bursary support or another award route, keep an eye on any separate communications and deadlines, as those can run alongside the main admissions process.

What has changed recently

From the official pages reviewed, Highgate’s currently published Year 7 information is for the 2027 entry cycle, not yet the full 2028 cycle. The clearest current update is that applications are open for 2027 entry with a deadline of noon on 4 November 2026, with exams in early December, a second stage in January and offers in early February.

The school also says that families interested in September 2027 or beyond can register interest to be told when applications go live. On the sources reviewed, there was no separately announced change to the exam board, tested subjects or catchment arrangements for the next cycle beyond the publication of the current admissions timeline.

Frequently asked questions

Does Highgate School 11+ include verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning?

No. For 2028 entry, Highgate assesses Maths and English only.

Is the Highgate 11+ computer-based?

No. The assessment for this entry route is paper-based.

How many external places are available at Year 7?

Highgate says it hopes to welcome approximately 80 new children into Year 7 each September, alongside pupils moving up from its Junior School.

Is there a catchment area for Highgate School?

There is no general catchment area in the state-school sense. Highgate is an independent school, although it does refer to a local-area condition for one keyworker bursary.

How much is the application fee?

The school’s admissions page states an application fee of £210, payable online by card or PayPal.

When is the Highgate School 11+ exam?

For the currently published cycle, Highgate says the entrance exams are in early December. The full 2028 entry date had not yet been published on the pages reviewed.

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Sources

Highgate School Senior School Admissions 11+: School admissions page; school runs its own application process; Year 7 admissions route; application fee of £210 payable online by PayPal or card; deadline is noon Wednesday 4 November 2026 for the current cycle; entrance exams taken at the school in early December; second-stage assessment in Janua
Highgate School website: School identity and official website source for admissions information.
Highgate School Senior School Admissions: Highgate says it hopes to welcome approximately 80 new children into Year 7 each September, alongside around 105 pupils moving from Year 6 of its Junior School; admissions overview and references to financial assistance/awards.

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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.