The exam at a glance
For September 2028 entry, James Allen's Girls' School uses its own entrance process. The school’s admissions pages describe an 11+ entrance examination followed by an interview for shortlisted candidates. ElevenReady’s verified format information for 2028 entry is that families should prepare for a paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with a mixed delivery and standard timed sections.
In practice, that means your child needs broad, even preparation rather than heavy focus on one favourite area. The first stage is the written assessment. If a candidate performs strongly enough, the school may then invite her to interview as part of the next stage of the admissions process.
Because independent school exams can feel unfamiliar compared with primary-school work, it helps to think of the day in simple parts:
- Arrival and registration at the school.
- Written assessment in timed sections.
- A break or changeover between papers or sections.
- Departure, with interview invitations coming later for shortlisted applicants.
The school does not publish the full paper structure for 2028 entry at the time of writing on the page provided to us, so parents should use the school’s admissions page for updates and avoid relying on forum descriptions of earlier years.
Registration and key dates
James Allen's Girls' School handles its own admissions, so registration is made directly with the school rather than through a local authority test portal. The school’s admissions area says applications are made online through its admissions system, and it separates information by entry point.
For 2028 entry at 11+, the complete date set was not published on the page provided at the time this guide was prepared. The only verified date we hold is a deadline shown on the school page supplied to us: Friday 6 November 2026. However, that page was for 7+ entry to 2027, not for 11+ entry to 2028, so it should be treated as a sign of how the school presents dates, not as a confirmed 11+ timetable.
What parents should do:
- Check the school’s admissions page regularly from the summer term of Year 5 onward.
- Create any admissions-portal account promptly once registration opens.
- Read the 11+ page carefully for the exact sequence: written exam, shortlist, interview and offer stage.
- Keep copies of confirmation emails and any requested documents.
Typical independent-school registration usually opens well before the autumn exam season, but for JAGS you should treat the school website as the only reliable source for the live 2028 timeline.
If you want reminders when the school updates its page, use Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=james-allens-girls-school.
The most useful companion page for parents is The James Allen's Girls' School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/james-allens-girls-school.
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
James Allen's Girls' School is an independent girls' school, so admissions do not work in the same way as a grammar-school catchment system run by a local authority. The school’s admissions pages are organised by age of entry and explain that candidates apply to the school for the relevant entry point.
At the time of writing, we did not find a published 11+ catchment rule on the official admissions page provided. We also did not find, in the sources reviewed here, a confirmed number of Year 7 places for 2028 entry. Because of that, parents should not rely on unofficial figures shared online.
What matters most for families considering an application is:
- Eligibility: apply for the correct entry point and year of entry.
- Process: complete the school’s registration on time, then attend the entrance assessment if invited/registered.
- Shortlisting: the school states that shortlisted candidates are invited to interview.
- Offers: final decisions are made by the school rather than through the state secondary allocation system.
If you need certainty on admissions priority, bursary or scholarship routes, or year-group capacity, check the current JAGS admissions and fees pages directly before registering.
A month-by-month preparation plan
For a child sitting the 11+ in the autumn of Year 6 for September 2028 entry, the most effective preparation is steady and calm. For most children, 2 to 4 hours a week in Year 5 is plenty at first, rising gradually as the exam approaches. The goal is accuracy, familiarity with timed work and confidence across all four subjects.
January to March of Year 5
Keep it light. Build secure core skills in arithmetic, comprehension, vocabulary, spelling patterns, verbal reasoning methods and basic non-verbal reasoning types. One or two short sessions midweek and one at the weekend is enough. Avoid full papers at this stage.
April of Year 5
Begin working in mixed subjects so your child gets used to switching between English, Maths, VR and NVR. Introduce timed mini-sections of 10 to 15 minutes. This is also a good point to identify any obvious gaps, especially times tables speed, fractions, inference in comprehension and unfamiliar reasoning question styles.
May of Year 5
Increase gently to around 3 hours a week if your child is coping well. Start using school-specific materials where possible. Keep one session focused on technique and one on review, not just on getting through questions.
June of Year 5
Move into regular timed practice. Your child should now meet all four subjects each fortnight. Start error logs: every wrong answer should be labelled as a knowledge gap, a timing issue, misreading or careless working.
July of Year 5
Try the first half-paper or mixed timed set under quiet conditions. Do not overdo volume before the summer holiday. It is better to finish term with confidence than fatigue.
August before Year 6
This is often the most useful month. Aim for 3 to 5 hours a week, split across short sessions. Complete timed sections, review them carefully and revisit weak topics. Include at least one longer practice morning so the exam does not feel like a shock in September or October.
September of Year 6
Now shift from learning content to exam execution. Sit one timed paper or grouped sections each week, always followed by careful correction. Practise bubbling answers clearly if answer sheets are used, keeping to time and moving on from difficult questions.
October of Year 6 until the exam
Taper sensibly. Keep practice frequent but not intense. Focus on maintaining confidence, sleep and routine. In the final week, do short refreshers rather than hard new material.
A simple weekly pattern works well:
- Session 1: Maths and English skills.
- Session 2: Verbal and non-verbal reasoning methods.
- Session 3: timed mixed practice.
- Session 4: review and corrections.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
Prepare for fast, accurate arithmetic and secure Year 5-level problem solving. Practise number operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, perimeter, area, data handling and multi-step word problems. The key skill is not only knowing the method but choosing it quickly under time pressure. Short mental-maths drills and written working laid out neatly both help.
Useful habits include learning tables until recall is automatic, spotting the operation required in word problems and checking whether an answer is sensible before moving on.
English
Focus on comprehension, vocabulary and clear written accuracy. For comprehension, practise retrieving information, explaining meanings in context, making simple inferences and supporting answers with evidence from the passage. For writing-related accuracy, build punctuation, grammar and spelling control. Strong readers tend to cope better with the pace of independent-school English papers, so regular reading matters as much as worksheet practice.
Good preparation includes discussing unfamiliar words, summarising paragraphs, identifying tone and reading a wide range of fiction and nonfiction.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning rewards method as much as raw vocabulary. Children should become familiar with common task types such as codes, letter sequences, word relationships, hidden words, antonyms and synonyms, and structured logic based on language patterns. Because question types can vary, it is best to teach one method at a time, then mix them.
Keep vocabulary building in the background throughout Year 5 and Year 6. Ten new words a week, used in speech and writing, makes a noticeable difference.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Practise the standard families of visual reasoning questions: rotations, reflections, shape sequences, analogies, symmetries, codes, nets and odd-one-out patterns. Children often improve quickly once they learn what to look for, so explanation and review are important. Encourage your child to describe the rule aloud before choosing an answer.
For NVR especially, timed practice should come after the underlying patterns are understood. Early speed without understanding tends to create avoidable mistakes.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are used in a planned way, not simply as a stack to get through. Start untimed when your child is learning a question type, move to short timed sections once the method is secure, and only then use full papers.
A good routine is:
- Do a paper or section under realistic timing.
- Mark it carefully.
- Review every wrong answer and every guess.
- Redo only the questions that exposed a weak method.
- Revisit the same skill a few days later to check it has stuck.
Mocks can also be helpful, especially for children who know the content but become flustered in unfamiliar settings. The value of a mock is less about the score and more about practising timing, concentration and recovery after one difficult section.
For subject-specific practice, use Free James Allen's Girls' School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/james-allens-girls-school-mock-tests.
For an overview of the school’s admissions process, use The James Allen's Girls' School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/james-allens-girls-school.
To avoid missing registration or exam updates, use Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=james-allens-girls-school.
Two final tips: keep a record of scores by topic rather than only by paper, and stop a practice session early if concentration has clearly gone. Tired practice teaches the wrong habits.
On the day
Keep the morning straightforward. The aim is for your child to feel prepared, not over-managed.
- The night before: pack everything requested by the school, check travel, and avoid last-minute cramming.
- Breakfast: choose something familiar and sustaining rather than a treat that may unsettle her stomach.
- Arrival: leave plenty of time so a small delay does not become the emotional centre of the day.
- Mindset: remind her that some questions are meant to feel hard and that moving on is part of good exam technique.
- During the paper: read carefully, keep an eye on time, and never let one tricky question steal marks from easier ones later.
- Afterwards: keep your questions gentle. A child rarely benefits from a detailed post-mortem on the journey home.
If interview is part of the next stage, treat it as a conversation about readiness for the school rather than something to script heavily. Shortlisted pupils usually come across best when they speak naturally about what they enjoy learning, reading and doing.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
For JAGS, the process is an independent-school admissions process, so it does not follow the local-authority secondary allocation day used for state schools. After the written assessment, the school shortlists candidates and invites selected pupils to interview. Final decisions are then sent by the school.
At the time of writing, we did not find a confirmed 2028-entry results timetable on the official 11+ page. The date pattern visible on the supplied school page related to 7+ entry, where first-stage outcomes and then second-round outcomes were issued on later published dates. That tells parents that JAGS may communicate in stages, but it is not a confirmed 11+ timeline for 2028.
If your child is not offered a place, the best next step is to read the school’s decision letter carefully and ask the admissions team about any waiting-list or review process the school operates. Independent schools do not usually run appeals in the same way as state schools, so the school’s own admissions terms are the key reference point.
Whatever the outcome, try to keep the experience in proportion for your child. Sitting a selective exam is one data point, not a verdict on potential.
What has changed recently
From the sources reviewed for this guide, we did not find a clearly announced recent change specific to the JAGS 11+ exam format, catchment, places or admissions rules for 2028 entry on the official page provided. The main point parents should note is that the current live page supplied to us shows a different entry point timetable, so families should wait for the school to publish the 11+ 2028 cycle before relying on dates.
Frequently asked questions
What subjects should my child prepare for at James Allen's Girls' School 11+?
For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified format is preparation across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Does JAGS use GL Assessment?
Prepare in a GL-style way across the four subjects, but for 2028 entry the admissions process is verified by ElevenReady as the school's own paper.
Is there a catchment area for JAGS 11+?
We did not find a published 11+ catchment rule in the official sources reviewed here. Check the school’s admissions page for the latest policy.
When should Year 5 families start preparing?
For most children, a calm start in January or spring of Year 5 is sensible, with timed work introduced gradually by late spring or early summer.
Are interviews part of the JAGS 11+ process?
Yes. The school states that shortlisted candidates are invited to interview after the entrance examination stage.
When will JAGS publish 2028 entry dates?
The official 11+ 2028 timetable was not published in the sources reviewed here. The safest approach is to monitor the school's admissions page and sign up for alerts.
Sources
- James Allen's Girls' School – Joining JAGS: School website and official admissions hub; admissions are run directly by the school; admissions information is organised by age of entry; candidates apply through the school rather than a local-authority test portal; shortlisted candidates are invited to interview.
- James Allen's Girls' School – Home: School identity as an independent girls' school with Junior School, Senior School and Sixth Form; confirms the school context for admissions.
Preparing for other schools in Southwark
- Alleyn's School · practice papers
- Arco Academy · practice papers
- Dulwich College · practice papers
- Dulwich Prep & Senior · 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.