How to prepare for the Kendrick School 11+ exam

The exam at a glance

Kendrick School is a selective girls’ grammar school in Reading. For September 2028 entry, the 11+ uses GL Assessment, and the test covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The test is paper-based.

For parents, the most useful starting point is to plan for a broad GL-style assessment rather than over-focusing on one area. That means keeping arithmetic and problem solving sharp, reading and vocabulary strong, and building familiarity with the standard GL reasoning question types. Because the format is a single assessment spanning several areas, steady practice across all four subjects is usually more helpful than trying to chase one supposed “key” section.

On the day, children should expect a formal secondary-school test setting with invigilators, answer sheets or booklets as instructed, and timed sections. Schools and local authorities do not usually publish every minute of the timetable far in advance, so it is best to use the official familiarisation materials to show your child how GL questions look and to watch carefully for the school’s candidate instructions nearer the test date.

A sensible mindset is:

Accuracy first in spring and early summer of Year 5.
Then timing once methods are secure.
Then stamina by practising full mixed papers in the run-up to the exam.

If you want a quick overview of the school-specific format, catchment and date updates, see The Kendrick School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Registration and key dates

For Kendrick School, parents should register through the school’s admissions process when the registration window opens. The school publishes an annual admissions timeline and testing arrangements for the relevant entry year. Because dates can shift from year to year, it is important not to rely on old forum posts or another school’s timetable.

For the current published cycle available at the time of writing, Kendrick School’s testing information shows that registration opened in May, closed in June, and the entrance test took place in September. Results were issued in October. For families aiming at 2028 entry, treat this as the typical pattern unless and until the school publishes the new timetable.

In practice, that means Year 5 parents should expect:

Registration usually opens in May of Year 5.
The deadline is typically in June.
The test is usually in September at the start of Year 6.
Results typically arrive in October, before the secondary school application deadline.

After receiving the result, families must still complete their local authority Common Application Form (CAF). Sitting the test alone does not count as applying for a place. Reading Borough Council explains the normal secondary transfer process and national offer day arrangements, so it is worth reading the council guidance alongside the school’s own admissions page.

When registration opens, parents should be ready to complete the online form carefully and to provide any documents the school requests. These often include proof of address and, where relevant, information connected with admissions priority categories. Always use the exact requirements set out for your child’s year.

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Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Kendrick School is a girls’ grammar school and its admissions arrangements make clear that designated-area applicants are prioritised before out-of-area applicants. Because catchment boundaries and oversubscription rules matter a great deal here, parents should read the current admissions policy in full for the exact map, definitions and tie-break details that apply to their child’s year.

The school’s published admissions arrangements also set out its Published Admission Number and oversubscription criteria. At the time of writing, the school states that it admits 128 pupils into Year 7.

Competition for places is strong. Kendrick is well known as a heavily oversubscribed grammar school, so being realistic about the process helps. A test result is only one part of the picture: parents also need to understand whether they fall within the designated area, how priorities are ordered, and how the local authority allocates places on National Offer Day.

Useful points to keep in mind:

Eligibility and priority are not the same thing. A child may be able to sit the test but still be ranked differently under the admissions policy.
Catchment matters. If you are hoping for designated-area priority, check the current policy and map rather than relying on hearsay.
The CAF matters too. Even with a strong score, a place cannot be offered unless the school is named on the local authority application.

If your family may move house, or if your address situation is unusual, check the policy wording on residency evidence and deadlines very early. Schools and councils are usually strict about which address can be used for admissions purposes.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For most children aiming at Kendrick, the healthiest approach is steady work through Year 5 rather than an intense last-minute push. Below is a realistic plan working back from a September exam at the start of Year 6.

January to March of Year 5

Keep preparation light and skills-based: around 1 to 2 hours a week in short sessions is enough for many children at this stage. Focus on reading comprehension, number fluency, times tables, mental arithmetic and vocabulary building. Introduce GL-style Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning gently so the question types do not feel unfamiliar later.

Read widely and discuss what a passage really means.
Secure arithmetic methods before adding speed.
Learn the common reasoning formats little by little.

April to May of Year 5

Move to 2 to 3 hours a week. This is a good point to begin mixed practice across all four subjects. Keep sessions short and regular. If the school opens registration in May, complete the form promptly and note every deadline in one place.

Start short timed drills, not full papers yet.
Track recurring mistakes in a notebook.
Use one familiar format for each subject before increasing variety.

June of Year 5

Build up to 3 hours a week. By now, children should be comfortable with the main question styles. Start doing some longer timed sections so they learn how it feels to keep going when a paper is mixed and demanding.

Practise switching between subjects calmly.
Review errors carefully after every timed task.
Keep one day each week free from 11+ work if your child tires easily.

July of Year 5

This is often the point to introduce the first full or near-full timed papers, still no more than 3 to 4 hours a week overall. The aim is not to do lots of papers; it is to learn how timing, accuracy and concentration interact.

Do one timed paper or two half-papers a week.
Spend at least as long reviewing as testing.
Keep up reading and core maths in between papers.

August before Year 6

Use August for consolidation, not panic. Around 4 hours a week is usually plenty. Children often improve most by correcting weak areas now: careless arithmetic, slow comprehension, limited vocabulary, or hesitation on reasoning types.

Alternate full mixed practice with targeted repair work.
Practise bubbling or marking answers neatly if required.
Keep routines calm and consistent.

September of Year 6, before the test

In the final days, reduce volume slightly. Short, confident practice is better than exhausting your child. One last mixed paper early in the week is enough for many children, followed by light review, good sleep and normal family routines.

If your child is highly motivated, resist the temptation to keep increasing hours. For most Year 5 children, quality beats quantity.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For GL-style maths, practise secure arithmetic, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, shape, simple algebraic thinking and multi-step word problems. The main difficulty is often not the content itself but handling it quickly and accurately under time pressure.

Use short mental maths drills.
Practise choosing the right method for a word problem.
Review every careless mistake to see whether it came from misunderstanding, weak method or rushing.

English

English preparation should cover both comprehension and the language knowledge GL commonly draws on, such as vocabulary, meaning in context and standard spelling or grammar awareness where relevant. Strong readers usually cope better with timing because they grasp the passage more quickly.

Read fiction and non-fiction regularly.
Ask for precise evidence from the text, not guesses.
Build vocabulary steadily using reading, discussion and word families.

Verbal Reasoning

GL Verbal Reasoning uses familiar question families, so this is one of the easiest areas to improve through repeated exposure and tidy method. Children should learn to recognise the pattern first, then apply it accurately, then increase speed.

Work on letter and number codes, sequences, analogies, related words and vocabulary-based logic.
Keep a checklist of question types that cause hesitation.
Encourage your child to move on rather than getting stuck too long on one item.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning usually rewards visual pattern recognition, rotation, reflection, symmetry, shape codes and sequence logic. Children often improve when they learn the small number of transformations that appear again and again.

Practise spotting what changes: shape, size, shading, position or rotation.
Teach your child to compare boxes systematically rather than guessing.
Use timed sets once the basic pattern types are familiar.

Across all four subjects, GL preparation works best when children meet the same skills in mixed order. That mirrors the real challenge more closely than doing one subject in isolation for weeks at a time.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used as diagnostic tools, not simply as score generators. One carefully reviewed paper can teach far more than three rushed ones.

A sensible routine is:

Choose one paper matched to the school’s tested subjects and board style.
Set it under calm, timed conditions.
Mark it promptly.
Sort mistakes into three groups: knowledge gap, method gap, and rushing.
Redo the hardest questions untimed.
Return to the same skill a few days later to check it has stuck.

For Kendrick-specific practice, use these free resources:

If you use mock exams, treat them as rehearsal rather than judgement. They are helpful for stamina, time management, travelling to an unfamiliar venue and recovering from small wobbles. They are less helpful if they make a child feel that every score is a prediction. For most families, a small number of well-timed mocks is enough.

It also helps to use the official GL familiarisation materials so your child recognises the layout and style of reasoning questions. Keep that work low-pressure: the aim is familiarity, not memorising answers.

On the day

The best test-day advice is practical and calm.

Prepare everything the night before: clothes, pencils or other permitted equipment, water if allowed, and travel plans.
Arrive in good time so your child is not flustered by parking, queues or finding the right entrance.
Keep breakfast familiar. Test day is not the time to change routine.
Use normal language: “Just do your best, one section at a time.”
Do not cram that morning. A few easy questions for confidence is fine; a full paper is not.

Children often worry about getting stuck. A simple script helps: read carefully, answer what you can, mark your place neatly, and move on if needed. In a timed GL test, staying composed usually matters more than trying to force a difficult question immediately.

After the exam, avoid a long post-mortem in the car. Most children feel better if the family simply moves on with the day.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

Kendrick School’s published testing information for the cycle available at the time of writing states that results were released in October. That timing matters because families then complete, or finalise, their local authority secondary application naming their preferred schools in order.

Offers are then made through the local authority on National Offer Day, which Reading Borough Council explains in its secondary transfer guidance. If a child is not offered a place, parents may be able to join a waiting list and, where appropriate, lodge an appeal. The school or local authority will publish the correct process for that admission year.

Three practical points help here:

Keep copies of emails and forms.
Follow the local authority deadlines exactly.
Read the school’s appeals information carefully if you need it, because grammar school appeals are evidence-based and procedural.

If the school does not publish a score threshold or cut-off for your year, assume that no reliable public figure is available. In that case, use only the official admissions information and avoid unofficial claims online.

What has changed recently

For the current cycle visible at the time of writing, Kendrick School’s published admissions and testing information continued to use its established selective admissions process, with annual dates and candidate instructions updated for the relevant year. We did not find an official announcement from the school or Reading Borough Council of a change in the last two years to the underlying exam board beyond the current GL-style selective testing arrangement, nor an announced change to the broad catchment-priority approach. Parents should still check the latest admissions policy each year, because schools may update operational details, timelines and wording even when the overall structure remains similar.

Frequently asked questions

What exam board does Kendrick School use for the 11+?

For 2028 entry, Kendrick School uses GL Assessment. Children should prepare across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Is the Kendrick School 11+ paper-based or computer-based?

For 2028 entry, it is paper-based. That makes neat working, careful marking and confidence with timed paper practice useful.

Does Kendrick School prioritise catchment applicants?

Yes. The admissions arrangements prioritise designated-area applicants before out-of-area applicants, so parents should read the current policy carefully.

When do Kendrick School 11+ registration and the exam usually happen?

From the published cycle available during research, registration opened in May, closed in June and the test took place in September. For 2028 entry, treat that as the typical pattern until the new dates are published.

How many places does Kendrick School offer in Year 7?

The school’s admissions arrangements state a Published Admission Number of 128 for Year 7.

Do I still need to fill in the local authority application form if my child sits the Kendrick test?

Yes. Sitting the test is not the same as applying for a place. You must also complete your local authority secondary school application and list Kendrick according to the published process.

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Sources

Kendrick School website: School identity as a selective girls’ grammar school in Reading; official school source for admissions information.

Preparing for other schools in Reading

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.