How to prepare for the Kings Brighton 11+

The exam at a glance

Kings Brighton is an independent school setting and, for 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that Year 7 entry uses the school’s own paper. At the time of writing, the school’s public admissions pages do not set out a separate 11+ exam specification for Year 7 in the way many grammar schools do.

That means parents should approach this as a school-set assessment process rather than assuming a standard grammar-school format. The school’s Brighton page focuses on its college provision, including GCSEs, A-levels and pathway courses, and currently highlights that it is enrolling now for January 2027 start. We did not find an official page giving a published Year 7 entrance-test structure, subject list, timings or delivery method.

So, for families targeting September 2028 entry, the safest position is:

expect the school to use its own assessment arrangements;
do not assume GL, CEM or another standard provider;
do not assume particular subjects unless the school confirms them directly;
check the admissions page regularly and contact the school to ask what the current Year 7 assessment process involves.

If the school provides an assessment day, it may also include an interview, school visit or review of school reports, as is common in independent-school admissions, but we did not find an official Kings Brighton Year 7 page confirming the exact sequence. Parents should therefore treat the admissions page as the deciding source for what the day looks like.

Registration and key dates

At present, Kings Brighton’s public Brighton admissions page does not publish a dedicated Year 7 or 11+ registration timetable for September 2028 entry. We did not find an official online form, portal page, deadline page or published test date for Year 7 entry.

What the school does publish is a general Brighton admissions contact point and an enquiry route through its main Brighton page. In practice, that means parents should be ready to:

make an enquiry directly with Kings Brighton via the school’s Brighton admissions page;
ask specifically about Year 7 September 2028 entry;
request the current admissions process, including whether there is an entrance assessment, interview, school report requirement or reference form;
ask when registration opens and what the internal deadline is.

Because no Year 7 dates were published on the official pages we reviewed, we cannot give verified deadlines, exam dates or results dates. The right approach is to check the school page regularly and sign up for alerts so you do not miss an update.

The Kings Brighton 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/kings-brighton
Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=kings-brighton

If you contact the school, useful questions to ask include:

Is there a separate Year 7 entrance assessment for September 2028?
When does registration open?
Is there a deadline for overseas and UK applicants?
Are recent school reports required?
Is an interview part of the process?
When are decisions normally sent to families?

Until Kings Brighton publishes a Year 7 timetable, it is best to avoid building your whole preparation around a guessed exam month. Keep preparation steady and flexible instead.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Kings Brighton is an independent school, so it does not use the local-authority grammar-school admissions system in the same way a state selective school would. We did not find an official Kings Brighton Year 7 admissions policy page setting out catchment, oversubscription criteria, feeder schools or a fixed number of Year 7 places.

We also did not find a published catchment area for Year 7 entry. As an independent school, Kings Brighton may accept applications from a wider geographic area, but parents should not assume any particular priority rules unless the school confirms them in writing.

In practical terms, parents should check:

whether the school has a formal Year 7 intake at Brighton for September 2028;
whether places are offered strictly by assessment and interview, or also by review of school reports;
whether there are boarding, host-family or international routes that sit alongside standard day applications;
whether any visa or guardianship requirements apply for families applying from overseas.

Because we found no official published figures for Year 7 places or competition levels, we cannot responsibly state how competitive entry is. If this matters for your planning, ask the admissions team directly whether Year 7 places are limited and whether early application is advisable.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because Kings Brighton has not published a detailed Year 7 assessment specification on its public pages, preparation should be broad, calm and skills-based. The aim is to build strong Year 5 and early Year 6 foundations so your child can cope well with a school-set assessment even before the exact format is released.

12 months before the likely assessment window

Start with reading, core maths fluency, accurate writing and careful comprehension.
Aim for about 2 hours a week in short sessions.
Read widely: fiction, non-fiction, articles and age-appropriate classic children’s books.
Use school feedback to identify any gaps in arithmetic, vocabulary or spelling.

9 to 10 months before

Increase to around 2 to 3 hours a week.
Add structured comprehension practice: retrieval, inference, vocabulary in context and summarising.
In maths, focus on place value, the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures and word problems.
Keep a vocabulary notebook and revisit words in conversation and writing.

6 to 8 months before

Move towards 3 hours a week, still split into manageable chunks.
Begin mixed practice rather than single-topic drills.
Introduce short pieces of writing under light time limits: description, narrative openings, letters or discursive paragraphs.
If the school later confirms particular papers, this is the stage to align preparation more closely.

4 to 5 months before

Use one short timed task each week.
Practise switching between tasks without losing accuracy.
Review mistakes carefully: was it knowledge, speed, attention or misunderstanding?
Keep one session a week deliberately untimed to protect confidence and depth of thinking.

2 to 3 months before

Work at about 3 to 4 hours a week if your child is coping well.
Start using longer timed papers only if the school has by then confirmed a written assessment format.
Practise answer-checking routines: re-reading instructions, marking skipped questions and returning to them.
Keep reading and vocabulary work going; this often lifts performance across several subjects at once.

Final month

Prioritise consistency over volume.
Use short refreshers, not last-minute cramming.
Go over common arithmetic slips, comprehension habits and planning before writing.
Make sure your child knows where they are going and what to expect from the admissions process as far as the school has confirmed it.

Final week

Cut workload back.
Use brief confidence-building review sessions.
Protect sleep, routine and normal school attendance.
Keep your tone matter-of-fact: this is a chance to show what they can do, not a judgement on their worth.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Because Kings Brighton has not published a public Year 7 paper specification stating tested subjects, the most sensible preparation is to cover the areas commonly used in independent-school assessment without assuming that each will definitely appear. If the school later confirms the exact papers, narrow your practice straight away.

English

Build strong reading comprehension first. Practise retrieving information accurately, spotting clues for inference, explaining word choice and summarising a passage clearly. Keep grammar and punctuation secure, but do not let worksheet-heavy practice replace real reading.

For writing, focus on clear sentences, paragraph control, punctuation, spelling and choosing precise vocabulary. Children preparing for school-set assessments often benefit from planning quickly before they write, then leaving a minute or two at the end to check for basic errors.

Mathematics

Keep arithmetic fluent: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and percentages. Then build confidence in multi-step word problems, interpreting information carefully and setting work out clearly. School-set maths assessments often reward calm method as much as speed.

A good routine is one fluency session, one reasoning session and one mixed review each week. Encourage your child to explain how they got an answer, not just produce it.

Reasoning or school-set thinking skills

We did not find an official Kings Brighton page confirming verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning or any separate thinking-skills paper. However, if the school later publishes a broader aptitude-style assessment, your child will benefit from pattern spotting, careful reading of instructions, vocabulary development and staying accurate under time pressure.

Do not over-specialise in puzzle types unless the school confirms they are relevant. Broad problem-solving habits are more useful at this stage than memorising narrow question formats.

Interview or discussion skills

We did not find an official published statement confirming an interview for Year 7, but many independent schools use conversation as part of admissions. Practise speaking clearly, answering in full sentences and talking about books, school subjects, hobbies and recent learning.

This should feel natural, not rehearsed. Children do best when they can discuss what genuinely interests them.

Practice papers and mock exams

Use practice papers as a tool for diagnosis, not as a weekly test of confidence. When a school has not yet published a full assessment specification, broad practice is more helpful than chasing volume.

Start untimed so your child learns the method properly.
Move to timed work gradually.
Mark carefully and review errors by type.
Redo missed questions a few days later.
Keep a short error log to spot patterns.

For Kings Brighton-specific support, use these ElevenReady resources:

Free Kings Brighton practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/kings-brighton-mock-tests
The Kings Brighton 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/kings-brighton
Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=kings-brighton

If the school later confirms that its assessment includes written English or maths, introduce one full paper at a time and leave enough space between them for review. A mock only helps if your child learns from it.

Try to keep the balance sensible: one focused paper session can be worth far more than several rushed papers with no feedback.

On the day

If Kings Brighton confirms an assessment day, keep the practical side simple. Aim for a calm morning, a familiar breakfast and plenty of travel time. Children usually feel steadier when they know the order of the day, so tell them only what has been confirmed by the school.

Prepare any documents, stationery and travel details the night before.
Avoid heavy last-minute revision.
Encourage your child to read instructions slowly and underline key words if allowed.
If they get stuck, move on and return later where possible.
Remind them that one hard question or one shaky section does not decide the whole outcome.

For independent-school assessments, presentation and composure can matter as well as raw marks. Neat working, clear handwriting and sensible pacing all help your child show their ability properly.

If there is also an interview or conversation, remind your child to listen carefully, answer honestly and take a moment to think before speaking. Warm, natural engagement is better than polished but over-rehearsed answers.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

Because Kings Brighton is an independent school, the process after assessment is usually different from the state-school national allocation system. Offers are typically handled directly by the school rather than through local-authority National Offer Day, unless the school states otherwise for a particular route.

However, we did not find an official Kings Brighton Year 7 page giving a published results date, offer timetable, acceptance deadline or appeal route for September 2028 entry.

So the practical next steps for parents are:

ask the admissions team when decisions are normally communicated;
check whether offers are conditional on school reports, interview or English-language evidence where relevant;
ask how long you have to accept a place;
ask whether a waiting list is held if Year 7 is full;
ask what review or complaint route exists if your child is unsuccessful.

Independent schools do not usually run statutory admission appeals in the same way as state schools. If Kings Brighton offers an internal review, reassessment or waiting-list process, that should be explained by admissions directly.

What has changed recently

From the official pages we reviewed, we found no announced recent change specifically to a published Kings Brighton Year 7 or 11+ exam format, catchment, places or timetable.

The main current published message on the Brighton page is that the school is enrolling now for January 2027 start, but this is not presented as a Year 7 entrance-test update. If the school publishes a separate lower-school or Year 7 admissions route later, parents should treat that newer information as the key update.

Frequently asked questions

Does Kings Brighton have a standard 11+ exam?

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the school uses its own paper. We did not find a public official page giving a full Year 7 exam specification, so check the admissions page directly.

What subjects are in the Kings Brighton 11+?

The tested subjects are not publicly confirmed on the official pages we reviewed. Prepare broadly in English and maths, and ask the school to confirm the current Year 7 assessment format.

When is the Kings Brighton 11+ registration deadline?

We did not find a published Year 7 registration deadline for September 2028 entry. Contact Kings Brighton admissions and sign up for alerts so you see any update quickly.

Is there a catchment area for Kings Brighton?

We did not find a published Year 7 catchment area on the official pages reviewed. As an independent school, admissions are usually handled directly by the school rather than by state-school catchment rules.

How should my child prepare if the format is not published yet?

Build strong reading, comprehension, writing and maths first. Keep preparation steady, start timed work gradually and switch to more targeted practice if the school later publishes the exact papers.

Does Kings Brighton interview Year 7 applicants?

We did not find an official public statement confirming a Year 7 interview. It is sensible to ask the admissions team whether interview, school reports or references form part of the process.

📄 Free Kings Brighton practice papers Start free and track readiness for Kings Brighton 🔔 Email me this school's key dates

Sources

Kings Brighton | Kings Education: School website and Brighton admissions page; school address as 27–33 Ditchling Road, Brighton BN1 4SB; public page highlights 'Enrolling now for January 2027 start'; the page focuses on GCSEs, A-levels, pathway and related courses rather than publishing a separate Year 7/11+ exam timetable.
Admissions policy | Kings Education: Kings Education publishes a general admissions policy and direct admissions process, supporting that admissions are handled by the school rather than through local-authority state selective admissions.

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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.