How to prepare for the Lady Eleanor Holles School 11+

The exam at a glance

Lady Eleanor Holles School is an independent girls’ day school with a Year 7 entry point as well as earlier entry at Year 3 and later entry to Sixth Form. For September 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the school uses its own assessment. The exact test provider, format, subjects and delivery method for 2028 entry are not yet confirmed.

That means the safest approach is to treat LEH as a school with a school-set assessment and to keep checking the school’s admissions pages for the precise arrangements for your daughter’s cohort. The school’s website makes clear that it offers continuity from age 7, so some pupils move through from the junior school without sitting an external 11+ route, while Year 7 remains a published entry point for external applicants.

For parents planning ahead, the most sensible next step is to build strong, calm core skills in English and mathematics, alongside age-appropriate reasoning and interview confidence only if the school later confirms that these are part of the process. Avoid over-committing to one exam style too early: until the school publishes the details for 2028 entry, broad preparation is more useful than highly specialised drilling.

School type: independent girls’ day school
Entry point: Year 7 entry is offered
Assessment setter: school’s own assessment for 2028 entry
Format: not yet confirmed by an official source for 2028 entry
Subjects: not yet confirmed by an official source for 2028 entry
Delivery: not yet confirmed by an official source for 2028 entry

Because the exact structure is not yet published for your child’s cohort, think of the coming months as preparation for selective independent-school entry in general rather than for a fixed paper design. That keeps your daughter flexible and reduces the risk of spending time on the wrong thing.

Registration and key dates

At the time of writing, I could not verify published 2028 entry registration and testing dates on an official LEH admissions page. The school’s website confirms Year 7 as an entry point, but specific dates for your daughter’s cohort were not available in the material I could verify. In that situation, the most accurate advice is simple: check the school’s admissions page directly and join updates as soon as the school opens registration.

Independent schools commonly run their own registration form and process rather than using a local-authority 11+ portal, but you should rely on LEH’s own instructions once published. Typically, independent-school registration asks for basic pupil details, parent contact details, current school information and, in some cases, a registration fee or supporting school report. Only submit documents the school specifically requests.

Because this year’s dates were not verified from an official source for 2028 entry, it is better not to guess. Instead:

Bookmark the school’s admissions pages now.
Read the Year 7 admissions information as soon as the new cycle is published.
Register promptly once the school opens the process.
Note any separate deadlines for assessment, interviews, references or acceptance of offers.

For planning purposes only, many independent-school Year 7 processes begin during Year 5 or early in Year 6, with assessments in the autumn before entry. That is a general pattern, not a published LEH date for 2028 entry, so please treat it only as a reminder to check early.

Useful pages to keep handy:

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Lady Eleanor Holles School is an independent girls’ day school and does not operate a state-school-style catchment area. The school presents itself as welcoming families from across Surrey, Berkshire and the surrounding area, which fits the usual independent-school model of drawing pupils from a wider travel radius rather than from a fixed admissions zone.

The school’s website confirms that there is a Year 7 entry point. It also says the school offers continuity from age 7, which matters for parents because some places in the senior school may be taken by girls already progressing through the junior school. In practical terms, this means external Year 7 applicants should expect competition for places, but the school did not publish a verified number of Year 7 places in the sources I checked.

What parents should do with this information:

Do not worry about catchment in the way you would for a grammar school.
Do think carefully about daily travel time from your home to Hampton.
Do check whether the school publishes any priority, sibling or feeder arrangements for the relevant year of entry.
Do ask admissions directly if you need clarity on likely numbers of external places for your daughter’s cohort.

Because LEH is an independent school, offers are usually handled by the school itself rather than through National Offer Day in the same way as state-school secondary transfers. Always follow the school’s own admissions instructions, deadlines and acceptance arrangements once published for 2028 entry.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Since the exact Year 7 assessment format for 2028 entry is not yet confirmed, the best preparation plan is one that builds secure literacy and numeracy first, then becomes more specific when LEH publishes details. For most Year 5 children, steady, modest practice works better than bursts of heavy work.

January to March in Year 5

Aim for about 1 to 2 hours a week in short sessions. Focus on reading comprehension, vocabulary, accurate arithmetic, times tables fluency and clear written expression. Read widely: classic children’s fiction, modern fiction and quality non-fiction all help. In maths, keep methods neat and insist on checking work.

April to June in Year 5

Increase to around 2 to 3 hours a week if your daughter is coping happily. Add light problem-solving and gentle unfamiliar-question practice so she learns to stay calm when a question looks new. Keep one session each week just for reading and discussion; selective tests reward children who truly understand what they read.

July to August before Year 6

This is a good point to consolidate rather than race ahead. Around 2 to 4 hours a week is usually enough. Use one or two short mixed papers or worksheets each week and review mistakes carefully. If LEH publishes its assessment details by then, start aligning practice to the confirmed format. If not, continue with balanced English and maths work.

September in Year 6

If the school’s assessment takes place in the autumn before entry, this is usually the point to become more structured. Aim for 3 to 4 hours a week, split across several sessions. Start timed practice only once your daughter is comfortable with untimed work; timing should sharpen confidence, not create panic.

October onwards in Year 6

Keep practice focused and calm. One full timed paper every week or two is usually enough for a child at this age, provided you spend as much time reviewing as testing. In the final stretch, prioritise sleep, routine and confidence over squeezing in extra papers.

A simple weekly pattern looks like this:

One English comprehension or writing session
One maths fluency and problem-solving session
One mixed skills or short timed session
Regular reading on most days

If your daughter is already managing school well, clubs and friendships matter too. A balanced child usually performs better than a tired one.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Because LEH’s official Year 7 assessment subjects for 2028 entry are not yet confirmed in the sources I could verify, the most useful approach is to prepare the core areas that commonly support selective independent-school entry and then refine your plan once the school publishes specifics.

English

Build strong reading comprehension first. Practise retrieving information, inferring meaning, explaining why an author has chosen a word or phrase and supporting answers with evidence from the text. Vocabulary work matters too: keep a notebook of ambitious but usable words met in reading. If the school later confirms a writing task, practise planning quickly, structuring paragraphs clearly and leaving time to check punctuation and spelling.

Good habits to build:

Read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction
Summarise a chapter or article in a few sentences
Discuss character motives, tone and viewpoint
Write short, well-punctuated paragraphs regularly

Mathematics

For independent-school assessments, secure arithmetic is the foundation. Make sure number facts, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics and written methods are reliable. Then add multi-step word problems so your daughter learns to decide which maths to use, not just to carry out a method. Encourage neat presentation and checking, especially in questions where a small copying error can spoil a correct method.

Useful maths practice includes:

Fast recall of number facts and tables
Fractions, decimals and percentages conversion
Worded problems with more than one step
Interpreting information carefully before calculating

Reasoning or broader skills, if later confirmed

Some school-set assessments include problem-solving, logic or reasoning elements, but LEH had not confirmed this in the official material I could verify for 2028 entry. If the school later publishes this, focus on method rather than tricks: spotting patterns, following instructions accurately, organising working and staying calm under time pressure.

Interview or group activity, if later confirmed

Independent schools sometimes include an interview, a group task or another stage after written assessment. Again, do not assume this unless LEH confirms it for your child’s year. If it does appear, preparation should be light and natural: conversation skills, listening, speaking clearly, discussing books and interests, and answering simple questions thoughtfully rather than theatrically.

Practice papers and mock exams

When a school has not yet published a final format for your cohort, practice papers are still useful, but use them for skill-building rather than prediction. A paper is best treated as a way to spot gaps, improve stamina and learn how your daughter responds to timed work.

A sensible routine is:

Start with untimed practice so methods are secure.
Move to short timed sections.
Use full papers only once the basics are comfortable.
Review every mistake: was it knowledge, vocabulary, misreading or rushing?
Keep an error log and revisit weak areas a week later.

Mocks can help later on, especially for children who need practice settling their nerves in an unfamiliar setting. They are not essential at the start. One or two well-timed mock experiences are usually more valuable than a long run of them.

Use these resources:

As soon as LEH publishes the confirmed assessment details for 2028 entry, narrow your practice so it matches the school’s instructions rather than continuing with broad generic work.

On the day

The most helpful thing you can give your daughter on assessment day is a calm routine. Prepare everything the night before, leave in good time and keep the morning low-key. Children usually do better when the adults around them behave as if the day is important but manageable.

Check the school’s joining instructions carefully as soon as they are issued.
Pack any requested documents or stationery the evening before.
Choose comfortable uniform or clothes if the school gives guidance.
Have a familiar breakfast and plenty of time to travel.
Avoid last-minute cramming in the car or on the train.

It can also help to agree a simple strategy for the paper itself:

Read instructions slowly.
Start confidently and keep moving.
If stuck, stay calm and return later if allowed.
Check answers carefully if time remains.

Afterwards, try not to conduct a full post-mortem. A short "well done, you handled that" is usually enough. Many children come out unsure how they have done, and that is completely normal.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For LEH, the school itself handles admissions decisions rather than a local authority coordinating state-school places. I could not verify published result-release timing or acceptance deadlines for 2028 entry from official sources, so parents should expect to follow the school’s own communications once the admissions cycle opens.

In general, the process at an independent school is:

Parents register with the school.
The child sits the assessment and any additional stages the school requires.
The school communicates outcomes directly to families.
If an offer is made, parents accept by the deadline and complete any required paperwork.

If your daughter is not offered a place, ask the admissions team politely whether they operate a waiting list and whether there is any formal review or appeal route. Independent-school appeals are not the same as statutory state-school admission appeals, so you should rely on the school’s published policy and individual guidance.

If LEH publishes more detailed information for your cohort later, use that rather than any general independent-school pattern.

What has changed recently

From the official material I could verify, the clearest point for families is that LEH continues to present Year 7 as a published entry point while also emphasising continuity from age 7, saying it offers an education without the pressure of the 11+ for girls already in the school. I did not find an officially published announcement in the sources checked that confirmed a recent change to the exam board, test format, catchment, place numbers or admissions structure for 2028 entry.

If the school publishes a new Year 7 process, altered assessment format or revised timetable for your daughter’s cohort, that would be the key update to watch. Until then, there is no need to assume a major change that the school has not announced.

Frequently asked questions

Does Lady Eleanor Holles School have an 11+ exam for Year 7 entry?

The school offers Year 7 entry, and ElevenReady’s verified information is that the assessment is school-set for 2028 entry. The exact format and subjects were not yet confirmed in the official material I could verify.

Is Lady Eleanor Holles School part of the grammar-school 11+ system?

No. LEH is an independent girls’ day school, so its admissions are handled by the school rather than through a grammar-school local-authority process.

Does LEH have a catchment area?

No fixed catchment was verified. The school presents itself as welcoming families from across Surrey, Berkshire and the surrounding area.

When should my daughter start preparing for LEH Year 7 entry?

For most children, a gentle start in Year 5 is sensible. Begin with reading, vocabulary, writing and secure maths, then become more specific once the school publishes the assessment details.

What subjects are tested for Lady Eleanor Holles School Year 7 entry?

They were not confirmed in the official sources I could verify for 2028 entry. Check the school’s admissions page for the published assessment details for your daughter’s cohort.

How many hours a week should Year 5 preparation take?

Usually 1 to 3 hours a week in Year 5 is enough, rising gradually later if your child is coping well. Consistency matters more than long sessions.

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Sources

Lady Eleanor Holles School website: The school is an independent girls’ day school; it offers entry points at Year 3, Year 7 and Sixth Form; it emphasises continuity from age 7 without the pressure of the 11+; it welcomes families from across Surrey, Berkshire and the surrounding area.

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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.