How to prepare for the Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School 11+

The exam at a glance

For 2028 entry, Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School uses its own admissions process. ElevenReady’s verified information for this school says families should prepare for a computer-based, timed assessment covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Because it is sat on screen, children should practise not only accuracy but also moving steadily through questions on a computer.

The school’s published admissions policy also says that, from November onwards, applicants are tested in English, and that the admissions process includes review of the child’s previous school report, exam or enrolment test results, and an interview for shortlisted students and parents. Taken together, that means parents should expect admissions to be a process rather than a single event: an application, an assessment stage, and then interviews for shortlisted families.

In practical terms, the day is likely to feel different from a traditional paper-based grammar school test. Children need to be comfortable reading carefully on screen, selecting answers neatly, and keeping calm under time pressure. A sensible preparation plan should therefore include:

regular short bursts of timed work rather than only long untimed papers;
practice across all four assessed areas, not just English and Maths;
screen-based work where possible, so your child gets used to concentration without writing everything by hand;
light interview preparation later in the process, once academic foundations are in place.

If the school publishes fuller test-day arrangements for 2028 entry nearer the time, use those as the final word. For now, the safest approach is balanced preparation across all four subjects with some computer-based practice built in each week.

Registration and key dates

Lantern of Knowledge runs its own admissions process. The school publishes an admission policy and an application form on its website, so parents should check the school site directly rather than waiting for a local authority 11+ portal.

For the current published process, the school states that applications must be submitted by the second week of November each year. It also says that from November onwards, applicants are tested in English, that interviews with shortlisted students and parents take place in December or January, and that offers will normally be given by the end of December each year.

The school also publishes an application administration fee of £40. The policy and application form should be your first check for any supporting documents needed, such as school reports or other information requested by the school as part of shortlisting.

Because you are preparing for September 2028 entry, it is important to treat these as the most recently published pattern unless and until the school updates its policy for the 2027–28 admissions round. In practice, that means families should expect to apply in the autumn of Year 6, with assessment from November onwards and interviews later in the winter.

Start checking the school admissions page from the beginning of September 2027.
Aim to have paperwork ready well before the second week of November.
Assume that any assessment or online English stage may follow shortly after application.
If shortlisted, be ready for a parent-and-child interview in December or January.

For updates, parents can use The Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School does not operate a catchment area in the way many state grammar schools do. The school’s admissions approach is based on its own published oversubscription priorities rather than distance-based eligibility.

ElevenReady’s verified information for this school says priority is given to:

Year 6 pupils attending feeder primary schools;
siblings of enrolled students;
sons or brothers of staff;
parents who are committed to the school’s aims, objectives and ethos.

The school’s own admissions policy also explains that admissions decisions can take account of the child’s previous school report, assessment outcomes and interview performance for shortlisted families. That means academic preparation matters, but so does being ready for the wider admissions process and understanding the school’s ethos.

As an independent school, Lantern of Knowledge is not part of the coordinated secondary allocation system in the same way as state schools. Parents should therefore read the school’s own policy carefully each year and follow its instructions directly.

We did not find a verified published figure for the number of Year 7 places for 2028 entry in the sources checked. If the school later publishes a year-group intake or admissions number, use the school’s admissions page as the authority.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child aiming for Year 7 entry in September 2028, the useful preparation window is usually from the start of Year 5 through to the autumn of Year 6. The goal is steady progress, not a frantic final term.

September to December in Year 5

Keep it light and regular: around 1 to 2 hours a week split into short sessions. Focus on fluent arithmetic, careful reading, vocabulary building and gentle reasoning work. At this stage, you are building habits rather than chasing scores.

Maths: secure number facts, written methods and problem solving.
English: reading comprehension, spelling patterns, grammar and sentence control.
Verbal Reasoning: word relationships, codes, letter patterns and vocabulary.
Non-Verbal Reasoning: shape sequences, rotations, mirrors and visual patterns.

January to April in Year 5

Increase to around 2 to 3 hours a week. Start mixing subjects within the week so your child learns to switch calmly between different question styles. Introduce short timed sets on screen, but keep most work teach-and-practise rather than test-and-mark.

Use one focused session for Maths.
Use one for English reading and written accuracy.
Use one mixed reasoning session covering both VR and NVR.

May to July in Year 5

Move towards 3 hours a week. This is a good time to identify weaker areas before Year 6 begins. Start doing occasional mini-mocks on a computer: not full papers every weekend, but short timed sections that build confidence with pace and screen reading.

If your child tires quickly on screen, practise concentration in short bursts and build up gradually.

Summer holiday before Year 6

Keep work steady but not overwhelming: around 2 to 3 hours a week. The priority is retention and confidence. Do a mixture of revision and one or two timed activities each week. Avoid turning the whole holiday into exam season.

Review key Maths methods.
Read daily.
Practise vocabulary little and often.
Keep reasoning familiar so it does not feel rusty in September.

September in Year 6

This is when preparation becomes more exam-specific. Plan for around 4 hours a week, spread over several sessions. Begin regular timed practice across all four subjects, ideally with some work completed on screen. Review mistakes carefully: a child improves fastest when they understand why an answer was wrong, rushed or misread.

October in Year 6

Continue at 4 to 5 hours a week if your child is coping well. Start doing fuller mixed practice so your child learns to reset between English, Maths and reasoning tasks. If interviews are part of the process, begin gentle conversation practice about school life, behaviour, interests and why the school appeals to your family.

November in Year 6

As the school says testing begins from November onwards, this is the point to reduce heavy new learning and focus on calm, sharp revision. In the final stretch:

prioritise sleep and routine;
do shorter timed refreshers rather than exhausting marathon papers;
practise logging in, reading carefully on screen and moving on from difficult questions;
keep interview practice relaxed and natural.

Timed full papers usually make sense only once your child is secure in the basics. For most children, that means introducing them gradually in the second half of Year 5 and using them more regularly from September of Year 6.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

Build strong Key Stage 2 fluency first: the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, perimeter, area and straightforward data handling. Then add timed problem solving, because computer-based tests can reward children who can interpret questions quickly and choose an efficient method.

Useful practice includes:

mental arithmetic under time pressure;
multi-step word problems;
fraction-decimal-percentage conversions;
working accurately when no marks are awarded for method.

When practising on screen, encourage your child to note key numbers clearly on rough paper and check that they have clicked the answer they intended.

English

The school’s own policy specifically refers to testing in English, so this is an area to take seriously. Preparation should cover reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, spelling and precise written expression where relevant.

Useful practice includes:

short comprehension passages with retrieval and inference questions;
finding evidence in a text;
grammar accuracy, including tense, agreement and punctuation;
vocabulary building through regular reading and discussion.

Because some admissions processes use online English tasks, children should be comfortable reading substantial passages on screen without losing concentration.

Verbal Reasoning

For verbal reasoning, practise the common underlying skills rather than memorising a single narrow question type. Children need confidence with patterns in letters and words, coded relationships, sequences, vocabulary and careful instruction-following.

letter and number codes;
word relationships and classifications;
alphabet-based patterns;
finding rules quickly and checking exceptions.

The biggest gains usually come from two things: better vocabulary and fewer avoidable mistakes. Encourage your child to slow down just enough to read instructions properly.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-verbal reasoning often feels unfamiliar at first, but it becomes much easier once children learn the main visual patterns. Practise shape analogies, sequences, rotations, reflections, symmetry, hidden shapes and odd-one-out style tasks.

spotting what changes from one figure to the next;
tracking position, size, shading and rotation;
eliminating unlikely answers methodically;
working at speed without guessing wildly.

On a computer, children should get used to viewing shapes on screen and comparing options carefully. If your child is strong in Maths but weaker in NVR, do little-and-often visual practice rather than occasional long sessions.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers work best when they are used as a teaching tool, not just a score generator. For this school, that matters especially because the assessment is computer-based and covers four different subject areas.

A sensible approach is:

learn a topic or question type first;
practise a short set untimed;
repeat it with light timing;
only then move to fuller timed papers.

After each paper, spend as much time reviewing as you did completing it. Ask:

Was the mistake a knowledge gap, a rushed click, or a misunderstood instruction?
Did your child run out of time because the work was too hard, or because they lingered too long?
Which subject is improving least quickly and needs more weekly attention?

Because Lantern of Knowledge uses a computer-based format, it is worth recreating exam conditions at home where possible: screen in front, rough paper beside, timed sections, and no interruptions.

Useful next steps:

If you book a mock elsewhere, choose one that reflects a mixed-subject, timed, screen-based experience as closely as possible. A mock is most useful when it builds familiarity and reveals weak areas early enough to fix them.

On the day

Keep the day calm and ordinary. Children usually perform best when the routine feels predictable.

Prepare clothes, route and any documents the night before.
Allow plenty of travel time so there is no rushed arrival.
Give a familiar breakfast, not a “special” one that may unsettle them.
Remind your child that one difficult question does not mean the whole test is going badly.
Encourage them to read carefully, answer steadily and move on if stuck.

For a computer-based assessment, it also helps to remind your child to:

watch for skipped items;
check that they have clicked the answer they meant to choose;
use rough paper neatly for Maths working;
stay composed if the screen format feels different from home practice.

If there is an interview later in the process, treat it as a conversation rather than a performance. The aim is for your child to come across as polite, thoughtful and ready for secondary school, not rehearsed.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For Lantern of Knowledge, the post-exam process is set by the school rather than by a grammar school consortium. The school’s published policy says that, after application, testing begins from November onwards, shortlisted students and parents are interviewed in December or January, and offers are normally made by the end of December each year.

That means families should be ready for three stages after applying:

assessment;
possible shortlisting and interview;
offer or non-offer from the school.

The school also says that previous school reports and exam or enrolment test results form part of the admissions process, so outcomes are not presented as a single published pass mark in the way some selective state schools operate.

We did not find a published appeals timetable or a separately stated ranking score for Year 7 entry in the sources checked. If you need to challenge a decision or clarify the next step after an outcome, contact the school directly and refer to the latest admissions policy on the school website.

What has changed recently

In the sources checked, we did not find an officially announced recent change to Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School’s admissions board, catchment model or testing structure for the last two years beyond the currently published admissions process on the school website. Parents should still check the school’s admissions page each autumn, as independent schools can update policies for the next intake.

Frequently asked questions

Does Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School have a catchment area?

No. ElevenReady’s verified information for this school says it has no catchment area and instead uses published priority criteria such as feeder schools, siblings, staff connections and commitment to the school’s ethos.

What subjects should my child prepare for?

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified format is Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Preparation should be balanced across all four.

Is the test on paper or computer?

ElevenReady’s verified information says the assessment is computer-based. It is worth including timed screen practice in your child’s preparation.

When do applications close?

The school’s admissions policy says applications must be submitted by the second week of November each year. Check the school website in autumn 2027 for the exact arrangements for 2028 entry.

Is there an application fee?

Yes. The school’s application form states an application administration fee of £40.

Does the school interview parents and children?

Yes, for shortlisted applicants. The school says interviews with shortlisted students and parents take place in December or January.

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Sources

Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School Admission Policy: Applications must be submitted by the second week of November each year; from November onwards applicants are tested in English; interviews with shortlisted students and parents take place in December/January; offers of places will normally be given by the end of December each year; admissions proce
Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School website: School identity and context as an independent Islamic boys secondary school in London; admissions information is provided on the school website.

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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.