How to prepare for the Leehurst Swan School 11+

Exam format not yet verified. We have not confirmed this school's exam board or paper format from an official source. Where this guide describes the test, treat it as a working assumption and check the school's admissions page before relying on it.

The exam at a glance

For September 2028 entry to Year 7, Leehurst Swan School uses its own entrance assessment. the working assumption for this guide, not yet verified with the school, is a GL Assessment-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, so preparation needs to be broad rather than focused on just one subject.

The school’s admissions information explains that most applicants are invited to a taster or assessment day, and that children applying for Year 7 sit the school’s entrance assessment as part of the admissions process. The school welcomes applications at different points in the year, including mid-year entry, so families should expect a process that is a little more individual than a large local-authority grammar test.

What does that mean in practice for your child? Usually, a school-run assessment day involves some combination of:

a formal test session for the entrance paper
time in school with staff and pupils
possibly a chance to meet key pastoral or academic staff
for some families, a visit such as an open morning before or after assessment

The school page does not publish the exact timing of each test section or confirm whether the assessment is taken on paper or on screen. Because of that, the safest preparation is to build steady accuracy across all four subjects, and to make sure your child is comfortable working under standard timed conditions.

In other words, think of Leehurst Swan’s Year 7 assessment as a balanced, school-run 11+: good arithmetic and problem-solving in Maths, secure comprehension and writing basics in English, and familiarity with the common GL-style patterns used in Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Registration and key dates

Leehurst Swan School does not present Year 7 entry in the same way as a grammar-school local authority process. Applications are handled by the school, not by a consortium or council test portal. The admissions page says the school welcomes applications at any point, including mid-year, and that prospective families can make contact directly with the admissions team.

For Year 7 entry, the school says children sit an entrance assessment and that most applicants attend a taster or assessment day. The published admissions information does not give a fixed annual registration opening date, a single national-style deadline, or a stated test date for Year 7 entry on the pages reviewed. It also does not publish a set results day in the way many grammar schools do.

What parents should do:

Start with the school’s admissions page: /schools/leehurst-swan-school is a helpful overview, but always confirm details with the school directly.
Contact the admissions team early in Year 5 or at the start of Year 6 if you are targeting September 2028 entry.
Ask specifically about the assessment date or assessment window, what paperwork is needed, and when decisions are usually made.
If possible, attend one of the school’s published events. The school says it holds Open Mornings in the Autumn and Spring and an Open Evening in the Summer.

Because the school welcomes applications throughout the year, there may not be one single date that suits every family. That can be helpful, but it also means parents need to be more proactive than they would be for a tightly timetabled grammar-school application.

If you want reminders when the school updates its admissions information, you can use Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=leehurst-swan-school.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Leehurst Swan School is an independent day school for children aged 4 to 16. It does not operate a state-school catchment model, and the admissions information reviewed does not describe any postcode-based priority area or distance rule for Year 7 entry. In practical terms, families can apply from inside or outside Salisbury, provided they are seeking a fee-paying place and the school can offer one.

The school states that it welcomes applications at any point, including mid-year. That is useful for families relocating or considering a move from the maintained sector, but for Year 7 entry it is still wise to enquire early so there is time for visits, assessment and any follow-up steps.

Fees are an important part of admissions planning for independent schools. For the school year 2026–2027, the published fees are:

Year group	Per term	Annual
Year 7	£7,626	£22,878
Years 9–11	£7,973	£23,919

The fees page says these figures are inclusive of VAT. If you are applying for 2028 entry, treat these as a guide to current costs rather than assuming the same figures will apply then.

The pages reviewed did not publish a fixed number of Year 7 places, nor a published pass mark or score threshold for the entrance assessment. If you need that information, check directly with the school: if a school does not publish a score or cut-off, it is best not to rely on rumours or forum posts.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because Leehurst Swan’s Year 7 assessment is broad, the best plan is one that starts calmly and builds consistency. For most Year 5 children, short and regular sessions work better than long, tiring ones.

January to March in Year 5

Keep preparation light: around 1 to 2 hours a week in total, split into short sessions. Focus on core skills rather than test pressure.

Maths: secure number facts, the four operations, fractions, decimals and word problems.
English: reading comprehension, vocabulary growth, spelling patterns and clear sentence writing.
Verbal Reasoning: simple code, letter and vocabulary tasks.
Non-Verbal Reasoning: patterns, shapes, rotations and visual sequences.

This is also a good point to look at the school’s admissions page and note any open events.

April to June in Year 5

Move to about 2 to 3 hours a week. Begin introducing short timed sections, but keep most work untimed so your child can learn methods properly.

Build a weekly routine with all four subjects.
Use one day for Maths, one for English, one for reasoning, and one short mixed review.
Start keeping an error log: what went wrong, why, and how to avoid it next time.

If the family is seriously considering Leehurst Swan, this is a sensible time to arrange a visit or make an early admissions enquiry.

July to August before Year 6

Summer is where many families either overdo it or stop completely. A middle course works best: around 2 to 4 hours a week, with breaks for holidays and rest.

Do one mixed paper or several short mixed sections each week.
Practise timing gently, especially moving on from difficult questions.
Keep reading every day: fiction, non-fiction and discussion of vocabulary.
Revise arithmetic fluency so Maths feels automatic.

By the end of the summer, your child should have seen the main GL-style question types across all four subjects, even if they are not yet quick at them.

September in Year 6

This is the month to sharpen technique. Aim for 4 to 5 hours a week, but keep sessions short and purposeful.

Use timed sections regularly.
Practise switching between subjects without stress.
Review instructions carefully, as many avoidable marks are lost through rushing.
If the school offers an assessment day date, work backwards from it and taper in the final week.

Timed papers should now be a normal part of the routine, but not the only part. Keep teaching, reviewing and correcting.

The final two weeks

Reduce the volume slightly and focus on confidence.

One or two well-chosen timed papers are enough.
Review common mistakes and strategy.
Prioritise sleep, routine and calm.
Avoid introducing brand-new, difficult material at the last minute.

The goal is not perfection in every area; it is a child who is settled, familiar with the format and able to show what they know.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For a GL-style independent school paper, Maths preparation should cover arithmetic fluency and problem-solving. Typical areas to practise include the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, time, measure, geometry, data handling and multi-step word problems.

Useful habits include:

quick recall of number facts and tables
showing working clearly
checking whether an answer is sensible
spotting the operation needed in a word problem

Leehurst Swan is looking for secure Year 5 understanding and the ability to apply it calmly under time pressure.

English

English practice should be split between reading and writing basics. In GL-style work, comprehension often tests literal understanding, inference, vocabulary in context, tone and the ability to find evidence from a passage. Independent school assessments may also look at spelling, punctuation, grammar and clear written expression.

Read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction.
Discuss unfamiliar words rather than simply memorising lists.
Practise short written answers that are accurate and to the point.
Revise punctuation, sentence boundaries and paragraphing.

Children often improve fastest in English when reading is frequent and enjoyable rather than treated only as a test task.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning in a GL-style format usually rewards familiarity. Children tend to do better once they recognise the recurring task types and have dependable methods. Practice commonly includes letter sequences, codes, analogies, odd-one-out, word relationships, number-letter links and vocabulary-based tasks.

Teach one question type at a time first.
Build vocabulary steadily.
Practise accurate transfer of answers, especially under time pressure.
Encourage skipping and returning if a question is taking too long.

This subject often feels hard at first, then improves quickly with pattern recognition and repetition.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning tests visual logic rather than curriculum knowledge. In GL-style papers, children may meet shape sequences, rotations, reflections, codes, symmetry, matrices and “find the missing part” style tasks.

Work through patterns slowly before trying to speed up.
Use precise language: rotate, reflect, shade, count sides, count shapes.
Teach children to compare answer options methodically.
Mix easy and harder pattern types so confidence stays steady.

Because this area is less familiar in primary classrooms, regular exposure makes a real difference.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used as a teaching tool, not just as a score generator. For Leehurst Swan, balanced preparation matters because the assessment covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Start with short sections by subject. Once your child understands the common question types, move gradually to mixed and timed work. After every paper, spend at least as long reviewing as you spent completing it.

A good review should ask:

Was this a knowledge gap, a timing issue or a careless mistake?
Did my child misunderstand the instructions?
Are there certain question types that keep recurring?
Is stamina becoming an issue when subjects are combined?

For free familiarisation and at-home practice, use Free Leehurst Swan School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/leehurst-swan-school-mock-tests.

For a quick overview of the school’s admissions and exam format, see The Leehurst Swan School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/leehurst-swan-school.

If your child finds assessments stressful, mock exams can help, but only if used carefully. One or two realistic practice experiences are usually enough. Too many mocks can dent confidence and turn normal nerves into test fatigue. The aim is familiarity: sitting still, managing time, and recovering after a difficult section.

Try to keep one paper each month in reserve for confidence-building close to the assessment period, rather than using everything too early.

On the day

If your child is attending an assessment or taster day at Leehurst Swan, the best approach is practical and calm.

Check the time, location and any instructions from the school the day before.
Prepare uniform or clothing, stationery if requested, and anything else the school has asked for.
Allow extra travel time so the morning does not begin in a rush.
Offer a normal breakfast and plenty of water.
Avoid last-minute cramming on the way there.

What children most need to hear is simple:

read the instructions carefully
if one question is hard, move on and come back
keep an eye on time, but do not panic
do your best on every section

If the day includes time in class or meeting staff, remind your child that the school is also getting to know them as a person. Good manners, listening well and joining in naturally all help. They do not need to perform; they simply need to arrive settled and ready.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For an independent school such as Leehurst Swan, the post-exam process is usually more direct than the state grammar-school system. Instead of waiting for a local authority allocation day, families normally hear from the school itself after the assessment process is complete.

However, the admissions pages reviewed do not publish a fixed results day or a formal appeals timetable for Year 7 entrance assessment decisions. That means parents should ask the admissions team:

when decisions are usually communicated after assessment
whether offers are conditional on a school report or other information
what deadline applies for accepting an offer
whether there is a waiting list if places are full

Because Leehurst Swan is an independent fee-paying school, the process is not the same as a statutory local-authority school appeal. If a place is not offered, the sensible next step is to ask courteously whether there is any scope for review, a waiting list, or later reconsideration if circumstances change.

If you are considering both independent and state options, keep a clear note of separate deadlines. The independent-school timeline may not line up neatly with local authority secondary transfer dates.

What has changed recently

From the official school pages reviewed, the main clearly published recent point is the current 2026–2027 fee schedule, including Year 7 and Years 9–11 fees stated as inclusive of VAT. Beyond that, the admissions pages reviewed did not publish an announced recent change to the Year 7 entrance assessment format, catchment rules or a newly introduced fixed test timetable.

the information in our directory (not yet verified with the school) for 2028 entry is that preparation should be balanced across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning using the school’s own paper in a GL-style format. If the school updates its Year 7 admissions arrangements for 2028, parents should rely on the school’s admissions page first and sign up for updates using /school-alerts?school=leehurst-swan-school.

Frequently asked questions

Does Leehurst Swan School have a catchment area for Year 7?

No catchment area is published on the admissions information reviewed. It is an independent fee-paying school, so families should apply directly to the school rather than through a postcode-based priority system.

What subjects are in the Leehurst Swan Year 7 entrance assessment?

For 2028 entry, the working assumption for this guide, not yet verified with the school, is a GL-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

When do I need to register for the Leehurst Swan 11+?

The school says it welcomes applications at any point, including mid-year, but the reviewed pages do not publish a fixed annual registration deadline for Year 7. Contact the admissions team directly for the current assessment timeline.

Does Leehurst Swan publish a pass mark?

No published pass mark or score threshold was found on the pages reviewed. If you want to know how the school makes offers, ask admissions directly.

Are there open events for prospective families?

Yes. The school says it holds Open Mornings in the Autumn and Spring, and an Open Evening in the Summer.

How should my child prepare for Leehurst Swan?

Use balanced preparation across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Short, regular practice and gradual timing work are usually better than intense last-minute cramming.

📄 Free Leehurst Swan School practice papers Start free and track readiness for Leehurst Swan School 🔔 Email me this school's key dates

Sources

Leehurst Swan School – Joining Leehurst: The school welcomes applications at any point including mid-year; most applicants attend a taster or assessment day; for Year 7 entry children sit the school’s entrance assessment; Open Mornings are held in the Autumn and Spring and an Open Evening in the Summer; applications are handled directly by
Leehurst Swan School – Fees: Year 7 fees are £7,626 per term and £22,878 annually; Years 9–11 fees are £7,973 per term and £23,919 annually; 2026–2027 fees are inclusive of VAT.
Leehurst Swan School – Home: Leehurst Swan School is an independent day school in Salisbury for children aged 4 to 16.

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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.