How to prepare for the Leicester High School for Girls 11+

The exam at a glance

Leicester High School for Girls is an independent girls’ day school for ages 3 to 18. For Senior School entry, the school says girls are assessed as part of its admissions process, and for Year 7 entry the entrance examination takes place in January.

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the assessment is set by the school and taken on computer. Official school material also makes clear that Year 7 applicants sit an entrance assessment and attend an interview, with a reference requested from the current school.

The tested areas for 2028 entry are English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Creative Writing. However, the school does not publicly set out a detailed paper-by-paper breakdown, timings or the exact order of the assessment day on the admissions page we found. Because this is a school-set assessment, parents should avoid assuming it will follow the structure of a national 11+ provider. The safest approach is to treat it as a broad independent-school entrance assessment and check the school’s admissions page for any updated familiarisation information.

In practical terms, families should expect the process to include:

registration with the school
an entrance assessment in January for Year 7 entry
an interview
a reference from the applicant’s current school

If your child is preparing for 2028 entry, it is sensible to build confidence across the full range of core skills rather than trying to second-guess a narrow paper format.

Registration and key dates

Applications are handled by the school, not by a local authority 11+ portal. Leicester High School for Girls’ admissions page invites families to register interest directly with the school and explains that girls may join at various points where places are available.

For Year 7 entry, the school’s published admissions information says the Senior School entrance examination takes place in January. A dated school page for 2026 entry stated that the entrance examination was scheduled for Thursday 8 January 2026. That gives parents a useful guide to the usual pattern, but it is not a confirmed 2028 test date.

The school also says there is no registration deadline, but encourages parents to register early because classes can fill up. That matters for planning: even though there may not be a fixed closing date, leaving it late is unwise.

A sensible way to think about the timeline is:

Registration: directly with Leicester High School for Girls via the admissions team and school website
Assessment timing: typically in January for Year 7 entry, based on the school’s published admissions information
Interview and reference: part of the admissions process
Induction: pupils joining in September are usually invited to an Induction Day in June before entry

The school’s admissions page does not set out a published list of required documents for Year 7 registration on the page we found. In practice, families should be ready for the school to ask for basic application details and the name of the child’s current school so that a reference can be requested.

For updates, parents should check the school’s admissions page regularly and sign up for alerts here: Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

You can also see ElevenReady’s summary here: The Leicester High School for Girls 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Leicester High School for Girls is an independent day school and the admissions information we found does not mention any catchment area. ElevenReady’s verified school data for this guide is that offers are made on a first-come, first-served basis where places are available.

That means the key admissions question is not distance from the school, but whether your daughter is suitable for the school and whether a place is still available in the year group.

The school welcomes applications to the Senior School and also says in-year admissions are possible where places exist. For Year 7 entry, families should expect the decision to be based on the school’s own assessment process rather than a published catchment rule or local authority ranking system.

We did not find a published Year 7 places figure, oversubscription statistic or admissions ratio on the official pages reviewed. If you want the latest availability picture, contact the admissions team directly through the school website and ask whether Year 7 applications for your intended entry year are open and whether places remain.

Because the school encourages early registration and notes that classes may fill up, applying in good time is especially important.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a January entrance assessment, most families do best with a calm, steady plan across Year 5 and the start of Year 6. You do not need marathon sessions. Regular practice, good reading habits and gradual familiarisation with reasoning and writing are usually more effective.

January to March in Year 5

Aim for 1 to 2 hours a week in total.
Build routine: short Maths practice, regular reading, and one light reasoning session each week.
Notice any gaps in arithmetic fluency, vocabulary or comprehension.
Start a vocabulary notebook and encourage full-sentence spoken answers about what she reads.

April to June in Year 5

Increase to 2 to 3 hours a week.
Add English comprehension and short creative writing tasks.
Introduce Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning in untimed format so your child learns methods without pressure.
Keep Maths mixed: arithmetic, problem solving and careful working.

Summer holiday before Year 6

Keep it steady at around 2 to 4 hours a week.
Use short, frequent sessions rather than long holiday blocks.
Read widely: classic children’s fiction, modern fiction, non-fiction and articles.
Begin occasional computer-based practice if possible, because the assessment is taken on computer.
Write one creative piece every week or two, focusing on planning, paragraphing and checking.

September in Year 6

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week.
Now start timed sections in small doses, especially for Maths and reasoning.
Review errors carefully: was it knowledge, speed, vocabulary or attention?
Practise typing or screen-based question handling if your child is not yet confident working on a computer.

October in Year 6

Keep 3 to 4 hours a week.
Use mixed practice across all tested areas.
Introduce short mock-style sessions with quick breaks in between.
For creative writing, practise planning in a few minutes, then writing to a clear structure.

November in Year 6

Work at 4 to 5 hours a week if your child is coping well.
Do one fuller timed paper or mixed mini-mock each week, then spend time reviewing it.
Keep one session each week entirely untimed to improve technique and confidence.
Continue reading every day, even if only for 15 to 20 minutes.

December in Year 6

Maintain quality rather than quantity: around 3 to 4 hours a week is enough for most children.
Focus on consolidation, not cramming.
Practise calm starts, careful reading of instructions and checking answers.
Over the holiday, keep work light and balanced with rest.

Early January

Use only light revision.
Review familiar question types, vocabulary and mental arithmetic.
Stop heavy practice the day before.
Prioritise sleep, routine and reassurance.

Subject by subject: what to practise

English

Focus on comprehension, vocabulary, inference and clear written expression. Practise reading a passage carefully, finding evidence, explaining word meanings in context and answering in full sentences where needed. To prepare well, use a mix of fiction and non-fiction and discuss why an author has chosen certain words or details.

Useful habits include summarising paragraphs, spotting tone, and identifying the difference between a literal answer and an inferred one. Accuracy matters too, so keep an eye on spelling, punctuation and sentence control.

Maths

Make sure core number skills are secure: the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, place value and mental arithmetic. Then build up problem solving, including multi-step questions where children need to choose the right method rather than simply calculate.

For an independent-school assessment, neat working and checking are important. Practise questions that involve interpreting information, spotting patterns and applying school-level Maths accurately under light time pressure.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning usually rewards strong vocabulary, careful reading and pattern recognition with words or letters. Practise common skills such as codes, sequences, relationships between words, letter patterns and selecting precise meanings.

Because the exact school-set format is not publicly detailed, the best preparation is broad rather than narrow. Build vocabulary steadily, encourage your child to explain how she reached an answer, and revisit any question types that rely on method.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning often tests how well a child can spot visual rules and patterns. Practise looking for changes in shape, position, rotation, reflection, shading and sequences. Encourage your child to slow down at first and describe what is changing before choosing an answer.

Accuracy usually improves when children learn to compare options systematically rather than guessing from first impressions.

Creative Writing

Creative Writing is best prepared through regular short tasks. Your child should practise planning quickly, writing with a clear beginning, middle and end, and leaving time to check. Strong writing for this age is not about using complicated words in every sentence; it is about clarity, control and a sense of purpose.

Useful practice includes descriptive openings, character snapshots, short narrative scenes and picture prompts. Encourage varied sentence openings, precise verbs, paragraphing and consistent tense. After writing, spend a few minutes editing for punctuation, spelling and awkward phrasing.

Practice papers and mock exams

Because Leicester High School for Girls uses its own assessment, practice works best when it is used to strengthen underlying skills rather than to chase a supposedly exact paper style.

A sensible routine is:

start with untimed practice to learn methods properly
move to short timed sections once confidence grows
review every mistake and sort it into knowledge, method, vocabulary or rushing
revisit weak areas the following week
use occasional mixed mocks to build stamina, but not every day

For computer-based preparation, include some work on screen. Your child does not need advanced technical skills, but she should be comfortable reading carefully on a screen, selecting answers accurately and staying calm without writing on every question.

Use these free ElevenReady resources:

If you use mock exams, treat them as a confidence-building rehearsal, not a verdict. One mock score does not predict an offer on its own, especially for a school-set assessment with interview and reference as part of the overall process.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for an unhurried start, a normal breakfast and plenty of time to travel. Children tend to do best when the day feels familiar and calm.

Check the arrangements from the school in advance.
Make sure your child knows where she is going and what will happen first.
Avoid last-minute teaching on the way there.
Bring any items the school has asked for and keep everything ready the night before.
Remind your child to read instructions slowly and ask if she is unsure about logistics.

Useful mindset reminders for your child:

start with the question in front of you, not the whole paper
if one question feels hard, stay calm and move on sensibly
check carefully rather than rushing to finish first
an interview is not a trick: it is a chance for the school to get to know you

Parents can help most by being matter-of-fact. Try not to frame the day as a huge test of the child’s future. For independent-school admissions, schools are usually looking for a good fit as well as academic readiness.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For Leicester High School for Girls, the process is different from grammar-school national offer systems. Applications are made directly to the school, and offers are made by the school itself rather than through a local authority secondary allocation process.

The official admissions information we reviewed confirms the assessment, interview and school reference as parts of the process, but it does not publish a standardised pass mark, a cut-off score or a fixed published results date for Year 7 entry. If you need the exact 2028 timeline for decisions, the best step is to ask the admissions team directly once registration is open.

If your daughter is offered a place, the school will explain the next steps, including accepting the offer and any joining arrangements. The school also says that pupils joining in September are usually invited to an Induction Day in June before entry.

If a place is not offered, ask politely whether there is a waiting list and whether any feedback is available. Independent schools do not always run appeals in the same way as state-school admissions, so any review or complaint route should be checked directly with the school.

What has changed recently

We found one clearly dated admissions detail on the school website stating that the Senior School entrance examination for 2026 entry was scheduled for Thursday 8 January 2026. The school’s broader admissions information continues to state that the Year 7 entrance examination takes place in January, that there is no registration deadline, and that early registration is advised because classes may fill up.

Beyond that, we did not find any officially announced recent change to the exam board, catchment, number of places or admissions rules on the pages reviewed. If the school publishes updated arrangements for 2028 entry, parents should rely on the admissions page first.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Leicester High School for Girls Year 7 entrance exam?

The school says the Senior School entrance examination takes place in January. A dated page showed Thursday 8 January 2026 for that entry cycle, but you should check the admissions page for the confirmed 2028 date.

Is there a registration deadline?

The school says there is no registration deadline, but it encourages early registration because classes may fill up. In practice, it is best not to leave an application late.

Does Leicester High School for Girls have a catchment area?

The admissions information reviewed does not mention any catchment area. This is an independent school, and availability of places matters more than distance-based priority.

What subjects should my child prepare for?

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Creative Writing. The school sets its own assessment, so focus on broad skills rather than assuming a national test format.

Is the test on paper or computer?

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the assessment is computer-based. It is worth including some screen-based practice in the months before the exam.

Does the school publish a pass mark?

We did not find a published pass mark or cut-off score on the official pages reviewed. If you want the latest admissions detail, contact the school directly through its admissions page.

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Sources

Leicester High School for Girls – Joining Us: School is an independent girls’ day school for ages 3 to 18; applications are handled by the school; Year 7 applicants sit an entrance examination, attend an interview and require a reference from their current school; Senior School entrance examination takes place in January; there is no registrati

Preparing for other schools in Leicester

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.