The exam at a glance
For Year 7 entry at Portsmouth High School GDST, the entrance assessment is the school’s own paper rather than a consortium or grammar-school style test. For 2028 entry, the assessment focuses on Maths and English only, and it is paper based.
That matters for preparation. Because there is no Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning in the assessed subjects for this entry route, families can keep preparation narrower and steadier: secure arithmetic and problem solving in Maths, and strong reading, comprehension and writing in English.
The school’s admissions information for senior entry explains the broad shape of the process rather than publishing a detailed minute-by-minute test specification. It says that girls applying for Year 7 are invited to an entrance examination in November of the year before entry, and that Year 7 experience days are offered in October. In practice, that means your child is likely to see the school before the exam and then sit written assessments later in the autumn term of Year 6.
Because the papers are school-set, it is sensible to expect questions that feel close to mainstream Key Stage 2 work but pitched for selective independent-school entry: accurate core skills, careful reading, neat method, clear written expression and the ability to think under time pressure.
- Board: school’s own paper
- Subjects: Maths and English
- Delivery: paper based
- Likely timing in the year: experience day in October, entrance examination in November of Year 6
- What the day looks like: a school-run assessment day rather than a standardised national test session
If you want a quick overview alongside this guide, ElevenReady’s school page is here: The Portsmouth High School GDST 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).
Registration and key dates
Portsmouth High School runs its own admissions process for Year 7 entry. The school’s senior admissions page says families should submit an application online. It also states that applications are accepted at any time, which is helpful if you are planning ahead for 2028 entry.
For Year 7, the school says girls are invited to a Year 7 experience day in October of the year before entry, and that entrance examinations take place in November of the year before entry. The school page currently shows booking open for entrance examinations held on 21 November 2026 for the following year’s intake. As 2028-specific dates were not published on the pages reviewed, the safest way to phrase this for 2028 entry is that the exam is typically in November, with the most recently published example on 21 November 2026.
The same page also says that once all elements of the admissions process are complete, offers are made and should be accepted by early March, with the exact date advised by the school. That gives families a useful planning window even when the next cycle’s exact dates are not yet live.
The school publishes one fee clearly: a non-refundable £60 application fee, inclusive of VAT, for each child’s application.
In practical terms, your checklist is:
- Complete the school’s online application form.
- Pay the application fee.
- Book or respond to invitations for the Year 7 experience day and entrance examination when the school opens that cycle.
- Check whether the school asks for school reports or any other supporting information as part of the individual application process.
- Watch for the school’s offer and acceptance timetable in the spring term.
Because schools can update dates each year, it is worth checking the school’s admissions page regularly and signing up for reminders here: Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
| Stage | What the school says |
| Application | Applications accepted at any time via the school’s online form |
| Experience day | Typically in October of the year before entry |
| Entrance exam | Typically in November of the year before entry; most recently published example reviewed was 21 November 2026 |
| Offers | Made after all elements are complete |
| Acceptance | By early March, exact date advised by the school |
If you want to compare this article with a shorter school summary, see The Portsmouth High School GDST 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
Portsmouth High School GDST is an independent girls’ school for ages 3 to 18, with the senior school and sixth form in Southsea. For Year 7 entry, the admissions route is not based on a grammar-school catchment map or local authority ranking system.
From the admissions information reviewed, there is no published catchment policy. Families should therefore think of eligibility in straightforward terms: if your daughter is applying for a Year 7 place, you apply directly to the school and follow the school’s own assessment process.
The school also highlights financial support and awards. Its admissions information refers to bursaries and to scholarships for art, drama, music and sport for Year 7 entry. For many families, this is one of the most important parts of the process to research early, because award applications can have their own forms, evidence requirements or assessment steps.
The school pages reviewed did not publish a fixed number of Year 7 places for the entry cycle, nor a published cut-off score. Independent schools commonly keep that flexible, balancing assessment performance with the number of spaces available in that year group. If you want the most current picture of likely availability, the best next step is to speak directly to the admissions team.
In short:
- Catchment: none stated on the admissions pages reviewed
- Who applies: girls seeking Year 7 entry who complete the school’s own application and assessment process
- Additional opportunities: scholarships in art, drama, music and sport; bursaries are also available
- Competition: the school does not publish a pass mark, and bursaries may be particularly competitive
A month-by-month preparation plan
For a child aiming for a November exam in Year 6, the most comfortable approach is usually to build steadily through Year 5 and the summer, rather than cramming in autumn. Because Portsmouth High School tests only Maths and English, you can spend your time on a smaller number of areas and do them properly.
January to March of Year 5
Keep it light. Around 1 to 2 hours a week in total is enough for most children at this stage. Focus on reading fluency, arithmetic accuracy and writing stamina. In Maths, check times tables, written methods and basic fractions. In English, read widely, talk about vocabulary and make sure your child can write a clear paragraph with sensible punctuation.
April to June of Year 5
Move to 2 to 3 hours a week. Start short, focused tasks: one comprehension each week, one piece of writing every fortnight, and two or three Maths sessions covering arithmetic plus worded problems. This is also a good moment to spot any genuine gaps and fix them early.
July to August before Year 6
Keep momentum without making summer feel like school. Aim for 2 to 4 hours a week, spread across several short sessions. Read every day, revise core Maths topics, and begin using a small number of timed sections rather than full papers. If your child tires quickly, do half-papers or single sections first.
September of Year 6
Increase to 3 to 4 hours a week. Now is the right time to introduce more formal timed practice. Alternate between Maths and English so that no week becomes too writing-heavy. After each piece of work, spend time reviewing mistakes; this matters more than the number of papers completed.
October of Year 6
Stay at roughly 4 hours a week, but keep sessions calm and regular. If the school offers a Year 7 experience day in October, treat it as useful orientation rather than a performance test. In preparation, make sure your child can settle quickly, listen to instructions and work neatly under timed conditions.
November of Year 6, up to the exam
Do not overdo it. Two solid weeks of structured practice are plenty, followed by a lighter final week. Complete one or two full timed papers in each subject if your child is ready, then switch to confidence-building revision: arithmetic accuracy, comprehension technique, planning a short piece of writing and checking work carefully.
When to start timed papers
For most children, start with short timed sections in the summer before Year 6, then move to fuller papers from September. If your child is naturally anxious, delay full papers until they are secure on the content. Speed built on weak foundations rarely helps.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For a school-set independent-school paper, expect Maths to reward secure Key Stage 2 knowledge used accurately and calmly. Practise the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio at a simple level, measures, time, shape and straightforward data handling. Worded problems matter because they test whether a child can choose the right method rather than just perform a calculation.
A good routine is to mix core fluency with applied problem solving. One session might be arithmetic only; the next might focus on multi-step problems and checking whether an answer is sensible. Encourage neat layout, full workings and rereading the question before moving on.
- Daily or near-daily arithmetic practice in short bursts
- Regular word problems with underline-the-key-information habits
- Method marks practice: show steps clearly
- Mental maths for confidence and pace
- Checking strategies, especially for time, money and fractions
English
English preparation should cover both reading and writing. In comprehension, children often need to retrieve information accurately, explain word meanings from context, infer feelings or motives and support answers with evidence from the passage. Encourage precise answers rather than vague comments.
For writing, focus on structure, clarity and control. A child aiming for selective independent-school entry should be comfortable planning briefly, writing in paragraphs, varying sentence openings, choosing vocabulary carefully and checking punctuation at the end. Spelling accuracy still matters, especially with common words that should be secure by Year 6.
- Read fiction and non-fiction regularly, discussing tone, vocabulary and viewpoint
- Practise short comprehension tasks before moving to longer passages
- Write both creative and discursive pieces
- Spend time on planning, not just writing
- Build editing habits: capitals, full stops, commas, verb tense and paragraphing
Because there is no Reasoning paper to spread preparation across, it is worth going deeper in these two subjects: not just completing tasks, but reviewing what makes an answer strong.
Practice papers and mock exams
Use practice papers as a tool for diagnosis, not as a weekly test of worth. The best rhythm is usually:
- Teach or revise a topic first.
- Try a few untimed questions.
- Move to a short timed section.
- Mark it carefully and note patterns in mistakes.
- Revisit weak areas before the next paper.
For Portsmouth High School GDST, that means choosing materials that reflect Maths and English rather than spending time on Verbal or Non-Verbal Reasoning. Since this school uses its own papers, no external practice set will be identical, so variety helps: comprehension from different styles of text, writing tasks with different prompts, and Maths papers mixing fluency with problem solving.
Mock exams can be helpful in early autumn of Year 6 if your child tends to freeze in formal settings. The aim is not to chase scores but to make the experience familiar: sitting still, listening to instructions, turning pages carefully and managing time.
ElevenReady has school-specific resources here:
- Free Portsmouth High School GDST practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers)
- The Portsmouth High School GDST 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates)
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates
Two practical tips make a big difference. First, keep a simple error log with headings such as arithmetic slips, misunderstood vocabulary, rushed reading and weak checking. Second, stop a session while your child still has energy. Consistency beats marathon weekends.
On the day
Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, comfortable uniform or clothes if advised by the school, two sharp pencils, a rubber, a ruler and anything else named in the joining instructions. Pack the bag the night before so nothing feels hurried.
Arrive with time to spare. A rushed start can make even a well-prepared child feel unsettled. If your daughter is attending an assessment day at an unfamiliar site, talk through the plan in advance: where you will go, who will meet her, and what will happen when the paper starts.
Helpful reminders for children are usually short:
- Listen carefully to instructions at the start.
- Read each question twice before answering.
- Show workings in Maths.
- Leave a tricky question and come back if needed.
- Check spellings, punctuation and missed words in English.
- Do not panic if one section feels hard; others may suit you better.
After the exam, try not to conduct a full post-mortem in the car home. Most children feel better if the day is treated as finished once it is done.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
Independent-school admissions do not follow the same national offer-day process as state grammar schools. For Portsmouth High School, the admissions page says that after all elements of the process are complete, offers are made by the school, and families are asked to accept by early March, with the exact date advised in that cycle.
The school page reviewed did not publish a separate results date for the written examination alone. In practice, families should expect communication directly from the admissions team once assessment and any related steps are complete.
If your daughter is not offered a place, the sensible next questions are whether a waiting list is kept and whether there is any review or appeal route within the school’s admissions process. Independent schools often handle these matters directly rather than through the statutory school-admission appeal system used in the state sector, so it is important to ask the school about its own procedure.
If you are applying for bursaries or scholarships, expect those decisions to be tied closely to the school’s wider admissions timetable. Make sure you read any award-specific information carefully, as deadlines and supporting evidence can differ from the main application.
What has changed recently
From the official pages reviewed, the clearest current published information is that the school is taking bookings for entrance examinations on 21 November 2026 for the next admissions cycle, while continuing to describe the general pattern of October experience days and November entrance examinations for Year 7. We did not find an official announcement of a recent change to the exam board, subjects tested, catchment policy or number of places on the pages reviewed.
If the school publishes a new 2028 admissions calendar, scholarship process or assessment detail later on, parents should treat the school’s own admissions page as the first point of reference.
Frequently asked questions
Does Portsmouth High School GDST test Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning?
No. For 2028 entry, the assessment is in Maths and English only, using the school’s own papers.
Is the Portsmouth High School Year 7 exam computer based?
No. The assessment for this entry route is paper based.
When is the Portsmouth High School entrance exam usually held?
The school says Year 7 entrance examinations take place in November of the year before entry. The most recent published example reviewed was 21 November 2026.
Is there a catchment area for Portsmouth High School GDST?
No catchment policy was stated on the admissions pages reviewed. Families apply directly to the school through its own admissions process.
How much is the application fee?
The school states that the application fee is £60 and that it is non-refundable and inclusive of VAT.
Are scholarships or bursaries available for Year 7?
Yes. The school mentions bursaries and scholarships for art, drama, music and sport for Year 7 entry.
Sources
- Portsmouth High School GDST – Apply for Senior School: School runs its own Year 7 admissions process; applications are accepted at any time; apply online; Year 7 experience days are offered in October of the year prior to entry; entrance examinations take place in November of the year before entry; booking was open for entrance examinations held on 21 N
- Portsmouth High School GDST – Home: School identity as an independent girls’ school for ages 3 to 18; school website reference for Portsmouth High School GDST.
Preparing for other schools in Portsmouth
- Madani Academy · practice papers
- Mayville High School · practice papers
- The Portsmouth Grammar School · practice papers
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.