How to prepare for the Putney High School GDST 11+

The exam at a glance

Putney High School’s main Senior School entry point is 11+ for Year 7. For 2028 entry, the assessment is the school’s own paper and, based on the school’s admissions information and ElevenReady’s verified format data, the first stage tests Maths and English only.

The first stage is taken on a computer and is timed. That matters for preparation: children need practice reading carefully on screen, moving between questions calmly and working at a sensible pace, not just getting questions right when there is no time pressure.

Putney High School uses a two-stage admissions process. After the first-stage online assessment in English and Maths, shortlisted candidates are invited to a second stage. The school says this second stage is an Athena Assessment and interview.

In practical terms, families should expect the admissions journey to look something like this:

register with the school during Year 5;
sit the first-stage computer-based English and Maths assessment in the autumn of Year 6;
if shortlisted, attend the Athena Assessment and interview in January;
receive an offer decision in February.

Because Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not part of this test, preparation is best kept focused. Most children do better with steady work on strong comprehension, clear writing, secure arithmetic and confident problem-solving than with trying to cover every possible 11+ topic.

Registration and key dates

Registration is run by the school, not by a local authority consortium. Parents apply through Putney High School’s admissions process for Senior School entry.

The school says registration for 11+ opens from the start of the summer term of Year 5, the year before entry. For families aiming at September 2028 entry, that means registration would typically open in the summer term of Year 5 in 2027. As of today, the school’s full 2028 entry timetable may not yet be published, so parents should check the school’s admissions page regularly.

For the current published cycle mentioned in the school’s admissions information:

the application deadline is 3 November 2026;
the exam usually takes place in late November, with ElevenReady’s verified directory noting a typical date of 20 November 2026;
first-stage results are issued before Christmas 2026;
the Athena Assessment and interview take place on 13 January 2027 for shortlisted candidates;
offers are made in mid-February 2027.

The school charges a non-refundable application fee of £250, or £350 for overseas applications, inclusive of VAT.

If your child may also apply for a scholarship, there are separate assessment dates. For the published 2027 entry cycle, the school lists:

All-Rounder: 7 January 2027
Tennis: 12 January 2027
Gymnastics: 14 January 2027
Music auditions: 14 to 15 January 2027

What documents are needed can vary by school and by whether an application is from the UK or overseas. The safest approach is to begin on the school’s admissions page, complete the school’s registration form or portal carefully, and have any identity, school-report or supporting documents ready if requested.

For updates and a simple summary page, parents may also find these useful: The Putney High School GDST 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Putney High School is an independent girls’ school, so there is no local-authority catchment system in the same way there is for grammar schools. In the material reviewed, no geographic catchment priority was clearly published for 11+ entry. Parents should therefore treat catchment as not published unless the school states otherwise on its admissions page.

The school’s main Senior School entry point is 11+, and the process is selective. ElevenReady’s verified school data records competition at roughly nine applications for every place, which helps explain why a calm, focused preparation plan matters.

The school also offers Academic, Music and Sport scholarships at 11+ entry. Scholarship assessment sits alongside the main admissions process rather than replacing it, so families should be clear about the extra dates and any additional requirements.

When you read the admissions criteria, look carefully at three things:

whether your child must complete only the standard 11+ process or an additional scholarship process;
how the school shortlists from the first-stage test to the second-stage Athena Assessment and interview;
the school’s deadlines for accepting an offer and attending any offer-holder events.

If you are looking for a published number of Year 7 places or any priority categories, check the school’s own admissions pages first. If the school has not published a figure, it is better not to rely on forum estimates.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For most children applying to Putney High School, the best timetable is steady rather than intense. Because the test is in the autumn of Year 6 and only covers English and Maths, many families can make strong progress with modest weekly practice done consistently.

January to March of Year 5

Keep preparation light. Aim for 1 to 2 hours a week in total. Focus on reading quality fiction and non-fiction, discussing vocabulary, and making sure arithmetic facts are secure. In Maths, work on number fluency first; in English, encourage complete sentences, accurate punctuation and clear written expression.

April to June of Year 5

Increase to around 2 hours a week. Begin more purposeful comprehension practice and short creative or descriptive writing tasks. In Maths, add multi-step word problems and questions that require method as well as answer. If your child is not used to computer-based work, start doing some practice on screen.

July to August before Year 6

This is a good time to build routine without making summer feel like one long test-prep course. Aim for 2 to 3 hours a week, split across short sessions. Cover a broad spread of English and Maths, and start introducing timed sections in a gentle way. The goal is familiarity with pace, not pressure.

September of Year 6

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week. Now is the time for more regular timed practice. Continue revising core skills, but also teach exam habits: reading instructions carefully, skipping and returning where appropriate, and checking work efficiently on screen.

October of Year 6

This is usually the key month for consolidation. Keep to 4 hours a week if your child is coping well, but avoid endless papers. Use one well-chosen timed task in English and one in Maths each week, then spend more time reviewing errors than simply counting scores.

Early November of Year 6

Registration deadlines often fall around this point, so double-check admin as well as preparation. Keep practice steady at 3 to 4 hours a week. By now, most children should be doing timed computer-based work confidently, but sleep, sport and normal schoolwork should still stay in balance.

The final two weeks before the exam

Do not try to cram everything. Use short mixed practice, quick arithmetic refreshers, one or two final writing tasks and a small amount of timed screen work. In the last few days, reduce workload slightly so your child arrives fresh rather than over-rehearsed.

As a rough rule, start timed papers or timed sections in late Year 5 or over the summer before Year 6, once the underlying skills are reasonably secure. Starting full timed papers too early can make children rush before they understand what good work looks like.

Subject by subject: what to practise

English

At Putney High School, English preparation should centre on the kinds of skills selective independent schools commonly look for in their own papers: careful reading, precise understanding, thoughtful inference, strong vocabulary and clear written expression.

Useful areas to practise include:

Comprehension: retrieving information, explaining word choice, inferring character motives, summarising a passage and supporting ideas with evidence from the text;
Vocabulary in context: understanding unfamiliar words from clues around them;
Writing: planning quickly, staying on task, organising ideas into paragraphs and writing with accurate spelling and punctuation;
Sentence control: varying openings, joining ideas smoothly and writing clearly under time pressure.

For this school, it is wise to practise reading and answering on screen as well as on paper. Children often find it harder at first to keep track of details on a device, so build this skill gradually. Encourage your child to read the task twice, underline mentally or note key words, and leave a minute or two to check obvious errors in writing.

Good English preparation is not just worksheet practice. Regular reading, discussing books and articles, learning ambitious but usable vocabulary and writing little and often all make a difference.

Maths

For Maths, keep the focus on accuracy, method and pace. Independent-school Maths papers at 11+ often reward children who can apply secure basics to unfamiliar-looking problems, not just those who can race through routine sums.

Useful areas to practise include:

Arithmetic fluency: the four operations, place value, times tables and mental calculation;
Fractions, decimals and percentages: converting, comparing and solving simple problems;
Word problems: extracting the important information and choosing the right method;
Measures and geometry: perimeter, area, angles, shape properties and units;
Multi-step reasoning: showing clear working and checking whether an answer is sensible.

Because the assessment is timed and computer-based, children should also get used to entering answers accurately and staying calm if a question looks harder than expected. Teach them to move on sensibly rather than getting stuck. In review sessions, look for patterns: are mistakes caused by misunderstanding, weak arithmetic, rushing or not reading the whole question?

A strong preparation routine usually combines short fluency drills, mixed-topic practice and occasional timed sets. That gives children both confidence and flexibility.

Practice papers and mock exams

For Putney High School, practice works best when it is specific. Since the school tests only English and Maths, there is little value in spending months on Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning materials that do not match the assessment.

Start with familiarisation, then build towards timing:

first, make sure your child understands the style of each subject and can do untimed work accurately;
next, introduce short timed sections rather than full papers;
then, use full practice papers in realistic conditions, ideally on screen where possible;
after each paper, spend time reviewing mistakes and improving method.

Good mock use is about quality, not quantity. One carefully reviewed paper teaches more than three rushed ones. Ask:

Which question types slow my child down?
Are mistakes mostly in comprehension, writing structure, arithmetic or problem-solving?
Does my child lose marks through rushing, not understanding the task or weak checking?

ElevenReady’s school-specific resources are a sensible place to begin:

If you use external mock exams, choose ones that reflect an independent-school English and Maths profile and, ideally, some form of computer-based delivery. The aim is not to collect scores from lots of unrelated mocks, but to help your child become composed, accurate and efficient in the format she will actually face.

On the day

The most helpful thing a parent can do on exam day is make the morning feel organised and calm. Have everything ready the night before, leave in good time and avoid last-minute quizzing in the car or on the train.

Make sure your child has had enough sleep and a normal breakfast.
Check the school’s joining instructions carefully for arrival time and any ID or paperwork.
Dress comfortably within any instructions the school gives.
Arrive with time to spare so small delays do not raise stress levels.

For a computer-based assessment, remind your child of a few practical habits:

read every instruction slowly at the start;
keep an eye on the clock without panicking;
if a question feels difficult, move on and return if allowed;
check typed or entered answers carefully before submitting.

For English, encourage her to read the whole question before beginning. For Maths, remind her to spot the operation needed before calculating. If there is an interview or second-stage assessment later in the process, there is no need to prepare for that on the same day as the first test beyond being polite, alert and ready to listen.

Most children perform best when they feel the exam is important but manageable. A simple message helps: do your best, use your time well and let the paper show what you know.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

After the first-stage November assessment, Putney High School says first-stage results are issued before Christmas. Shortlisted candidates are then invited to the Athena Assessment and interview in January.

For the published 2027 entry cycle, that second stage takes place on 13 January 2027, and offers are made in mid-February 2027.

As an independent school, Putney High School does not follow the same National Offer Day system used by state secondary schools. Instead, the school communicates directly with families about shortlisting, second-stage assessments and final offers.

If your child is not offered a place, the next step is usually to ask politely whether there is a waiting list and what the school’s process is for remaining under consideration. Independent schools may also have their own complaints or review processes, but these are not the same as local-authority school admission appeals for maintained schools and academies. Always follow the school’s own published admissions and terms information.

If your child is offered a place, expect a deadline to accept and, in many cases, opportunities such as tours or taster events for offer holders. For the cycle described by the school, these offer-holder events take place in the week commencing 22 February 2027.

What has changed recently

From the sources reviewed and ElevenReady’s verified school data, the clearest recent point for parents is that Putney High School’s 11+ process is described as a two-stage route comprising an online Maths and English assessment followed by an Athena Assessment and interview for shortlisted candidates. The school also publishes specific scholarship assessment dates alongside the main process.

No separate recently announced change to the exam board, subject mix, catchment or number of places was clearly published in the material reviewed. Parents should therefore rely on the school’s current Senior Admissions page for the latest cycle details rather than assuming any unofficial changes.

Frequently asked questions

Does Putney High School 11+ include Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning?

No. For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified format information says Putney High School tests Maths and English only.

Is the Putney High School 11+ done on paper or on a computer?

It is computer-based. That means children should practise working accurately and calmly on screen, not only on paper.

Who runs the registration for Putney High School 11+?

The school runs its own registration process. Parents should apply directly through Putney High School’s admissions system.

When should we start preparing for the Putney High School 11+?

For most children, light preparation from Year 5 is enough at first, with more focused timed work from late Year 5 or the summer before Year 6. The key is consistency rather than very long hours.

How competitive is Putney High School 11+?

ElevenReady’s verified school data records around nine applications for every place. That makes focused preparation worthwhile, but it does not mean children need an extreme workload.

Are there scholarships at 11+ entry?

Yes. The school says it offers Academic, Music and Sport scholarships at 11+ entry, with separate assessment dates in the published admissions cycle.

Does Putney High School have a catchment area?

No catchment priority was clearly published in the material reviewed. As an independent school, it does not operate like a state grammar school catchment system, so check the school’s admissions page for the latest criteria.

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Sources

Putney High School GDST – Senior Admissions: Main Senior School entry is at 11+ into Year 7; two-stage admissions process; online Maths and English assessment; Athena Assessment and interview for shortlisted candidates; registrations open from the start of the summer term of Year 5; first-stage results before Christmas 2026; Athena Assessment
Putney High School GDST – School website: School identity and official website reference.

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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.