How to prepare for Queen's College, London 11+

The exam at a glance

Queen’s College, London is an independent day school for girls aged 11–18 and says it is a member of the London 11+ Consortium. For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the school uses a consortium-set 11+ paper.

For parents preparing now, the safest assumption is to build steady skills across all four core areas: English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The school and consortium materials should be checked each year for the exact paper mix and any format updates.

At 11+, Queen’s College also includes an interview stage after the entrance examination. In practice, that means preparation should cover both written work and the softer skills needed for a calm, thoughtful interview.

What does the day usually look like? For independent school 11+ assessments in a consortium model, families should expect an organised exam session at the school or another named venue, followed later by interviews for shortlisted candidates. Because delivery details for 2028 entry are not yet published in the material reviewed, it is best to treat the school’s admissions page as the final authority once the new cycle opens.

School type: independent day school for girls
Entry point covered here: 11+ for Year 7 entry in September 2028
Exam route: London 11+ Consortium shared paper
Subjects to prepare: English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning
Further stage: interview for selected candidates

A sensible approach is to prepare broadly, keep an eye on the school’s own admissions page, and avoid over-specialising too early before the published details for your daughter’s cohort appear.

Registration and key dates

Queen’s College handles its own admissions through its online admissions system. The school’s admissions page links parents to an online application form and explains the general sequence: application, entrance assessment, interview and then offers.

For the cycle relevant to families applying now, the school has published specific dates for 11+ entry in September 2027. These are useful as a guide to the likely rhythm of the year for 2028 entry, but parents should treat them as last year’s pattern until the school confirms the new dates.

Stage	Timing from the school’s published 2027-entry information
Open events	Autumn term dates were listed on 29 September 2026, 10 October 2026 and 13 October 2026
Online application deadline	Friday 6 November 2026
Examination entrance form deadline	Monday 9 November 2026
Entrance assessment sittings	Friday 27 November 2026, Tuesday 1 December 2026 or Thursday 3 December 2026
Interviews	4–7 January 2027
Offers sent	Friday 12 February 2027
Acceptance deadline	Wednesday 3 March 2027 at 12pm

For 2028 entry, the exact dates were not published on the pages reviewed at the time of writing. Based on the school’s published 2027-entry schedule, families should expect the process to usually open in the autumn, with the application deadline typically in early November, exam sittings usually in late November or early December, interviews in January and offers in February.

How to register:

Visit the Queen’s College admissions page.
Use the school’s online admissions portal/application link.
Complete the application by the published deadline.
Submit any additional exam form the school asks for.
Watch for assessment and interview information from the admissions team.

The admissions pages reviewed do not set out a universal document checklist for every applicant, so keep an eye on the portal and confirmation emails for anything specific the school requests.

Useful next steps for parents:

Bookmark the school’s admissions page and check it regularly.
Read ElevenReady’s The Queen's College, London 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).
Sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates so you do not miss the application window.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Queen’s College is an independent school and the admissions information reviewed does not describe any geographical catchment area for 11+ entry. For parents, that usually means there is no state-style catchment rule; instead, entry is based on the school’s own admissions process.

The school’s admissions pages explain that girls applying for 11+ sit the entrance assessment and that selected candidates are invited to interview. Offers are then made by the school following its assessment process.

Because this is an independent school, the points that matter most are usually:

whether your daughter is applying for the correct entry point and year group
whether the application is submitted on time
how she performs in the entrance assessment
how she comes across at interview

The materials reviewed for this guide did not publish a verified intake number, cut-off score or pass mark for 11+ entry. Queen’s College does not appear to publish those figures publicly on the pages checked, so parents should not rely on forum estimates or hearsay. If you want the most up-to-date position on places or oversubscription, contact the school’s admissions team directly.

Competition for London independent school places can be strong, so it is wise to prepare carefully and keep a balanced school list rather than assuming any one outcome.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child aiming for the autumn 2027 exam for September 2028 entry, the most effective preparation is steady and moderate rather than intense. A Year 5 child usually does better with short, regular sessions than long weekend marathons.

January to March of Year 5

Keep it light: around 1 to 2 hours a week in total is enough at this stage.

Build fluent arithmetic and mental maths.
Read widely: classic children’s fiction, modern fiction and short non-fiction pieces.
Start gentle verbal and non-verbal reasoning practice once or twice a week.
Notice strengths and gaps without timing everything.

April to June of Year 5

Increase to about 2 to 3 hours a week.

Add one structured English task each week: comprehension, vocabulary work or a short piece of writing.
Review core maths topics from school carefully and fill any knowledge gaps.
Practise reasoning question types in small sets so methods become familiar.
Begin working on neat presentation and checking habits.

July to August before Year 6

This is a good time to move to 3 to 4 hours a week, spread across several short sessions.

Start mixed practice across all four subjects.
Introduce short timed sections, not full papers every week.
Teach exam technique: moving on, returning later, checking answers.
Keep reading and vocabulary development going through the summer.

September of Year 6

Move to around 4 to 5 hours a week, depending on your child’s stamina and school workload.

Use one timed paper or part-paper each week.
Mark work carefully and keep an error log.
Revise weak areas quickly instead of repeatedly doing only favourite topics.
If your daughter is shy, begin low-pressure interview conversations at home.

October of Year 6

Stay at roughly 4 to 5 hours a week.

Increase timed work gradually.
Practise switching between subjects and question styles.
Refine pacing: when to skip, when to guess, when to check.
Visit open events if available and complete registration on time.

November until the exam

In the final weeks, quality matters more than quantity. For most children, 3 to 4 focused hours a week is plenty.

Do a small number of realistic timed papers.
Review mistakes and methods rather than chasing endless new material.
Keep routines calm: sleep, reading, fresh air and ordinary schoolwork still matter.
In the last few days, scale back and avoid cramming.

A good rule of thumb is this: start timed papers only when your daughter broadly understands the underlying content. Timing too early can dent confidence; timing too late can make the real exam feel rushed.

Subject by subject: what to practise

English

Prepare for a mixture of careful reading, vocabulary and written expression. In consortium-style 11+ exams, English commonly rewards precise comprehension, inference, word choice and organised writing.

Practise reading passages of different styles and discussing meaning.
Build vocabulary from books, not only word lists.
Work on spelling, punctuation and sentence control.
Practise planning short pieces of writing quickly and clearly.
Teach your daughter to support ideas with evidence from the text where needed.

Maths

Maths preparation should focus on secure Key Stage 2 content used accurately under time pressure. Speed helps, but method and checking matter more.

Revise number skills, fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio at an age-appropriate level.
Practise worded problems so your daughter learns to extract the key information.
Include arithmetic drills for fluency, but do not let them replace reasoning.
Use mixed-topic practice rather than revising one area in isolation for too long.
Encourage estimation and checking so careless errors are spotted.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning tests patterns and relationships in language. Children often improve well once they recognise the recurring task types.

Practise codes, letter patterns, sequences, word relationships and vocabulary-based tasks.
Teach methods explicitly before timing them.
Keep a notebook of unfamiliar words and revisit them often.
Work on accuracy first, then pace.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning assesses pattern recognition using shapes, pictures and spatial changes. It is often less familiar to children, so regular exposure helps.

Practise rotations, reflections, symmetry, shape sequences and odd-one-out patterns.
Encourage your daughter to describe what changes from one box to the next.
Use short, frequent sessions; this subject responds well to pattern familiarity.
When answers are wrong, discuss the exact visual rule that was missed.

Because Queen’s College is part of the London 11+ Consortium, always check the school and consortium information for the final published subject balance and paper structure for your daughter’s year.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used as a learning tool, not as a weekly judgement on your child. A few well-reviewed papers teach far more than a large pile done in haste.

Start with untimed or lightly timed work so methods are secure. Then move to realistic timing once confidence is growing. After each paper:

Mark it carefully.
Sort mistakes into knowledge gaps, misunderstanding, rushing or presentation errors.
Redo only the questions that taught something useful.
Keep a short error log and revisit it weekly.

Mocks can help if your daughter needs practice working in a formal setting, but they are not essential for every child. If you do use them, choose one or two at sensible points in the autumn rather than filling the term with assessments.

For home practice, use these ElevenReady resources:

A simple paper routine works well: one paper or part-paper, one careful review session, then a short follow-up lesson on the weak area. That keeps progress steady without making preparation feel relentless.

On the day

The aim on exam day is calm, not perfection. Most children do best when the morning feels ordinary and unhurried.

Check the reporting time, venue and any instructions the school sends.
Prepare everything the night before.
Allow extra travel time so a minor delay does not raise stress.
Choose a familiar breakfast and avoid trying to squeeze in last-minute revision.
Bring a jumper, water and anything specifically requested by the school.

For your daughter, a few simple reminders are enough:

read each instruction carefully
keep moving if a question seems hard
return later if time allows
check work where possible
stay focused on her own paper, not what others are doing

If an interview follows later in the process, treat it as a conversation rather than a performance. Schools are usually looking for a child who can think, listen and respond naturally. Gentle practice at home helps: talking about books, hobbies, school subjects and everyday interests is often more valuable than memorised answers.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

At Queen’s College, the process does not end with the written assessment. The school’s published timeline for 2027 entry showed interviews taking place in January, with offers sent in February and acceptances due in early March.

That means the broad sequence is:

sit the entrance assessment
wait to hear whether your daughter is invited to interview
attend the interview if invited
receive the school’s decision
accept by the deadline if offered a place

For 2027 entry, the school published that offers were sent on Friday 12 February 2027 and the acceptance deadline was Wednesday 3 March 2027 at 12pm. For 2028 entry, parents should wait for the school to publish the new dates.

As an independent school, Queen’s College is not part of the local authority secondary allocation day in the same way state schools are. The school makes its own offers through its admissions process.

If your daughter is not offered a place, the next step is to ask the admissions team politely whether a waiting list operates and what the school’s review or appeal procedure is. Independent schools do not use the same statutory admissions appeal system as state schools, so always follow the school’s own published process.

What has changed recently

The clearest recent published point is that Queen’s College states it is a member of the London 11+ Consortium, and ElevenReady’s verified information for 2028 entry is that the school uses a consortium-set paper. Parents should still check the school’s admissions page and any consortium familiarisation information for the exact format for their daughter’s year.

The school’s published 2027-entry timeline also showed multiple exam sitting dates in late November and early December, followed by January interviews and February offers. For 2028 entry, no newer published schedule was available on the pages reviewed at the time of writing.

No further officially announced recent changes to catchment, published place numbers or score thresholds were found in the sources reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

Does Queen's College, London use the London 11+ Consortium?

Yes. Queen’s College states that it is a member of the London 11+ Consortium, and ElevenReady’s verified information for 2028 entry is that it uses a consortium-set paper.

What subjects should my daughter prepare for?

Prepare across all four areas: English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The exact mix should be checked with the school and any consortium information for your daughter’s year.

Is there a catchment area for Queen's College?

The admissions information reviewed did not set out a geographical catchment area for 11+ entry. It is an independent school, so admissions are based on the school’s own process rather than state-school catchment rules.

When do applications usually close?

For the published 2027-entry cycle, the online application deadline was 6 November 2026. If 2028 dates are not yet published, parents should expect a similar early-November pattern but must check the school’s admissions page.

Does Queen's College interview 11+ applicants?

Yes. The school’s admissions information includes an interview stage after the entrance examination for selected candidates.

Does the school publish pass marks or cut-off scores?

Not on the pages reviewed for this guide. If you need the latest position on competitiveness or offers, contact the admissions team directly rather than relying on unofficial estimates.

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Sources

Queen's College London – Admissions: School identity as an independent day school for girls aged 11–18; entry points including 11+ and 16+; admissions handled by the school through its admissions process and online application; interview forms part of the 11+ process.
London 11+ Consortium: Background that the London 11+ Consortium is a shared admissions arrangement used by member schools; useful for confirming consortium context alongside the school’s own page.

Preparing for other schools in Westminster

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.