How to prepare for the Radley College 11+

The exam at a glance

Radley College is a boarding school for boys joining at 13+, so families aiming for September 2028 entry are preparing for an admissions process that begins in Year 6 rather than a standard local-authority 11+ test. The school says its entry assessment starts in Year 6, and the admissions process is run by Radley College itself.

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the assessment is the school’s own paper. However, the format, delivery method and tested subjects are not confirmed in the material reviewed for this guide. That means it would be wrong to label it as GL, CEM or any other style, or to assume English, maths, reasoning or interview details unless the school publishes them for your child’s year.

In practical terms, parents should expect an independent-school admissions process rather than a single grammar-school style test day. That usually means keeping a close eye on the school’s admissions page, attending an open event if possible, and making sure your son is steadily building strong core skills in reading, writing and maths before Year 6.

Because the school does not set out a full public familiarisation guide for this entry route on the pages reviewed, the safest approach is:

register interest early;
check the admissions page regularly for your son’s year group;
prepare broadly and securely rather than chasing an assumed test format;
contact the admissions team directly if you need confirmation on the current assessment steps.

For an overview page that we keep updated, parents can also bookmark The Radley College 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Registration and key dates

Radley handles admissions directly through the school rather than through a local authority 11+ portal. The admissions page says families can register from birth, and that boys are encouraged to be registered by the start of the Summer Term of Year 5. It also says the entry assessment starts in Year 6.

For 2028 entry, that means parents should not wait until the last minute in Year 6. If your son started Year 5 in September 2026, the school’s published guidance points to registration by the beginning of the summer term of that school year where possible.

The school’s admissions page reviewed for this guide does not publish a full set of fixed 2028-entry deadlines on the page fetched, and I have not found an official page giving a verified assessment date or results date for 2028 entry. Where a school has not yet published a specific date, the most helpful advice is to follow the school’s own timeline closely and sign up for updates.

What is published clearly is the school’s advice to engage early and its open-event schedule. The admissions page lists Open Days in Michaelmas Term 2026, Lent Term 2027 and Summer Term 2027. Those events can be a useful way to understand the school’s expectations well before assessment begins.

How to register

Go to the school’s admissions page and follow the registration route there.
Expect the process to be run by the school’s admissions office rather than a council portal.
If your child has SEND, access needs or you are applying from overseas, contact admissions early so any arrangements can be discussed in good time.

What to do now

Read the school’s admissions page in full.
Register interest as early as you reasonably can.
Keep records of emails and confirmations from the school.
Use Free email alerts for this school's key dates so you do not miss updates.

If you want a quick summary page alongside the official information, see The Radley College 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Radley College is an independent boarding school for boys aged 13–18. Unlike a state grammar-school 11+, there is no local-authority catchment rule published on the school page reviewed for this guide. The information available publicly points to a school-run admissions process for boys seeking 13+ entry.

The school page reviewed does not publish a catchment area, priority distance rule or local-authority style oversubscription criteria in the way a grammar school normally would. Families should therefore treat this as an independent-school application: suitability is considered through the school’s own admissions route rather than through postcode priority.

I have not found an official published figure on the admissions page fetched for the exact number of places available for 2028 entry, nor a published cut-off score or pass mark. If you are trying to judge competition, the best next step is to ask the admissions office directly how many pupils typically join at 13+ and what the process involves for your son’s cohort.

In practice, parents should focus on three things:

whether boarding at Radley is genuinely the right fit for their son;
whether they have registered early enough to stay within the school’s preferred timeline;
whether their son is developing the academic confidence and maturity expected for selective independent-school entry.

If the school publishes more detailed admissions criteria for your year group later, always treat that updated school guidance as the key source.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because Radley’s public materials do not confirm a detailed paper format for this cohort, the smartest preparation is broad, steady and low-drama. The aim is to build strong literacy, numeracy and thinking habits through Year 5 and into Year 6, then sharpen test technique only once the school confirms what your son will face.

12 months before the assessment month

Build reading stamina: novels, non-fiction, poetry and quality journalism for children.
Check arithmetic fluency: times tables, fractions, decimals and mental maths.
Set a calm routine of around 2 to 3 hours a week split over several short sessions.
Register with the school if you have not already done so.

9 to 10 months before

Increase written work gently: one comprehension-style task and one short writing task each week.
Review core maths topics from Year 5 and identify weak spots.
Visit the school if possible, or attend an open event.
Keep total preparation at about 3 hours a week.

7 to 8 months before

Introduce more structured problem-solving in maths.
Encourage precise written answers, not just correct ideas.
Practise following instructions carefully and checking work independently.
If the school has by then confirmed any assessment details, begin aligning practice to that information.

5 to 6 months before

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week if your son is coping happily.
Start short timed tasks, such as a 15-minute maths set or a timed comprehension section.
Do not overdo full papers unless the school has confirmed the format.
Focus on accuracy, neatness and concentration.

3 to 4 months before

Use occasional mixed practice sessions so your son learns to switch between skills.
Begin practising under mild time pressure once or twice a fortnight.
Review mistakes carefully: was it knowledge, rushing, misunderstanding or presentation?
Keep one day each week completely assessment-free.

2 months before

If official details are available, now is the time to mirror them more closely.
Use short, purposeful sessions rather than marathon weekends.
Practise calm starts, sensible pacing and checking at the end.
Keep sleep, sport and ordinary family life steady.

Final month

Reduce any last-minute cramming.
Use light review of known weak areas.
Repeat a few familiar task types to build confidence.
Make sure your son knows the practical plan for the day.

Final week

No heavy new work.
Short refreshers only.
Prioritise sleep, normal meals and reassurance.

For most children, consistency matters far more than intensity. If your son is becoming tired or resistant, reduce the volume and keep the routine sustainable.

Subject by subject: what to practise

The difficulty here is that Radley’s public admissions material reviewed for this guide does not confirm the tested subjects for this cohort. So rather than guessing, parents should prepare the broad academic foundations that selective independent schools commonly value and then refine that plan when the school publishes more detail.

Reading and comprehension

Build strong comprehension across fiction and non-fiction. Practise retrieving facts, inferring meaning, explaining vocabulary in context and summarising a passage clearly. Good habits include reading the question carefully, underlining evidence and answering in full sentences where appropriate.

Useful practice includes:

daily reading;
short discussions about character, tone and author choices;
written comprehension once or twice a week;
vocabulary building from books, not word lists alone.

Writing

Even where a school does not publicly confirm a written paper, clear written expression is valuable across admissions. Practise planning briefly before writing, using accurate punctuation, varying sentence openings and checking work at the end.

Focus on:

clear paragraphing;
spelling of common high-frequency words;
precise vocabulary;
writing that answers the task rather than wandering away from it.

Mathematics

Strong core maths is worth building whatever the final format. Prioritise arithmetic fluency, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, shape, measure and multi-step problem solving. Children should be used to showing method clearly as well as getting the final answer.

Good practice includes:

short mental-maths drills;
mixed problem-solving sets;
careful working-out;
checking whether an answer is sensible.

Reasoning and general problem-solving

The school has not publicly confirmed a reasoning paper on the pages reviewed, so this should be treated as optional enrichment rather than assumed exam content. Light work on pattern-spotting, logic and careful instruction-following can still help children become more flexible thinkers.

Keep this low pressure:

short puzzle sessions;
step-by-step verbal explanation;
noticing why an answer is wrong, not just why one is right.

As soon as the school publishes confirmed assessment content for your son’s year group, switch from broad preparation to targeted practice.

Practice papers and mock exams

When a school does not publish a detailed test specification early, practice papers should be used carefully. Their job is to build confidence, concentration and exam habits, not to persuade you that one guessed format must be the right one.

How to use practice papers well

Start untimed so your son learns the method first.
Move to timed sections only when accuracy is reasonably secure.
Mark thoroughly and review errors by type.
Repeat weak topics in short follow-up sessions.
Do not use paper after paper without feedback.

When to begin timed papers

If the school has still not confirmed format and subjects, use short timed tasks rather than full mock exams at first. Once official detail is available, you can increase realism. For many Year 5 children, full formal mocks are best saved until they understand what they are practising for.

Free resources

Should you book a mock exam?

A mock can be useful if your son needs practice working in an unfamiliar room, settling nerves or managing time. It is less useful if it is based on an unconfirmed format and leaves him worried. Use mocks to build familiarity and resilience, not to label your child too early.

On the day

Because Radley’s assessment arrangements for this cohort are not fully published in the material reviewed, keep your practical planning simple and calm.

Check the school’s latest instructions the day before.
Lay out clothing and any required items the previous evening.
Aim for a normal breakfast, not a rushed or unusual one.
Arrive in good time without turning up excessively early.
Remind your son to listen carefully to instructions and ask if he does not understand what to do.

The most helpful messages for children are ordinary ones:

read the question carefully;
start with full attention;
if stuck, move on and come back if allowed;
check work if there is time;
one paper never defines you.

Parents can help most by keeping the emotional temperature low. Avoid a post-mortem in the car or over lunch. A simple “well done, you handled it” is usually enough.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For an independent school such as Radley, the process after assessment is different from state-school national offer day. The admissions decision is handled by the school rather than through a local-authority secondary allocation system.

However, the school page reviewed for this guide does not publish a verified 2028-entry results date, and I have not found an official published appeals procedure in the grammar-school sense. Independent schools typically communicate outcomes directly to families and explain next steps themselves.

That means your best course is:

watch for direct communication from Radley’s admissions office;
read any offer, reserve-list or next-step information carefully;
ask the school promptly if anything in the process is unclear.

If your son is unsuccessful, it is worth remembering that independent-school admissions decisions are not the same as a published pass-mark system. Schools may consider a broader picture than one score alone. Keep alternative plans moving in parallel so that your family is not relying on a single outcome.

For the latest summary and reminders, you can also use Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

What has changed recently

From the official material reviewed for this guide, I did not find a publicly announced recent change to Radley’s assessment board, paper format, catchment rules or place numbers for this cohort. The key published points remain that admissions are handled by the school, families can register from birth, applicants are encouraged to register by the start of the Summer Term of Year 5, and entry assessment starts in Year 6.

If the school publishes a new assessment outline or timeline for 2028 entry later, parents should treat that update as the controlling source.

Frequently asked questions

Is Radley College an 11+ school?

Not in the usual grammar-school sense. Radley is a boys’ boarding school for ages 13–18, and its admissions assessment starts in Year 6 for 13+ entry.

When should I register for Radley College?

The school says families can register from birth and that applicants are encouraged to register by the start of the Summer Term of Year 5.

Does Radley College use GL or CEM?

No format like GL or CEM is confirmed for this cohort. ElevenReady’s verified information is that it uses the school’s own paper, and parents should check the admissions page for current details.

What subjects are tested for Radley College entry?

The tested subjects are not confirmed in the official material reviewed for this guide. Check the school’s admissions page or contact admissions directly for the current year’s assessment details.

Is there a catchment area for Radley College?

I did not find a published catchment rule on the school page reviewed. Radley is an independent boarding school, so admissions are handled through the school rather than a local-authority catchment system.

When do Radley College results come out?

I did not find an official published results date for 2028 entry. The school should communicate outcomes directly to families through its admissions process.

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Sources

Radley College Admissions: Radley College is a boarding school for boys aged 13–18; admissions are handled by the school; families can register from birth; applicants are encouraged to register by the start of the Summer Term of Year 5; entry assessment starts in Year 6; Open Days are listed for Michaelmas Term 2026, Lent Ter
Radley College: School identity and location context for Radley College.

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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.