How to prepare for the Reigate Grammar School 11+

The exam at a glance

Reigate Grammar School’s 11+ assessment for September 2028 entry uses the school’s own paper. For parents planning ahead, the safest approach is to prepare across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, because those are the four areas the school tests for this entry point.

The school describes Year 7 as one of its main entry points, with around 160 places available at 11+. The admissions process for the school’s published 2027 entry cycle included an entrance assessment in early January, followed by interviews later in January and offers in February. For 2028 entry, parents should expect a similar overall sequence unless the school announces changes.

The school’s website does not clearly set out, on the page reviewed, whether the assessment is paper-based, computer-based, or split over more than one sitting. Because delivery details are not confirmed on the source page, it is best to check the current admissions information directly with the school when registration opens for your child’s year.

In practical terms, most children should prepare for a standard independent-school 11+ assessment day: arriving in good time, listening carefully to invigilator instructions, working through timed sections calmly, and then, if shortlisted, attending an interview stage later in the process.

Board/format: school’s own paper
Subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
Main Year 7 entry size: around 160 pupils
Typical sequence: registration, entrance assessment, interview, offers, acceptance deadline

Registration and key dates

Reigate Grammar School runs its own admissions process through its online application form. The school says families can register a child at any time using that form. For the 2027 entry cycle shown on the admissions page, the published deadline for 11+ applications was 6 November 2026.

Because you are planning for 2028 entry, the exact dates for your child’s cycle may not yet be published. The most useful guide from the school’s current page is the typical timing used for the last published cycle:

applications closed on 6 November 2026
the entrance assessment was on 6 January 2027
interviews were on 23 January 2027 and 30 January 2027
offers were posted on 11 February 2027
acceptances were due by 3 March 2027

For families aiming at September 2028 entry, that suggests registration is likely to close in early November 2027, with the assessment usually in early January 2028, but do treat that as typical timing rather than a confirmed schedule until the school publishes it.

The school charges a £180 registration fee for UK applications, or £240 for overseas, supplementary, or late applications.

If you are organising the year ahead, a sensible plan is:

Check the current admissions page in the summer and early autumn of Year 6.
Submit the school’s online application form before the published deadline.
Keep copies of payment confirmation and any emails from admissions.
Watch for assessment arrangements and any interview invitation.

Useful parent links:

The admissions page reviewed does not list a full document checklist for 11+ applications on the page itself, so if the form asks for supporting information, follow the school’s current instructions at the time you apply.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Reigate Grammar School is an independent, coeducational school for ages 11 to 18, with Year 7 as a major entry point. The school says around 160 students join at 11+.

On the admissions page reviewed, the school does not publish a state-school style catchment area, nor a distance-based priority system in the way grammar schools and local-authority schools often do. Independent schools usually offer places through their own admissions process rather than by local catchment, but parents should still read the current admissions information carefully in case priority rules, scholarship routes or oversubscription arrangements are set out elsewhere.

What parents can say with confidence from the official page is:

the school is coeducational
11+ is a main point of entry
around 160 places are available at Year 7
assessment and interview both form part of the process in the latest published cycle

The school page reviewed does not publish a pass mark, standardised score threshold, or a lowest score that gained entry. If you are trying to judge competitiveness, the safest course is to prepare broadly and then check the school’s current admissions page for any updated guidance.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For most children, the best preparation is steady rather than intense. Reigate Grammar School tests across four areas, so a balanced routine works better than trying to race ahead in one subject. Below is a realistic plan for a Year 5 child working towards an exam that is usually held in early January of Year 6.

January to March of Year 5

Keep it light and positive: around 1 to 2 hours a week is enough at this stage. Focus on reading fluency, secure arithmetic, and gentle familiarisation with verbal and non-verbal reasoning. The aim is not speed yet; it is confidence.

Read widely and discuss vocabulary.
Revisit number facts, times tables and written methods.
Introduce short reasoning exercises once or twice a week.
Notice which question types feel unfamiliar.

April to June of Year 5

Increase to about 2 to 3 hours a week. Start working in short subject blocks so your child becomes used to switching between English, Maths, VR and NVR.

Practise comprehension and precise written answers.
Build arithmetic accuracy and multi-step problem solving.
Cover core VR types systematically.
Add pattern, code and shape practice for NVR.

Summer holidays before Year 6

Aim for 3 hours a week, spread across several short sessions. This is often the best time to build familiarity without school pressure. Use one session each for Maths and English, one mixed reasoning session, and one light review session.

Start a gentle routine with timed mini-sections.
Keep an error log: wrong answer, why it happened, how to avoid it.
Do not overdo full papers yet.
Keep reading every day.

September of Year 6

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week. Once school restarts, consistency matters more than volume. This is the point to begin regular timed work.

Use short timed sections in all four subjects.
Review every paper carefully; corrections matter as much as scores.
Practise pacing: when to move on and when to double-check.
Identify the two weakest areas and give them extra time.

October of Year 6

Keep to 4 hours a week, including one longer weekend session. By now your child should have seen most common question types.

Begin occasional mixed papers to mimic exam switching.
Practise working neatly under time pressure.
Refine exam habits: underlining key words, estimating, checking.
If an interview may follow, encourage thoughtful conversation about school, reading and interests.

November of Year 6

If the deadline follows the school’s usual pattern, applications are likely to close around this point. Continue with 4 hours a week, but avoid making every session a test.

Do one timed paper or paper-equivalent each week.
Spend another session on corrections and reteaching.
Keep one session confidence-building and easier.
Watch the school’s messages for practical exam details.

December of Year 6

This is about calm consolidation, not cramming. Around 3 to 4 hours a week is enough.

Use a small number of well-chosen timed papers.
Revisit mistakes and recurring weak spots.
Practise starting strongly and recovering after a hard question.
Protect sleep, routine and confidence.

Exam month: early January of Year 6

In the final week, reduce workload. A few short warm-ups are better than another heavy paper.

Review methods, not new topics.
Prepare stationery and travel plans early.
Keep the day before the test quiet and reassuring.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For this school, prepare for a broad 11+ Maths paper rather than trying to second-guess niche content. Children should be secure with arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, simple algebraic thinking, shape, measures and worded problem solving.

Practise accurate arithmetic under time pressure.
Use short mixed sets so your child must choose the method independently.
Work on multi-step word problems and extracting the important information.
Teach checking habits: estimation, inverse operations and sense-checking.

English

English preparation should cover both comprehension and technical accuracy. Independent-school English papers often reward careful reading, thoughtful inference and precise expression.

Practise answering comprehension questions with evidence from the text.
Build vocabulary through regular reading and discussion.
Revise spelling, punctuation and grammar in short focused bursts.
Encourage concise written answers that actually address the question.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning is best prepared systematically. Children improve fastest when they learn the main question families, then revisit them until the method feels automatic.

Practise letter and number codes, sequences, analogies and word relationships.
Strengthen vocabulary, because that supports many VR tasks.
Train quick method recognition: what type is this, and what steps does it need?
Use timed sections once accuracy is established.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning rewards pattern recognition and calm attention to detail. Many children improve significantly simply by learning how transformations work.

Practise rotations, reflections, shape analogies, codes and sequences.
Teach your child to look for one change at a time: shape, position, shading, number, size.
Use worked review after each set so mistakes become learning points.
Add timing gradually; rushing too early creates avoidable errors.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used as a learning tool, not just a score generator. For Reigate Grammar School, where preparation needs to be balanced across four subjects, parents usually get the best results from a simple cycle:

teach or revise one topic
complete a short practice set
mark it carefully
write down the reason for each mistake
redo only the errors a few days later

As the exam gets closer, move from untimed practice to timed sections, then to occasional full papers. Leave enough time to review them properly. A paper completed and corrected thoroughly is worth much more than three rushed papers.

Useful resources:

If you use mock exams, treat them as rehearsal rather than judgement. They are helpful for pacing, stamina and nerves, but only if the follow-up is constructive. Look for patterns: does your child slow down in comprehension, lose marks through careless arithmetic, or hesitate on certain reasoning types? Those patterns tell you what to do next.

A good final-term approach is one timed paper or paper-equivalent each week, with detailed review afterwards. More than that can be counterproductive if your child becomes tired or score-focused.

On the day

The most helpful thing you can give your child on exam day is calm routine. Aim for an ordinary, steady morning rather than a special high-pressure one.

Set out clothes, stationery and travel plans the night before.
Allow plenty of time so there is no rushed start.
Choose a familiar breakfast and encourage water.
Avoid last-minute teaching; a short confidence-boosting review is enough.

Remind your child of a few simple rules:

listen carefully to the instructions at the start of each section
if one question feels hard, move on and come back if time allows
keep handwriting and working neat
check answers only if there is time, and check methodically

If an interview follows later in the process, treat that separately from the exam day. The best preparation is ordinary conversation: speaking politely, answering in full sentences, and talking naturally about books, interests and school life.

After the assessment, avoid a detailed post-mortem in the car home. Most children remember the difficult questions, not the many they answered well. A calm “well done, it’s done” is usually best.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For the latest published 11+ cycle on the school’s admissions page, the sequence after the entrance assessment was:

interviews on 23 January 2027 and 30 January 2027
offers posted on 11 February 2027
acceptances due by 3 March 2027

For 2028 entry, parents should expect a similar timetable unless the school publishes something different.

Because Reigate Grammar School is independent, the process is different from local-authority secondary allocation day. The school makes its own offers directly through its admissions process. If your child is successful, you would then decide whether to accept by the school’s deadline.

The school page reviewed does not set out a separate appeals process in the way maintained schools and grammar schools do. Independent schools often handle queries, waiting lists and declined offers through their admissions team instead. If your child is not offered a place, ask politely whether a waiting list operates and whether there is any further review route for that entry year.

The school does not publish a pass mark or cut-off score on the page reviewed, so parents should not rely on rumours about the score needed for an offer.

What has changed recently

On the official admissions page reviewed, the school publishes 11+ key dates for the 2027 entry cycle, including the application deadline, assessment date, interview dates, offer date and acceptance deadline. That is useful for families because it gives a clear guide to the likely timetable for the following cycle.

The same page also states that families can register a child at any time via the online application form, and that personal tours are offered for families considering entry from September 2026 onwards.

No separately announced recent change to the 11+ exam board, catchment rules, place numbers or admissions structure was clearly published on the official pages reviewed beyond the current key-date information. If the school announces a change for 2028 entry, parents should follow the updated admissions page rather than older guides.

Frequently asked questions

When should we start preparing for Reigate Grammar School 11+?

For most children, light preparation from the start of Year 5 works well. Build gradually so that timed practice is in place by the autumn term of Year 6.

What subjects are tested for Reigate Grammar School 11+?

For 2028 entry, preparation should cover Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. A balanced approach matters because the assessment spans all four.

How many Year 7 places are there at Reigate Grammar School?

The school says around 160 students join at 11+. That makes Year 7 one of its main entry points.

Does Reigate Grammar School have a catchment area?

The official admissions page reviewed does not publish a state-school style catchment or distance rule. As an independent school, it runs its own admissions process, so check the current school information for any priority details.

What is the registration fee for Reigate Grammar School 11+?

The school lists a £180 registration fee for UK applications and £240 for overseas, supplementary or late applications. Always check the current admissions page before applying in case fees change.

When is the Reigate Grammar School 11+ exam usually held?

The latest published cycle shows the entrance assessment on 6 January 2027. For 2028 entry, that suggests the exam is typically in early January, but wait for the school to confirm the exact date.

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Sources

Reigate Grammar School admissions process: School runs its own admissions process via online application form; families can register at any time; 11+ key dates for 2027 entry: applications close 6 November 2026, entrance assessment 6 January 2027, interviews 23 and 30 January 2027, offers posted 11 February 2027, acceptances due 3 March 2027
Reigate Grammar School website: School is coeducational and for ages 11 to 18.

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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.