How to prepare for the Rikkyo School-in-England 11+

Exam format not yet verified. We have not confirmed this school's exam board or paper format from an official source. Where this guide describes the test, treat it as a working assumption and check the school's admissions page before relying on it.

The exam at a glance

For September 2028 entry, Rikkyo School-in-England uses the school’s own entrance paper. the information we hold (not yet verified with the school) for this intake is a GL-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, so preparation needs to be balanced across all four areas rather than focused on one or two.

The school’s admissions pages describe entrance examinations for junior high entry and also note that applicants living in Japan may sit entrance examinations there. However, the school pages currently available do not clearly confirm the delivery method for 2028 entry for UK-based candidates, so parents should treat the exact test-day arrangements as something to check on the school’s admissions page when registration opens.

In practical terms, children preparing for this style of paper should expect standard timed sections. That means accuracy matters, but pace matters too: your child needs enough fluency in each subject to keep moving without panic.

A sensible picture of the assessment day is:

registration and arrival at the test venue set by the school;
a sequence of timed papers or timed sections covering the four tested areas;
short pauses between papers or sections;
clear invigilation and instructions before each part.

Because the school does not currently publish a detailed public breakdown of paper lengths or section timings on the pages reviewed, it is best to prepare for a multi-part selective test morning or day rather than trying to train to an unverified minute-by-minute schedule.

Registration and key dates

Rikkyo School-in-England runs its own admissions process through the school rather than through a local authority 11+ portal. The school’s admissions page publishes separate information for junior high, high school, transfer and one-year study applications, and says that any changes will be posted on the school website.

For the cycle relevant to September 2028 Year 7 entry, the verified key dates currently available are based on the school’s published junior high application schedule. Registration opens on 5 November 2026 and the deadline is 26 November 2026. The typical exam date is 13 December 2026. The admissions material reviewed also shows a later B schedule used for the 2027 junior high entry cycle, with applications from 21 January 2027 to 4 February 2027 and a test on 14 February 2027, both in Japan.

For parents, the practical takeaway is simple: do not assume there is only one sitting, and do not assume arrangements in one country automatically apply in another. Check the current admissions notice on the school’s website as soon as the application window opens.

At this stage, the school pages reviewed do not clearly set out a public list of required documents for this intake in English. Expect to follow the school’s own application instructions carefully and be ready to provide the child’s details and any documents the school requests.

If you want a quick overview page to monitor, see The Rikkyo School-in-England 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and you can also sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Stage	What is currently verified
Registration opens	5 November 2026
Application deadline	26 November 2026
Typical test date	13 December 2026
Alternative later schedule shown on admissions materials	Applications 21 January 2027 to 4 February 2027; test 14 February 2027 in Japan

If the school has not yet published the live 2028-entry notice when you read this, use these dates as the published pattern currently available, then confirm the latest details directly on the school’s admissions page.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Rikkyo School-in-England is an independent coeducational school in Rudgwick, West Sussex. For Year 7-equivalent junior high entry, the verified number of places for 2028 entry is 10.

The school’s admissions pages make clear that it accepts applications for junior high entry and that applicants resident in Japan may also sit entrance examinations there. It also publishes separate admissions information for different routes into the school. Beyond that, the public pages reviewed do not clearly publish a state-school-style catchment map or priority-area policy.

That matters because independent schools do not always use admissions rules in the same way as grammar schools. Instead of a catchment area, there may be entry criteria, age requirements, school-specific procedures or separate arrangements by applicant location.

So, for this school, parents should work on the basis that:

there are 10 Year 7 places verified for this intake;
the school runs its own application and testing process;
applicants in Japan may also have access to test arrangements there;
no public catchment rule has been confirmed on the pages reviewed.

If you are trying to judge competitiveness, be cautious. The school pages reviewed do not publish a pass mark, a lowest qualifying score, or applicant numbers. It is better to focus on making your child as secure as possible across all four tested subjects than trying to guess a threshold the school does not publish.

A month-by-month preparation plan

The exam is typically in December, so a calm Year 5 plan works well if you build up gradually. For most children, steady weekly practice beats bursts of heavy work. A realistic target is usually 2 to 3 hours a week at the start, rising to around 4 to 5 hours a week nearer the exam, split over several short sessions.

January to March (Year 5)

Keep it light and diagnostic. Find out where your child already feels confident and where they slow down.

Read widely and discuss vocabulary every day.
Revise core number skills: times tables, fractions, place value and written methods.
Introduce short verbal and non-verbal reasoning tasks without time pressure.
Aim for 2 hours a week in total.

April

Start building routine.

Add one short Maths session, one English session and one reasoning session each week.
Begin keeping an error log: not just what was wrong, but why.
Practise following instructions carefully, especially in multiple-choice or mixed-format work.

May

Move from learning topics to applying them.

Use mixed-topic sets rather than practising one topic for too long.
Build mental arithmetic speed.
For English, work on comprehension using short, varied texts.
For reasoning, focus on method before speed.

June

This is a good point to begin gentle timed work.

Introduce short timed sections, not full papers.
Teach your child how to skip and return rather than getting stuck.
Increase to around 3 hours a week if your child is coping comfortably.

July

Consolidate before the summer rather than cramming ahead.

Try one mixed mini-mock covering all four subjects.
Review handwriting, presentation and answer-sheet accuracy where relevant.
Keep sessions short enough that confidence stays intact.

August

Summer is useful, but it should not feel relentless.

Do regular practice, but protect family time and rest.
Use two or three focused sessions each week plus reading.
Revisit weak areas identified earlier in the year.
Towards the end of the month, start alternating untimed review with timed sections.

September

This is the month to become exam-ready.

Start full or near-full timed papers.
Practise transitions between subjects, because switching gears is part of selective tests.
Mark work carefully and reteach mistakes quickly.
Build up to around 4 hours a week if needed, but avoid exhausting your child.

October

Now the focus is stamina, timing and consistency.

Run one full mock-style session every week or two.
Keep weekday sessions short and purposeful.
Prioritise recurring errors: vocabulary gaps, careless arithmetic, missed instructions and slow puzzle-solving.

November

Registration typically opens this month, so this is a good time to tighten organisation at home too.

Confirm the school’s current arrangements and venue.
Continue timed practice, but reduce the number of brand-new papers.
Use more correction sessions and confidence-building review.
Make sure your child knows how to pace each section calmly.

December

In the final stretch, less is often more.

Do brief refreshers rather than heavy study.
Stop chasing tiny gains in every area at once.
Focus on sleep, routine and composure.
In the last few days, use short warm-ups only.

If your child starts later, do not panic. It is still possible to make good progress by working steadily on fundamentals, especially in Maths accuracy, comprehension and reasoning method.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For a GL-style entrance paper, Maths preparation should centre on secure Key Stage 2 arithmetic and problem solving under time pressure. Practise number operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measurement, perimeter, area, angles, data handling and multi-step word problems.

The key habits are:

strong mental arithmetic;
fast recall of number facts and tables;
careful reading of question wording;
checking whether an answer is sensible.

Use short mixed sets first, then timed sections. If your child makes careless mistakes, spend time on marking routines: underline key information, estimate first, and check calculations at the end if time allows.

English

English preparation should cover both comprehension and language accuracy. Children should be comfortable reading fiction and non-fiction extracts, identifying explicit information, inferring meaning, explaining vocabulary in context and understanding tone.

Useful practice includes:

short comprehension passages with discussion before written answers;
vocabulary-building from everyday reading;
spelling and punctuation review;
sentence construction and clear written expression.

Encourage precise answers rather than over-long ones. A child who can support an answer with evidence from the text is usually in a much stronger position than one who writes a lot but vaguely.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning rewards pattern recognition in language. Depending on the exact paper style, children may meet question types involving letter and number codes, word relationships, sequences, hidden words, vocabulary links and logical deductions.

The best way to prepare is to:

teach question types one at a time;
build vocabulary steadily;
show efficient methods, not guesswork;
repeat familiar formats until speed improves.

If your child finds verbal reasoning difficult, separate the challenge into two parts: understanding the instruction type, and then solving the puzzle. Often the first is the bigger barrier.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning usually tests visual logic rather than school-taught content. Children often need practice with rotations, reflections, sequences, similarities, differences, codes and shape transformations.

Good preparation looks like this:

learn common visual patterns explicitly;
talk through why one answer works and the others do not;
practise spotting changes in shape, position, shading and number;
build speed only after method is secure.

Many children improve quickly in non-verbal reasoning once they have seen enough recurring patterns. Keep early sessions calm and instructional, then move to timed work later.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used as a tool for diagnosis, not just as a score generator. One completed paper tells you very little unless you review it properly afterwards.

A good routine is:

choose one paper or section at the right level;
sit it under sensible conditions;
mark it carefully the same day;
sort errors into knowledge gaps, misunderstanding, timing and carelessness;
reteach the weak areas before doing the next paper.

For this school, balanced preparation across all four subjects is important. Start with untimed or lightly timed practice, then introduce full timing once your child understands the question styles.

Use these free resources:

If you use mock exams elsewhere, treat them as practice in routine as much as content. Children benefit from learning how to settle quickly, listen to instructions once, manage nerves and move on from difficult questions.

Try not to overdo full mocks. For most children, a small number of well-reviewed mocks is better than constant testing.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Children usually perform best when the day feels familiar and calm rather than over-managed.

Prepare everything the night before.
Leave in good time so there is no rushed start.
Give a normal breakfast and avoid introducing treats or routines that are unusual.
Use reassuring language: focus on effort, not outcome.

Useful reminders for your child are:

listen carefully to instructions;
if a question looks hard, move on and come back if you can;
keep an eye on time, but do not panic;
check answers if there is time at the end;
one difficult section does not mean the whole exam has gone badly.

Parents often help most by staying matter-of-fact. Avoid a post-exam interrogation too. A calm “well done, you got through it” is usually enough.

Because the school’s current public pages do not clearly confirm all venue and delivery details for UK candidates, check the latest instructions from Rikkyo School-in-England before the day itself.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

After the test, independent-school admissions usually move through the school’s own decision process rather than the local-authority offer system used by state schools. For Rikkyo School-in-England, parents should therefore expect outcomes and next steps to come directly from the school.

The admissions pages reviewed do not clearly publish a verified public results date for this intake, and they do not publish a pass mark or score threshold. If you need exact timings for decisions, waiting lists or any review process, check the current admissions notice from the school once applications open.

In general, the sequence is likely to be:

the entrance test is sat;
the school assesses performance under its own admissions process;
families are informed of the outcome directly by the school;
accepted families complete any next steps required by the school.

If your child is not offered a place, ask politely whether the school operates a waiting list or any further stage for unsuccessful applicants. Independent schools vary widely, so it is important to follow the school’s own process rather than assumptions drawn from grammar-school admissions.

What has changed recently

The most important published point from the current admissions information is that the school says changes will be posted on the school website. The admissions materials reviewed also show separate schedules for junior high applicants, including a later B schedule in Japan, which is useful for families checking whether more than one application window may exist.

For 2028 entry, the format in our directory (not yet verified with the school) information confirms that preparation should be balanced across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning using the school’s own paper in a GL-style format.

Beyond that, no further clearly announced public change to the exam board, format, catchment, places or dates was found on the pages reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

How many Year 7 places are there at Rikkyo School-in-England?

The verified number for 2028 entry is 10 places.

What does Rikkyo School-in-England test at 11+?

For 2028 entry, the working assumption for this guide is the school's own paper in a GL-style format covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

When does registration open for 2028 entry?

The verified opening date is 5 November 2026, with a deadline of 26 November 2026. Always re-check the school's admissions page in case it posts an update.

Is there a catchment area for Rikkyo School-in-England?

No catchment or priority area has been confirmed on the public pages reviewed. Check the school's admissions page for the latest entry criteria.

Does the school publish a pass mark?

A public pass mark or qualifying score was not found on the pages reviewed. Parents should avoid relying on guessed thresholds and should check the school's admissions information directly.

Can applicants in Japan sit the entrance exam?

Yes. The school's admissions information states that applicants resident in Japan may also sit entrance examinations there.

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Sources

Rikkyo School-in-England Admissions: School website admissions hub; separate information for junior high, high school, transfers and one-year study; statement that changes will be posted on the school website; applicants resident in Japan may also sit entrance examinations; school runs its own admissions process.
Rikkyo School-in-England: School name, location on Guildford Road, Rudgwick, West Sussex RH12 3BE, England.

Preparing for other schools in West Sussex

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.