How to prepare for the Royal Masonic School for Girls 11+

The exam at a glance

Royal Masonic School for Girls is an independent day and boarding school in Rickmansworth for girls aged 2 to 18. For Year 7 entry, the school’s admissions information confirms that applicants sit the school’s own entrance assessment rather than a shared local-authority grammar-school test.

At the time of writing, the school’s public admissions pages do not clearly publish a full paper-by-paper breakdown for 2028 entry, and ElevenReady’s verified record also notes that the exact format, tested subjects and delivery method are not yet confirmed. That means parents should treat any third-party descriptions with caution and rely on the school’s own admissions page when the 2028 arrangements are published.

What you can safely expect is a selective independent-school admissions process that usually combines an entrance assessment with the wider admissions journey. Independent schools commonly also use previous school reports, a reference, and sometimes an interview or taster activity, but families should check the current Royal Masonic School for Girls admissions information for the exact Year 7 process for their daughter’s entry year.

In practical terms, the assessment day at an independent school like this is usually designed to be organised and calm. Children are normally welcomed by admissions staff, registered, shown where to go, and guided through the assessment timetable in small groups. Parents should expect the school to send specific joining instructions closer to the date.

School type: independent girls’ school
Entry point covered here: Year 7 (11+)
Assessment setter: the school’s own assessment process
Exact paper format for 2028 entry: not yet publicly confirmed
Tested subjects for 2028 entry: not yet publicly confirmed
Delivery method: not yet publicly confirmed

Until the school publishes fuller detail for 2028 entry, the most sensible preparation is broad and steady: secure core English and maths, build careful reading habits, and help your child get used to working accurately under gentle time pressure.

Registration and key dates

For Royal Masonic School for Girls, registration is handled by the school rather than by a local authority or grammar-school consortium. The school’s website includes an admissions enquiry route and registration information for joining the school.

The one key date clearly confirmed on the school site for the current cycle is the registration and scholarship application deadline of Friday 16 October 2026. Because today’s date is 19 October 2026, that deadline has passed for that cycle. For families aiming at September 2028 entry, you should watch for the school to publish the next set of Year 7 dates on its admissions pages.

The school homepage wording does not give a full 2028-entry timeline on the page we could verify, and we did not find an official published Year 7 exam date for 2028 entry. So it is best to think in terms of the usual independent-school sequence: registration opens first, the entrance assessment follows in the autumn before entry, and offers are then made by the school on its own timetable.

What to do now:

Join the school’s admissions mailing list or enquiry process through the school website.
Check the Year 7 admissions page regularly from late spring onwards for 2028-entry registration details.
Keep copies of recent school reports and any documents the admissions team requests.
If your daughter may apply for a scholarship, check whether scholarship applications share the same deadline as registration for the relevant year.

If this is your target school, it is worth setting a reminder well before autumn of Year 6 so that you do not miss the opening of registration. You can also use Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

For a running overview, see The Royal Masonic School for Girls 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Royal Masonic School for Girls is an independent school, so there is no state-school catchment area in the grammar-school sense. Families do not apply through the local authority for a Year 7 place in the way they would for a maintained grammar school. Instead, they apply directly to the school through its admissions process.

Because it is an independent school, admissions decisions are based on the school’s own published entry requirements and selection process. That normally means looking at a child’s performance in the entrance assessment alongside the rest of the admissions evidence the school asks for.

We did not find an official, current published figure on the school’s website stating the exact number of Year 7 places available for 2028 entry, and parents should not rely on forum estimates. If place numbers matter for your decision-making, ask the admissions team directly or check the school’s current Year 7 admissions page when updated.

Competition at well-known independent schools can be strong, but schools vary from year to year in applicant numbers, boarding demand, scholarship interest and whether they are considering day places, boarding places or both. The safest approach is to assume that a child should be working securely at or above age-related expectations in English and maths, while also being ready to show concentration, resilience and independence on assessment day.

Catchment: none in the maintained-school sense
Application route: direct to the school
Place numbers: not clearly published in the sources we verified
Offers: made by the school on its own admissions timetable

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because the precise 2028 paper format is not yet published, the best plan is to prepare in a way that will be useful for most selective independent-school assessments. The aim is not to over-coach, but to build solid habits over time.

January to March of Year 5

Keep it light: about 1 to 1.5 hours a week split across short sessions.
Focus on reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling accuracy and core arithmetic.
Read widely: fiction, non-fiction and longer chapter books.
Use schoolwork to identify any gaps in fractions, written methods, punctuation or inference.

April to June of Year 5

Build to around 1.5 to 2 hours a week.
Start more structured comprehension practice: retrieving information, explaining word choice and making inferences.
In maths, practise fluency first, then short multi-step problems.
Encourage neat working, checking answers and following instructions carefully.

July to August before Year 6

Aim for 2 to 3 hours a week, but keep some holiday flexibility.
Use this period to strengthen weak areas rather than cramming.
If the school has by then published details of the assessment, tailor practice to those confirmed subjects and formats.
Begin very gentle timed work: one section at a time rather than full papers.

September of Year 6

Increase to about 3 hours a week if your child is coping well.
Move from untimed accuracy to timed sections.
Practise settling quickly, reading instructions once carefully, and moving on when stuck.
If interview or school visit stages are part of the process that year, help your child talk naturally about books, hobbies and school life.

October of Year 6

Keep preparation calm and focused.
Use one or two timed mixed sessions each week, plus short review sessions.
Stop trying to cover everything. Prioritise confidence, sleep and routine.
In the final week, reduce workload slightly rather than increasing it.

When to start timed papers

If the exact paper style is still unpublished, avoid lots of full timed papers too early. Start with untimed accuracy work in Year 5, then short timed sections in the summer before Year 6, and only move to fuller timed practice once the school has confirmed what the assessment actually includes.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Because the school has not yet publicly confirmed the exact tested subjects for 2028 entry in the sources we verified, the most helpful approach is to focus on the core areas most commonly used in selective independent-school admissions and then refine that plan once the school publishes the details.

English

Work on reading comprehension first. A strong candidate should be able to find information accurately, explain ideas in her own words, make simple and deeper inferences, and comment on language choices. Regular reading matters more than last-minute worksheets.

For writing, focus on clarity, sentence control, punctuation, paragraphing and thoughtful vocabulary. If the school later confirms a written task, practise planning quickly, staying on topic and leaving time to check.

Useful habits:

Read a range of fiction and non-fiction
Discuss unfamiliar vocabulary in context
Summarise short passages aloud
Practise writing neatly and checking punctuation

Mathematics

Secure arithmetic is the foundation: number bonds, times tables, fractions, decimals, percentages and written methods should feel steady rather than shaky. After that, build confidence with worded problems and multi-step reasoning.

Children preparing for selective entry often lose marks not because the maths is beyond them, but because they rush, skip a step or misread the question. Practise showing clear working and checking whether the final answer is sensible.

Revise core number facts until they are automatic
Practise short reasoning questions little and often
Use timed drills sparingly and only after methods are secure
Encourage estimation as a checking tool

Reasoning or other assessed areas

The school’s public information we verified does not yet confirm whether verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, creative writing or another element forms part of the Year 7 assessment for 2028 entry. If the admissions page later names additional components, focus on those rather than trying to cover every possible format now.

Until then, the best general preparation is broad academic confidence: careful reading, strong vocabulary, pattern-spotting, mental flexibility and the habit of working accurately under manageable time limits.

Practice papers and mock exams

When a school has not yet published a full subject-by-subject breakdown, practice should be used carefully. The goal is to build familiarity with assessment conditions without teaching your child a format that may turn out to be wrong.

A sensible order is:

Start with skills — reading, vocabulary, arithmetic and problem-solving.
Add short timed sections once your child is accurate when untimed.
Use full papers later, ideally after the school confirms what is actually assessed.
Review every mistake so practice leads to improvement.

Good practice-paper habits:

Do not set too many papers back-to-back.
Mark them promptly and talk through errors calmly.
Keep a notebook of recurring mistakes.
Repeat weak question types after a few days.
Stop while your child still feels capable, not exhausted.

For school-specific support, use these ElevenReady resources:

If you are considering a mock exam elsewhere, treat it as a confidence-building rehearsal rather than a predictor of the real outcome. For a school using its own assessment process, a generic mock can help with stamina and nerves, but it cannot perfectly replicate the school’s actual test unless the school has published the format.

On the day

Keep the morning straightforward. Lay out clothes, stationery and directions the night before, and leave in good time. Children usually perform better when the adults around them sound calm and matter-of-fact.

Offer a normal breakfast your child is used to.
Avoid last-minute teaching on the way there.
Remind her to listen carefully to instructions and ask if she genuinely does not understand what to do.
Encourage her to move on if one question feels difficult.
Tell her that a few hard questions are normal in selective assessments.

What helps most is a short, reassuring script: read carefully, do the easy marks first, keep going, and check if there is time. For many children, that is more useful than any final revision.

If the school includes an interview or informal interaction as part of the process that year, remind your daughter simply to be polite, speak clearly and answer naturally. Schools are not looking for rehearsed speeches from ten- and eleven-year-olds.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

As an independent school, Royal Masonic School for Girls does not use the state-school National Offer Day system for deciding Year 7 places in the same way as maintained grammar schools. Instead, the school runs its own post-assessment timetable and communicates outcomes directly to families.

We did not find an official, current public page in the verified sources giving a precise results date for 2028 entry, so parents should expect the school to explain next steps after registration and assessment. That usually includes when results or decisions will be released, whether further stages are required, and how long families have to accept an offer.

If a child is not offered a place, independent schools usually set out their own review, waiting-list or appeal arrangements in admissions correspondence or contract documents. These are not the same as a local-authority school admission appeal. If this matters to your family, ask the admissions office for the current procedure in writing.

If your daughter is offered a place, read the acceptance paperwork carefully and note any deadlines for deposits, scholarships, boarding decisions or enrolment forms.

What has changed recently

From the official sources we could verify, the clearest recent published update is the school’s stated 11+ and 16+ registration and scholarship application deadline of Friday 16 October 2026 for the current cycle.

We did not find an official published announcement in the verified sources confirming a recent change to the Year 7 test provider, paper format, catchment policy or number of places within the last two years. If the school publishes a new 2028-entry admissions page with further detail, that should be treated as the current authority.

Frequently asked questions

Does Royal Masonic School for Girls use the local grammar school 11+ test?

No. It is an independent school and runs its own admissions process rather than using a local-authority grammar-school test.

Is there a catchment area for Royal Masonic School for Girls?

No. As an independent school, it does not have a maintained-school catchment area in the grammar-school sense.

What subjects are in the Royal Masonic School for Girls 11+?

The exact tested subjects for 2028 entry were not clearly confirmed in the official sources we verified. Check the school’s admissions page for the current Year 7 assessment details.

When do I need to register for the Royal Masonic School for Girls 11+?

The school site published a registration and scholarship application deadline of Friday 16 October 2026 for the current cycle we verified. For September 2028 entry, watch the school’s admissions pages for the next set of dates.

How should my child prepare if the format has not been published yet?

Focus on secure English and maths, regular reading, vocabulary, careful working and gentle timed practice later on. Once the school confirms the format, tailor preparation to that information.

Does Royal Masonic School for Girls publish a pass mark?

We did not find an official published pass mark or qualifying score in the sources we verified. Parents should rely on the school’s own admissions information rather than unofficial estimates.

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Sources

Royal Masonic School for Girls website: School identity as an independent girls’ school in Rickmansworth for ages 2–18; the school runs its own admissions process; homepage wording stating '11+ & 16+ Registration and Scholarship Application Deadline: Friday 16th October 2026.'
Royal Masonic School for Girls admissions page: Admissions are handled directly by the school; families should use the school’s admissions information and enquiry routes for Year 7 entry.

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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.