How to prepare for the Shiplake College 11+

The exam at a glance

For Year 7 entry to Shiplake College, families should prepare for the school’s own admissions process. For 2028 entry, the test format to prepare for is a paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Practice needs to be balanced across all four areas, with steady work on both accuracy and timing.

Shiplake describes Year 7 entry as part of its Lower School admissions process. The school’s admissions page explains that applicants attend an assessment day in January as part of the entry process, and that references are requested from a child’s current school after registration. In practice, parents should expect a mixed process rather than one single score deciding everything: registration, school reference, assessment activities and then an offer decision.

Because the school’s published Year 7 admissions page focuses on the wider admissions journey rather than a detailed test specification, it is sensible to prepare your child for:

Maths: secure Key Stage 2 arithmetic and problem solving under time pressure.
English: clear comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and written accuracy.
Verbal Reasoning: language-based logic, codes, sequences and word relationships.
Non-Verbal Reasoning: pattern recognition, shapes, rotations, nets and visual sequences.

The safest approach is not to over-specialise too early. A child aiming for Shiplake should build fluent core skills first, then add timed, mixed practice later in Year 5 and the start of Year 6.

Registration and key dates

Shiplake runs its own admissions process, so parents register directly with the school rather than through a local authority testing portal. The school’s Year 7 admissions page sets out the broad timeline for September entry.

For the most recently published Year 7 timeline on the school website:

the whole-college open morning takes place in the autumn term of Year 6;
the registration deadline falls in December of Year 6;
scholarship and bursary application deadlines also fall in December of Year 6;
references are requested in December of Year 6;
assessment days and any scholarship assessments take place in January of Year 6;
decision letters are sent in February of Year 6;
accepted places are confirmed in March of Year 6;
waiting list and late applications are considered from April onwards.

The school’s published Year 7 page also gives a specific registration deadline of 1 December for the current admissions cycle shown there. For families targeting September 2028 entry, treat that as the pattern to watch for unless and until Shiplake publishes the 2028 timetable.

What should parents do now?

Read the school’s Year 7 admissions page carefully: /schools/shiplake-college is a useful starting guide, but always check the school page itself for the live cycle.
Book an open event as early as possible once dates appear.
Submit the school’s registration form before the December deadline for your child’s year.
If applying for a bursary or scholarship, check whether extra forms or evidence are required.
Ask your child’s current school in good time about references, since Shiplake says these are requested in December.

If you want reminders when the next cycle is published, you can use Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=shiplake-college.

Because schools can change deadlines from one entry cycle to the next, parents should not rely on old dates alone. Always confirm the live registration window, assessment day and offer timeline on Shiplake’s admissions page before applying.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Shiplake College is an independent, coeducational school, so there is no grammar-school style catchment area published on the admissions page we reviewed. Independent schools usually admit according to their own oversubscription and suitability criteria rather than a home-to-school distance rule, and Shiplake’s Year 7 page is framed around registration, school reference, assessment and offer stages.

The school says it typically takes up to 54 pupils into Year 7 each year. It also explains that Lower School is the home for Years 7 and 8.

Shiplake has also expanded its coeducational intake in recent years. The school states that it welcomed girls into Year 7 for the first time in September 2023, and that girls now make up over 42% of the Lower School.

For parents, the practical point is this: there is no published pass mark or automatic cut-off score to aim for. Shiplake’s process is selective, but it is not presented as a single-threshold exam system. Children should therefore prepare to show they can cope well with the academic work, while also approaching the assessment day calmly and positively.

If your child has particular strengths in music, sport or another area, it is worth checking the school’s wider admissions and scholarship information as part of your planning, because independent-school offers can take the whole application into account rather than test performance alone.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For September 2028 entry, most children will sit their assessment during Year 6, with registration and references handled in the autumn and early winter, and assessment activity in January. That means the most useful preparation window usually runs from the spring or summer of Year 5 into the autumn term of Year 6.

January to March of Year 5

Keep preparation light. Around 1 to 1.5 hours a week is enough for most children at this stage. Focus on fluent arithmetic, careful reading and a gentle introduction to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The aim is familiarity, not speed.

April to June of Year 5

Increase to around 1.5 to 2 hours a week. Start short, untimed task sets in all four subjects. Build habits such as showing working in Maths, reading every word of a question in English, and checking answers at the end of a section. If your child has never seen reasoning questions before, this is the right point to teach methods slowly.

July to August before Year 6

Use the summer to consolidate rather than overload. Around 2 to 3 hours a week is realistic for many families, split into short sessions. Cover one subject per session and include regular review of mistakes. Towards the end of the summer, introduce a few short timed sections so your child learns to keep moving without panicking.

September of Year 6

This is the month to become more organised. Increase to 3 hours a week if your child is coping well. Start mixing subjects within a single study week so the work feels more like an admissions assessment. If Shiplake publishes open events or updated admissions details, attend and note any changes to the process.

October of Year 6

Move into steady timed practice. Around 3 to 4 hours a week is usually enough. Begin short paper sections under proper timing, then review thoroughly. Timing matters, but accuracy still comes first. A child who rushes through and loses marks carelessly will not benefit.

November of Year 6

This is the key month for realistic practice. Continue with 3 to 4 hours a week. Use mixed papers, practise switching quickly between question styles, and work on stamina. If one area is clearly weaker, give it two short sessions each week rather than one long, tiring session.

December of Year 6

By now, registration is typically closing and references are being requested. Keep preparation calm: 2.5 to 3.5 hours a week is plenty. Do a small number of timed papers or sections, then concentrate on reviewing errors, vocabulary, number facts and confidence.

January of Year 6

Assessment days are typically held this month. In the final two weeks, reduce volume slightly and focus on routine. Your child should do enough to stay sharp, but not so much that they feel wrung out. Prioritise sleep, breakfast habits and confidence.

A good rule throughout is little and often. Four short sessions each week nearly always work better than one heavy weekend block.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For Shiplake, Maths preparation should centre on secure Key Stage 2 content delivered accurately under time pressure. Practise the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, perimeter, area, simple data handling and worded problem solving. Children should be used to deciding quickly which method to use, setting out working clearly and checking whether an answer is sensible. Short timed arithmetic drills help, but they should be balanced with multi-step problems.

English

English preparation should include reading comprehension, vocabulary development and technical accuracy. Practise retrieving information, making straightforward inferences, explaining word choices and identifying the tone or purpose of a passage. Alongside that, keep up spelling, punctuation and grammar. If your child is asked to write, the focus should be on clear structure, accurate sentences and thoughtful vocabulary rather than overwriting. Regular independent reading is still one of the best ways to build both comprehension and word knowledge.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning rewards familiarity with question types. Children should practise letter and number codes, sequences, word relationships, hidden words, shuffled letters, vocabulary links and instructions involving several steps. The key is not just getting answers right, but recognising the pattern quickly. Encourage your child to learn standard methods for each question family and to move on promptly if they get stuck. A broad vocabulary is a real advantage here, so reading and word games still help.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning usually tests visual logic rather than school-taught content. Practise shape sequences, rotations, reflections, symmetry, odd-one-out tasks, matrices, nets and how shapes change through shading, movement or size. Many children improve quickly once they learn what to look for. It helps to talk through patterns aloud at first: rotation, mirror image, number of sides, position, shading and orientation. Once methods are secure, move to timed sets.

Across all four subjects, children should learn three habits: read the instruction carefully, keep a steady pace, and do not let one hard question spoil the whole section.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used thoughtfully rather than in bulk. Start with untimed work to teach methods. Then move to short timed sections. Only after that should your child tackle fuller mixed papers.

A sensible routine is:

complete a short section under realistic timing;
mark it carefully;
sort mistakes into types such as knowledge gap, misread question, rushed method or running out of time;
redo only the questions that exposed a weakness;
return to a similar question type a few days later.

For Shiplake-specific preparation, use these free resources:

Free Shiplake College practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/shiplake-college-mock-tests
The Shiplake College 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/shiplake-college
Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=shiplake-college

If you use mock exams, treat them as a rehearsal, not a verdict. They are most helpful for practising timing, bubbling through a paper steadily, and recovering after a tricky section. One or two well-timed mocks are generally enough for this kind of admissions process. Too many can dent confidence without adding much value.

It also helps to keep a simple error notebook. Write down only repeat mistakes: for example, forgetting to convert units, skipping a word in comprehension, or missing a rotation in Non-Verbal Reasoning. Review that notebook weekly. Small repeated corrections often produce the biggest gains.

On the day

Children usually do best when the day feels predictable. In the week beforehand, shift the focus away from heavy revision and towards routine. Make sure your child knows where they are going, what time they need to leave and what the day is likely to involve.

On the morning itself:

keep breakfast familiar rather than special;
leave plenty of travel time;
bring any documents or equipment the school asks for;
avoid last-minute cramming in the car;
keep your own tone matter-of-fact and calm.

Useful reminders for your child are simple:

listen carefully to instructions before each section;
if a question looks hard, move on and come back if there is time;
check answers only if there is time left;
one difficult section does not mean the whole assessment has gone badly.

For independent-school assessments, children may also meet staff and other pupils and move through more than one activity. Encourage your child to be polite, attentive and natural. They do not need to perform a polished version of themselves; they just need to show they are ready for the next step at school.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

Shiplake’s published Year 7 timeline says that, after January assessment days, decision letters are sent in February and place acceptances are due in March. The school also says that waiting list and late applications are considered from April onwards.

Because this is an independent-school process, families are usually dealing directly with the school rather than a National Offer Day allocation system. If your child is offered a place, read the deadline and acceptance instructions carefully. If you need financial help, make sure bursary questions are raised within the school’s stated process and timescale.

If your child is not offered a place immediately, it is still worth asking politely whether they will be placed on a waiting list and whether any further information is needed from you. Schools can continue to consider movement after the main offer round.

Appeals at independent schools do not work in the same way as local-authority school admission appeals. The school’s own admissions and complaints procedures are the right place to look for the next step if you need to challenge or query a decision.

If published details for your child’s entry year differ from the current pattern, always follow the live information on the school’s admissions page.

What has changed recently

Shiplake says it welcomed girls into Year 7 for the first time in September 2023. The school also states that girls now make up over 42% of the Lower School. For current families, that is the clearest recent admissions development highlighted on the school’s Year 7 information.

We did not find a separately announced recent change on the school page to the broad Year 7 admissions timeline itself beyond the current published cycle details, so parents should simply keep an eye on the school’s admissions page for any updated dates or process changes for 2028 entry.

Frequently asked questions

Does Shiplake College use the local authority 11+ test?

No. Shiplake runs its own admissions process as an independent school, so families apply directly to the school rather than through a grammar-school testing portal.

What subjects should my child prepare for?

For 2028 entry, prepare across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Balanced practice matters more than over-focusing on just one area.

How many Year 7 places are there at Shiplake?

The school says it typically takes up to 54 pupils into Year 7 each year.

When do I need to register for Year 7 entry?

The school’s published Year 7 timeline shows a registration deadline of 1 December for the current cycle displayed there. For 2028 entry, check the live admissions page as soon as the new timetable is published.

When are Shiplake assessment days usually held?

The school’s Year 7 timeline says assessment days take place in January of Year 6 for the cycle published on its admissions page.

Does Shiplake have a catchment area?

We did not find a grammar-style catchment rule on the Year 7 admissions page reviewed. As an independent school, Shiplake appears to admit through its own registration and assessment process.

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Sources

Shiplake College – Year 7 (11+) Entry: Shiplake runs its own Year 7 admissions process; Lower School is for Years 7 and 8; the school typically takes up to 54 pupils into Year 7 each year; girls joined Year 7 for the first time in September 2023; girls now represent over 42% of the Lower School; the whole-college open morning is in the a
Shiplake College – Admissions: Independent-school admissions are handled directly by the school; families should check the school’s admissions information for current entry routes and processes.

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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.