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 Year 7 entry at Sir William Perkins's School, the entrance assessment is the school's own test rather than a consortium or GL/CEM paper. For 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that applicants are assessed in Maths and English only. Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not part of the test, so preparation is best kept tightly focused on those two core subjects.
The school describes Year 7 admissions through its own registration page and admissions material, but in the sources available for this guide it does not publish a detailed paper-by-paper breakdown such as the exact length of each paper, whether the tests are handwritten or computer-based, or the full running order of the day. Where schools do not publish those details, it is best to avoid overpreparing for imagined formats and instead build strong core skills in arithmetic, problem solving, reading comprehension and extended writing.
In practical terms, families should expect an entrance-test day in the autumn of Year 6, followed by any further assessment stages the school may require for selected applicants, such as interviews or scholarship assessments where applicable. The school has published that scholarship assessments for one recent cycle took place in late November, after the main entrance test.
Because there are only two tested subjects, preparation should go deeper rather than wider. In Maths, that means secure fluency plus careful multi-step reasoning. In English, it means both comprehension and written accuracy: reading with attention, organising ideas clearly and writing in a controlled way under time pressure.
Registration and key dates
Sir William Perkins's School runs its own Year 7 registration process through the admissions area of the school website. For the most recently published Year 7 cycle available at the time of writing, parents were directed to complete the school's registration form online via the Year 7 registration page.
For 2028 entry specifically, the school had not yet published the full set of dates in the sources reviewed. The safest way to phrase the timeline is therefore by using the school's latest published pattern for the previous cycle and labelling it clearly as typical rather than confirmed.
- Registration: for the 2027-entry cycle, registration was already open by late September 2026 on the school website.
- Deadline: the school published a registration deadline of noon on 15 October 2026 for September 2027 entry.
- Entrance test: the school published 14 November 2026 for the Year 7 entrance examination for September 2027 entry.
- Scholarship assessments: the school stated that scholarship assessments took place in late November 2026 for that cycle.
- Decisions: the school stated that decisions were issued in December 2026.
- Acceptance deadline: the school stated that acceptances were due in March 2027.
For families aiming at September 2028 entry, that means you should expect registration to usually open by early autumn of Year 6, with the deadline typically in mid-October and the test usually in mid-November, unless the school announces a change. Check the school's Year 7 registration page regularly because independent-school timelines can move slightly from one cycle to the next.
The school's admissions pages reviewed do not set out a public list of documents needed at registration in a level of detail that can be quoted here confidently. In practice, schools commonly ask for basic pupil and parent details and may ask for school information and, later, reports or references, but parents should follow the instructions on the live registration form rather than relying on general assumptions.
If you want a quick overview page and alerts, ElevenReady keeps a school-specific summary here: The Sir William Perkins's School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and parents can sign up here for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
Sir William Perkins's School is an independent school in Chertsey, Surrey, and the school states that it is now co-educational for Year 7. The school says it welcomed its first co-educational Year 7 cohort in September 2026. That matters for families researching older information, because historic references to the school as girls-only are now out of date for Year 7 entry.
Unlike many grammar-school admissions processes, independent schools do not usually operate through a local-authority catchment system for entry tests. In the sources reviewed for this guide, Sir William Perkins's School did not publish a state-style catchment map, priority distance, or ranked oversubscription distance for Year 7 entry. Parents should therefore treat any third-party claims about catchment boundaries or cut-off distances with caution unless they come directly from the school.
The school's published admissions information for Year 7 focuses on registration and assessment rather than on a local-area priority model. In plain terms, the key question for families is not whether they live in a defined catchment but whether the school is the right academic and pastoral fit and whether a child performs strongly in the entrance process.
The sources reviewed also did not clearly publish a verified Year 7 intake number for the relevant entry cycle, so it is better not to guess at the number of places or the level of competition. If you want the latest detail on places, bursaries or scholarships, check directly with the admissions team through the school's admissions pages.
For parents, the practical takeaway is simple: focus on the school's own admissions timeline, prepare well for Maths and English, and make sure you understand any later stages such as interviews, scholarship assessments or offer deadlines if they apply to your child.
A month-by-month preparation plan
Because Sir William Perkins's School tests only Maths and English, a calm, steady plan works well. You do not need a huge number of weekly hours. Regularity matters more than volume.
January to March of Year 5
- Aim for 2 to 3 hours a week in total.
- Build reading stamina: daily reading, discussion of vocabulary, short written summaries.
- In Maths, secure number facts, the four operations, fractions, decimals and word problems.
- Start a habit of neat working and checking answers.
April to June of Year 5
- Increase slightly to 3 hours a week.
- Add one focused English session on comprehension and one on writing.
- Add one Maths session on problem solving and one on arithmetic fluency.
- Begin short timed tasks, such as ten-minute arithmetic bursts or a single comprehension paragraph under a time limit.
Summer holiday before Year 6
- Keep it light but consistent: 2 to 4 hours a week.
- Read widely: novels, short nonfiction, quality journalism for children, myths, classic stories.
- In writing, practise planning quickly before writing.
- In Maths, mix topics so your child learns to switch between methods.
September of Year 6
- Move to 4 to 5 hours a week.
- Now start using longer timed papers or paper sections.
- Review every mistake properly: was it knowledge, method, timing or misreading?
- Create a short weekly correction notebook with common errors.
October of Year 6
- Keep to 4 to 5 hours a week, not endless cramming.
- Do one timed Maths task and one timed English task each week.
- Practise writing under realistic time conditions.
- Revisit weak areas rather than constantly starting new material.
Final 2 to 3 weeks before the November test
- Keep practice purposeful and calm.
- Use full or near-full timed sessions, but leave recovery time afterwards.
- Reduce workload slightly in the final few days.
- Focus on sleep, routine and confidence.
A good rule for this school is that timed papers should begin only once core skills are reasonably secure. For most children, that means light timing in late Year 5 and fuller timed work from the start of Year 6.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For Sir William Perkins's School, Maths preparation should centre on the kind of work strong Year 5 and early Year 6 pupils are expected to manage accurately and efficiently. Since there is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning to spread attention across, this is the place to go into depth.
- Arithmetic fluency: the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio foundations.
- Word problems: translating written information into the right method.
- Multi-step problems: showing clear working and making sensible decisions.
- Geometry and measures: angles, perimeter, area, time, units and data handling at an age-appropriate level.
- Checking strategies: estimating first, then testing whether an answer is sensible.
How to practise well: mix straightforward questions with harder problem-solving sets; ask your child to explain methods aloud; and correct errors by category. If a child loses marks mainly through carelessness, practise slower checking. If they lose marks through method choice, practise deciding which method to use before calculating.
English
English preparation should cover both reading and writing. The school's public pages reviewed do not give a publicly detailed specification of exactly how the English paper is structured, so the safest preparation is broad but still focused on the core skills selective independent schools usually reward.
- Comprehension: retrieving information, inferring meaning, explaining language effects and supporting answers from the text.
- Vocabulary: understanding precise word choice and building a wide active vocabulary through reading.
- Writing accuracy: punctuation, grammar, sentence control and spelling.
- Creative or discursive writing: planning, paragraphing, staying on task and ending effectively.
- Editing: improving a draft for clarity and precision.
How to practise well: read challenging material together and discuss it; ask for short written answers before moving to longer ones; and build writing stamina gradually. A child who reads thoughtfully often improves in comprehension and writing at the same time. Encourage planning in brief bullet points before any longer piece of writing, because rushed structure is one of the most common reasons able children underperform.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are useful when they are used to diagnose strengths and weaknesses, not simply to generate scores. For a school like Sir William Perkins's School, where the focus is on Maths and English only, quality matters far more than quantity.
- Start untimed. Make sure your child can do the work accurately before adding pressure.
- Introduce timing gradually. Use sections first, then longer papers.
- Review every paper in detail. Ask: what was not known, what was misread, and what took too long?
- Keep an error log. Patterns matter more than one-off mistakes.
- Repeat weak topics after a few days, not immediately, so the learning sticks.
Mocks can be helpful later in the process because they teach children to manage nerves, transitions and concentration. They are most useful in the final months, once the basics are already secure. One or two well-chosen mock experiences are usually enough; too many can dent confidence without adding much learning.
For school-specific practice, ElevenReady provides Free Sir William Perkins's School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers). Parents can also use The Sir William Perkins's School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) for a concise summary and sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates.
When choosing any third-party materials, prefer resources that match an independent-school English and Maths style rather than reasoning-heavy packs designed for grammar schools using GL or CEM.
On the day
Keep the day simple. Children usually perform best when the morning feels calm and familiar rather than special and high-pressure.
- Prepare everything the night before: route, timings, water, pencils or pens if requested, and any registration email.
- Choose a normal breakfast your child knows suits them.
- Arrive with time to spare, but not so early that waiting increases nerves.
- Remind your child to listen carefully to instructions and ask if they cannot hear something clearly.
- In Maths, encourage them to mark tricky questions and move on, then return if time allows.
- In English, remind them to plan briefly before longer writing and to leave a minute or two to check punctuation and spelling.
The most useful message for a child is often this: you do not need every question to go perfectly. Schools are looking for overall strength and promise, not perfection. A wobble in one section does not define the whole performance.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
As an independent school, Sir William Perkins's School does not follow the same National Offer Day process used by state secondary schools. Instead, the school communicates outcomes directly to families through its own admissions process.
For the latest published Year 7 cycle available during research, the school stated that decisions were issued in December 2026 following the 14 November 2026 entrance test, and that the acceptance deadline was in March 2027. For 2028 entry, parents should expect broadly similar timing unless the school publishes a change.
If your child is offered a place, read the offer paperwork carefully and note any acceptance deadline, deposit requirements or scholarship and bursary conditions. If your child is not offered a place, the next step is to ask the school, politely and promptly, about waiting-list arrangements or whether any feedback is available. Independent schools vary in how much detail they provide.
Appeals in the formal local-authority sense are generally a feature of state-school admissions. Independent schools usually have their own complaints or review procedures instead. If you need to challenge an admissions decision or seek clarification, start with the school's published admissions and complaints information and communicate directly with the admissions team.
What has changed recently
The clearest recent change is that Sir William Perkins's School states it is now co-educational in Year 7 and that it welcomed its first co-educational Year 7 cohort in September 2026. This is important because older guides may still describe the school using outdated admissions information.
For the upcoming preparation cycle, the information in our directory (not yet verified with the school) for 2028 entry is that the entrance assessment uses the school's own paper and tests Maths and English only, with no Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Beyond that, in the official and reputable sources reviewed for this guide, we did not find a newly announced published change in the last two years to a catchment rule, a published intake number, or a switch to a different external exam board. Parents should still check the live admissions page each term, because independent schools sometimes update timelines and practical arrangements closer to registration opening.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sir William Perkins's School use GL or CEM for Year 7 entry?
No. For 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that Sir William Perkins's School uses its own paper.
Which subjects should my child prepare for?
Maths and English. Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not tested for 2028 entry.
When should we start preparing?
For most children, a steady start in Year 5 works well. Build core Maths and English skills first, then add timed practice gradually in Year 6.
Is there a catchment area?
The sources reviewed did not publish a state-style catchment area or cut-off distance for Year 7 entry. Check the school's admissions page directly for the latest admissions criteria.
When is the entrance exam usually held?
The latest published cycle available showed the Year 7 entrance test on 14 November 2026 for 2027 entry. For 2028 entry, the school had not yet published dates, so mid-November is best treated as typical rather than confirmed.
When do parents hear the result?
For the latest published cycle available during research, the school said decisions were issued in December 2026. Expect a similar pattern for 2028 entry unless the school announces otherwise.
Sources
- Sir William Perkins's School - Year 7 Registration: School admissions page used for Year 7 registration; latest published cycle had registration open by late September 2026; deadline noon on 15 October 2026; entrance test on 14 November 2026; scholarship assessments in late November 2026; decisions in December 2026; acceptance deadline in March 2027.
- Sir William Perkins's School website: School location in Chertsey, Surrey; school has a sixth form; school states it welcomed its first co-educational Year 7 cohort in September 2026 / Year 7 now accepts boys and girls.
Preparing for other schools in Surrey
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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.