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 Solihull School, the 11+ assessment is the school’s own entrance process. For 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that the test format is a GL Assessment-style paper covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. That means children need balanced preparation across all four areas rather than focusing on only English and Maths.
The school’s admissions information also makes clear that the written test is only one part of the process. For Third Form entry, applicants must perform strongly in the 11+ examination, attend an interview, and have supportive references from their current school. In practice, parents should think of Solihull School’s admissions process as having three strands: exam performance, interview performance and school reference.
Because the school uses its own paper, parents should be careful not to assume that every detail will match a standard consortium test. The safest approach is to prepare in the GL style across all four subjects, with regular work on timing, careful reading and accuracy under pressure.
The school’s website confirms an Interview Day in the admissions cycle after the written exam. ElevenReady’s directory (not yet verified with the school)s an interview day on Saturday 21 November 2026 for the 2027 entry cycle, which shows that interviews follow quite soon after the examination. For children sitting in autumn 2027 for September 2028 entry, parents should expect a similar sequence, but should always check the school’s admissions page once the new cycle is published.
The school does not clearly state on the page reviewed whether the test is paper-based or computer-based, so parents should not assume either. Build familiarity with timed written practice, neat working in Maths, and brisk multiple-choice-style reasoning work, but check the school’s own instructions when candidate information is released.
- Exam owner: Solihull School
- Style: school’s own paper in a GL Assessment style
- Tested subjects: Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning
- Other assessed elements: interview and school reference
- Delivery: not confirmed on the sources reviewed
Registration and key dates
Solihull School handles its own admissions and entrance testing through its admissions process rather than through a local authority grammar-school registration portal. The school’s entrance exams page and senior school admissions pages are the first places to check for the current application route, forms and deadlines.
For the admissions cycle published on the school site for 2027 entry, the verified closing date for 11+ applications is 22 September 2026. ElevenReady’s directory (not yet verified with the school)s also record a typical exam date of 7 November 2026, an Interview Day on Saturday 21 November 2026, and a closing date for 11+ replies of Wednesday 3 March 2027. These dates belong to the 2027 entry cycle, not the 2028 entry cycle your child will apply for.
For families aiming for September 2028 entry, the practical lesson is the timing pattern: registration appears to run in the early autumn of Year 6, the exam is typically in early November, interviews follow later in November, and reply deadlines fall in early March. Until Solihull School publishes the 2028 entry timetable, that is the most reliable way to plan.
When registration opens, expect to complete the school’s own application route and to provide standard admissions information about your child and current school. Because the school states that references from the child’s current school form part of the process, parents should make sure their child’s present school knows in good time that an application is being made.
- Who runs registration? Solihull School
- Where to check: the school’s admissions and entrance exams pages
- Verified deadline for the published 2027 cycle: 22 September 2026
- Typical exam timing based on the published cycle: usually early November
- Typical interview timing based on the published cycle: later in November
- Reply deadline in the published 2027 cycle: 3 March 2027
It is worth signing up for reminders so you do not miss the school’s next release of dates. You can also bookmark /schools/solihull-school and use /school-alerts?school=solihull-school for updates.
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
Solihull School is an independent coeducational school, so its admissions process is separate from the local authority’s grammar-school testing arrangements. The school’s own admissions pages should always be treated as the main authority.
From the sources reviewed, the school states that applicants for Third Form (Year 7) must do well enough in the 11+ examination, complete an interview and have supportive references from their current school. That is the clearest published summary of how decisions are made.
The sources reviewed did not clearly publish a catchment area, distance priority, or a published 11+ pass mark for Solihull School. Parents should therefore assume that there is no publicly confirmed catchment rule in the material checked, and should avoid relying on forum claims about score thresholds or distance cut-offs.
Likewise, if you are looking for the number of Year 7 places or a published competition ratio, check the school’s current admissions material directly. These figures were not confirmed in the sources reviewed for this guide, so they are better checked with the school than guessed from older discussions online.
For families applying from outside Solihull, the key practical point is that independent schools often assess suitability first and then work through offers and replies on the school’s own timeline. That makes it especially important to keep track of interview dates, references and reply deadlines as well as the exam itself.
A month-by-month preparation plan
The most successful preparation for Solihull School is usually steady and varied rather than intense. Because the test covers four subjects, children benefit from short, regular sessions across the week. Below is a sensible timetable working back from an early November exam in Year 6.
January to March of Year 5
Keep preparation light. Around 1 to 2 hours a week is enough at this stage. Focus on reading fluency, secure arithmetic, times tables, vocabulary building and puzzle-style thinking. If your child is new to reasoning, start with untimed work so they can learn the method without pressure.
April to June of Year 5
Increase to 2 to 3 hours a week. Introduce all four subjects so none feels unfamiliar later. In English, work on comprehension and short written responses. In Maths, cover arithmetic, fractions, problem solving and careful working. In verbal and non-verbal reasoning, concentrate on learning the common patterns rather than rushing.
July and August before Year 6
This is the ideal point to build routine. Aim for 3 hours a week, split into short sessions. Start mixing subjects within one study week. You can also begin occasional timed mini-sections of 10 to 15 minutes so your child learns to move on when stuck.
September of Year 6
Step up to 3 to 4 hours a week. By now your child should be familiar with each subject area. Start completing longer timed sections and keep an error log: not just what was wrong, but why it was wrong. Careless reading, weak vocabulary, slow arithmetic and spending too long on one question are all fixable once spotted.
October of Year 6
This is the month for proper exam practice. Aim for 4 to 5 hours a week, including one timed mixed paper or a set of timed sections most weekends. Review matters more than volume. A child who sits three papers and learns from them usually improves more than a child who races through ten.
Late October to exam week
Taper slightly. Keep to 3 to 4 hours a week and focus on confidence, timing and routine. Revisit methods your child knows, not brand-new content. In the final few days, use short, calm practice rather than full papers. Sleep, organisation and confidence now matter as much as academic work.
- Build all four subjects from an early stage.
- Use short sessions on school days and longer ones at weekends.
- Begin timed work in small doses, then increase gradually.
- Keep an error notebook and revisit weak areas weekly.
- Practise bubbling answers or switching between sections only if the school later confirms that format.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Maths
For Solihull School, Maths preparation should centre on secure Key Stage 2 arithmetic and worded problem solving. Practise the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, measures, time, area, perimeter and interpreting short data questions. Because this is an entrance exam rather than a classroom exercise, children also need to work quickly and set out their method clearly. Regular mental arithmetic and times-table fluency make a real difference to pace.
A good routine is one skills session each week and one timed problem-solving session. If your child makes mistakes, sort them into categories: calculation slips, misunderstanding the question, or time pressure. Each type needs a different fix.
English
English preparation should cover both comprehension and written accuracy. Children should practise reading short passages carefully, finding evidence, inferring meaning, and explaining vocabulary from context. Spelling, punctuation and grammar also matter because they support accuracy under timed conditions.
For writing, focus on clarity rather than fancy phrasing. A strong Year 6 candidate usually writes in complete, controlled sentences, uses punctuation securely and answers the task set. Build vocabulary naturally through regular reading, not by memorising long word lists with no context.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning in a GL-style test commonly rewards pattern recognition, vocabulary and careful attention to instructions. Children should practise recognising word relationships, codes, letter patterns, sequences and logical rules. The exact task mix can vary, so broad exposure is useful.
The best way to improve is to learn one question type at a time, then mix them. Many children lose marks not because they cannot do the question, but because they hurry and miss the instruction. Encourage your child to check what is being asked before answering.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning usually tests visual patterns and transformations. Children should become familiar with shape sequences, rotations, reflections, symmetry, codes, matrices and identifying the odd one out. This subject improves when children learn to look systematically: shape, size, shading, position, number and direction.
Start untimed so your child learns how patterns work. Then add timing gradually. If a child is strong in Maths but weaker in non-verbal work, extra visual-pattern practice can lift their overall score noticeably.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are used as a tool for diagnosis, not simply as a score chase. For Solihull School, where the test spans four subjects, choose papers that give balanced coverage and review them carefully afterwards.
Start with untimed familiarisation. Once your child understands the style, move to timed sections. Closer to the exam, use mixed practice so they get used to changing gear between Maths, English and both reasoning papers.
Here is a simple way to use papers well:
- Give one paper or section in proper timed conditions.
- Mark it the same day if possible.
- Review every wrong answer and every guessed answer.
- Write down the reason for the mistake.
- Redo a few similar questions two or three days later.
Free resources for this school:
- Free Solihull School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/solihull-school-mock-tests
- The Solihull School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/solihull-school
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=solihull-school
If you use mock exams, treat them as rehearsal rather than judgement. One well-run mock can help a child learn pacing, stamina and exam-day routine. It should not become a source of panic. For many children, a small number of carefully reviewed mocks is enough.
On the day
The best exam-day preparation is practical and calm. Get everything ready the night before, allow extra travel time, and avoid last-minute cramming on the morning itself.
- Choose comfortable school-appropriate clothes unless the school states otherwise.
- Have a familiar breakfast and plenty of water.
- Arrive in good time so your child is not flustered.
- Bring any documents or equipment the school has asked for.
- Remind your child that one difficult section does not decide the whole outcome.
For the child, the simplest advice is often the most effective: listen carefully, read instructions twice, keep moving if a question is taking too long, and use the time at the end to check obvious slips. In English, answer the question actually asked. In Maths, write enough working to stay organised. In reasoning, watch for patterns and do not rush the instruction line.
If your child has an interview later in the process, keep the tone positive after the exam. Avoid a detailed post-mortem in the car home. Most children do better at interview when they feel the exam is behind them and the family mood is steady.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
After the written exam, Solihull School’s process continues with interviews and references. The school’s own admissions information states that success at 11+ is not based on the test alone; interview performance and a supportive reference from the current school also form part of the decision-making process.
For the published 2027 entry cycle, ElevenReady’s directory (not yet verified with the school)s record an Interview Day on Saturday 21 November 2026 and a closing date for 11+ replies of Wednesday 3 March 2027. For children applying for 2028 entry, parents should expect a similar broad sequence but must wait for the school to publish the exact dates.
The sources reviewed did not confirm a published results date or a published appeals process specific to the 11+ entry stage. As an independent school, Solihull School manages offers and waiting-list decisions through its own admissions system rather than through National Offer Day in the way state schools do. If your child is not offered a place immediately, the sensible next step is to contact the admissions team politely and ask about the waiting-list position and any further procedure.
If an offer is made, note the reply deadline carefully. Independent-school timelines can sit alongside local authority applications, so families often need to keep both processes in view at the same time.
What has changed recently
From the official material and verified directory information checked for this guide, the clearest recent published points are these:
- For 2028 entry, our working assumption, not yet verified with the school, is that Solihull School uses the school’s own paper in a GL Assessment-style format covering Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
- The school’s current admissions wording emphasises that interview and supportive school references are part of Third Form admissions alongside the 11+ examination.
- For the 2027 entry cycle, the school published a 22 September 2026 application deadline, an Interview Day on 21 November 2026, and a reply deadline of 3 March 2027.
No other officially announced recent change to catchment, published places, or score threshold was confirmed in the sources reviewed for this guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Solihull School use GL Assessment for 11+?
For 2028 entry, our directory, not yet verified with the school, records the school uses its own paper in a GL Assessment style across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Is there a catchment area for Solihull School 11+?
No catchment rule was clearly confirmed in the sources checked for this guide. Check the school’s current admissions page for the latest position.
When is the Solihull School 11+ exam usually held?
Based on the published 2027 cycle, the test is typically in early November. Families applying for 2028 entry should wait for the school to publish the exact date.
Is there an interview for Year 7 entry?
Yes. The school states that Third Form applicants are assessed through the 11+ examination, interview and supportive references from their current school.
Does Solihull School publish an 11+ pass mark?
A published pass mark or cut-off score was not confirmed in the sources reviewed. Parents should be cautious about unofficial figures shared online.
How early should my child start preparing?
For most children, a gentle start in Year 5 works well. Build familiarity first, then add timed work gradually during Year 6.
Sources
- Solihull School – Entrance Exams: School admissions/entrance exams page; Solihull School runs its own admissions process; official page to check registration and exam information for 11+.
Preparing for other schools in Solihull
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.