The exam at a glance
For September 2028 entry, South Hampstead High School uses a shared consortium entrance paper through the London 11+ Consortium. ElevenReady’s verified information for this school confirms that parents should prepare across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, and then check the school and consortium information carefully for the exact paper mix and arrangements for the year they are applying.
Because this is a consortium process, the first stage is designed to be taken by girls applying to more than one participating independent school. South Hampstead’s own admissions information for recent entry cycles explains that applicants first sit an entrance test and that shortlisted girls are then invited to interview.
The school’s published 11+ information for the most recent cycle we found gave parents more than one possible test date in late November and early December, which suggests the assessment window may run over several days rather than a single fixed sitting. The school should always be treated as the final authority for that year’s arrangements.
At this stage, the school pages we found did not clearly confirm the delivery method for 2028 entry, so it is best to assume parents should watch the admissions page closely for confirmation of whether the test is paper-based, computer-based, or a mixture. After the entrance test, shortlisted candidates are usually invited to interview before final offers are made.
In practical terms, families should prepare for a selective independent-school process: broad academic preparation in Year 5 and the start of Year 6, careful attention to registration, and some interview preparation once a child is through the test stage.
Registration and key dates
South Hampstead runs its own admissions process through the school rather than through a local-authority 11+ system. For the most recent published cycle we found on the school’s admissions page, parents applied directly to the school using its admissions route for entry at 11.
For September 2027 entry — the latest dated cycle available in the sources we found — the school said that applications were open and that the deadline to apply was Friday 6 November at noon. It also said the entrance test could be taken on Friday 27 November, Tuesday 1 December, or Thursday 3 December. Interviews were listed for Wednesday 20 January 2027, with offers on Friday 12 February 2027 and acceptances due by noon on Wednesday 3 March.
For families targeting September 2028 entry, the safest approach is to treat those dates as a guide to typical timing only until the school publishes the new cycle. Based on that published pattern, registration and application activity is usually live by the autumn term, the deadline is typically early November, the test is usually in late November or early December, interviews are usually in January, and offers are usually made in February.
The verified directory information supplied for this article also records a deadline of 6 November 2026 and a typical exam date of 27 November 2026 for the relevant cycle, with the note that the only dated school information found was the 2027-entry page listing the same late-November and early-December test window.
When registration opens, expect to complete the school’s application form and provide the usual supporting details requested by an independent school, such as your child’s current-school information and parent contact details. If the school asks for any further documents for your year group, follow the checklist on its admissions page rather than relying on previous years.
- Who runs registration? South Hampstead High School admissions
- How to apply? Directly via the school’s admissions process
- Typical deadline pattern: early November
- Typical test window: late November to early December
- Typical interview timing: January
- Typical offers timing: February
If you want a single place to track updates, save The South Hampstead High School GDST 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/south-hampstead-high-school-gdst and sign up for Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=south-hampstead-high-school-gdst.
Who can apply: catchment and admissions
South Hampstead High School is an independent girls’ school, so it does not operate like a state grammar school with local-authority allocation rules. The school’s senior admissions page describes entry at 11 as selective, with assessment and interview.
ElevenReady’s verified school data confirms that South Hampstead welcomes approximately 55 girls into Year 7 each year. It is also a popular and competitive school, so families should assume that strong preparation is needed even for bright pupils who are doing well at primary school.
We did not find a clearly published catchment area or distance-based priority rule on the sources reviewed. That is not unusual for an independent school, but parents should still check the school’s own admissions and terms pages for any residency, age, or administrative requirements that apply in the year they are applying.
Likewise, we did not find a published pass mark, cut-off score or standardised threshold for the entrance test. The school does not appear to publish one in the materials reviewed, so it is better not to work backwards from rumours or forum posts. The sensible aim is broad, secure performance across all four likely subject areas and readiness for interview if shortlisted.
In short:
- South Hampstead is open to girls applying for Year 7 entry.
- There are about 55 places in Year 7.
- Entry is competitive.
- No official catchment rule or score threshold was clearly published in the sources reviewed.
A month-by-month preparation plan
For a child hoping to start Year 7 in September 2028, the main exam period is expected to be in late November or early December 2027. A calm, steady plan works better than bursts of last-minute pressure.
January to March of Year 5
Keep preparation light and skills-based: around 1 to 2 hours a week in total is enough for most children at this point. Focus on fluent arithmetic, careful reading, vocabulary building, spelling, and short reasoning exercises. This is also a good time to identify weaker areas without creating anxiety.
April to June of Year 5
Increase to around 2 to 3 hours a week. Start working across all four likely subjects in short sessions. For English, include both comprehension and creative or descriptive writing. For Maths, make sure number skills are quick and accurate before moving to trickier multi-step questions. For verbal and non-verbal reasoning, build familiarity with common question types little by little.
July to August before Year 6
This is a useful consolidation period. Aim for 2 to 4 hours a week, split across several short sessions. Use the summer to widen reading, build vocabulary, revisit any shaky maths topics and begin occasional mixed practice. A small amount of timed work can start here, but only once your child understands the methods.
September of Year 6
Now move into more structured preparation, usually 3 to 4 hours a week. Use one or two timed sections at a time rather than full papers every weekend. The goal is to improve pacing and accuracy together. If the school publishes updated guidance or familiarisation material, switch your preparation to match that exact format.
October of Year 6
This is the month to begin regular timed papers, provided your child has already covered the core question types. Around 4 to 5 hours a week is realistic for many children. Mark work carefully and keep an error log: rushing, misreading, weak vocabulary, forgotten methods, and stamina problems all need different solutions.
November up to the exam
Use the final weeks for polish, not cramming. Sit a small number of realistic papers under calm conditions, then review them properly. Keep schoolwork and sleep steady. In the last few days, reduce the workload, go over favourite methods and reminders, and keep confidence up.
A good rule of thumb is this: first learn the skill, then practise the question type, then add timing. Children who start timing too early often become tense and careless.
Subject by subject: what to practise
Because the verified format for 2028 entry is a London 11+ Consortium paper and the exact subject mix can vary, families should prepare all four tested areas and then confirm the final published format with the school.
Maths
Build secure fluency first: number bonds, the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, averages, simple algebra, perimeter, area, shape properties and interpreting data. Independent-school maths papers often reward careful reading as much as raw difficulty, so practise multi-step problems and worded questions. Once methods are secure, work on timing by completing short mixed sets rather than only topic-by-topic exercises.
English
Prepare for both comprehension and writing. In comprehension, practise retrieving evidence, explaining language, inferring character or tone, and summarising clearly. In writing, focus on structure, accurate punctuation, ambitious but controlled vocabulary and answering the task that was actually set. Regular reading matters enormously here: classic children’s fiction, high-quality contemporary fiction and some non-fiction all help.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning preparation should cover vocabulary, letter patterns, codes, relationships between words, sequencing and logic-based question types. The best approach is systematic: learn one type at a time, understand the rule, then revisit it later in mixed practice. Keep a notebook of new words, prefixes, suffixes and common synonyms and antonyms.
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Non-verbal reasoning usually tests pattern recognition, rotations, reflections, symmetry, shape sequences, analogies and spatial logic. Children improve when they are taught how to look methodically: count sides, track shading, spot movement, compare rows and columns, and eliminate impossible answers. Accuracy comes before speed; speed follows once the child recognises patterns more quickly.
Across all four subjects, the most useful habit is active review: after every piece of work, ask what went wrong and why. A child who understands her own mistakes improves much faster than one who simply completes lots of pages.
Practice papers and mock exams
Practice papers are most useful when they are used sparingly and diagnostically. Start with untimed or lightly timed practice to teach methods. Move to timed sections once your child knows the question types. Full papers should come later, when stamina and pacing are the main things you are testing.
A sensible sequence is:
- Learn the topic or question type.
- Practise a few questions without pressure.
- Try a short timed set.
- Review mistakes carefully.
- Only then use a longer paper.
Try not to burn through every paper early. Save some for the final six to eight weeks, when they are most valuable for checking timing, concentration and recovery after a difficult section.
If you use mock exams, choose them for routine and confidence, not just for scores. A useful mock teaches a child how to listen to instructions, settle quickly, manage a watch or clock, and move on from one awkward question without panicking.
For extra practice and updates, use these ElevenReady resources:
- Free South Hampstead High School GDST practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers): /schools/south-hampstead-high-school-gdst-mock-tests
- The South Hampstead High School GDST 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates): /schools/south-hampstead-high-school-gdst
- Free email alerts for this school's key dates: /school-alerts?school=south-hampstead-high-school-gdst
When marking papers, look beyond the total. Ask:
- Were the errors caused by knowledge gaps or by rushing?
- Did your child struggle more with one subject or one question type?
- Did she run out of time because she was slow, or because she got stuck?
- Is the problem stamina, confidence, or accuracy?
Those answers tell you what to do next; the raw score alone does not.
On the day
Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, a comfortable journey plan and plenty of time in hand. Children tend to cope best when the day feels organised and predictable.
The night before, avoid a heavy final revision session. A quick look over a few familiar reminders is plenty. Then prioritise sleep.
Useful reminders for your child:
- Read the instructions carefully before starting.
- If a question feels difficult, do not panic; move on and come back if there is time.
- Keep an eye on pace, but do not rush so much that easy marks are lost.
- For English writing, leave a minute or two to check punctuation and obvious omissions.
- For reasoning, look for the pattern methodically rather than guessing too quickly.
For parents, the most helpful tone is calm and matter-of-fact. Try not to discuss how competitive the school is on the morning itself. Children usually perform better when the focus is simply on doing their own best.
If the school publishes specific arrival times, equipment instructions or identity requirements for your year, follow those exactly. Because delivery details for 2028 entry were not clearly confirmed in the sources reviewed, keep checking the admissions page for practical instructions nearer the test date.
After the exam: results, allocation and appeals
After the entrance test, selective independent schools typically review performance and invite shortlisted candidates to the next stage, which at South Hampstead is interview. Final decisions are then made after that process.
For the latest dated cycle visible on the school’s admissions page, interviews were scheduled for 20 January 2027 and offers were made on 12 February 2027, with acceptances due by 3 March 2027 at noon. For 2028 entry, parents should treat that as the usual pattern until the school publishes the new dates.
Because South Hampstead is an independent school, this is not the same as state-school National Offer Day allocation. Families apply directly, receive the school’s decision directly, and then decide whether to accept by the school’s deadline.
If your child is not offered a place, the next step depends on the school’s own admissions arrangements for that year. Some independent schools operate waiting lists or can explain whether further movement is possible after the acceptance deadline. If you need to challenge a decision or seek clarification, use the school’s admissions office and published policies as your starting point.
We did not find a published appeals process in the style used by state schools, so parents should check the school’s own terms and admissions documentation for the correct route if needed.
What has changed recently
The main recent change confirmed by ElevenReady’s verified data for this guide is that for 2028 entry South Hampstead High School will use a consortium-set paper via the London 11+ Consortium. Families preparing for this entry year should therefore avoid relying on much older school-specific descriptions of the first-stage exam and instead watch for the school’s current consortium guidance.
In the most recent dated admissions information we found on the school’s own site, the school published a multi-date test window for 2027 entry rather than a single test day, with sittings on 27 November, 1 December and 3 December, followed by interview and offer dates in January and February. That is useful as a pattern for planning, though parents should wait for the school’s 2028-entry page for final confirmation.
We did not find any clearly announced recent change to catchment rules or to the published number of Year 7 places in the sources reviewed.
Frequently asked questions
How many places are there in Year 7 at South Hampstead High School?
ElevenReady’s verified school information confirms that South Hampstead admits approximately 55 girls into Year 7 each year.
Does South Hampstead High School have a catchment area?
We did not find a clearly published catchment or distance rule in the sources reviewed. Check the school’s own admissions page for the current year’s requirements.
What subjects should my child prepare for?
For 2028 entry, prepare Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The exact consortium paper mix should be confirmed with the school when the new admissions information is published.
When is the South Hampstead 11+ exam usually held?
Based on the latest dated school information available, the test is usually in late November or early December. For the most recent published cycle, the school offered sittings on 27 November, 1 December and 3 December.
Does the school publish a pass mark or cut-off score?
We did not find a published pass mark or cut-off score in the sources reviewed. It is best to ignore unofficial claims and check the school’s admissions page for any information it chooses to publish.
Is there an interview after the test?
Yes. The school’s admissions information for the latest published cycle states that shortlisted candidates are invited to interview after the entrance test.
Sources
- South Hampstead High School GDST – Entry at 11: School runs its own admissions for entry at 11; latest dated cycle listed application deadline Friday 6 November at noon; entrance test dates Friday 27 November, Tuesday 1 December, Thursday 3 December; interviews Wednesday 20 January 2027; offers Friday 12 February 2027; acceptance deadline noon We
- South Hampstead High School GDST – Home page: School identity and location as South Hampstead High School GDST, senior school at 3 Maresfield Gardens, London NW3 5SS.
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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.