How to prepare for The John Lyon School 11+

The exam at a glance

For 2028 entry, The John Lyon School uses its own entrance papers rather than a shared 11+ test. For Year 7 entry, pupils are assessed in Mathematics and English, and the school also says candidates take part in a group activity and discussion as part of the assessment process.

The papers are paper-based. Just as importantly, the school does not test Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning for this route, so preparation should stay focused on secure maths method, accurate reading and writing, and the confidence to explain ideas clearly.

In practical terms, that gives families a clearer brief than at many schools. Your child needs to be ready to:

read carefully and write clearly in English
answer written maths questions accurately and methodically
manage time across two subject papers
join in a group task or discussion in a thoughtful, courteous way

The school states that Year 7 candidates are assessed in the autumn term of Year 6. For most families, that means Year 5 is the steady preparation year, with the summer before Year 6 used to tidy gaps rather than to rush through lots of new material.

Because there are only two tested subjects, the balance of preparation matters. Instead of spreading effort across four disciplines, it usually works better to go deeper in English and maths: stronger arithmetic fluency, multi-step problem solving, precise comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and well-structured writing.

Registration and key dates

The John Lyon School runs its own admissions process for 11+ entry through the school's admissions route, rather than through a local authority grammar-school test portal. The school's admissions pages direct families to its application process for Year 7 entry.

For 2028 entry, we could not find a published set of dates at the time of writing. The latest key dates visible on the school's 11+ information relate to the previous admissions cycle, so families should treat them as a guide to typical timing only and check the school page regularly for the confirmed 2028 schedule.

From the most recent published cycle, the school gave the following timings for Year 7 entry:

11+ application deadline: 31 October, 4pm
entrance examination: Wednesday 18 November 2026 or Thursday 19 November 2026
scholarship assessment dates: to be published on 1 September 2026
results emailed in the second week of February
offer letters sent on the Friday before February half-term

That strongly suggests families should expect the process to run in the autumn term of Year 6, with outcomes arriving in February, but please do not rely on last cycle's dates as if they were confirmed for 2028 entry.

When registration opens, expect to complete the school's online application and keep an eye out for any request for supporting information. Independent schools commonly ask for basic pupil details and current-school information, and may later request reports or references as part of the admissions process. Because requirements can change, the safest approach is to follow the instructions on the school's own admissions page when the 2028 form appears.

If you want a simple way to keep track, these may help:

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

The John Lyon School is an independent co-educational school, and its Year 7 admissions are handled by the school itself. Unlike many grammar schools, independent-school entry is not usually organised around a local-authority catchment test system.

We did not find any official published catchment rule for Year 7 entry on the sources reviewed. In other words, there is no catchment criterion we can verify here, so parents should check the school's current admissions page and policy directly if they want to confirm whether distance, location or any priority rules apply.

Likewise, we did not find a verified published figure for the number of Year 7 places for 2028 entry in the sources reviewed for this guide. If places or admissions priorities are important to your decision, it is worth asking the admissions team for the current Year 7 intake expectations and the latest admissions policy.

What can be said confidently is that the school uses a selective assessment route for Year 7 that includes:

written English
written Mathematics
a group activity and discussion

For families, that means suitability is judged on more than just score on a single paper. Academic readiness matters, but so does the child's ability to listen, contribute sensibly and engage positively with others.

If you are comparing schools, it is sensible to check three things early:

whether the school expects registration before sitting the entrance papers
whether scholarships have separate assessment stages
whether any later interview, report or reference stage forms part of the final decision

Where the school has not published a specific rule or number, it is better to ask directly than to rely on forum posts or historic hearsay.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child aiming at The John Lyon School in autumn of Year 6, the most effective preparation is usually calm, regular and quite modest in hours. For most Year 5 pupils, 2 to 3 hours a week in total is enough at the start, rising gradually only when accuracy and confidence are already there.

September to October in Year 5

Keep things light. Aim for two or three short sessions each week, around 25 to 35 minutes each. Focus on core habits: tidy written working in maths, secure arithmetic, reading carefully, and writing in full sentences with accurate punctuation.

Maths: times tables, number bonds, formal methods, fractions basics, word problems
English: regular reading, retrieval questions, inference discussion, spelling patterns, short descriptive writing

This is also the right stage to notice any genuine gaps. If your child still finds long multiplication, fractions or paragraphing shaky, fix that now before doing anything heavily timed.

November to December in Year 5

Build range, not pressure. Stay at about 2.5 to 3 hours a week. Start mixing straightforward work with one or two more demanding tasks each week.

Maths: multi-step problems, percentages and ratio at an introductory level where appropriate, checking methods
English: comprehension with evidence, vocabulary building, planning short written responses

For the group activity side, start very gently: ask your child to explain an opinion, listen to another view, and respond politely. This need not feel like formal tutoring.

January to February in Year 5

Begin shaping work towards entrance-exam style tasks. Keep sessions short enough that concentration stays good. Around 3 hours a week is still plenty for many children.

introduce occasional mixed maths sets rather than topic-by-topic sheets
use short English comprehensions under soft time limits
practise planning before writing, not diving in immediately

If your child races and makes avoidable mistakes, start a checking routine now: underline key numbers, estimate first, and re-read final answers.

March to April in Year 5

This is a good point to increase exam familiarity. Use one timed section now and then, but not full papers every week. The aim is to learn pacing without creating dread.

Maths: one timed mini-paper or section every 1 to 2 weeks
English: timed comprehension passages and one short composition task
discussion: practise speaking audibly, waiting turns, and giving reasons

If school is busy, reduce volume rather than pushing through tired work. Consistency beats intensity.

May to June in Year 5

Now start joining skills together. For many pupils, 3 to 4 hours a week is a realistic upper end. Introduce fuller papers gradually, always followed by review.

one maths paper or paper-length set every 2 weeks
one English comprehension or writing task each week
error review notebook: record slips, not just scores

This stage matters because children often improve more from correcting patterns of error than from simply attempting more papers.

Summer holidays before Year 6

Keep momentum, but do not turn the holiday into a term. Two or three sessions a week is enough. Use this time to consolidate and to make timed work feel normal.

alternate maths and English papers
practise written stamina
read daily
keep one short weekly discussion task to build confidence speaking in a group

By the end of the summer, most children should have started timed papers, but they do not need to have done dozens.

September to exam month in Year 6

This is the polishing stage. Move to 1 to 2 timed papers a week across the two subjects, with careful review afterwards. Keep weekday sessions short and use weekends for anything longer.

focus on weak areas identified from practice
practise finishing within time
keep writing neat and organised
maintain sleep, sport and ordinary routine

In the final fortnight, reduce volume slightly. Prioritise confidence, accuracy and calm over cramming.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Mathematics

Because The John Lyon School uses its own maths paper, the best preparation is broad Year 5 and early Year 6 mathematical security rather than narrow drilling in one commercial format. Children should be comfortable with:

the four operations, including written methods
fractions, decimals and percentages at an age-appropriate level
ratio and proportion foundations
multi-step word problems
measurement, shape and geometry basics
showing clear working

Practise by mixing straightforward fluency with reasoning questions. Many children lose marks not because they cannot do the maths, but because they miss a step, misread a word problem or fail to set out working clearly. Encourage your child to annotate questions, estimate where possible, and check whether the answer makes sense.

A good weekly pattern is one short fluency task, one reasoning set, and one mixed review. Closer to the exam, add timed practice in manageable chunks rather than relying only on untimed worksheets.

English

For English, prepare for a paper that is likely to reward careful reading, precise expression and secure technical accuracy. Focus on three strands:

Comprehension: retrieving information, inferring meaning, explaining word choice, supporting answers with evidence
Vocabulary and language: understanding nuanced words, spotting tone, using ambitious but natural vocabulary
Writing: planning, paragraphing, accurate spelling and punctuation, and writing with purpose

Strong preparation usually includes regular reading of varied material: classic children's fiction, modern novels, quality non-fiction, short articles and poems. After reading, ask questions that make your child justify a view, not just spot a fact.

For writing, do not chase elaborate phrases at the expense of clarity. It is far better to write a well-structured piece with accurate sentence control than a dramatic piece full of errors. Practise opening paragraphs, building detail, varying sentence length sensibly and finishing neatly within time.

Group activity and discussion

This part of the assessment can feel vague, but the preparation can stay simple and low-pressure. The aim is not to script your child. It is to help them show they can think, listen and interact well.

practise speaking clearly without rushing
encourage them to build on another child's idea
teach them to disagree politely
remind them not to dominate or disappear

Useful home practice includes family discussions about a news story, book, museum visit or practical problem. Ask your child to give a view, explain why, listen to another viewpoint and respond to it. Calm participation is usually more impressive than over-rehearsed confidence.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used to diagnose, not just to generate a score. For The John Lyon School, begin with untimed or lightly timed work to build secure method, then move gradually to timed papers once the basics are steady.

A sensible approach is:

start with single-topic or single-skill tasks
move to mixed sections
use full papers only when your child can already cope with the content
review every mistake carefully
redo missed questions a few days later

When marking, separate errors into categories:

knowledge gap
careless slip
misread question
ran out of time

That tells you what to do next. A child who knows the content but misreads questions needs slower, more careful practice. A child who runs out of time may need shorter timed sets and a clearer pacing routine.

Mocks can be helpful later in Year 5 or early Year 6 if your child is the sort who benefits from experiencing a more formal setting. They are less useful if taken too early, before the underlying skills are there.

For school-specific preparation, use these resources:

One final point: avoid doing paper after paper in the last few weeks. A smaller number of well-reviewed papers is usually far more useful than a large pile rushed through without reflection.

On the day

The aim on exam day is simple: help your child arrive calm, clear-headed and knowing exactly what to expect from themselves. They do not need to be perfect; they need to be settled enough to show what they know.

pack everything the night before if the school has given a list
choose comfortable school-appropriate clothes if no specific dress is required
aim for a normal breakfast, not a "special" one that may unsettle them
leave in good time so arrival is unhurried

Before they go in, keep your language steady. Try practical reminders rather than speeches:

read every question carefully
show your working in maths
if you are stuck, move on and come back
in discussion, listen as well as speak

For the group activity or discussion, the best advice is usually:

sit up and look engaged
let others finish
add useful ideas
be polite and natural

Afterwards, resist the temptation to dissect every answer on the journey home. Most children feel better when the day is treated as finished. Food, rest and an ordinary evening are usually the best next steps.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For the latest published cycle on the school's website, results were due to be emailed in the second week of February, with successful applicants receiving an offer letter on the Friday before February half-term. For 2028 entry, parents should wait for the school to publish the confirmed timeline.

As an independent school, The John Lyon School is not part of National Offer Day in the same way that a state secondary transfer application is. Instead, the school communicates outcomes directly to families through its own admissions process.

After results, families would usually expect one of three broad outcomes:

an offer
a place on a waiting list, if the school uses one
an unsuccessful outcome

We did not find a verified public statement in the reviewed sources setting out a separate appeals process for Year 7 entry. Independent schools do not use the same statutory admissions appeal system as state schools, so if you need to challenge or query a decision, the right next step is to ask the admissions office politely about the school's review or complaints route.

If your child is not offered a place, do not assume that means they underperformed badly. Independent-school selection often takes into account the whole admissions process, and competition can be strong. It is sensible to ask, where appropriate, whether there is a waiting list and whether any further information will be shared.

What has changed recently

From the sources reviewed, we did not find an officially announced recent change to the Year 7 test subjects or a move to a different exam board. The school's current 11+ information continues to describe Year 7 assessment through written English and Mathematics papers, alongside a group activity and discussion.

The main practical update visible in the latest published material is that the school has published a set of 2027-entry key dates, including an October application deadline, November testing and February results timing. No confirmed 2028-entry dates were stated in the material reviewed, so families should watch the school's admissions page for the next update.

Frequently asked questions

Does The John Lyon School test verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning at 11+?

No. For 2028 entry, ElevenReady's verified format says the school assesses only Maths and English, so VR and NVR are not part of the tested subjects.

Is The John Lyon School 11+ paper-based or online?

It is paper-based for 2028 entry.

What extra assessment is there besides English and Maths?

The school says Year 7 applicants also take part in a group activity and discussion.

When is The John Lyon School 11+ exam usually held?

The school says candidates are assessed in the autumn term of Year 6. The latest published cycle gave November exam dates, but 2028-entry dates were not yet published in the sources reviewed.

When do results come out?

In the latest published cycle, results were emailed in the second week of February. Parents should check the school's admissions page for the confirmed 2028 timeline.

Is there a catchment area for The John Lyon School?

We did not find a verified official catchment rule in the sources reviewed. Check the current admissions policy or ask the school directly if this matters to your application.

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Sources

The John Lyon School – 11+ Entry: School runs Year 7 admissions; Year 7 applicants sit English and Mathematics written examinations plus a group activity and discussion; candidates are assessed in the autumn term of Year 6; latest published key dates for the previous cycle include 11+ applications deadline 31 October at 4pm, entranc
The John Lyon School – Home: The school describes itself as a co-educational independent school for ages 2–18 and gives its senior campus address on Middle Road, Harrow-on-the-Hill, London HA2 0HN.

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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.