How to prepare for The Leys School 11+

The exam at a glance

For children hoping to start Year 7 in September 2028, the most important point is that The Leys has announced a change to where Year 7 pupils will be based. The school says that from September 2028, Year 7 pupils will be educated at the Middle School on the current St Faith’s site, and applicants are directed to the St Faith’s website for details of the admissions process.

ElevenReady’s verified information for 2028 entry is that the assessment is set by the school rather than by a shared 11+ consortium. Official material we found for the current Leys Year 7 process describes an online Quest assessment for 2027 entry, but because the school has redirected 2028 applicants to St Faith’s, parents should treat the 2027 Leys process as background only and check the current admissions page carefully before preparing to a fixed format.

What is confirmed in ElevenReady’s verified directory for 2028 entry is that the assessment covers English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Puzzles and Comprehension, and that delivery is computer-based. If you are planning ahead, that gives you a sensible preparation framework even though the school has not, in the official pages we found, published a full public breakdown of timings or task order for 2028 entry.

Based on the school’s published process for the current Year 7 admissions cycle, families should also expect assessment not to be the only stage. The Leys states for 2027 entry that shortlisted candidates attend interviews and group activities alongside the online assessment. For 2028 entry, because the school directs families to St Faith’s, it is best to assume that the exact structure could change and to verify the latest process before booking tutoring or mock exams.

Assessment setter: school-set assessment
Delivery: computer-based
Subjects to prepare: English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Puzzles and Comprehension
Likely wider process: assessment, with interviews and other activities depending on the school’s current admissions arrangements
Key caution for 2028 entry: Year 7 moves to the Middle School on the St Faith’s site, so always use the latest admissions guidance linked by the school

Registration and key dates

For September 2028 entry, parents should start with the Year 7 admissions page on The Leys website. The school states that from September 2028 onwards, applicants should refer to the St Faith’s website and terms and conditions for information about the admissions process. That means registration may no longer be handled in exactly the same way as it was for the final Year 7 intake to the current Leys site.

The most reliable current advice is therefore:

Read The Leys Year 7 entrance page first.
Follow the link or direction given there to the St Faith’s admissions information for September 2028 entry.
Complete the school’s application form or portal requested for that entry point.
Be ready for the school to request a report from your child’s current school as part of the process, because this is part of the published 2027 cycle.

Specific 2028 dates were not published in the official sources we found. However, the school does publish a timeline for 2027 entry, which is useful as a guide to the likely rhythm of the process while you wait for 2028 dates to be confirmed.

Stage	What the school has published
Application	Applicants must first complete the application form.
Autumn admin	In October 2026 the school begins requesting reports from current schools ahead of the January assessments.
Assessment timing	Tests take place in early January 2027 at The Leys.
Scholarship stage	Academic scholarship interviews take place in mid-January 2027 for invited candidates.
Offers	Offers are made in early February 2027.
Acceptance deadline	Monday 8 March 2027 is the deadline for acceptance of places.

Because 2028 applicants are directed elsewhere for process details, do not assume these dates will be identical. Use them only as a planning guide: application first, school report in the autumn, assessment in the winter term, then offers later in the spring term.

To keep track of any update, parents can bookmark /schools/the-leys-school and sign up for /school-alerts?school=the-leys-school.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

The Leys is an independent coeducational school, so there is no state-school catchment area in the grammar-school sense. Admission is based on the school’s own entry process rather than on a local authority coordinated 11+ test.

What matters far more for 2028 entry is the school’s published restructuring of Year 7. The official Year 7 entrance page says that only day places are available for Year 7 entry in September 2027, and that no boarding places will be offered in Year 7 from September 2028. It also says that from September 2028, Year 7 pupils will be based at the Middle School on the current St Faith’s site.

In practice, that means parents considering Year 7 entry for September 2028 should check:

whether the application is being managed under The Leys, St Faith’s, or a combined admissions arrangement;
whether any priority or oversubscription rules are published for that intake;
whether interviews, reports or references form part of selection; and
whether scholarships are available and, if so, how they are assessed.

We did not find an official published number of Year 7 places for September 2028 in the sources reviewed, and we did not find any published cut-off score, pass mark or distance rule. If you need those details, check the latest admissions pages directly and ask the school admissions team in writing.

Competition for independent-school places can vary from year to year, especially when there is a major change to site or structure. For this school, the sensible approach is to focus on presenting a strong all-round application: secure school report, calm interview preparation if invited, and broad academic readiness across the confirmed assessed areas.

A month-by-month preparation plan

Because the school’s published 2027 timeline places assessment in early January, a Year 5 child aiming for September 2028 entry should work on the assumption that serious preparation belongs mainly in Year 5 and the first term of Year 6. Keep it steady rather than intense.

January to March in Year 5

Start gently. Around 1 to 2 hours a week is enough for most children. Focus on secure arithmetic, reading comprehension, vocabulary building and short reasoning exercises. At this stage, avoid heavy timed work. The aim is to build confidence and spot gaps.

April to June in Year 5

Increase to 2 to 3 hours a week. Introduce each assessed area one by one: English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, puzzles and comprehension. Use short computer-based practice where possible, because the assessment is delivered on screen. Begin keeping an error notebook so your child can revisit common slips.

July to August before Year 6

Keep momentum without turning summer into a boot camp. Around 2 to 3 hours a week is realistic. This is a good time for regular reading, mental maths, vocabulary games and puzzle work. Add a few mixed mini-tests so your child gets used to switching between question styles.

September in Year 6

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week. By now your child should be practising all confirmed subject areas. Start timed sections in small doses, especially for reasoning and non-verbal work where pace can matter. If the school publishes any fresh guidance in the autumn, adjust your plan straight away.

October in Year 6

Continue with 3 to 4 hours a week. Use one fuller mixed session each week plus shorter top-up practice on weak areas. If school reports are requested during this period, support your child’s ordinary school work and classroom habits too, as that may form part of the admissions picture.

November in Year 6

Raise to 4 hours a week if your child is coping well. This is a sensible point to begin more realistic timed papers or computer-based mock sessions. Review technique carefully: reading instructions, skipping and returning, checking answers where possible, and recovering calmly after one hard question.

December in Year 6

Keep work efficient rather than long. Around 3 hours a week is usually enough. Focus on confidence, sleep and routine. Do a small number of high-quality timed practices, then spend more time reviewing mistakes than taking endless new papers.

Early January in Year 6

In the final days, do only light revision: vocabulary, tables, a few reasoning sets and one or two short confidence-building tasks. No cramming. A fresh, settled child will usually do better than a tired one.

Subject by subject: what to practise

English

For English, prioritise accurate reading, clear written expression and secure spelling, punctuation and grammar. Practise reading short passages and identifying the main idea, writer’s tone, word meaning in context and evidence from the text. Build vocabulary steadily through regular reading and discussion rather than memorising long word lists without context.

If any written response is required, children should practise planning brief answers, selecting relevant detail and writing in complete, accurate sentences. A computer-based assessment may still test language skills in short-answer or multiple-choice form, so include both styles in practice.

Mathematics

Focus on number fluency first: the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics and problem solving. Independent school assessments often reward careful reading as much as calculation, so give your child short word problems and ask them to explain what the question is really asking before they start.

Make sure your child can work efficiently without rushing. Timed practice is useful later on, but only after methods are secure. Mental arithmetic and estimation are especially helpful for checking whether an answer looks sensible.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning preparation should cover vocabulary, letter and number patterns, coded information, relationships between words and careful following of instructions. Because schools vary in the exact style of school-set reasoning questions, broad familiarity matters more here than trying to learn one narrow format.

Good habits include underlining key information, spotting the rule before answering, and moving on if one question becomes sticky. Regular short sessions work better than occasional long ones.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

For non-verbal reasoning, practise identifying patterns, rotations, reflections, similarities, differences, sequences and spatial changes. Children improve when they learn to compare shapes methodically: number of sides, shading, orientation, position and movement.

Because the assessment is computer-based, include some on-screen practice if you can. It helps children get used to viewing diagrams on a screen rather than only on paper.

Puzzles

Puzzles can feel broad, but they often reward logical thinking, flexibility and calmness. Use age-appropriate logic puzzles, code-breaking tasks, sequencing activities and multi-step problems. Encourage your child to talk through their thinking. The goal is not just getting the answer, but learning how to structure an approach when a problem looks unfamiliar.

This is also the area where resilience matters most. Practise leaving a question, resetting and returning later when possible.

Comprehension

Comprehension overlaps with English but deserves separate practice because it tests disciplined reading. Use fiction and non-fiction passages. Ask your child to retrieve information, infer meaning, explain a character’s or writer’s intention and support answers with evidence from the text.

Strong comprehension grows from regular reading at a slightly stretching level. Ten or fifteen minutes a day is often more useful than a single long session at the weekend.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are part of a plan, not the whole plan. Start with untimed familiarisation, then move to timed work once your child understands the question types. After every paper, spend longer reviewing than testing: which errors came from knowledge gaps, which from rushing, and which from not understanding the task?

For this school, it is especially helpful to include some computer-based practice, because the confirmed delivery method is on screen. Children should get used to reading carefully on a screen, keeping concentration and making selections accurately.

Use these free ElevenReady resources as part of that routine:

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

If you book a mock exam, choose one for confidence and routine rather than prediction. Because the school’s process is changing for 2028 entry, no external mock can perfectly replicate the real assessment. A good mock simply helps your child practise timing, concentration and recovery after difficult questions.

Two common mistakes to avoid are doing papers too early and doing too many in a row. In most cases, full timed papers are most useful in the final few months, once core skills are already in place.

On the day

A calm routine helps far more than last-minute revision. The night before, pack everything early, set out comfortable clothes and agree the morning plan. On the day itself, aim for a normal breakfast, plenty of time to travel and no frantic quizzing in the car.

Remind your child of three simple rules:

Read every instruction slowly.
If one question feels impossible, move on and come back if time allows.
A difficult question does not mean a bad paper.

Because the assessment is computer-based, it is worth reminding children to look carefully at what is on screen, avoid accidental clicks and check that they understand how to move through questions if instructions are given before the test starts.

If the day also includes interviews or group activities, the best preparation is not scripted answers. Instead, encourage polite conversation, listening, eye contact and the confidence to say what they enjoy at school and why they would like to join the community. Schools are usually looking for children who can engage thoughtfully, not perform perfectly.

For parents, the biggest job is to stay matter-of-fact. Treat the day as an opportunity to show what your child can already do, not as a one-off judgement on their future.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

For independent schools, the post-exam process differs from local-authority secondary allocation. Families are usually informed directly by the school whether an offer is being made, and an acceptance deadline is then set by the school.

For the published 2027 Year 7 cycle at The Leys, offers are made in early February 2027 and the deadline for acceptance of places is Monday 8 March 2027. Because 2028 applicants are directed to the St Faith’s website for admissions information, parents should check whether the offer timetable or acceptance arrangements change for September 2028 entry.

We did not find an official published pass mark, cut-off score or ranked waiting-list policy for 2028 entry. If your child is unsuccessful, the best next step is to ask politely whether feedback is available and whether there is a waiting list or a review route. Independent schools do not run appeals in the same way as state-school admission appeals, so follow the school’s own terms and admissions information carefully.

If your child receives an offer, read the acceptance paperwork closely. Check the deadline, any deposit or contractual terms, and whether there are further steps such as scholarship assessment, taster events or confirmation of school records.

What has changed recently

The biggest announced change is structural. The Leys states on its official Year 7 entrance page that the September 2027 intake is the final Year 7 intake to the current Leys site. It also says that from September 2028, Year 7 pupils will be educated at the Middle School on the current St Faith’s site, and that applicants from September 2028 onwards should refer to the St Faith’s website and terms and conditions for details of the admissions process.

The school has also announced that only day places are available for Year 7 entry in September 2027 and that no boarding places will be offered in Year 7 from September 2028.

For the final current-site Year 7 cycle, the school’s published process includes an online Quest assessment, with interviews and group activities for shortlisted candidates. Because 2028 applicants are redirected to St Faith’s admissions information, families should not assume that this exact arrangement will continue unchanged.

We did not find any other officially announced recent change to catchment rules, published pass marks or published place numbers in the sources reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

Does The Leys use the 11+ like a grammar school?

No. The Leys is an independent school and uses its own admissions process rather than a local-authority grammar-school 11+.

What subjects should my child prepare for?

ElevenReady’s verified information for 2028 entry is English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Puzzles and Comprehension.

Is the assessment on paper or on a computer?

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that the assessment is computer-based.

Will there be boarding places in Year 7 for 2028 entry?

No. The school says no boarding places will be offered in Year 7 from September 2028.

Are 2028 applicants still applying to The Leys site in Cambridge?

The school says that from September 2028, Year 7 pupils will be based at the Middle School on the current St Faith’s site, and applicants are directed to the St Faith’s website for admissions details.

Has the school published a pass mark or cut-off score?

We did not find an official published pass mark or cut-off score in the sources reviewed. Check the latest admissions page or ask the school directly.

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Sources

The Leys School – Year 7 Entrance Assessments: From September 2028, Year 7 pupils will be educated at the Middle School on the current St Faith’s site; applicants from September 2028 onwards should refer to the St Faith’s website and terms and conditions; only day places are available for Year 7 entry in September 2027; no boarding places will b
St Faith's School website: The Leys directs September 2028 and later Year 7 applicants to St Faith’s website for admissions information.

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Written by ElevenReady from the school's published information and reviewed by a person before publishing. Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Exam arrangements change. Check the school's admissions page for the current year.