How to get into City of London School at 11 Plus

Introduction

City of London School has a significant intake at 11 Plus, with up to 60 students joining at this point.

Please note that the school also has a significant entrance points at 10 Plus and 13 Plus.

Places are awarded on the basis of performance in either a computerised assessment in November or December (for students hoping for a subsidised place) or a series of examinations in English, Maths, Non-Verbal and Verbal Reasoning in January. These examinations take place on one day in early January of Year 6 (the school year before admission), when students will be 10 or 11 years old.

Registration

Parents must register their sons by the November of Year 6. Contact the school for further information.

Pre-testing

City of London School do not use pre-testing at 11+.

Entry Examinations to City of London School

City of London School use separate assessments for students hoping for some form of financial assistance in the form of a bursary. These are computerised, and are sat in the November or December of Year 6. Contact the school for more information. Students who are unsuccessful in this test are not able to sit the main January exams.

All applicants (including those not applying for a subsidised place) sit entrance exams in Maths, English, VR and NVR in January of Year 6.

The school supplies sample papers in Maths and English, which you can view here.

Like the majority of schools, City of London does not supply practice reasoning papers. We recommend having your son practice with a variety of materials, including Bond Books and GL-Assessment papers.

Although they aren’t exactly the same, parents wishing to give their child extra exam practice papers have two main routes: the practice papers written by the ISEB (purchasable from Galore Park’s website), and the free papers that we provide on our website.

The City of London 11 Plus Interview

Students who do well on the 11+ examinations are invited in for interview in late January or early February of Year 6.

City’s interview at 11+ will take around 20 minutes. There is often a lot of fear around the interview process, but essentially, the school wants to know if your child is going to be happy and do well there. The school expect no special preparation to be made for the interview. In the words of one of our top school entrance tutors:

“The interview is a conversation with a purpose, designed to establish whether the school will suit you and you will suit the school. Ask your child to think about why they want to go there, what the school can offer them and what they can offer the school. Can they play an instrument, act, contribute to term sports, play chess, instigate a new club? Tell them!”

Scholarships and Bursaries to City of London School

City of London School offers around 30 scholarships for each year group. These are worth up to 25% of the school’s fees.

Scholarships

Academic scholarships are offered on the basis of performance on the school’s entrance test. Contact the school to find out more. All students sitting the entrance exams are considered on the basis of performance in these exams.

Music scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance in an audition. Applicants must have already passed the main examinations and have been invited to interview, must be at grade 5 or above in at least one instrument, and must play a secondary instrument.

Sports scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance in a special trial. Applicants must have already passed the main examinations and have been invited to interview, and must be at a high enough standard to represent the school in at least two team sports played by the school, especially football.

Bursaries

The school offers full-fee bursaries. These are offered when total annual parental income is below £45,000, and capital assets will be assessed. Applicants must sit the computerised screening exam in January, and parents must complete a financial statement. If an applicant is already at a fee-paying Prep school without a full bursary they are not eligible. You can find more information about bursaries here.

Fees

School fees for the academic year 2024-2025 are £7,885 per term meaning the total cost of the first year will be £23,655. It is worth remembering that school fees rise each year (usually by around 4-5%).

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