The short answer: if your child is in Year 5 this year, the next 11+ round is for September 2028 entry. Grammar school tests take place in September 2027, registration windows open in spring and early summer 2027, your council application is due by 31 October 2027, and offers arrive on 1 March 2028.
The tests for September 2027 entry have already taken place, in September 2026. Dates below were checked on the schools' own websites on 26 October 2026.
How the 2028 timeline fits together
Two separate steps: the test and the application
The selective schools below ask you to register your child for their entrance test months before the test itself. That registration is made with each school. Separately, you name your chosen schools on the Common Application Form (CAF) for your home council. Under the School Admissions Code, the national deadline for secondary applications is 31 October and secondary National Offer Day is 1 March (or the next working day).
Test results can arrive before the council deadline: Dame Alice Owen's School, for example, plans to send its Round 2 results on 22 October 2027. Registration deadlines are strict, though. Several of these schools say they do not accept late registrations, so a missed window can mean your child cannot sit that school's test.
Local selective schools: what has been published
Where 2028 dates are not out yet, we show the 2027 pattern
Dame Alice Owen's School
2028 dates published (21 October 2026)
- Test registration opens 28 April 2027 at 10am and closes 10 June 2027 at 4pm. Late registrations are not accepted.
- Entrance Exam Part I (Verbal Reasoning) on 1 September 2027; Part II (English and Maths) on 25 September 2027; Round 2 results on 22 October 2027.
- Only children living within the school's Local Priority Areas can sit its tests. The school also says test dates will be published by the end of the autumn term, so check for confirmation.
The Latymer School
2028 registration dates not yet published
- Open afternoon for Year 5 students and parents on Thursday 29 April 2027.
- The school is proposing, subject to consultation from 10 November 2026, to use Quest Assessments from September 2027, with Mathematics, English Comprehension and English Writing sections.
- Pattern from 2027 entry: online application opened 17 March 2026 and closed 2 June 2026, with tests on 3, 4 and 5 September 2026. Latymer admits only children living in its listed postcode areas, which include N14.
Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet (boys)
2028 dates not yet published
- A selective, non-fee-paying school.
- Pattern from 2027 entry: entrance test request form available from 1 May 2026, deadline noon on 8 July 2026, and multiple-choice tests in Maths and English on 16 and 17 September 2026.
- The school publishes sample test papers on its website.
The Henrietta Barnett School (girls)
2028 dates not yet published
- Admission to Year 7 is by academic selection: a First Round test in Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning and English, then a Second Round test in English and Mathematics.
- Pattern from 2027 entry: Round One on 2, 3 and 4 September 2026 and Round Two on 6 October 2026. Late applications are not accepted.
- The next open day is in the summer term of 2027; the school holds one open day a year.
Previous years' dates are a guide only. Check each school's admissions page regularly from early 2027 and register as soon as its window opens.
A simple plan for Year 5 families
From now to offer day
- Now to early 2027: draw up a shortlist and check eligibility, such as Latymer's postcode areas and Dame Alice Owen's Local Priority Areas.
- Spring and early summer 2027: register for each school's test as its window opens. Note open days, such as Latymer's on 29 April 2027 and Dame Alice Owen's on 15 July 2027.
- September 2027: entrance tests.
- By 31 October 2027 (a Sunday, so submit before the weekend): send your Common Application Form to your home council.
- 1 March 2028: National Offer Day for secondary schools.
How Vita et Pax prepares children
Deliberate, personal and unhurried
At our prep school, structured 11+ preparation runs in Years 5 and 6, building on specialist subject teaching from Year 3. In Years 5 and 6 it becomes more focused: verbal and non-verbal reasoning, maths and English are taught within the school day, alongside the wider curriculum rather than instead of it. Pupils sit mock papers under exam conditions so the real test day feels familiar, and we rehearse interviews for the schools that hold them.
From Year 5 we sit down with parents to talk through each child's strengths, temperament and interests and build a realistic, ambitious list of senior schools. We then help with registrations, deadlines and references, and stay alongside families through offers, waiting lists and appeals.
Recent Year 6 leavers have gone on to grammar schools including The Latymer School, Queen Elizabeth's School, The Henrietta Barnett School, Dame Alice Owen's School and St Michael's Catholic Grammar School, as well as independent and local schools. The full list, year by year, is on our leavers' destinations page.
Frequently asked questions
My child is in Year 5. Which 11+ round is theirs?
When does 11+ registration open for 2028 entry?
If my child passes a grammar school test, do I still need to apply to the council?
How does Vita et Pax prepare children for the 11+?
Sources
All checked on 26 October 2026.
- Dame Alice Owen's School: Secondary transfer key dates, entry September 2028
- The Latymer School: Admission arrangements for Year 7, September 2028
- The Latymer School: Admission arrangements for Year 7, September 2027
- Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet: Admissions
- The Henrietta Barnett School: Admissions
- Department for Education: School Admissions Code (2021)
- Vita et Pax: Leavers' destinations
