Bromley grammar schools 11 plus guide

Thinking about a grammar school in the London Borough of Bromley for your child? This guide walks you through how the system works, key dates for entry, and how to support your child through the 11+.

In this guide, you'll find:

• How the Bromley grammar school system works
• Key 11+ dates and deadlines for 2027 entry
• Which schools use the 11+ in Bromley
• What your child will be tested on
• How the exam is scored and how places are allocated
• Practical ways to support your child's 11+ preparation

Bromley grammar schools

There are two grammar schools in the London Borough of Bromley:

• Newstead Wood School (girls)
• St Olave's Grammar School (boys)

Both schools are selective and each has its own entrance exam and registration process. Girls applying to Newstead Wood School take a selection test. Boys applying to St Olave's Grammar School sit two exams, first the Selective Eligibility Test (SET), followed by a second stage exam for those who qualify.

If you are considering grammar schools in neighbouring areas, you may also want to look at schools in Bexley and Kent. Each area has its own registration process, so you will need to register separately for each school you apply to.

Key dates for 2027 entry

• Friday 1st May 2026: Newstead Wood School test registration opens
• Monday 8th June 2026: St Olave's Grammar School test registration opens
• Monday 29th June 2026: St Olave's Grammar School test registration closes
• Tuesday 30th June 2026: Newstead Wood School test registration closes
• Friday 18th September 2026: St Olave's Grammar School Selective Eligibility Test (SET) — stage 1
• Friday 25th and Saturday 26th September 2026: Newstead Wood School test days
• Mid-October 2026: parents receive test results for both schools
• Saturday 31st October 2026: deadline to apply for secondary school places
• Friday 13th November 2026: St Olave's Grammar School stage 2 entrance test (by invitation)
• Monday 1st March 2027: secondary school national offers day

Please note: the St Olave's Grammar School stage 2 exam takes place on 13th November 2026, after the common application deadline of 31st October. If you wish to apply to St Olave's, you should name the school on your application form before the 31st October deadline, ahead of receiving your stage 2 result.

Dates may be subject to change. Always check with your target school for the latest information.

What is the 11+?

The 11+ is an academic entrance test used by grammar schools to assess children for Year 7 entry. Children who pass the test or meet a qualifying standard are eligible to apply for a place.

The test is taken in September of Year 6. Children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 will sit the 11+ in September 2026 for entry to Year 7 in September 2027.

The two Bromley grammar schools use different entrance exams with different formats and subjects. It is important to check the specific requirements of each school you are applying to.

What's on the 11 plus for entry to Bromley grammar schools?

Newstead Wood School

Girls applying to Newstead Wood School take a selection test consisting of two papers provided by GL Assessment. Both papers are taken on the same day with a short break in between. Each paper lasts approximately 50 minutes to one hour.

All questions are multiple-choice. Your daughter will have a question booklet and separate answer sheets to mark her answers on.

The papers assess:

• Verbal reasoning: using logic and reasoning to solve problems with written information, such as letters, words, symbols and numbers
• Non-verbal reasoning: using logic and reasoning to solve problems with visual information, such as shapes, diagrams and pictures

Neither verbal nor non-verbal reasoning is taught on the national curriculum, so your daughter may not have encountered these question types before. It is worth familiarising her with both in advance.

St Olave's Grammar School

Entry to St Olave's Grammar School consists of two stages.

Stage 1: Selective Eligibility Test (SET) — Friday 18th September 2026

All boys who have registered by the deadline take the SET. The test lasts one hour and consists of approximately 60 multiple-choice questions split across four sections:

• Section A: English comprehension
• Section B: Maths
• Section C: Verbal reasoning
• Section D: Non-verbal reasoning

Your son will have a question booklet and separate answer sheets.

Stage 2 — Friday 13th November 2026 (by invitation)

The 450 boys with the highest SET scores are invited to take the stage 2 exam. This consists of two one-hour papers taken on the same day with a 15-minute break in between.

The English paper assesses reading and writing across two sections:

• Section one: your son will read a passage of fiction or non-fiction and answer multiple-choice comprehension questions
• Section two: part (a) requires your son to explain and justify inferences from a text such as a poem; part (b) is a creative writing task, assessed on syntax, paragraphing, punctuation, vocabulary, spelling, handwriting, layout and presentation

The maths paper assesses Key Stage 2 concepts, including Level 4 standard, covering number, algebra, shape, space and measure, and handling data. Questions may be more challenging than your son is used to and test how he applies knowledge in unfamiliar situations. This paper is not multiple-choice.

How is the Bromley 11+ scored?

Newstead Wood School

Papers are marked by GL Assessment using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technology, which scans answer sheets to detect the marks your daughter has made. 

Her raw scores from both papers are then age-standardised, which means younger children are not disadvantaged. The two age-standardised scores are added together to produce a single overall score, and candidates are placed in rank order.

St Olave's Grammar School

The SET papers are marked and placed in rank order by the school. The 450 boys with the highest scores are invited to take the stage 2 exam. Following stage 2, the English and maths scores are age-standardised and combined with the SET marks to create a final ranking order. Places are offered based on this final ranking.

What's the pass mark for Bromley grammar schools?

Each school sets its own qualifying standard and there is no single pass mark across the two Bromley grammar schools. 

Both schools are competitive and frequently oversubscribed with qualified candidates, so meeting the qualifying standard does not guarantee a place. Where a school receives more applications than places available, it will allocate places using its oversubscription criteria.

For Newstead Wood School, girls need to achieve a combined age-standardised score of 210 or above across both papers to meet the required standard. For St Olave's Grammar School, there is no set score; eligibility is determined by rank order at each stage of the process.

We always recommend reviewing your target school's admissions policy carefully before applying.

How to apply to Bromley grammar schools

If you're considering a Bromley grammar school for your child, it's a good idea to speak to your child's teacher first. Grammar schools are academically selective and select children working towards the top of their year group. Your child's teacher can indicate whether they think your child will be able to keep up with the pace at a grammar school.

1. Register for the 11+

Each school has its own registration process. You will need to complete a Supplementary Information Form (SIF) available on each school's website.

Key registration dates for 2027 entry:

• Newstead Wood School: registration opens Friday 1st May 2026 and closes Tuesday 30th June 2026
• St Olave's Grammar School: registration opens Monday 8th June 2026 and closes Monday 29th June 2026

2. Apply for school places

Results from the Newstead Wood School selection test and the St Olave's stage 1 SET are both released in mid-October 2026.

If your daughter has met the required standard for Newstead Wood School, you can list the school on your secondary school common application form (CAF).

If your son has ranked within the top 450 in the St Olave's SET, he will be invited to take the stage 2 exam on 13th November 2026. If you wish to apply to St Olave's, you should name the school on your CAF before the 31st October 2026 deadline, ahead of the stage 2 result.

Before listing a school on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible. The form must be submitted to your home local authority by Saturday 31st October 2026.

3. National school offers day

On Monday 1st March 2027, you'll be informed which secondary school your child has been allocated.

If your preferred school isn't offered, your child will receive another local school place, and you'll be given information about how to appeal.

How can I help my child prepare for the 11+?

The 11+ can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be stressful.

Here are some practical ways to support your child in a calm, structured way.

Stay on track with a clear 11+ revision plan

One of the hardest parts of 11+ preparation isn't motivation – it's knowing what to work on, when, and how to stay consistent without it taking over family life.

A clear plan helps your child build skills in the right order and avoid last-minute cramming.

With Atom's Exam Plan, you enter your child's exam date and target schools, and Atom builds a personalised weekly plan based on the key skills they'll be tested on. It adapts as they improve and shows them exactly what to focus on each week.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path to exam day.

Build 11+ exam technique with realistic practice papers

Once your child feels secure with the main topics, paper practice tests help them feel more confident with the exam format.

Atom's 11+ practice papers are designed to reflect real test conditions. Parents simply photograph their child's answer sheets and upload them to Atom for instant marking.

You'll get:

• a Standardised Age Score (SAS)
• clear insight into strengths and areas for improvement
• a comparison with other children applying to the same schools

The papers are unlimited, meaning your child can practise again and again with new questions each time.

Encourage regular reading for 11+ English success

Strong reading skills underpin almost every part of the 11+.

Encourage your child to read for 10–15 minutes a day, focusing on variety – fiction, non-fiction, different genres and authors.

This helps build:

• vocabulary
• comprehension and inference
• confidence with unfamiliar texts

If you're looking for ideas, Atom's recommended reading lists for Years 3–6 include a wide range of age-appropriate books.

Celebrate progress, not just 11+ scores

When you're supporting your child through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple view of how your child is doing across topics and how their performance is developing over time.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady and focus on consistent improvement – not just one-off test results.