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Considering Emanuel School for your child? We’ve collated everything you need to know about 11+ entry. Learn how to apply, what’s on the entrance exam, and how to help your child prepare for success.
Key information for Emanuel School
Address: Emanuel School, Battersea Rise, London, SW11 1HS
Age range and gender: boys and girls aged 10–18
Type of school: independent day
Number of students: 1,000+
Admissions contact: [email protected]
11+ open days: June and September
11+ selection criteria: entrance exam, interview, group experience and year 5 school report
Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries
11+ scholarships: academic, art, drama, music and sport
About Emanuel School
Emanuel School is a private day school for boys and girls aged 10–18 in Battersea, London. It was founded by Lady Anne Dacre – cousin of Queen Elizabeth I – in Westminster in 1594. The school relocated to its current site on the edge of Wandsworth Common in 1883. It is an increasingly popular choice for families in southwest London.
Pupils at Emanuel enjoy an extensive range of co-curricular activities including art and design, drama, music and sport. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a popular choice for pupils in Years 10–11. Enrichment opportunities include Goddard Lectures, which allow pupils to hear from experts from a wide range of industries.
Pupils benefit from a blend of traditional and contemporary facilities. These include a multi-use sports centre, 14-acres of off-site sports pitches, swimming pool, film studio, a biodiversity garden, and boathouse.
Emanuel School is committed to charity work and outreach. The Primary Ambitions partnership involves students working with children at local primary schools. Sixth form students deliver lessons and activities that local children might not otherwise be able to enjoy.
Dates for your diary
Registration closes: October in Year 6
Entrance exam: November/December in Year 6
Interviews and group experience: January in Year 6
Offers of places: February in Year 6
Acceptance deadline: March in Year 6
Emanuel School 11+ entrance exam
Children applying for 11 plus entry to Emanuel School sit tests in English, maths and verbal reasoning. These exams are taken on paper.
English
The English test lasts 1 hour and is split into two sections:
Section A: reading comprehension. Your child should spend 30 minutes on this section. They will need to read a passage of text and answer questions to demonstrate their understanding of what they have read. They will need to provide written answers of varying lengths.
Section B: creative writing. Your child should also spend 30 minutes on this section. They will need to write an original piece in response to a prompt. Your child will be marked on the originality of their writing, as well as their accuracy with spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Maths
The maths test lasts 45 minutes. This paper tests your child’s knowledge and understanding of the Key Stage 2 maths curriculum. This includes topics such as:
Number skills
Fractions and ratios
Decimals
Shapes
Units (money, length, mass, time, capacity, perimeter and area)
Data
Your child will be able to see how many marks are available for each question on the question paper.
Verbal reasoning
The third paper tests verbal reasoning and lasts 30 minutes. Verbal reasoning tests how well your child can reason and solve problems with written information, like letters, words and numbers.
Emanuel School devises its own verbal reasoning papers based on GL Assessment papers.
Children who perform well in the entrance exam are invited back to the school for an interview and a group experience in January. Interviews usually take place with a senior member of staff and last around 20 minutes. Learn more, find out top tips, and download a free interview resource in our guide to private school interviews.
Atom’s top tips for applying to Emanuel School
Emanuel School is a very popular school and oversubscribed every year. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the selection process.
Bitesize learning
It’s important to build a good knowledge base before school entrance exams. Your child should have a good understanding of the content they’ve been taught at school before testing their knowledge with practice tests.
Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.
With Atom Home, you don’t need to worry about creating a study schedule. When you enter your target schools, you’ll get a bespoke learning plan tailored to your schools’ entrance exams. Know exactly what your child needs to do each week to confidently pass.
Read widely
Entrance exams test children’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.
Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.
Looking for reading inspiration? Check out our Key Stage 2 reading list.
Hone curiosity
Selective schools are often looking for children who are interested in learning. You can help by supporting your child’s broader learning, their intellectual curiosity, and their passion for developing an understanding of the world.
Talk to your child about the world we live in and inspire an interest in current affairs with age-appropriate journalism. It’s also a good idea to make sure they’re benefitting from a rich variety of experiences, such as visiting libraries, museums and galleries.
Refine exam technique
When your child feels confident with their knowledge of the exam topics, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.
Mock tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and refine exam technique. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning, while highlighting any knowledge gaps they might want to tackle before exam day.
When you set Emanuel School as a target school on Atom Home, your child will get tailored mock tests for Emanuel School as part of their learning plan. Know what to expect on exam day.
Celebrate progress
Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.
Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.
Tailored exam prep for Emanuel School
Get your child’s roadmap to success with Atom Home. Atom has everything you need to get prepared, in one package.
Know what to revise with clear weekly plans tailored to Emanuel School
Enjoy learning with 90,000+ questions and 500+ hours of videos
Refine exam technique with mock tests for Emanuel School
See your child’s performance compared to other candidates
School offers – easy with Atom.
In 2024, 91% of Atom kids got offered a place at their top-choice school. Your child could be one of them. Get started with Atom for free today.
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