Greenshaw High School 11+ guide

Thinking about applying to Greenshaw High School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions and how to prepare your child for success in the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test.

Key information about Greenshaw High School

• Address: Greenshaw High School, Grennell Road, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 3DY
• Number of pupils: 1,800+
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 314 (including 60 selective places)
• 11+ exam: Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET)
• Catchment area: no

Dates for your diary

• Thursday 1st May 2025: Sutton SET registration opens
• Friday 1st August 2025: Sutton SET registration closes
• Tuesday 16th September 2025: Sutton Selective Eligibility Test
• Mid-October 2025: parents receive Sutton SET results
• Friday 31st October 2025: secondary school common application deadline
• Monday 2nd March 2026: national school offers day

About Greenshaw High School

Greenshaw High School is a partially-selective state school in Sutton, southwest London, for boys and girls. It is rated 'Good' by Ofsted and is a member of the Greenshaw Learning Trust. The school is committed to academic excellence and wellbeing. Students are encouraged to become productive citizens who make a positive social impact.

60 places at Greenshaw High School are selective based on children's results in the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test.

How to apply to Greenshaw High School

Greenshaw High School is a partially-selective school. If you would like your child to be considered for a selective place, they will need to take the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET). All of the selective state schools in Sutton use the Sutton SET.

Registration for the 2025 Sutton Selective Eligibility Test opens on Thursday 1st May 2025 and closes on Friday 1st August. The Sutton SET takes place on Tuesday 16th September 2025 and you’ll receive your child’s results in mid-October. You can then use these results to decide whether to apply for a place at Greenshaw High School.

To apply for a place at Greenshaw High School – selective or non-selective – you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October 2025.

Passing the Sutton SET doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a selective place at Greenshaw High School. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Greenshaw High School below.

What subjects are on the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test?

The Sutton Selective Eligibility Test consists of two multiple-choice papers. Each paper takes about 40–50 minutes to complete.

• English: this paper is split into four sections. One assesses Key Stage 2 spelling and the other three test reading comprehension skills.
• Maths: questions cover the Key Stage 2 maths topics. These include number and place value, the four operations, fractions, decimals and percentages, measurement, geometry and statistics.

How does place allocation work at Greenshaw High School?

There are 314 places available at Greenshaw High School. The school allocates places in this order:

1. Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names Greenshaw High School
2. ‘Looked after’ and ‘previously looked after’ children
3. Children with an exceptional medical or social need to attend Greenshaw High School
4. Children of members of staff at Greenshaw High School
5. Up to 60 places are allocated to children based on the outcome of the Sutton SET. Places are allocated in rank order of scores
6. Children who have a sibling at the school at the time of admission
7. Remaining places are then offered based on the proximity of the child’s home to the school. This distance is measured in a straight line

Atom’s top tips for Sutton SET preparation

The Sutton SET is a challenging exam designed to identify bright children in the Sutton area. Here are our top tips to help you and your child feel confident for exam day!

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the exam. 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.

Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.

Read widely

The Sutton Selective Eligibility Test assesses your child’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.

Refine exam technique

When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.

Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.

With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.

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.