The Henrietta Barnett School 11+ guide

Thinking about applying to The Henrietta Barnett School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus.

Key information about The Henrietta Barnett School

• Address: The Henrietta Barnett School, Central Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London NW11 7BN
• Number of pupils: approx 800
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 120
• 11+ exam: GL Assessment (first round) and school’s own test (second round)
• Catchment area: no

Dates for your diary

• Entrance exam registration opens: Monday 1st April 2025
• Open day: Thursday 3rd July 2025
• Entrance exam registration closes: Friday 11th July 2025
• First round exam date: Early September 2025
• First round results released: Late September 2025
• Second round exam date: Early October 2025
• Secondary school application deadline: Friday 31st October 2025
• School allocations: Monday 2nd March 2026

About The Henrietta Barnett School

The Henrietta Barnett School (HBS) is a girls' grammar school in north London. It was founded in 1911 by Dame Henrietta Barnett to educate girls from different backgrounds together. HBS is well-known for academic excellence and is ranked among the top schools in the country.

The school offers outstanding enrichment opportunities for students. There are over 50 clubs and societies – many of which are student-led. The community is described as "diverse, inclusive, high-performing, friendly and supportive". New refurbishments include eight science labs, a new music and drama school, and an art and design centre.

How to apply to The Henrietta Barnett School

The Henrietta Barnett School is a selective school. This means that your daughter will need to take the 11 plus to be eligible for a place. Entry to HBS consists of two rounds of entrance exams.

Girls applying for 2026 entry to The Henrietta Barnett School need to be registered by Friday 11th July 2025. The first round exam will take place in early September and you’ll receive your child’s results a few weeks later. If your daughter has been scored within the top 300 children, she will be invited to take the second round exam in early October.

To apply to the Henrietta Barnett School, you’ll need to name HBS 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.

Remember – passing the entrance exams doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for The Henrietta Barnett School below.

What subjects are on the HBS entrance exam?

Girls applying to The Henrietta Barnett School take a first round entrance exam in early September. Children with the top 300 scores are invited to a second round exam in early October.

First round exam

The first round entrance exam consists of 11 plus papers provided by GL Assessment. All of the questions are multiple-choice. Your child will have a question booklet and separate answer sheets.

The questions cover three subjects:

• English: questions are based on the national curriculum content your daughter will be learning at school. This often includes a reading comprehension task.
• Verbal reasoning: this subject is not taught at school. Verbal reasoning assesses your child’s ability to analyse and solve problems with written information, like letters, words, symbols and numbers.
• Non-verbal reasoning: like verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning isn’t taught on the national curriculum. This tests your child’s ability to solve problems with visual information, such as shapes, diagrams and pictures.

Second round exam

Children invited back for the second round exam take two test papers created by staff at The Henrietta Barnett School.

One paper assesses English comprehension and creative writing. The other paper assesses maths.

These papers are not multiple-choice. The content is likely to include both Year 5 and Year 6 national curriculum objectives. Your child will need to apply their skills and knowledge to new situations.

How does place allocation work at The Henrietta Barnett School?

There are 120 places available in Year 7 at The Henrietta Barnett School.

After the second round test, childrens’ results are standardised and combined with the results from the first round test. They are then placed in rank order, from highest to lowest overall score, and submitted to the local authority.

The local authority offers places to the highest ranked children. If the school is oversubscribed, priority is given to children in the following order:

1. ‘Looked after’ and ‘previously looked after children’ ranked within the top 300 in the first round test
2. Children who are eligible for pupil premium funding and ranked within the top 300 in the first round test
3. Children who live within three miles of the school and who took the second round test. If there are more children in this category than remaining places available, places are allocated in rank score order
4. All remaining children in rank score order

There’s no catchment area for The Henrietta Barnett School. However, children who live within three miles of the school are prioritised for places. The distance from the school is measured in a straight line between the child’s home address and the main entrance of the school.

Atom’s top tips for 11 plus preparation

The Henrietta Barnett School is one of the most popular state schools in London, so competition for places is high. 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 11 plus. 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

11 plus exams test 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.