St Olave's Grammar School 11+ guide

Atom Learning is partnered with St Olave's Grammar School. You can read more about our partnership here.

Applying to St Olave's Grammar School for September 2028? This guide covers the two-stage St Olave's entrance test, sat in September and November 2027, the qualifying score, how the 124 Year 7 places are allocated and the key dates for September 2028 entry.

St Olave's Grammar School 11+ at a glance

The details below follow St Olave's Grammar School's most recently published arrangements, for September 2027 entry, as set out on its Year 7 admissions pages. The school confirms each cycle's figures in the spring — we'll update this page as soon as the 2028-entry arrangements are published.

• School type: boys' grammar school
• Location: Orpington, Bromley
• Admissions contact: admissions@saintolaves.net
• Number of places in Year 7: 124 (2027-entry figure — St Olave's Grammar School confirms each year's admission number in its determined arrangements, published the spring before entry.)
• Qualifying score: No fixed pass mark is published. The top 450 boys in the Stage 1 test go through to Stage 2, and places are offered in rank order of the entrance test.
• 11+ test: St Olave's two-stage entrance test (a one-hour multiple-choice Stage 1 test, then written English and maths papers at Stage 2)
• Catchment or priority area: no — places follow the entrance test ranking

Source: St Olave's Grammar School Year 7 admissions pages (Key Dates, Overview, FAQ and Entrance Test Information). Last checked October 2026.

Key dates for September 2028 entry

St Olave's Grammar School has already published its key dates for September 2028 entry, shown below. It gives the Stage 1 results date only as mid-October, before half term. For 2027 entry, registration ran from Monday 8 June 2026 to midday on Monday 29 June 2026, Stage 1 took place on Friday 18 September 2026 and Stage 2 on Friday 13 November 2026.

How to apply to St Olave's Grammar School

St Olave's Grammar School is selective, so your child needs to sit the 11+ test to be considered for a place.

You register your son for the Stage 1 test by completing the school's online Supplementary Information Form (SIF) during the registration window. You also name St Olave's on your local authority application form.

Once you have your child's result, you apply by naming St Olave's Grammar School on your common application form, which goes to your home local authority. For September 2028 entry the deadline is Sunday 31 October 2027. As it falls on a Sunday, you may find it easier to submit your form in the days before.

Reaching the qualifying score makes your child eligible, but it doesn't guarantee a place. If more qualifying children apply than there are places, the school uses its oversubscription criteria, set out further down this page.

What will my child be tested on?

St Olave's sets its own two-stage entrance test. Every boy registered by the deadline sits Stage 1, the Selective Entrance Test (SET), at the school. It lasts one hour and is all multiple choice, with questions in English, logic (verbal and non-verbal reasoning) and maths. Your son marks his answers in HB pencil on a separate answer sheet.

The top 450 boys in the SET are invited to Stage 2, and the school says all 450 have met its minimum standard for entry. Stage 2 is an English paper and a maths paper, each about an hour, with a 15-minute break between them. The English paper combines multiple-choice comprehension with a piece of written work, and the maths paper needs written answers.

Stage 2 takes place in November, after the deadline for your local authority application, so you name St Olave's on your form once you know your son has been invited. Places are then offered on National Offer Day in rank order of the entrance test, together with your order of preference.

The school publishes sample questions for both stages on its Entrance Test Information page.

The table below shows what each paper covers.

How are places allocated at St Olave's Grammar School?

If more children reach the qualifying standard than there are 124 Year 7 places, St Olave's Grammar School offers places using the oversubscription criteria in its admission arrangements. The school's Year 7 pages say that up to 10 places go to boys who receive Pupil Premium, or have been eligible in the last 6 years. These boys are ranked separately, and they must pass Stage 1 and sit Stage 2. All other places follow the rank order of the entrance test and your order of preference on the local authority form. The full order, including any priority for looked after children, is set out in the school's Admissions Policy 2027/28, published on its Year 7 admissions pages.

Only boys who reach the Stage 2 test and meet the school's standard are considered.

Does St Olave's Grammar School have a catchment area?

St Olave's Grammar School has no catchment area, so where you live doesn't affect your son's priority for a place.

Atom's research notes on the school's entrance test information give the tie-break as the maths score, then creative writing, then comprehension, then the Stage 1 SET score. St Olave's admission arrangements set out how ties are settled, and we'll check this against the 2028-entry arrangements once they're published.

If you don't live close to the school, it's worth thinking about how your child will get there every day. How long will the journey take? What transport options are available? Will they be travelling independently or with support?

A longer or more complex journey can affect your child's daily routine, including how much time they have for homework, rest and after-school activities. It's a good idea to think about how manageable the school run will be and whether it will work for your family day to day.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

The St Olave’s Grammar School entrance test can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

One of the hardest parts of 11+ preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom’s exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child’s target schools and exam dates, and we’ll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they’ll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.

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

Build smart exam technique

As your child’s knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom’s 11+ practice papers are built to match the format, timing and question styles of real 11+ exams. They’re also unlimited – you can download the same paper again and again, and your child will get new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

We’ve made marking easy for you, too. Simply photograph your child’s answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing your child’s standardised age score (SAS), where they’re doing well, and what they should focus on next. You’ll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in 11+ preparation.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will:

• broaden their vocabulary
• improve comprehension and inference
• build confidence in tackling unseen texts

And just as importantly, it can help them enjoy reading — not just see it as exam preparation.

Looking for inspiration? Atom’s recommended reading lists have suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you’re supporting your child through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing they’re moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom’s progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they’re moving in. You can see where they’re on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

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