Wimbledon High School 11 plus guide

Are you thinking about applying to Wimbledon High School for 11+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance assessment.

Key information for Wimbledon High School

• School type: independent day school for girls
• Location: Wimbledon, South-West London
• Admissions contact: senior-admissions@wim.gdst.net
• 11+ exam: two-stage assessment — Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, followed by a Creative Assessment
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries
• Scholarships: academic, music, drama and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

• 24th April 2026: applications for September 2027 entry open
• Tuesday 3rd November 2026: application closing date
• Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th November 2026: Stage 1 assessments (Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning)
• Early December 2026: Stage 1 results released
• Friday 8th January 2027: Stage 2 Creative Assessment
• February 2027: offers sent (exact date to be confirmed)
• Late February 2027: school tours and taster events for offer holders
• March 2027: deadline to accept offers and pay deposit (exact date to be confirmed)

How to apply to Wimbledon High School

Wimbledon High School is selective. This means that your child will need to take an entrance assessment to be eligible for a place.

You must register your child for Year 7 entry via the school's Applicaa admissions platform. Registration opens in the summer term in Year 5 and closes in the autumn term in Year 6. A non-refundable application fee of £250 applies (£350 for overseas candidates).

Wimbledon High School uses a two-stage assessment process, both taken in person at the school across the autumn and spring terms of Year 6.

What will my child be tested on?

The Wimbledon High School entrance process has two stages.

Stage 1: Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning

The first part is a verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning exam, lasting 45 minutes. It's taken by all registered candidates in November of Year 6.

The verbal reasoning section covers tasks such as finding common words and combinations, identifying antonyms, letter transfer, and number codes. The non-verbal reasoning section may include patterns and shapes.

Stage 2: Creative Assessment

Children who perform well in Stage 1 are invited back for a Creative Assessment in January. This is a mixture of group and individual activities based on a fun theme, designed to let your child show how they think, express themselves creatively, and solve problems alongside other candidates.

How are places decided?

Children who perform well on the Stage 1 Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning exam are invited back for the Stage 2 Creative Assessment. A reference from your child's current school is also requested as part of the process.

Places are offered in February. These are based on:

• their performance in the Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning exam
• their performance in the Creative Assessment
• a reference from their current school

If offered a place, you'll be invited to a school tour or taster event in late February, and places must be accepted — along with a deposit — by the deadline in March.

Financial information

Wimbledon High School is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school website for a full breakdown of fees per year group.

Financial assistance

When exploring independent schools for your child, scholarships and bursaries are worth considering. They can ease the pressure of school fees and open doors to opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded for a child's talent or achievement. While many schools focus on academic excellence, some offer awards in music, sport, drama, art, or other specialist areas.

At Wimbledon High School, Academic Scholarships are awarded automatically based on performance in the 11+ assessments, worth up to 20% of fees (typically 5–10%). Music, Drama and Sport Scholarships require a separate application by the registration deadline.

Visit Wimbledon High School's website to see the scholarships available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Your guide to independent school scholarships.

Bursaries

Bursaries are means-tested awards (based on a family's financial situation) designed to make independent education more accessible. Depending on your circumstances, a bursary could cover part or all of the school fees and sometimes extras like uniforms, lunches or school trips.

Families provide financial information to qualify, and awards are reassessed each year. For many families, bursaries make an excellent education possible that might otherwise seem out of reach.

Visit Wimbledon High School's website to find out what bursaries are available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Bursaries: a parents' guide

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

Applying to senior school 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 exam 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 mock tests are exact replicas of real entrance exams. They're also unlimited — your child can take the same test repeatedly and see new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

Atom's mock tests are automatically marked. You'll see 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 preparation for entrance exams.

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 reading and writing starter kit has suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through exam 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.