Registration for Bedford Girls' School 11+ closes in 56 days, on 1 December 2026. A free consultation now leaves time to plan the preparation before the assessment.
Book a free consultationKey Facts
| School type | Independent day school for girls (Harpur Trust) |
|---|---|
| Age range | 7–18 years |
| Location | Cardington Road, Bedford MK42 0BX |
| Academic record | 78% of A-Level and IB entries at A*–B (2023); 90% of leavers to first-choice universities |
| Contact | +44 1234 361900 · admissions@bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk |
| Day fees (2026/27) | £6,885 per term |
| 11+ entrance exam | Cognitive Ability Assessment, Activities, Interview |
| Registration deadline | Tuesday 1st December 2026 (September 2027 entry) |
| Assessment date | Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th January 2027 (September 2027 entry) |
| Offers | Wednesday 10th February 2027 |
Figures correct at the time of writing — always confirm current fees and deadlines with the school directly.
Bedford Girls' School's Year 7 entrance assessment is sat in Year 6 by girls applying for September entry, and centres on CAT4 reasoning tests alongside assessment-day activities and an interview.
Registration usually closes in the autumn term of Year 6, with the test following in January and offers issued the following February.
About Bedford Girls' School
Bedford Girls' is part of the Harpur Trust, educating girls from Reception through to Sixth Form in Bedford. The school teaches around 1,000 pupils and holds more than 1,000 sports fixtures a year. Sixth Form pupils choose between A Level and International Baccalaureate routes.
The entrance exam
Bedford Girls' sets its Year 7 entrance assessment around CAT4, the Cognitive Abilities Test produced by GL Assessment, an external provider whose computerised papers cover verbal, quantitative, non-verbal and spatial reasoning. Candidates complete the CAT4 papers online, and the assessment day also includes a number of activities together with an informal interview held with the Headmistress or a Head of Year. The school sets out these components on its admissions pages without publishing a fixed running order for the day, so families preparing a daughter for entry can expect the shape below to guide what she encounters.
- Cognitive Ability Assessment (CAT4): online, computerised tests covering verbal, quantitative, non-verbal and spatial reasoning
- Activities: candidates take part in a number of activities throughout the assessment day
- Interview: informal interview with the Headmistress or Head of Year
Registration and key dates
Registration for Bedford Girls''s Year 7 entrance assessment closes in the autumn term of Year 6, ahead of the assessment itself the following January. Offers follow in February, giving families several months before girls join Year 7 in September. Because the school sets these dates afresh each year, the key facts table above carries the current registration deadline, assessment days and offer date; this text describes only the usual pattern families can expect.
- Registration: usually closes in early December, during Year 6
- Assessment: usually sat over three days in January, during Year 6
- Offers: usually issued in February, during Year 6
- Entry: girls usually join Year 7 the following September
Current dates are in the key facts table at the top of this page, taken from the school's own admissions pages below, which remain the reference for each round.
Past papers and familiarisation
Bedford Girls' does not publish its own sample papers for the Year 7 entrance assessment. Its admissions FAQ points families toward finding age-appropriate examples online, to build familiarity with the kind of questions CAT4 uses.
CAT4 draws on verbal, quantitative, non-verbal and spatial reasoning, so families preparing a daughter for this format commonly work through practice questions across these four areas, becoming used to the question types and pace a computerised reasoning test involves.
Preparing with Taylor Tuition
The Bedford Girls' 11+ rewards steady preparation over a year or so, with the last term given to timed practice and interview confidence. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors match the programme to the school's assessment format and to where the child is starting from.
Because the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, and more than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status, families get a tutor who understands what the assessors are looking for. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.
Families in the East of England and further afield work with us online, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject, with no registration fee and a free initial consultation to talk through your child's current level and the timeline to the 11+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.
Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the Bedford Girls' School Year 7 entrance assessment involve?
- Candidates sit CAT4, a computerised cognitive abilities test from GL Assessment covering verbal, quantitative, non-verbal and spatial reasoning, alongside a number of activities held during the assessment day. An informal interview with the Headmistress or a Head of Year completes the assessment.
- When are the Year 7 entrance assessment and registration deadline?
- The assessment is usually sat over three days in January, while the girl is in Year 6, with offers following in February and registration closing in early December of that school year. Because these dates move slightly each year, the school's admissions pages and the key facts table above carry the current registration deadline, assessment days and offer date.
- Does the school publish past papers or practice materials for the Year 7 entrance assessment?
- Bedford Girls' does not publish its own sample papers for this assessment. Its admissions FAQ suggests that families find age-appropriate examples online covering the verbal and non-verbal reasoning question types CAT4 uses, since no official past paper is available.
- How hard is the Year 7 entrance assessment, and how should a family prepare?
- The school publishes no pass mark or statistics for the Year 7 entrance assessment, so difficulty is best judged by its format: CAT4 assesses reasoning skills across verbal, quantitative, non-verbal and spatial areas, alongside activities and an interview on the day. Families commonly prepare by working through age-appropriate practice questions in each reasoning area, building familiarity with question types and pace.
Enquire about 11+ preparation
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English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with mark schemes.
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