Reading School 11+ Entry: Test Format, Places and Admissions

Entry to Reading School at 11+ turns on reaching an eligible score in the school's own entrance test, sat in Year 6, and then ranking highly enough against the school's published oversubscription criteria once a family has named Reading School on the Common Application Form with their home local authority. The school sets, administers and marks this test itself, without joining a regional consortium, so a boy's result applies to Reading School alone and is not shared with other grammar schools in the area.

The Published Admission Number for Year 7 is 150 boys, split between 138 day places and 12 weekly boarding places, with up to 15 of those places set aside for boys who also clear the Sporting Aptitude threshold. Registering for the test is a separate step from applying for a school place, and a boy may sit the test only once.

How many places are there at 11+?

The school admits 150 boys into Year 7 each year, its Published Admission Number, made up of 138 day places and 12 weekly boarding places. Within that total, up to 15 places are reserved for boys who achieve an eligible score in the academic test and also exceed the threshold in the Sporting Aptitude Assessment.

Boys with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school and meeting the academic standard are admitted before the remaining places are shared out under the oversubscription criteria, which reduces the number left for other candidates accordingly. Day places fill overwhelmingly with boys living in the catchment area, so out-of-catchment day offers are rare in a typical year.

How the 11+ assessment works

The entrance test, set by FSCE Ltd, is split into four papers, named Adventure, Beacon, Compass and Discovery, sat on a single day. Together they combine multiple-choice, constructed-response and written questions assessing English, Maths and Creativity, described by the school as testing 'thinking like an author', 'thinking like a problem solver' and the ability to think of new and imaginative ideas.

Content is drawn from National Curriculum subjects up to and including the Year 5 programme of study, so a boy is not expected to know anything beyond what his primary school has already covered; the school states plainly that no additional preparation is necessary and that no past or practice papers exist. English and Maths are marked by computer and age-standardised, and a familiarisation guide is published so a child knows the question types and answer-sheet format before test day.

There is no interview and no written reference from the child's current school as part of the assessment itself; the only school involvement is a Test Details form that the child's primary headteacher signs to confirm his identity on the day.

• Adventure paper
• Beacon paper
• Compass paper
• Discovery paper

How registration and the admissions process work

Registering to sit the test is done directly with the school online and is separate from applying for a school place through the local authority. In-catchment and boarding candidates sit the test at the school; day candidates living outside the catchment area sit an online version later in the year.

Results, showing whether a boy has reached the eligible score, are sent by email before the Common Application Form deadline. Because local authorities operate an equal-preference system, naming Reading as a first preference does not disadvantage a family if a place is not ultimately offered there.

• Register directly with the school (separate from any local authority form)
• Sit the entrance test, at the school or online depending on catchment status
• Receive the eligible-score result by email
• Name the school on the home local authority's Common Application Form
• Local authority allocations announced on National Offer Day, with eligible boys not offered a place added to a ranked waiting list

Catchment area and oversubscription criteria

The catchment area is defined by named postcode districts, including RG1, RG2, RG4, RG5, RG6, RG7, RG8, RG9, RG10, RG12, RG18, RG19, RG30, RG31, RG40, RG41 and RG42, with a wider extended catchment used only once nearer categories are filled. Where the entrance test produces more eligible boys than places, offers proceed through six categories in order, and unfilled reserved places cascade down to the next category.

A tie-break applies where standardised scores are equal: priority goes first to the higher score in the Discovery paper, then to the shorter straight-line distance from home to the school, and finally to a computerised random draw overseen by an independent person from the local authority.

• Category 1: Priority Places, covering looked-after children, Pupil or Service Premium, significant social or welfare need, and children of school staff
• Category 2: Sporting Aptitude, up to 15 places for boys who also exceed the sporting aptitude threshold
• Category 3: Reading Feeder Schools, up to 50% of remaining places for boys at state primary schools within a set radius of the school
• Category 4: Reading Priority Postcodes, up to 80% of remaining places for boys in the nearer postcode districts
• Category 5: Catchment Area, remaining places for boys elsewhere in the wider catchment
• Category 6: All other eligible candidates, including those outside the catchment area

Boarding places and fees

Weekly boarding is available regardless of where a family lives, since the school states there is no catchment area for boarding candidates; only weekly boarding is offered, with boarders home from Friday evening to Sunday night. A boarding application still depends on reaching the eligible score in the same entrance test as day candidates.

Boarding fees are reviewed by the governors each year and cover meals, snacks, evening activities and boarding trips, though not uniform or other school trips; a full term's written notice is required before a boarder withdraws. As a state boarding school, there are no tuition fees, and the school describes its boarding costs as considerably lower than a comparable independent boarding school.

How to prepare for the assessment

Because the school states that no additional preparation beyond the Year 5 curriculum is necessary and that no past papers exist, the most useful groundwork is broad and calm, avoiding narrow test-specific drilling: solid coverage of the Key Stage 2 curriculum across subjects such as English, Maths, Science, Geography and History, alongside some comfort with multiple-choice, constructed-response and written formats.

The published familiarisation guide is worth working through with a child so the answer sheet and question styles feel routine before test day, and the creativity element rewards a child who is used to generating original ideas or solving problems in unfamiliar ways, without depending on a fixed method. Since a boy sits the test once only, arriving rested and unhurried on the day tends to matter more than last-minute content revision.

Related guides

• Tutors for families in Berkshire
• Grammar schools in England: the full directory

Preparing for the Reading School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Reading School 11+ tends to go best when it starts early and stays steady, and most families who work with us begin between twelve and eighteen months out. Our tutors, who have prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, plan the work backwards from the school's own assessment format and registration deadline.

The tutors we match to 11+ preparation are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in Berkshire 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.