11+ Exams Around Liphook: A Parent’s Guide to 2027 Entry

Understanding 11+ exams in Liphook

There is no single, universal 11+ exam. As Liphook sits in Hampshire, a non-selective local authority with no state grammar schools, the term 11+ locally refers almost exclusively to independent school entrance assessments rather than local authority grammar testing.

Local state secondary schools (such as Bohunt School) follow Hampshire’s standard, non-selective coordinated admissions process. Meanwhile, nearby independent schools set their own entrance assessments, interview formats, and registration deadlines. Because each independent school sets its own entry criteria, your child’s preparation should change with your target school list.  

Assessment Format

Assessment formats vary depending on the target school, but local independent assessments commonly evaluate English, mathematics, creative writing, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning.

Exams fall into two main categories:

• Online Adaptive Pre-Tests: Several schools use the ISEB Common Pre-Test (CPT) or similar online adaptive tests covering English, maths, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning. Candidates take these online tests once (often at their current primary/prep school or an approved test centre), and results are shared across participating schools, such as St Catherine’s, Bramley.
• School-Specific Written Exams & Activity Days: Many schools set their own entrance papers, creative writing tasks, interviews, or team experience days. For example, Churcher’s College publishes its own assessment covering creative writing, maths, English/SPaG, and verbal reasoning.

Scholarships & Financial Aid

If you intend to apply for academic, music, sports, or drama scholarships or bursaries, keep in mind that registration and application deadlines often fall 2–4 weeks earlier than the standard entry deadlines listed below.

Key Dates for 2027 Entry

Common Entrance and the ISEB Common Pre-Test

 It is easy to confuse the ISEB Common Pre-Test with standard Common Entrance. The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online adaptive assessment taken in Year 6, used both for direct 11+ entry and as early screening for 13+ entry later on. Common Entrance is different — subject-specific written papers, usually sat in Year 8 for 13+ entry (occasionally at 11+, if a school specifically asks for it.)

How should families prepare?

Start by confirming the admissions route and deadline for each target school. Preparation can then focus on a mix of curriculum knowledge, reasoning, timed work and interview confidence. Preparation works best when it’s steady rather than rushed. We recommend focusing first on underlying accuracy across unfamiliar question types before introducing timed conditions.

Steps for parents

• Shortlist destination schools before choosing an exam-preparation programme.
• Confirm whether each school uses its own 11+ assessment, the ISEB Common Pre-Test, Common Entrance or a combination.
• Record registration deadlines as well as assessment and interview dates.
• Treat month-only dates and published windows as provisional until Admissions confirms the allocated day.
• For 13+ entry, ask whether a Year 6 pre-test and later Year 8 Common Entrance are required.
  

How we can help

At our Liphook I Love to Learn Professional Tuition centre, we can help families understand the likely assessment route and build a focused preparation plan across English, maths, and verbal/non-verbal reasoning. Contact us to discuss your child’s target schools, timescale and current confidence.

Note

School deadlines and entrance arrangements are accurate as of September 2026, but families should always verify dates directly with admissions teams.”

Latest Tweets