“We had planned to stop the tutoring after the 11+ exam, but with the next lockdown and more disruption to her education, we quickly relented when she literally begged us to continue going! The sessions are adjusted to her needs and she describes them as ‘really fun’ and she likes it that the work is specific to her level and much more individualised than the class work at school.”
11+ Entrance Assessments 2025/26
Independent Schools in Portsmouth, Fareham & Havant
Greetings, parents! In the Portsmouth area, you’ll find a variety of independent schools, each offering its own unique blend of educational ethos and environment, ranging from the grand to the intimate, and spanning a spectrum of academic rigour. We take great pleasure in assisting children with their preparation for the 11+ common entrance assessments, recognising the significance of this milestone. Additionally, we recognise the importance of ensuring everyone is well-informed regarding relevant dates and schedules. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on that front.
Scholarships
Academic Scholarships may be awarded to the top achievers based on the results of the school’s 11+ assessment. The criteria for this will vary from school to school, so you must apply directly to them.
Additionally, some schools offer scholarships for excellence in Art, Drama, Music, and Sport at 11+, 13+, and Sixth Form. These need to be applied for, and applications are usually submitted by the end of November preceding the September of entry. You can apply for more than one scholarship.
Financial Assistance
Some schools may offer financial assistance (means tested on income and exam performance) for Year 7 and Year 9 entry, and the deadline for applying is normally the end of November (September in the case of Portsmouth Grammar School), prior to the year of entry. Often, financial assistance is allocated first and foremost based on the child’s exceptional performance in the Entrance Assessments; the financial information you provide is then considered.
N.B. Please note that advice given here may vary between individual schools. It is important that you get in touch with individual schools to find out their exact criteria for entry requirements, scholarships, and financial assistance.
Common Entrance Assessment or 11+
This exam is so called as it is taken at the age of 11 years at the beginning of secondary education. Not all independent schools are selective, but almost all schools will want students to take an entrance assessment exam of some kind.
The entrance exams always cover maths and English to a high level. Children are also usually tested on their verbal and nonverbal reasoning. These tests are designed to be more difficult to prepare for as they are not school subjects. Verbal reasoning is concerned with language and word problems, while non-verbal reasoning includes logic, shape, and number patterns.
The 11+ Assessments typically consist of the following: Maths (50 mins); English (45 mins); Reading Comprehension (30 mins); Non-verbal Reasoning (30 mins); plus an Interview (20 mins).
Full Bursary
“We are so pleased that Mahera has got a FULL BURSARY for the local girl’s high school in Portsmouth. She has been to your centre before for tuition, but we came back in November so she could get ready for the exams. She has worked so hard and Linda has really encouraged her in her writing! Thanks so much!”
Click here to read more about our success…..
Portsmouth Grammar School
11+ and 13+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 8th November 2025
(Deadline for registering is Friday, 26th September 2025)
Mayville High School
All Candidates Sit Exam
Saturday 15th November 2025
Portsmouth High School for Girls
Music, Art, Drama & Sport Scholarship Day
Monday 5th January 2026
11+ Assessment Day
Tuesday 6th January 2026
The Gregg School
11+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 24th January 2026
Meoncross School
Open Week: 22- 26th September 10.45am 2025
Open Morning November Friday 21th November 10.45am 2025
Boundary Oak School
Assessment can be booked all year
Are you considering entering your child for an independent school? Then book a Free Assessment today!
NOW IS THE TIME
If your child is currently in Year 5, then NOW is the time to start preparing for the entrance assessment exam in January.
During your child’s free forty-five-minute assessment we will:
- Test your child’s reading age, spelling age and maths ability.
- Give you honest feedback on your child’s ability to pass the entrance exams for each school.
- Discuss our previous experience preparing students for entrance exams for local independent schools.
- Give you a breakdown of the topics your child needs to cover to prepare for the entrance exam.
- Explain our materials and teaching methods to you.
- Give you the chance to ask any questions and to tap into our expertise.
Click here to find out more about tutoring for Entrance Exams …
8 +11 + 13+ Exam Success
Once again we are celebrating 11+ exam success !
We have heard that everyone has passed exams and been offered places to at lea
st one of their chosen schools. This is such fantastic news and well deserved, you did it!
A big thank you to all our tutors who worked so hard with the entrance exam students. We are able to design programmes that focus on areas such as verbal and non- verbal reasoning. We also work with students to improve any areas of maths or English that need attention.
Special Mentions go to;
- Conrad, Christ’s Hospital scholarship and Grammar School
- Zeeshan, Salisbury Cathedral School, scholarship and other school offers
- Lissiana, Grammar School, scholarship and English prize
- Alex and Jamie, St John’s scholarships
- Ivan, Grammar School
- Christian, Grammar School
We wish you all a great transition to your new schools and every success while there! There are more results to follow!
INVITATION TO PLAYZONE
Our entrance exam students are all invited on
Friday 23rd March between 4pm and 6pm
PLAY ZONE, Unit A4, Oak Park Industrial Estate, North Harbour Rd, PORTSMOUTH PO6 3TJ
Hotdog and drink on us! See you there!
Dates for 11+ Entrance Assessments for Local Independent Schools
Are you considering entering your child for an 11+ entrance assessment for an independent school? Here are some dates for some of the local Portsmouth schools.
Every year we help lots of children prepare for these tests. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if we can be of help.
Portsmouth High School
11+, 12+, 13+ or 14+
Saturday 20th January.
Portsmouth Grammar School
11+ and 13+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 27th January
Mayville High School
All Candidates Sit Exam
Saturday 20th January
St John’s College
11+ Entrance Assessment
Thursday 23rd November
Saturday 18th January
Wow 100% Pass Rate for 11+Exams!
11+ Entrance Exam Success
Well done to all our 11+ and common entrance exam students for passing their tests. All students, who attended our sessions regularly, passed their 11+ exams in at least one of the schools they applied for. They included; Christ’s Hospital, St Catherine’s, Badminton, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, PGS and PHS. One of our students even got a full boarding scholarship, including all music tuition and exams paid in full!
Over the years we have had a lot of success, but this is definitely the best year ever. In order to celebrate we invited them all to Playzone on us! Quite a few were able to make it and really love the event. One mum said “Once again thanks you and Linda for organising this evenings party, the children had an amazing time and it was such a special treat to celebrate the end of the ordeal from the past few months! ”
It was really fun to celebrate together and we hope we can do it again soon.
Double Success in Common Entrance Assessment!
Common Entrance Assessment
Some schools have a common entrance assessment for entry to senior school. Twins, Tom and Sophie came to I Love to Learn as their parents were told that they were below expected level for their year. This would put them in danger of not being able to progress to the senior school of their choice. After only 9 months, they have caught up and surpassed the expected level for English Comprehension and maths.
Both of them loved coming to the centre and looked forward to their session each week. They have massively grown in confidence and they love their improved performance in class tests (they are both very competitive)!
Malcolm (their dad) said, “Great communication and feedback was key, and we loved the guidance of how to continue to make progress during the holidays. We can’t fault it. We have stopped for a bit as we are moving house, but we will be back in the summer term.”
Click here to find out more…..
Entrance Assessments for local Independent Schools
Here are the 11+ entrance assessment dates for independent schools in Portsmouth 2017.
One of the fastest growing areas of our business is children wanting to prepare for independent school entrance exams. I thought it might be a good idea to make sure everyone has the dates they need.
The entrance exams always cover maths and English to a high level. They also usually test something called verbal and non verbal reasoning. These are designed to be more difficult to prepare for as they are not taught in school. Verbal reasoning is concerned with language and words problems while non-verbal reasoning looks are logic, shape and number patterns.
Here is a testimonial we received earlier.
“We are so pleased that Mahera has got a FULL BURSARY for the local girl’s high school in Portsmouth. She has been to your centre before for tuition but we came back in November so she could get ready for the exams. She has worked so hard and Linda has really encouraged her in her writing! Thanks so much!”
Portsmouth High School
11+, 12+, 13+ or 14+
Saturday 21st January.
Portsmouth Grammar School
11+ and 13+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 28th January
Mayville High School
All Candidates Sit Exam
Saturday 14th January
Boys Assessment Day
Wednesday 18th January
Girls Assessment Day
Thursday 19th January
St John’s College
11+ Entrance Assessment
Saturday 21st January
Call us if you want to find out how we can help for next year.
