How does registration for independent school 11+ and 13+ entry work?
No council form, no single deadline. Each school runs its own registration, fee and test, some share one, and 13+ registration can close more than two years before your child starts.
There is no central form. You register with each independent school directly, pay its registration fee, usually non-refundable, and meet its own deadline. For 11+ entry in September 2027, several London schools close registration in early November 2026. At 13+, some schools close registration in Year 6, almost three years before entry. Missing a date usually means missing the year.
How is this different from the state application?
The council's Common Application Form, due on 31 October, covers state schools only. Lambeth's admissions brochure, for example, describes the London form as covering schools anywhere in London excluding fee-paying ones. Independent schools set their own process: registration, an entrance test, often an interview and a reference from your child's current school, and their own offer and acceptance dates.
Many families do both. If you are applying to state schools as well, the council form still has to go in by 31 October; our guide to applying for a London secondary place covers that side.
What do registration deadlines and fees look like for 2027?
They vary by school, so check each one. Three examples for 11+ entry in September 2027, from the schools' own pages:
St Paul's Girls' School asks for a non-refundable registration fee of £265 and an application by 9am on Friday 6 November 2026. City of London School gives a registration deadline of Monday 2 November 2026, with a non-refundable fee paid online. King's College School, Wimbledon asks families to register before Monday 2 November.
Registration fees now carry VAT. HMRC's guidance says registration fees that must be paid for a pupil to attend are subject to VAT, the same as normal school fees. At fees like these, registering at several schools adds up before any test is sat, so it is worth narrowing the list first.
What is the London 11+ Consortium?
A group of girls' schools that share one assessment, so a child sits one test for all of them. Its own website lists 13 member schools: Channing, Francis Holland (Regent's Park), Francis Holland (Sloane Square), Godolphin and Latymer, More House, Northwood College for Girls, Notting Hill and Ealing High, Queen's College, Queen's Gate, South Hampstead High, St Augustine's Priory, St Helen's and St Margaret's.
For September 2027 the consortium gives a registration closing date of Friday 6 November 2026, an online assessment on one of 27 November, 1 December or 3 December 2026, offers on Friday 12 February 2027 and a deadline to accept of 12 noon on Wednesday 3 March 2027. The assessment lasts 100 minutes and is usually sat at the child's current school. You still register with each member school separately, and each runs its own interview. The consortium notes that Godolphin and Latymer and South Hampstead High select for interview from the assessment.
What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test, and who books it?
It is a set of four online, adaptive assessments that many independent schools use as part of admissions, often taken in Year 6 or Year 7. ISEB, the Independent Schools Examinations Board, says registration is completed by the pupil's parent or guardian through its Guardian Portal. The 2026 to 2027 testing window runs from 1 September 2026 to late May 2027, but each school tells you when your child must sit it: St Paul's Girls' School, for example, asks for it by 19 November 2026.
Why does 13+ registration close so early?
Because some 13+ schools assess children in Year 6, two years before entry. Westminster School says registration for each year of entry opens on 1 October of Year 5 and closes on 30 September of Year 6, with a non-refundable registration fee of £360, and candidates take the ISEB Pre-Test in the autumn of Year 6. Registration for 13+ entry in 2030 is already open there. A family who starts thinking about 13+ in Year 7 has, at schools like this, already missed it.
Frequently asked questions
Is a registration fee refundable if we withdraw?
Usually not: the schools above all describe theirs as non-refundable. Read each school's terms before paying.
Can we register after the deadline?
Some schools consider late registrations if places remain; many do not. Ask the admissions office directly, and do not assume.
This guide explains how registration works and gives dated examples. It cannot tell you which schools suit your child or how competitive entry will be this year. Each school's page in our London school directory, for example Godolphin and Latymer, shows the dates and fees we hold with their sources.
Registration dates for 2027 entry fall in a few weeks of November, school by school. They are listed in one place, each with the source we checked.
See the 2027 registration deadlines for your schools →Evidence level
Dates, fees and member lists are taken from the schools' and the London 11+ Consortium's own websites, ISEB and HMRC guidance, checked on 13 October 2026. Schools change their arrangements each year.
References
- The London 11+ Consortium. (2026). The London 11+ Consortium: member schools and key dates for entry in September 2027 ↗ external. london11plus.co.uk
- Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB). (2026). Common Pre-Test ↗ external. iseb.co.uk
- St Paul's Girls' School. (2026). 11+ entry ↗ external. spgs.org
- City of London School. (2026). 11+ entry ↗ external. cityoflondonschool.org.uk
- King's College School, Wimbledon. (2026). Admissions ↗ external. kcs.org.uk
- Westminster School. (2026). 13+ entry to Westminster School ↗ external. westminster.org.uk
- Westminster School. (2026). Westminster School fees (registration fee) ↗ external. westminster.org.uk
- HMRC. (2026). Charging and reclaiming VAT on goods and services related to private school fees ↗ external. gov.uk
Related research
London grammar schools: when do you register for the test, and does passing get you a place?
London's grammar schools test in Year 6, but registration closes months earlier: for September 2027 entry the windows we checked closed between March and September 2026. Passing does not guarantee a place, and the school must still be named on your council form by 31 October.
VAT on private school fees: what changed, and what do parents pay now?
Since 1 January 2025, education and boarding provided by private schools for a charge carry VAT at the standard rate of 20%, including registration fees. Nursery classes made up almost entirely of under-fives stay exempt. The Court of Appeal dismissed the legal challenge in February 2026, so the charge stands.
When should we start preparing for the 11+?
Most families who use structured 11+ preparation begin in Year 4 or the summer between Year 4 and Year 5. Earlier is usually not more effective; later than mid-Year 5 requires a tighter, more focused approach. What matters more than start date is how the time is used.