St John’s School, Leatherhead 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About St John’s School, Leatherhead

St John’s School, Leatherhead is a co-educational independent school in Surrey for ages 11 to 18, with day, weekly and flexible boarding.

Entry at 11+ is into the Lower Third, the school’s name for Year 7. Selection combines the ISEB Common Pre-Test with a two-day Experience Day and a reference from your child’s current school, and the school describes the decision as holistic rather than resting on the test alone.

Key information for 2027 entry to St John’s School, Leatherhead at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: co-educational independent school, ages 11 to 18, day and boarding
• 11+ entry: into the Lower Third (Year 7)
• Stage 1: the ISEB Common Pre-Test. Online, adaptive and multiple choice, covering English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning
• Stage 2: a two-day Experience Day with group activities and a one-to-one interview
• Registration deadline: 1 November 2026, in Year 6, for September 2027 entry
• Registration fee: £220 for UK applicants
• ISEB test: sat at your child’s current school, or at St John’s on Saturday 21 November 2026 if that is not possible
• Experience Days: Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 January 2027
• Offers: mid February 2027, with acceptance in early March 2027
• Scholarships: academic (automatic consideration for exceptional ISEB performers), art, music, drama and musical theatre, and sport. Same 1 November 2026 deadline
• Contact details: stjohnsleatherhead.co.uk, [email protected], 01372 373 000

Admissions information for 2027 entry to St John’s School, Leatherhead at 11 Plus (11+)

St John’s is explicit that its decision is holistic: the ISEB result, the Experience Day and the reference from your child’s current school are weighed together, and there is no published pass mark. That is genuinely reassuring if your child is a strong all-rounder who does not always shine in a single sitting, and it also means the Experience Day is a real part of the assessment rather than a formality.

The Experience Day runs across two days in early January, built around group activities and a one-to-one interview with a member of staff. Children who are comfortable joining in with children they have never met are at an advantage, and that is a skill that can be practised.

Scholarship applications share the main 1 November 2026 deadline, and exceptional performance in the ISEB test is considered automatically for an academic award, so there is no separate academic scholarship paper to prepare for.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exams at St John’s School, Leatherhead?

1. Register online by 1 November 2026, while your child is in Year 6. The UK registration fee is £220.
2. Your child sits the ISEB Common Pre-Test in the autumn term, normally at their current school. If their school cannot host it, St John’s runs a sitting on Saturday 21 November 2026.
3. All candidates who sit the test are invited to an Experience Day on Monday 4 or Tuesday 5 January 2027: group activities plus a one-to-one interview.
4. St John’s requests a reference from your child’s current school.
5. Offers are sent in mid February 2027, with acceptance in early March 2027.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for St John’s School, Leatherhead?

Stage 1 is the ISEB Common Pre-Test: an online, computer-adaptive, multiple-choice assessment sat once and shared with every senior school that asks for it.

• English, about 40 minutes.
• Mathematics, about 40 minutes.
• Verbal reasoning, about 25 minutes.
• Non-verbal reasoning, about 30 minutes.

Because the test is adaptive, the questions get harder as your child answers correctly, so a well-prepared child will feel stretched. That is the test working as designed rather than a sign something has gone wrong, and it is worth telling your child so in advance.

Stage 2 is the two-day Experience Day: group activities and a one-to-one interview, assessed alongside the test result and the school reference.

St John’s School, Leatherhead 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Practise multiple-choice English, maths and reasoning on screen where possible, to match the online, adaptive format.
• Warn your child the test gets harder as they do well. Feeling stretched means it is going well.
• Practise group work as well as papers. The Experience Day watches how your child joins in, listens and contributes.
• Prepare a few genuine interests for the one-to-one interview rather than rehearsed answers.
• Register once, sit once: the ISEB result can be shared with other senior schools on your list that use it.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) St John’s School, Leatherhead exam

Preparation for St John’s is ISEB Common Pre-Test preparation: multiple-choice English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, ideally practised against the clock. A November sitting makes the autumn of Year 6 the working window, with the Experience Day in the first week of January as the second hurdle.

For St John’s School, Leatherhead 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: