St Paul’s Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Exam Guide

About St Paul’s Prep School

St Paul’s Prep School in Barnes, known until January 2026 as St Paul’s Juniors and before 2016 as Colet Court, is the prep school of St Paul’s School. Boys join at 7+ into Year 3 and progress automatically to St Paul’s at 13.

The 7+ is now the only junior entry point: the old 8+ round has been discontinued, and an application made for any other year is automatically rejected and refunded. Around 72 boys join at 7+, one of the biggest intakes in London.

Key information for 2027 entry to St Paul’s Prep School at 7 Plus (7+)

• School type: boys’ prep school (feeding St Paul’s School), Lonsdale Road, Barnes
• Places at 7+: approximately 72
• 8+ entry: discontinued; 7+ and 11+ are the junior routes in
• Written exam: English (a dictation exercise), maths and reasoning, Saturday 21 November 2026
• Second stage: half-day group assessments in groups of about 10, Tuesday 24 November to Thursday 3 December 2026
• Registration: opened 25 February 2026, closes Friday 25 September 2026
• Registration fee: £240, non-refundable, with financial assistance available on request
• Offers: Friday 4 December 2026; acceptance by noon, Thursday 28 January 2027
• The school does not publish past papers

Admissions information for 2027 entry to St Paul’s Prep School at 7 Plus (7+)

Like Westminster Under, St Paul’s Prep closes registration early: 25 September 2026. The written exam follows on Saturday 21 November, and boys who pass it return for a half-day group assessment between 24 November and 3 December: a maths lesson, an English lesson and a group problem-solving task, in groups of about ten, while parents meet the Head of Prep.

Offers are quick, arriving on Friday 4 December 2026, though acceptance isn’t due until noon on 28 January 2027, which gives parents juggling January exams elsewhere some breathing room. The school asks for a reference from your son’s current Head rather than interviewing him one-to-one.

How can I register my child for the 7 Plus (7+) assessment at St Paul’s Prep School?

Register via the school’s admissions portal by Friday 25 September 2026; the £240 fee is non-refundable, and help with it is available on request from the Head of Bursaries. Registration opened in February of Year 1, so late-deciding parents should move promptly rather than assume a London-standard November deadline.

What is the 7 Plus (7+) assessment format at St Paul’s Prep School?

The written exam covers English, maths and reasoning, with one distinctive feature: the English task is a dictation exercise, not the usual comprehension-and-story pairing. Maths and reasoning are described by the school as similar to previous years, with reasoning weighted according to age. The school does not publish past papers.

Dictation rewards a specific set of habits: listening carefully, holding a sentence in your head, and spelling and punctuating accurately at speed. It is also easy to practise at home, which makes it a high-value ten minutes in any St Paul’s preparation week.

St Paul’s Prep School 7 Plus (7+) top tips for your child

• Practise dictation little and often: read a sentence aloud, have your son write it, check spelling and punctuation together
• Cover both verbal and non-verbal reasoning styles, since the school says only ‘reasoning’
• Register well before 25 September 2026; this deadline is earlier than most London schools’
• The group half-day is lessons and problem-solving, not a test to revise for; a boy used to classroom give-and-take is well set
• Ask the school about fee assistance on the £240 registration if it would help, as the route exists

How to prepare your child for the 7 Plus (7+) St Paul’s Prep School assessment

Our 7+ packs below cover English, maths and both reasoning types with complete answers, and the English packs give you ready-made passages to reuse as dictation practice. With no past papers published, working through well-pitched practice papers is the closest a Year 2 boy can get to the feel of the real morning.