Tiffin School 11+ Preparation

Tiffin School is a selective academy for boys in Kingston upon Thames that admits to Year 7 through its own two-stage English and Maths tests. Registration for September 2027 entry has closed. Stage One is on 2 October 2026, Stage Two for invited boys on 12 November 2026, and offers follow on 1 March 2027. For September 2026 entry, 1,866 boys sat Stage One for 186 initial offers, all inside the school's 10km Priority Area.

Preparing for Tiffin School — Where to Start

If you're reading this, you're probably somewhere between cautiously optimistic and quietly overwhelmed. You've heard that Tiffin School in Kingston upon Thames is exceptional, you know the competition is fierce, and you're trying to work out where on earth to begin. What does the exam actually test? How early should preparation start? And how do you know if your son is genuinely on track, rather than just getting through practice papers? This guide answers those questions directly, based on what Tiffin School's own Stage One and Stage Two tests demand — not a generic overview of the 11+ process.

Tiffin School's Remaining Dates for 2027 Entry

Registration has closed: the school's registration portal now reads "Registration has now closed", although the notice on its Year 7 Admissions page still describes registration as open. That notice and its 2027 admissions FAQs say 12 noon on Tuesday 1 September 2026; its key-dates table says 12:00 on 2 September 2026, and its determined Admissions Arrangements 2027-28 set 12 noon on Wednesday 2 September 2026. The FAQs say that where the documents conflict, the Admissions Policy takes precedence. On either date the window has shut: the admissions page says no late applications will be accepted, and the arrangements allow a late registration only in exceptional circumstances, as determined by the school and with supporting evidence.

Stage Two invitations go out on or around 16 October, before the local authority form is due on 31 October, so a family completes it knowing whether its son is still in contention. A boy who is not invited to Stage Two is not eligible for a place, and Tiffin School's FAQs warn that naming the school on the form in that case makes the application ineligible and uses one of your choices, although your other preferences are not affected.

For a boy who was not registered, Year 7 entry in September 2027 is closed unless Tiffin School accepts a late registration in exceptional circumstances. Year 7 places that fall vacant after 1 March 2027 go to boys on the school's waiting list, in the order its selection criteria set. Applications for Years 8 to 11 go through Kingston's online in-year scheme, boys are tested only when the roll in that year group drops below 180, and a boy who sat the Year 7 tests and scored below the cut-off score cannot be reconsidered for Years 8 to 11. The dates for both Tiffin schools are set side by side on our Kingston 11+ page.

How Tiffin School's Stage One and Stage Two Tests Work

Tiffin School writes its own tests rather than using a shared 11+ paper. It works with Quest each year to create a bespoke test specifically for Tiffin, which changes annually, and it does not publish past papers. Its free Illustrative Questions for the English and Maths tests, listed under Important Documents on its Year 7 Admissions page, say that completely new papers are written every year and that the changes usually include the number of questions, the time allowed and the types of question.

Stage One: English and Maths, marked by computer

Stage One is sat at the school on Friday 2 October 2026, in a morning or an afternoon slot. It is an English test and a Maths test of about 40 to 60 minutes each, with a short break between them, and every answer is recorded on an OMR sheet that a computer marks. In English a boy chooses his answer from options; in Maths an answer may be multiple choice or numerical. The school publishes an example OMR marksheet for the Maths tests, and it is worth a boy practising on that format before the day.

The marks are standardised, age-weighted and averaged into a Stage One score, which decides who is invited to Stage Two. The school invites at least enough boys to fill its Published Admission Number of 180. For looked-after and previously looked-after boys, boys whose primary school receives pupil premium for them, and boys who met a sport or music aptitude benchmark, all living in the Priority Area, it adds a 10% leeway below the lowest Stage One score that earns an invitation. Its own worked example: if that score were 220, an eligible boy scoring from 198 to 219 would also be invited.

Stage Two: handwritten English and Maths

Stage Two is on 12 November 2026 for the boys invited. The papers are again English and Maths and similar in length to Stage One, but the answers are handwritten and some English questions need longer written answers. Quest marks them, using specialists in English and Maths. The school assumes candidates have completed the Year 5 National Curriculum in English and Maths and does not expect topics beyond it, although the tests include some questions in unfamiliar formats.

How the final ranking is calculated

Boys who sit Stage Two are ranked on a Combined Score that is 50% English and 50% Maths. The English half is the Stage Two English score alone; the Maths half combines Stage One and Stage Two Maths in the ratio 2:3. Worked through, each paper's share of the ranking is:

That is our arithmetic on the published weighting, not a figure the school states. It means the handwritten English paper in November carries half of the ranking on its own, and the multiple-choice English that took a boy through the October sift carries none of it.

What Makes Tiffin School So Competitive

The competition is set out in the school's own Patterns of Admissions 2024-2026, listed under Important Documents on its Year 7 Admissions page. Tiffin School's Published Admission Number for Year 7 in September 2027 is 180, and for each of 2024, 2025 and 2026 entry it made 186 initial offers on 1 March.

Our arithmetic on the 2026-entry column, not figures the school publishes: 665 of 1,866 boys, about 36%, reached Stage Two; 186 of those 665, about 28%, received an initial offer; and 186 initial offers from 1,866 boys tested is one offer for every 10.0 boys who sat Stage One. The same 186 offers went to a field 191 boys larger than for 2025 entry (1,866 against 1,675).

The school's note on the 2026 pupil premium figure says 18 candidates were eligible for a place but only 15 had listed Tiffin as their first-choice school. It describes the whole table as guidance only, because the number of applications and the overall situation change from year to year.

Where a boy lives matters too. Every applicant living less than 10km from the school, measured in a straight line, is in the Priority Area. The Admissions Arrangements 2027-28 say that since September 2019, when the 10km Priority Area was introduced, places have only been offered to boys who live within 10km, and the Patterns table says the same of 2024, 2025 and 2026 entry.

The arrangements allocate places in order. First comes a boy whose education, health and care plan names Tiffin School; he must still sit both stages of the tests. Then, among boys whose Combined Score is at or above the 450th-ranked score of all who sat Stage Two, come looked-after and previously looked-after boys living in the Priority Area, then Priority Area boys whose primary school receives pupil premium for them. The remaining places go in Combined Score order to Priority Area boys, then to boys outside it, less up to 18 places reserved for the aptitude routes.

In our experience of preparing boys for these papers, the applicants who do well have:

• Accurate, quick reading, because every Stage One English answer is a choice between options
• Written English that holds up under time, because Stage Two English is half of the Combined Score
• Multi-step maths that ends in a numerical answer, not only multiple choice
• Clear handwritten maths working for the November paper
• The stamina to work independently for an hour at a time, which Tiffin School's own FAQs suggest may help

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The Sporting and Music Aptitude Places

From September 2025 entry onwards Tiffin School has awarded up to 10% of places to boys who demonstrate an aptitude in Sport (5%) or Music (5%). The Admissions Arrangements 2027-28 reserve up to 18 places, up to 9 for sport and up to 9 for music, each in rank order of the aptitude assessment, for boys living in the Priority Area whose Combined Score is at or above the 450th-ranked Combined Score of all Stage Two candidates.

The route does not replace the academic tests. A boy who reaches the aptitude benchmark still sits Stage One and Stage Two in English and Maths; Tiffin School applies slightly lower thresholds to him for the Stage Two invitation and for an offer, and says the vast majority of places are still awarded through academic performance in those tests. Only boys living inside the 10km Priority Area are invited to the aptitude assessments.

The aptitude calendar runs well ahead of the academic one. For 2027 entry the early registration deadline was 9:00am on Monday 6 July 2026, the music assessments were on 8 and 10 July, the sports assessments on 13 and 14 July, and aptitude applicants were due their results by email on 18 September 2026. A family hoping for a sport or music place for September 2028 entry should look for the aptitude deadline first when the school publishes its 2028-entry dates.

How Leading Tuition Prepares Students for the Stage One and Stage Two tests

At Leading Tuition, we provide 1-to-1 specialist tutoring tailored specifically to the Stage One and Stage Two tests and the demands of Tiffin School's admissions process. That specificity matters. Because Tiffin School writes completely new papers every year, a tutor cannot teach one remembered paper; what transfers is the skill each stage rewards, from quick, accurate choices on the computer-marked Stage One to handwritten maths working and longer English answers at Stage Two.

We begin with a diagnostic assessment to identify where a child is genuinely strong and where gaps exist — because surface confidence can mask real weaknesses, particularly in mathematical reasoning and extended writing. From there, we build a structured programme that develops skills progressively, introduces timed practice at the right stage, and builds the kind of exam composure that only comes from repeated, well-supported practice.

Our 11+ specialists work with Tiffin School applicants on the two stages the school actually sets: timed, computer-marked English and Maths for the October sift, then the handwritten papers in November, where English alone carries half of the Combined Score. Our students have achieved a 95%+ offer rate across selective school entry. Book a free consultation to discuss a preparation plan for the Tiffin School 11+.

We also work with parents throughout the process, providing honest progress updates and clear guidance on what realistic targets look like at each stage of preparation. Our aim is not to create anxiety but to replace uncertainty with a clear plan.

Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.

Supporting the Whole Family Through the 11+ Process

Preparing for Tiffin School is a significant undertaking, and it affects the whole household — not just the child sitting the exam. Parents often carry the weight of research, logistics, and emotional support simultaneously, while also trying to judge how much pressure is appropriate. Children, meanwhile, need to sustain motivation across a preparation period that can span twelve months or more.

The most effective preparation is consistent rather than intensive. Short, focused sessions several times a week tend to produce better results than weekend cramming, particularly for younger children who are also managing a full school timetable. Building in regular breaks, celebrating genuine progress, and keeping the process proportionate to your child's wellbeing are not soft considerations — they are practical ones. A child who arrives at the exam exhausted or anxious will not perform to their ability, however well they have prepared.

It also helps to keep perspective on the wider picture. Tiffin School is one strong option among several. Families who approach the process with a clear first choice and a genuine second choice tend to navigate it with less stress than those who have placed everything on a single outcome.

For families weighing both Tiffin schools, our Tiffin Girls' School 11+ page covers the girls' school's own tests. For official entry requirements, see the Tiffin School admissions page, or book a free consultation to talk through your son's options.

Reviewed September 2026: registration status, 2027-entry dates, test format and weighting, the Priority Area, aptitude places and 2024-2026 admissions figures checked against Tiffin School's Year 7 Admissions page, registration portal, 2027 admissions FAQs, Admissions Arrangements 2027-28 and Patterns of Admissions 2024-2026.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Tiffin School 11+