Grammar schools near Enfield and Uxbridge: a parent’s guide to the 11+

Key takeaways

• →If your child is in Year 5 now, they are aiming for September 2028 entry: registration is usually in the summer term of Year 5.
• →The test is taken early in Year 6. Registering for the test and applying for a place through your council are two separate steps.
• →Near Enfield, the grammar schools are mostly in Enfield, Barnet and Hertfordshire. Near Uxbridge, they are in south Buckinghamshire and Slough.
• →Despite its name, Enfield Grammar School is not a selective grammar school.

1. How the 11+ timeline works

A grammar school chooses its pupils using an entrance test taken at the start of Year 6, and each school or area runs its own process. Buckinghamshire is a good example. For September 2028 entry, the council says registration runs in May and June 2027 (the summer term of Year 5), the test is in early September 2027 and results come out in mid-October 2027.^[1]

Families then list their chosen schools on their home council’s secondary application, which closes on 31 October, and offers follow on 1 March. Registering for a test and applying for a place are separate steps, and you need to do both.^[10]

Dates change every year: Most schools publish next year’s dates in the spring. Always check the school’s own website before you register.

2. Grammar schools near Enfield

These schools are selective, according to their own admissions pages. Some only test children who live in a set area, so check that first.^[3]

Dame Alice Owen’s has already published its dates for September 2028 entry: registration from 28 April to 10 June 2027, part one of the test on 1 September 2027 and part two on 25 September 2027. Only children living in its Local Priority Areas can sit its tests.^[2]

Despite its name, Enfield Grammar School says it is not a selective grammar school. It offers up to 18 places to boys through sport and music aptitude tests.^[8]

3. Grammar schools near Uxbridge

West of Uxbridge, there are grammar schools in south Buckinghamshire and in Slough. Buckinghamshire’s grammar schools, including Burnham Grammar (mixed), Beaconsfield High (girls), Dr Challoner’s Grammar (boys) and Dr Challoner’s High (girls), all use the council’s Secondary Transfer Test.^[1]

Slough’s four grammar schools, Herschel, Langley, St Bernard’s Catholic and Upton Court (all mixed), share one test run by the Slough Consortium and provided by GL Assessment: two papers covering verbal, non-verbal and numerical reasoning. A standardised score of 111 is needed to be considered. Only the answer sheet is marked, so careful answer recording matters.^[9]

4. How to prepare

Start with the free practice material the schools point to. Queen Elizabeth’s publishes sample papers, and Henrietta Barnett links to free GL Assessment familiarisation booklets.^[5]

Practise under timed conditions, little and often, so the real test feels familiar. Build vocabulary through wide reading and talking about new words, and get to know verbal and non-verbal reasoning questions so the format is never a surprise on the day.

Familiar beats frantic: little and often, under real timings.

5. How Brainhub can help

94% of our 11+ students were placed in their first- or second-choice school (Brainhub student records, 2021–2026). We teach the 11+ online, or in person at our Enfield and Uxbridge hubs, and every family starts with a free 45-minute assessment, the place to talk through which schools you are aiming for.

1. 1. When do most families register for the 11+?

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2. 2. Is registering for the test the same as applying for a place?

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3. 3. What standardised score is needed to be considered for Slough’s grammar schools?

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Your next steps

• Shortlist the schools you could realistically reach.
• Check each school’s area rules and note its registration window.
• Book a free assessment to see where your child is now.

Subject guides to go with this

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