Halliford School 11 plus guide

Are you thinking about applying to Halliford School for 11+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance exam.

Key information for Halliford School

• School type: boys' independent day school (co-educational Sixth Form)
• Location: Shepperton, Surrey
• Admissions contact: registrar@hallifordschool.co.uk
• 11+ exam: the school's own entrance examination (English, Mathematics, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning) and an interview
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries
• Scholarships: academic, art, drama, music and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Friday 13th November 2026: bursary application deadline
• Monday 16th November 2026: registration closes
• Friday 27th November 2026: scholarship application deadline
• January 2027: Entrance Examination Day
• Three weeks after the examination date: results are sent to parents
• Monday 1st March 2027: deadline to accept an offer of a place

How to apply to Halliford School

Halliford School is selective. This means that your child will need to take an entrance exam, and attend an interview, to be eligible for a place.

You must register your child via the school's online Registration Form, along with a non-refundable registration fee of £150 (inclusive of VAT), paid by bank transfer. A registration fee of £200 applies for overseas candidates.

As part of the application process, your child will be interviewed by the Headmaster or Deputy Head before sitting the entrance examination. You will also need to provide a reference from your child's current school.

The entrance examination takes place in January when your child is in Year 6. Exams are held in a classroom environment rather than an exam hall, with a break for refreshments during the morning.

What will my child be tested on?

The Halliford School entrance examination covers three subject areas.

English

The English paper is split into three parts: comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, and creative writing.

Mathematics

The Mathematics paper is based on National Curriculum level 4.

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning

The Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning tests are computer-adaptive, meaning the questions adjust in difficulty based on your child's responses.

How are places decided?

Every candidate is interviewed by the Headmaster or Deputy Head ahead of the entrance exam, giving them the chance to meet a senior member of staff and talk about their interests before test day.

Places are offered based on:

• performance in the entrance examination
• the interview
• a reference from your child's current school

Results, along with scholarship outcomes for those who applied, are sent to parents within three weeks of the exam date. Families then have until the first Monday in March to accept an offer of a place.

Financial information

Halliford School is a fee-paying school. Take a look at the school website for a full breakdown of fees per year group.

Financial assistance

When exploring independent schools for your child, scholarships and bursaries are worth considering. They can ease the pressure of school fees and open doors to opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded for a child's talent or achievement. Halliford School offers scholarships worth up to 10% of annual tuition fees for academic excellence, as well as art, drama, music and sport.

Scholarships often come with a small fee reduction and acknowledge your child's talents, motivating them and boosting their confidence. Applicants apply for a scholarship separately by completing a Scholarship Application Form.

Visit Halliford School's website to see the scholarships available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Your guide to independent school scholarships.

Bursaries

Bursaries are means-tested awards (based on a family's financial situation) designed to make independent education more accessible. At Halliford School, bursaries can cover up to 100% of tuition fees, and awards are reviewed annually.

Families provide financial information to qualify, and awards are reassessed each year. For many families, bursaries make an excellent education possible that might otherwise seem out of reach.

Visit Halliford School's website to find out what bursaries are available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Bursaries: a parents' guide

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

Applying to senior school can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

One of the hardest parts of exam preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way, little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build smart exam technique

As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom's mock tests are exact replicas of real entrance exams. They're also unlimited, so your child can take the same test repeatedly and see new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

Atom's mock tests are automatically marked. You'll see your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in preparation for entrance exams.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10 to 15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will:

• broaden their vocabulary
• improve comprehension and inference
• build confidence in tackling unseen texts

And just as importantly, it can help them enjoy reading, not just see it as exam preparation.

Looking for inspiration? Atom's reading and writing starter kit has suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3 to 6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through exam preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction, not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.