Wallington High School for Girls 11+ guide

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

Key information for Wallington High School for Girls

• School type: girls’ grammar school
• Location: Wallington, Surrey
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 210
• 11+ exam: Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) and second stage exam
• Catchment area: yes

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Friday 1st May 2026: test registration opens
• Friday 31st July 2026: test registration closes
• Tuesday 15th September 2026: Sutton Selective Eligibility Test
• Saturday 26th September 2026: stage 2 test
• Mid-October 2026: parents receive test results
• Saturday 31st October 2026: deadline to apply for secondary school places
• Monday 1st March 2027: secondary school national offers day
  
  

How to apply to Wallington High School for Girls

Wallington High School for Girls is selective. This means that your child will need to take the 11+ exam to be eligible for a place.

In Sutton, the 11+ is known as the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET). All grammar schools in Sutton use this test to select children for Year 7 places. If you would like your child to be considered for a place at more than one Sutton grammar school, they will only need to take the test once.

You must register your child for the test. A link to register will be available on participating schools’ websites during the registration window.

The Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) will take place on Tuesday 15th September 2026. You will be emailed details about the test location, timings and what your child needs to bring before the exam. The stage 2 exam for Wallington High School for Girls and Nonsuch High School for Girls will take place on Saturday 26th September 2026.

Your child’s results will be emailed to you in mid-October. If they meet the qualifying standard for Wallington High School for Girls, you can apply for a place by naming the school on your common application form. This must be submitted to your local authority by Saturday 31st October 2026.

Important note: passing the test does not guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Grammar schools are often oversubscribed with children who meet the qualifying standard. After the 31st October deadline, schools use admissions criteria to allocate places.

We’ve outlined the process for Wallington High School for Girls below.

What will my child be tested on?

The Sutton Selective Eligibility Test consists of two multiple-choice papers. Each paper lasts approximately 40–50 minutes.

• English: this paper is split into four sections. One assesses Key Stage 2 spelling, and the other three test reading comprehension skills.
• Maths: questions cover Key Stage 2 maths topics, including number and place value, the four operations, fractions, decimals and percentages, measurement, geometry and statistics.

The second stage exam also tests English and maths, but these papers are not multiple choice. The English test is a one-hour extended writing task, and the maths test is a standard 45-minute written maths paper.

How are places allocated at Wallington High School for Girls?

In mid-October, you will receive your child’s test results. These will confirm whether your child has met the required standard for admission.

If your child meets the required standard, you must name Wallington High School for Girls as a preferred school on your common application form to be considered. This must be submitted to your home local authority by the 31st October.

Places are allocated in a particular order. This is known as the Oversubscription Criteria and is specific to each grammar school you apply to. Details are available in the school’s admissions policy.

Does Wallington High School for Girls have a catchment area?

Wallington High School for Girls does have a catchment area. The catchment area covers addresses within a 6.7km radius of the main school entrance. This includes:

• Banstead
• Cheam
• Chipstead
• Coulsdon
• Croydon and South Croydon
• Kenley
• Most of Mitcham
• Morden
• Purley
• Sutton
• Thornton Heath
• Wallington

If a tie-break is required (for example, where two children have the same score and only one place remains), priority is given to the child who lives closest to the school.

If you do not live close to the school, it is important to consider how your child will travel each day. Journey time, transport options and levels of independence can all affect your child’s daily routine.

A longer or more complex journey can have an impact on time available for homework, rest and extracurricular activities. Thinking this through early can help you decide whether the school is a practical and sustainable choice for your family.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

The Sutton Selective Eligibility Test 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 11+ 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 11+ practice papers are exact replicas of real 11+ exams. They’re also unlimited – you can download the same paper again and again, and your child will get new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

We’ve made marking easy for you, too. Simply photograph your child’s answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing 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 11+ preparation.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 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 recommended reading lists have suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you’re supporting your child through 11+ 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.