Guide to the Wandsworth Year 6 Test

Are you considering a selective state school place in Wandsworth, London for your child? We've collated everything you need to know about admissions in 2026–2027. Keep reading to:

• Find out more about state schools with selective places in Wandsworth
• Learn about the Wandsworth Year 6 test
• Discover which subjects your child will be tested on

Which schools use the Wandsworth Year 6 test?

Four state schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth use the Year 6 test:

• Ashcroft Technology Academy (boys and girls), Putney
• Burntwood School (girls only), Earlsfield
• Chestnut Grove Academy (boys and girls), Balham
• Graveney School (boys and girls), Tooting

All children applying to Ashcroft Technology Academy and Chestnut Grove Academy must take the Wandsworth Year 6 test. Only children applying for a selective place at Burntwood School or Graveney School need to take the test.

Dates for your diary

Here are the key dates for 2027 entry:

• May 2026: registration opens for the Wandsworth Year 6 test
• Thursday 3rd September 2026: registration closes for the Wandsworth Year 6 test
• Friday 18th September 2026: test invitations are emailed to parents
• Thursday 24th, Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Monday 28th September 2026: test days — your child will be allocated one of these dates
• Friday 23rd October 2026: parents receive test results
• Saturday 31st October 2026: secondary school common application deadline
• Monday 1st March 2027: national school offers day

Dates may be subject to change. Always check with your target school for the latest information.

What is the Wandsworth Year 6 test?

The Wandsworth Year 6 test is the admissions test used by selective and banded state secondary schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth.

The test is taken in September of Year 6. Children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 will sit the test in September 2026 for entry to Year 7 in September 2027.

The test is designed to assess a child's academic ability across verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Wandsworth schools use the results in different ways depending on their admissions model.

Ashcroft Technology Academy and Chestnut Grove Academy use fair banding. Children are placed into one of five ability bands, with an equal number of places offered within each band.

Burntwood School and Graveney School use partial selection. A set number of places at each school are reserved for children with the highest Year 6 test scores. These schools are competitive and frequently oversubscribed.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), they do not have to take the Year 6 test.

Special aptitude places

Some Wandsworth schools also offer specialist aptitude places for children who show particular ability in a specific subject area:

• Ashcroft Technology Academy: up to 24 specialist places in technology
• Chestnut Grove Academy: up to 30 specialist places in art and design, and up to 30 specialist places in modern foreign languages
• Saint Cecilia's Church of England School: 9 foundation places and 9 specialist music places

If you would like to apply for a specialist place, your child will need to take the school's separate aptitude test. For Ashcroft Technology Academy and Chestnut Grove Academy, this is in addition to the Wandsworth Year 6 test.

What's in the Wandsworth Year 6 test?

The test is created by GL Assessment and consists of two multiple-choice papers, with a short practice session at the start of each and a break in between.

Part 1: non-verbal reasoning

Part 1 takes 55 minutes in total, including introductory guidance and practice questions. It consists of four sections.

Non-verbal reasoning focuses on visual problem-solving using abstract figures. Your child will be tested on their ability to work out similarities and sequences of shapes and codes — skills that are not typically taught in primary school.

Your child may need to:

• recognise and complete visual patterns
• identify relationships between shapes and figures
• apply logical thinking to abstract sequences
• solve problems using diagrams and symbols

Part 2: verbal reasoning

Part 2 takes 50 minutes and includes 80 questions, excluding introductory guidance.

Verbal reasoning tests your child's ability to reason and solve problems using written information. Questions involve word games such as matching synonyms, identifying word relationships, or using the letters from one word to create another.

Your child may need to:

• apply logic to written problems
• spot patterns and rules in language
• identify relationships between words
• extract meaning from word-based puzzles

For both parts, your child will be given a pre-printed answer sheet and must mark their chosen answer with a pencil. There is no writing involved.

How is the Wandsworth Year 6 test scored?

After the test, answer sheets are marked using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technology, which reads the pencil marks your child has made and allocates a point for each correct answer. These are added together to produce a raw score.

Scores are then age-standardised, which means younger children in the year group are not disadvantaged. This statistical process takes into account your child's age in years and months at the time of the test.

Your child's results will be sent to you by email on Friday 23rd October 2026. You can then use these results to inform which schools you list on your secondary school common application form (CAF).

What's the pass mark for the Wandsworth Year 6 test?

There is no single fixed pass mark for the Wandsworth Year 6 test. How scores are used depends on the admissions model of each school.

For banded schools — Ashcroft Technology Academy and Chestnut Grove Academy — children are placed into one of five ability bands based on their test score, with an equal number of places offered within each band. For partially selective schools — Burntwood School and Graveney School — places are reserved for children with the highest combined scores. The threshold for these selective places varies each year depending on the ability of the applicant cohort.

The minimum standardised score is 69 and the maximum is 141, with 100 representing an average score for the age group. We recommend checking each school's admissions policy directly for the most up-to-date information on how scores are used and any published historical data on entry thresholds.

How to apply for a selective place in Wandsworth

1. Register for the Wandsworth Year 6 test

To be considered for a place at any of the four Wandsworth schools using the Year 6 test, you must register your child to sit it. Registration is available through the Wandsworth local authority website.

• Registration opens: May 2026
• Registration closes: Thursday 3rd September 2026

Wandsworth Council will email you with details of where and when your child will take the test. Invitations will be sent on Friday 18th September 2026. Where possible, children from the same primary school will be allocated the same test day and venue.

2. Apply for school places

Test results will be sent to you by Friday 23rd October 2026.

If your child meets the requirements for a school, you can list it on your secondary school common application form (CAF), which must be submitted to your home local authority by Saturday 31st October 2026.

Before listing a school, check its admissions policy to confirm your child is eligible.

3. National school offers day

On Monday 1st March 2027, you will be informed which school your child has been allocated a place at. They will be offered a place at your highest-preferred school for which they meet the entry criteria and which has places available.

If your preferred school is not offered, your child will receive a place at another local school, and you will be given information about how to appeal via an independent panel.

How can I help my child prepare for the Wandsworth Year 6 test?

The Wandsworth Year 6 test can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be stressful.

Here are some practical ways to support your child in a calm, structured way.

Stay on track with a clear Wandsworth Year 6 test revision plan

One of the hardest parts of preparation isn't motivation – it's knowing what to work on, when, and how to stay consistent without it taking over family life.

A clear plan helps your child build skills in the right order and avoid last-minute cramming.

With Atom's Exam Plan, you enter your child's exam date and target schools, and Atom builds a personalised weekly plan based on the key skills they'll be tested on. It adapts as they improve and shows them exactly what to focus on each week.

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

Build exam technique with realistic practice papers

Once your child feels secure with the main topics, paper practice tests help them feel more confident with the exam format.

Atom's 11+ practice papers are designed to reflect real test conditions. Parents simply photograph their child's answer sheets and upload them to Atom for instant marking.

You'll get:

• a Standardised Age Score (SAS)
• clear insight into strengths and areas for improvement
• a comparison with other children applying to the same schools

The papers are unlimited, meaning your child can practise again and again with new questions each time.

Encourage regular reading for verbal reasoning success

Strong reading skills underpin verbal reasoning performance.

Encourage your child to read for 10–15 minutes a day, focusing on variety – fiction, non-fiction, different genres and authors.

This helps build:

• vocabulary
• comprehension and inference
• confidence with unfamiliar texts

If you're looking for ideas, Atom's free reading and writing starter kit for Years 3–6 include a wide range of age-appropriate books.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple view of how your child is doing across topics and how their performance is developing over time.

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