Woldingham School 11+ guide

Are you thinking about applying to Woldingham 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 Woldingham School

• School type: girls' independent day and boarding school
• Location: Woldingham, Surrey
• Admissions contact: registrar@woldinghamschool.co.uk
• 11+ exam: ISEB online test (English, maths, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning), a short creative writing task, and an interview
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries
• Scholarships: academic, art, drama, music, performing arts, and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Tuesday 30th September 2026: registration deadline and £150 fee paid
• Monday 2nd November 2026: assessment day at Woldingham School
• Friday 11th December 2026: decision letters emailed to parents
• Monday 1st March 2027: deadline for accepting offers (by midday)

How to apply to Woldingham School

Woldingham School is selective. This means that your child will need to take an entrance exam to be eligible for a place.

You must register your daughter for Year 7 entry via the school website. Registration closes on 30th September in Year 6. A non-refundable registration fee of £150 applies.

Woldingham School uses an entrance exam provided by ISEB (Independent Schools Examination Board), in addition to a short creative writing task and an interview. The assessment day takes place in November when your daughter is in Year 6. The ISEB test may be taken at your daughter's current school if it is able to facilitate this, or at Woldingham.

You will receive your daughter's results by 11th December. If she is offered a place at Woldingham School, you will have until midday on 1st March 2027 to accept.

What will my child be tested on?

The Woldingham School 11+ entrance exam consists of an online ISEB test, a short creative writing task, and an interview. The ISEB test is adaptive — this means that after the first question, each subsequent question is determined by how your daughter answered the previous one. She cannot go back to change an earlier answer.

ISEB online test

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online adaptive assessment that covers four subjects:

English

‍This section tests reading comprehension and understanding of language. Your daughter will be asked to read a passage and answer questions about meaning, vocabulary, and how language is used.

Maths

‍This section covers Key Stage 2 mathematics, including number, calculations, and problem-solving. Questions are designed to assess understanding as well as accuracy.

Verbal reasoning

‍Verbal reasoning questions test your daughter's ability to work with words and language — for example, finding word patterns, identifying relationships between words, and working through language-based puzzles. You can read more about verbal reasoning on the Atom blog.

Non-verbal reasoning

‍Non-verbal reasoning questions use shapes, patterns, and diagrams rather than words or numbers. They assess your daughter's ability to identify patterns and think logically in a visual context. You can read more about non-verbal reasoning on the Atom blog.

Creative writing task

Following the ISEB test, your daughter will complete a short creative writing task. This is an opportunity for her to demonstrate her written communication and imaginative thinking.

Interview

All candidates are interviewed by a member of staff. This is an opportunity for your daughter to talk about her interests and strengths, and for the school to get a sense of whether she will thrive at Woldingham.

How are places decided?

All candidates are considered for a place based on their performance across the full assessment day. The school reviews each application holistically, taking into account:

• performance in the ISEB online test
• the creative writing task
• the interview
• a reference from the headteacher at her current school

Decision letters are emailed by 11th December 2026. If your daughter is offered a place, you will need to accept by midday on 1st March 2027.

Financial information

Woldingham School is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school website for a full breakdown of fees per year group and for boarding students.

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. While many schools focus on academic excellence, some offer awards in music, sport, drama, art, or other specialist areas.

Scholarships often come with a small fee reduction and acknowledge your child’s talents, motivating them and boosting their confidence. Some schools automatically consider all applicants, while others may request an additional application, assessment or audition.

Visit your target school’s website to see what scholarships are 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. Depending on your circumstances, a bursary could cover part or all of the school fees and sometimes extras like uniforms, lunches or school trips.

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 your target 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 — 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 10–15 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 3–6.

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.