Colfe's School 11+: guide for 2028 entry

For children in Year 5 now, who would sit the entrance assessment in January of Year 6 to start Year 7 in September 2028. Dates and format are taken from Colfe's School's own admissions page and sample papers.

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At a glance

Test date: Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's entrance assessment is on Tuesday 5 January 2027
Application deadline: Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year it is 5pm on Friday 13 November 2026
Papers: English and Mathematics, both written on paper
Interview: A group interview on the morning of the assessment day
The day: A full school day at Colfe's: assessments and group interview in the morning, lunch, then taster lessons
Timings: Not published for the real papers. The school's sample Mathematics paper allows 45 minutes. Its two sample English papers differ: one allows 90 minutes and the other 65 minutes

Key dates

For 2028 entry (assessment expected in January 2028, going by this year's pattern)

Colfe's School has not published these dates yet. When we checked, its Year 7 page gave key dates for 2027 entry only.

Source: Colfe's School: Year 7 (11+) entry

This year's dates (January 2027 assessment, 2027 entry), as a guide to the pattern. The school's page lists them without a year, under its 2027 entry heading

Friday 13 November 2026 (5pm): Application deadline
Tuesday 5 January 2027: Entrance assessment
Friday 12 February 2027: Offer date
Wednesday 3 March 2027 (12pm): Acceptance deadline

Source: Colfe's School: Year 7 (11+) entry

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The assessment day

MathematicsA written, paper-based assessment. The school's sample paper allows 45 minutes, does not allow calculators and asks children to show their method for each question. The real paper may differ from the sample.

EnglishA written, paper-based assessment. The school's two sample papers cover comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, and creative writing. One sample allows 90 minutes (15 for grammar, spelling and punctuation, 45 for reading and 30 for creative writing). The other allows 65 minutes (10, 30 and 25). The school does not say how long the real paper is.

Group interview and taster lessonsThe morning includes a group interview. After lunch there is an afternoon of taster lessons in subject areas.

Written answers, not multiple choice

The school says both the Mathematics and English assessments are written and paper-based. Its sample Mathematics paper asks children to show their method, so it is worth practising clear working and full written answers.

A full school day

Candidates spend a full school day at Colfe's. The morning has the two assessments and a group interview. Lunch is followed by taster lessons.

Scholarships

The school says academic scholarship candidates are interviewed separately in the weeks following the assessment. It offers merit-based and means-tested scholarships for academic and co-curricular excellence.

Five Colfe's-style sample questions

These are our own questions, written in the style of the test so you can see the level. They are not taken from any real paper. Tap a question to see the answer and the method. The real papers ask for written answers; we use multiple choice here only so you can check quickly.

1. A cinema has 14 rows with 23 seats in each row. 37 seats are empty. How many seats are taken?

A) 285
B) 295
C) 359
D) 275

Answer: A) 285. First find the total: 14 × 23 = 322 seats. Then take away the empty seats: 322 − 37 = 285.

2. What is five sixths of 138?

A) 105
B) 110
C) 115
D) 120

Answer: C) 115. Find one sixth first: 138 ÷ 6 = 23. Five sixths is five times that: 23 × 5 = 115.

3. Which sentence uses commas correctly?

A) The dog, barked at the postman
B) We packed tents, torches and a map
C) Maya ran, quickly to the gate
D) I like, apples pears and plums

Answer: B) We packed tents, torches and a map. Commas separate the items in a list, so there is one after tents. In the other sentences the comma splits words that belong together, and the last one is missing the comma after apples.

4. A rectangle has a perimeter of 46 cm. Its length is 15 cm. What is its width, in cm?

A) 16
B) 31
C) 11
D) 8

Answer: D) 8. Half the perimeter is one length plus one width: 46 ÷ 2 = 23 cm. Take away the length: 23 − 15 = 8 cm.

5. Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Which is it?

A) rhythm
B) goverment
C) enviroment
D) begining

Answer: A) rhythm. Rhythm is correct. The others should be government and environment, which both have an n before the m, and beginning, which has a double n.

What a Year 5 parent can do now

Download the school's sample Mathematics and English papers and look through them together, without timing them yet.
Start short, regular practice in English and maths now, with written working, and add timed papers in Year 6.
Check the school's Year 7 page in the summer and autumn of 2027 for the 2028 entry dates. This year the application deadline is 5pm on Friday 13 November 2026 and the assessment is on Tuesday 5 January 2027.

Free Year 5 baseline check: 20 questions in 15 minutes

How to prepare

Look at the school's own sample Mathematics and English papers together, so the layout is familiar.
Practise maths without a calculator, writing down each step of the method.
Practise comprehension with full written answers.
Practise spelling, punctuation and grammar in short, regular sessions.
Write a short piece of creative writing regularly, with a few minutes of planning first.

Try a free Colfe's-style mock

Set out like the papers the school or area describes, with your child's score at the end and, where the school sets a writing task, their writing marked from a photo. Where a timing is not published, ours is an estimate. Free 3-day trial, no card needed.

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Our mocks follow the published format where there is one. The timings we estimate and the questions are our own, not real past papers.

The other 32 school and area guides

Blackheath High 11+ guide · Eltham College 11+ guide · Dulwich College 11+ guide · Alleyn's 11+ guide · Kent Test guide · Bexley 11+ guide · St Olave's 11+ guide · Medway Test guide · Tiffin 11+ guide · Sutton SET guide · ISEB Pre-Test guide · London 11+ Consortium guide · Latymer Upper 11+ guide · Henrietta Barnett 11+ guide · Dame Alice Owen's 11+ guide · QE Barnet 11+ guide · Redbridge 11+ guide · Buckinghamshire Transfer Test guide · Essex CSSE 11+ guide · Slough Consortium 11+ guide · Kendrick School 11+ guide · Bournemouth and Poole 11+ guide · South Wilts Grammar 11+ guide · Bishop Wordsworth's 11+ guide · Torbay grammar schools 11+ guide · Plymouth grammar schools 11+ guide · Lincolnshire 11+ guide · West Midlands grammar schools 11+ guide · Wirral 11+ guide · Ripon Grammar School 11+ guide · Lancaster Royal Grammar 11+ guide · Northern Ireland SEAG Transfer Test guide

More free practice: Free 11+ Maths practice questions → · Free 11+ Verbal Reasoning practice → · Free 11+ Fractions questions → · Free 11+ Vocabulary questions →

Quick answers

When is the Colfe's 11+ exam?

Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's entrance assessment is on Tuesday 5 January 2027.

What is in the Colfe's 11+ exam?

Mathematics. A written, paper-based assessment. The school's sample paper allows 45 minutes, does not allow calculators and asks children to show their method for each question. The real paper may differ from the sample. English. A written, paper-based assessment. The school's two sample papers cover comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, and creative writing. One sample allows 90 minutes (15 for grammar, spelling and punctuation, 45 for reading and 30 for creative writing). The other allows 65 minutes (10, 30 and 25). The school does not say how long the real paper is. Group interview and taster lessons. The morning includes a group interview. After lunch there is an afternoon of taster lessons in subject areas.

When do I need to register for the Colfe's 11+?

Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year it is 5pm on Friday 13 November 2026.

Is there an interview for Colfe's?

A group interview on the morning of the assessment day.

How can my child practise for the Colfe's 11+?

Look at the school's own sample Mathematics and English papers together, so the layout is familiar.

Sources

Checked 7 October 2026. Schools change their tests, so always confirm dates and details on the official pages below.

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