Dulwich College 11+: guide for 2028 entry
For boys in Year 5 now, who would sit the entrance examinations in the autumn of Year 6 to start Year 7 in September 2028. Dates and format are taken from Dulwich College's own Year 7 entry page.
At a glance
- Test date
- Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's entrance examinations are on Friday 4 December 2026
- Registration
- Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year it closes at midday on Monday 2 November 2026
- Registration fee
- £200 this year, non-refundable. The College's page says it is waived for Pupil Premium candidates
- Format
- Two parts: online tests in six timed sections, then a 20-minute creative writing test. About 3 hours in total, including breaks
- Adaptive
- Maths, Non-Verbal and Verbal Reasoning are adaptive, so answers in those sections cannot be changed
- Interviews
- Boys who show promise in the examinations are invited to interview in January. The College's page lists 180 boys invited for interview and 90 places available
Key dates
For 2028 entry (examinations expected in late autumn 2027, going by this year's pattern)
Dulwich College has not published these dates yet. When we checked, its Year 7 entry page gave key dates for September 2027 entry only.
Source: Dulwich College: Year 7 entry (11+)
This year's dates (2026 examinations, 2027 entry), as a guide to the pattern
- Saturday 10 October 2026
- Open Morning
- Monday 2 November 2026 (midday)
- Closing date for registration
- Friday 4 December 2026
- Entrance examinations
- Saturday 9 January 2027
- Music scholarship auditions
- Monday 18 or Tuesday 19 January 2027
- Sports scholarship assessments
- Wednesday 20 to Wednesday 27 January 2027
- Interviews
- Thursday 11 February 2027
- Results posted by first class post. They are emailed on Friday 12 February 2027
- Wednesday 3 March 2027 (midday)
- Deadline for acceptance, marked by the College as to be confirmed
Get an email when Dulwich College publishes new 11+ dates
We check the official admissions pages every morning. When registration, test dates or results are announced, we'll send you a short email saying what changed and where to find it. We use your address for nothing else.
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The sections
Where your child can and cannot go back
In the three adaptive sections, Maths, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning, an answer cannot be changed once it is submitted. In English, Puzzles and Problem Solving and Creative Comprehension, boys can move backward and forward and change answers. It helps to practise both ways of working.
How places are decided
The College says an offer is made on the basis of the candidate's performance in the examination, an interview and a reference from the Head of their present school. This year's results are posted on Thursday 11 February 2027 and emailed on Friday 12 February 2027.
The College's practice test
The Year 7 entry page links to a familiarisation test in its Practice Test section. Doing it on a computer shows your child what the screens and section timings look like.
Five Dulwich College-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.
1. A coach travels 156 km in 3 hours at a steady speed. At the same speed, how many km does it travel in 5 hours?
- A) 240
- B) 260
- C) 208
- D) 312
2. I think of a number, multiply it by 4 and then subtract 9. The answer is 43. What was my number?
- A) 11
- B) 12
- C) 13
- D) 14
3. Which word does not belong with the other three?
- A) oak
- B) birch
- C) willow
- D) tulip
4. Which word is closest in meaning to hesitate?
- A) pause
- B) hurry
- C) decide
- D) shout
5. Amir is taller than Ben. Ben is taller than Caleb. Dev is shorter than Caleb. Who is the second tallest?
- A) Amir
- B) Ben
- C) Caleb
- D) Dev
What a Year 5 parent can do now
- Visit the College: this year there was an Open Morning on Saturday 10 October 2026, and the Year 7 entry page lists other open mornings and tours.
- Start short, regular practice in maths, English and reasoning now, some of it on screen, and add timed sections in Year 6.
- Check the College's Year 7 entry page in the summer and autumn of 2027 for the 2028 entry dates. This year registration closes at midday on Monday 2 November 2026 and the examinations are on Friday 4 December 2026.
How to prepare
- Practise short timed sections of 10, 15 and 20 minutes, as well as longer papers.
- In maths and reasoning, practise settling on an answer and moving on, because those answers cannot be changed.
- Practise a 20-minute piece of writing: 5 minutes to plan, 15 minutes to write.
- Build vocabulary through wide reading and by talking about new words.
- Use the familiarisation test linked from the College's Year 7 entry page.
Try a free Dulwich College-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.
Start my Dulwich College-style mockOr get a free Dulwich College-style practice paper (PDF)
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 · Alleyn's 11+ guide · Kent Test guide · Bexley 11+ guide · Colfe's 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 Dulwich College 11+ exam?
Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's entrance examinations are on Friday 4 December 2026.
What is in the Dulwich College 11+ exam?
Mathematics: 20 minutes. Online and adaptive: the questions get harder or easier depending on the answers given. Boys cannot go back and change answers. English: 30 minutes. Online and not adaptive. All candidates have the same questions and can move backward and forward, changing answers if they wish. Non-verbal Reasoning: 10 minutes. Online and adaptive. Boys cannot go back and change answers. Verbal Reasoning: 10 minutes. Online and adaptive. Boys cannot go back and change answers. Puzzles and Problem Solving: 15 minutes. Online and not adaptive. Boys can move backward and forward through the questions. Creative Comprehension: 20 minutes. Online and not adaptive. Boys can move backward and forward through the questions. Creative Writing: 20 minutes. The second part of the test: 5 minutes of planning and 15 minutes of writing. The College says candidates handwrite, or type if appropriate. It publishes a specimen on its Year 7 page.
When do I need to register for the Dulwich College 11+?
Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year it closes at midday on Monday 2 November 2026.
Is there an interview for Dulwich College?
Boys who show promise in the examinations are invited to interview in January. The College's page lists 180 boys invited for interview and 90 places available.
How can my child practise for the Dulwich College 11+?
Practise short timed sections of 10, 15 and 20 minutes, as well as longer papers.
Sources
Checked 7 October 2026. Schools change their tests, so always confirm dates and details on the official pages below.
Eleven Plus Academy is independent. It is not affiliated with Dulwich College or any school.