City of London School for Girls

CLSG admissions guide

CLSG sets a computer test then two written papers in January — a different exam from the boys' school of nearly the same name. The two stages, and the dates.

By Richard and Freddie, who joined The Perse in 2019 and left in 2026 after Year 13 to become expert admission tutors.
Last checked 11 September 2026

There are two schools called City of London School, two words apart, and they do not set the same exam. Getting the wrong one is the likeliest way to waste a year here.

Not the same school as City of London School

If you have read about "the City of London 11+" and found a six-section online assessment, you have been reading about the boys' school. Note too that CLSG runs no 10+ round, so a family moving between the two sets of information should not plan for one here.

Stage 1: Cambridge Select Insight

An hour on a computer, covering numerical, verbal and non-verbal skills, sat between 13 and 18 November 2026.

It is worth naming the platform precisely, because it is neither of the two most families have heard of: not the ISEB Common Pre-Test, and not the London 11+ Consortium assessment. Practice bought for either of those is practice for a different test.

Stage 2: two written papers

Candidates who do well in November come back on Wednesday 6 January 2027 for two 45-minute papers:

• English — creative writing and analytical skills
• Mathematics — problem solving

Ninety minutes in total, and six weeks after Stage 1. That gap is where most families lose momentum, and it is the part of the timetable worth planning around: the girls who do well in January are generally the ones who kept working through December.

Dates for September 2027 entry

Offers, scholarships and bursaries are all sent by email on the same day, and the School states that offers are unconditional.

Fees

For 2026/27 the fee is £10,611 a term including VAT, which is £31,833 a year.

One detail worth catching if you are comparing fee lines: lunches are not included, where at St Paul's Girls', for instance, they are. Two fee figures that look close can differ by more than they appear.

Registration is £192 — reduced to £64 where net household income is £27,000 a year or less.

Bursaries

Awards reach 100% of fees. A net household income of up to £70,000 a year with very limited assets may attract some support; above that, families are unlikely to be considered.

About 100 pupils hold one, and the School allocates 12 to 15 bursary places at 11+ each year, plus 3 to 4 at 16+. That is a concrete number, which is more than most schools publish, and it lets you judge realistically rather than guess.

A full award also covers:

• School lunches
• A school-issued laptop
• Curriculum-based compulsory trips
• Uniform, a one-off £500 at 11+ entry
• Public transport — £350 a year in Years 7 to 11, £500 to £1,200 in Years 12 and 13
• Co-curricular activities
• Public examinations
• No acceptance deposit

We sell tutoring, so this is worth saying plainly: if that income test looks like it might fit your family, apply. The registration fee drops to £64 too, and a full award is worth more than any preparation anyone can sell you.

Scholarships

Music only, and there is no academic award at 11+.

The music scholarship is worth up to 10% fee remission, held for five years. A candidate needs at least one instrument or voice at grade 6 or above, with a lower grade considered for endangered instruments. Applying means submitting achievements and a video recording; a shortlist is then invited to an audition and interview after the entrance exams in January.

One gate worth noting: only candidates who have already succeeded in the first-stage assessment may apply. The music route is not an alternative way in — it sits on top of the academic one.

A joint scholarship with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama adds 10% fee remission plus up to £1,500 a year off Junior Guildhall fees. Music exhibitions carry masterclasses and workshops rather than money.

How to prepare

Practise Stage 1 on a screen. Pacing a timed computer test is a different skill from pacing a paper one, and it is what decides whether your daughter reaches January at all.

Do not buy ISEB or Consortium material. They are different tests. This is the single commonest way preparation for this school is wasted.

Keep going through December. The six-week gap between the stages is the part families underestimate.

Write, by hand, to time. The English paper wants creative writing and analysis in 45 minutes, which is tight, and handwriting stamina is part of it.

The shorter version of all this, with the assessment laid out beside our preparation for it, is on our City of London School for Girls page.

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