King's College School
King's Wimbledon admissions guide
Why King's assesses 13+ candidates in Year 6 rather than Year 8, why you cannot apply for both entry points, and what the December tests actually cover.
By Richard and Freddie, who joined The Perse in 2019 and left in 2026 after Year 13 to become expert admission tutors.
Last checked 18 August 2026
At almost every senior school in the country, 13+ entry means an assessment in Year 8. At King's College School it does not. Every candidate is assessed in Year 6, whichever entry point they have applied for, and offers for both are made that February.
A family planning to spend Year 7 preparing for a King's 13+ has already missed it. This guide covers what actually happens, and when.
Both entry points are assessed in Year 6
The School's own 11+ page says two things that matter more than anything else on it.
All children are assessed in year 6 and offers for both the 11+ and 13+ entry points are made in february of year 6.
It is not possible to apply for both 11+ and 13+ entry.
Read together, those mean the King's admissions process is a single event in Year 6 with two possible destinations. A 13+ offer made in February of Year 6 is for entry two years later, and the two years in between are about arriving ready rather than about further selection.
So the decision between 11+ and 13+ is real, it is made in Year 6, and it is made once. It is worth making deliberately rather than by default, which is usually the first conversation we have with a King's family.
What the assessment covers
Entry to King's at 11+ is via competitive tests and interviews which take place in December/January of year 6.
King's sets its own tests rather than using the ISEB pre-test. The papers cover English, mathematics and verbal reasoning, sat in December of Year 6, with interviews in the same December-to-January window and offers in mid-February.
Verbal reasoning is the section families most often under-prepare, for a simple reason: it is not taught in any primary school. A child can be strong at English and maths and still meet verbal reasoning cold, and it is the most reliable place to gain marks because of that.
King's publishes specimen papers
This is worth stating because most of the schools on this site do not. Eton and Winchester publish nothing at all about their tests, which means preparation there is necessarily about underlying ability rather than format.
King's publishes specimen papers on its own admissions pages. Preparation here can be measured against the School's real format rather than against somebody's reconstruction of it, and anything sold to you as a King's practice paper can be checked against the genuine article.
Dates
- Monday 2 November: registration closes, for both 11+ and 13+
- December of Year 6: the written tests
- December and January of Year 6: interviews
- February of Year 6: offers, for both entry points
- September of Year 7: 11+ candidates start
- September of Year 9: 13+ candidates start, two years after their offer
Every entry point
| Entry | Sat in | Joins | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7+ | Year 2 | Year 3 at the Junior School | Feeds the senior school |
| 8+ | Year 3 | Year 4 at the Junior School | A smaller round |
| 9+ | Year 4 | Year 5 at the Junior School | A smaller round |
| 11+ | Year 6 | Year 7 | Competitive tests and interviews, offers in February |
| 13+ | Year 6, not Year 8 | Year 9 | Assessed alongside the 11+ cohort. One or the other, not both |
| 16+ | Year 11 | Year 12 | Sixth-form entry, and the point at which girls join |
Co-education from September 2033
King's becomes co-educational at 11+ from September 2033. Entry at 11+ and 13+ is boys only until then, and girls currently join at sixth form.
That date is far enough out to be irrelevant to anyone applying now, and close enough to matter enormously to a family with a daughter currently in Reception or Year 1. It is on this page for that second family, because almost nowhere else has it written down.
How to prepare
Settle the entry point first. You cannot apply for both, the assessment happens once, and choosing by default is a worse outcome than choosing either way on purpose.
Work against the specimen papers, because they exist. That is a genuine advantage over the schools that publish nothing, and it means practice here can be measured rather than guessed at.
Start verbal reasoning early. It is assessed, it is taught nowhere, and it responds quickly to focused work, which makes it the highest-return part of a King's plan.
On timing: because both entry points are assessed in Year 6, there is no later run at this. Most families we work with start in Year 5. If your son is already in Year 7, the 13+ route here has closed, and we would rather tell you that than take a booking for it.
Our King's College School page has the shorter version, with the dates and both entry points on one screen.
Common questions
- Is King's 13+ assessed in Year 8?
- No. King's states that all children are assessed in Year 6 and that offers for both the 11+ and 13+ entry points are made in February of Year 6. That is two years earlier than 13+ entry at most senior schools, so a family planning to prepare during Year 7 has already missed it.
- Can you apply for both 11+ and 13+ at King's?
- No. The School says it is not possible to apply for both. Every child is assessed once, in Year 6, and you choose which entry point you are applying for before that assessment happens.
- What is on the King's 11+ assessment?
- King's sets its own tests rather than using the ISEB pre-test: English, mathematics and verbal reasoning, sat in December of Year 6, with interviews in January and offers in mid-February. Registration closes on Monday 2 November.
- Does King's publish past papers?
- Yes. King's publishes specimen papers on its own admissions pages, which is unusual among the schools we cover. It means preparation here can be measured against the School's real format rather than a reconstruction.
- Is King's College School going co-educational?
- At 11+, from September 2033. Entry at 11+ and 13+ is boys only until then, and girls currently join at sixth form. It changes nothing for a family applying now and a great deal for a family with a daughter in Reception.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against the following on 18 August 2026. Where a school does not publish a detail, the page says so rather than filling it in from elsewhere.
Where next
Entrance Exam Tutors is an independent tutoring provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the schools described on this page.