11+ vs 13+ Entry: Which Path Should Your Child Take?

This is the question that generates more confused Mumsnet threads than almost any other. And honestly? The confusion is understandable. The two paths look similar on the surface but they're fundamentally different commitments — and choosing between them before you fully understand both is how families end up missing deadlines.

The 11+ route leads to senior school at Year 7. The 13+ route adds two more years at prep school, with the red badge marking the Year 5 registration deadline — the most commonly missed date in the whole process.

Neither path is better. Neither path is harder. They're just different — and the right one depends on your child, your geography, and which senior schools you're aiming for.

What the two pathways actually mean

11+ entry (Year 7) means your child moves to senior school at age 11, at the end of Year 6. They sit entrance exams — usually school-specific papers, not a single national exam — in the autumn and winter of Year 6. Offers come in January or February.

13+ entry (Year 9) means your child stays at prep school until the end of Year 8, then moves to senior school at age 13. The process begins much earlier: registration with senior schools should happen by June of Year 5, and the ISEB Common Pre-Test is sat in October or November of Year 6.

The geography factor

Geography is probably the single most important factor in this decision, and it's the one least often discussed.

London and its immediate commuter belt: The 11+ route dominates. London's top day schools — including North London Collegiate, City of London School for Girls, St Paul's School, Highgate, and University College School — all take their main or entire intake at Year 7. If you're in London and you want a day school, you're almost certainly looking at 11+ entry.

Outside London, particularly in the boarding school heartlands: The 13+ route via Common Entrance is the traditional norm. Schools in the south-west, home counties, and Midlands that feed into Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Marlborough, and similar schools typically expect boys and girls to complete prep school at 13+.

Co-educational day schools in the south-east: Often a mix — check each school individually, as patterns are shifting. Some schools that traditionally took 13+ entry are moving to 11+, and vice versa.

The ISEB Pre-Test explained

For families on the 13+ path, the ISEB Common Pre-Test is the most consequential assessment before Common Entrance itself.

It's a computer-adaptive test, meaning the questions get harder or easier based on your child's performance in real time. It typically takes around two hours and covers English (reading comprehension and writing), Mathematics, verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning.

The Pre-Test is sat at your child's current school in October or November of Year 6. It can't be rescheduled for individual pupils. Senior schools use the results to issue conditional offers — usually specifying the grade threshold required at Common Entrance to convert that offer into a firm place.

Most selective schools weight the Pre-Test heavily. Proper preparation should begin in Year 5 at the latest.

Common Entrance: what it actually involves

Common Entrance is sat in May and June of Year 8, when your child is 12 or 13 years old. It's set by ISEB and marked by the receiving senior school — not by ISEB.

Subjects at 13+:

• English (two or three papers: comprehension, composition, and sometimes literature)
• Mathematics (two papers)
• Science (one or two papers)
• French or Spanish
• Latin (optional but expected at some schools)
• History, Geography, or Religious Studies (optional; increasingly expected at selective schools)

Each senior school sets its own minimum grade threshold. Some schools set 55%; others require 65% or higher across all subjects. Selective schools such as Winchester set their own papers in addition to CE — or instead of it.

A framework for your decision

The hidden cost of leaving it too late

Here's where this becomes urgent: the 13+ registration deadline can't be missed.

Most parents who discover they should have been on the 13+ path do so in Year 6 or Year 7 — when the deadlines have already passed. Senior schools aren't obliged to accept late registrations. Some will consider them on a case-by-case basis; the most competitive schools won't.

If there's any possibility your child will pursue 13+ entry, register by the end of Year 5. The registration fee is typically £75–£150. It's the cheapest insurance policy in education.

That's where preptimely comes in. You've just read the map — we help you follow it.