How to pass the Alleyn’s School 11+

Are you looking into Alleyn’s Senior School at 11 plus for the next step in your child’s education? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process, and how to help your child succeed.

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• The 11+ admissions process
• Exam content
• The interview
• Scholarships
• Find a tutor for Alleyn’s School
• Contact us

Introduction to Alleyn’s

A coeducational day school in Dulwich, south London, Alleyn’s recently celebrated 400th anniversary of the founding of the Dulwich Schools, along with Dulwich College and JAGS.

Whilst academic achievement is key for Alleyn’s, the school ethos is very much focused on enabling pupils to become well-rounded individuals through their more nurturing approach, instilling self-confidence, leadership qualities and social skills. They do also have a sibling policy, meaning candidates with siblings already at Alleyn’s will be given priority admission where possible, provided that they perform well enough in the entrance exam and interview (no mean feat!). The school is undoubtedly very tough to get into, especially given their stellar results when it comes to higher education and university admissions. In 2024, 10% of leavers went on to attend Oxbridge, with 72% of GCSEs achieved at grade 8 or 9 and 79% of A Levels at A*/A. 

Although diversity is generally not well represented in the Independent School sector, Alleyn’s are making genuine efforts to improve this. Gary Savage’s reign saw great changes to the student body which now represents children from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. 10% of Senior School pupils receive a reduction in fees and bursaries currently cover 94% of the full on average. 

Alleyn’s Oakfield

Alleyn’s have announced that Oakfield Prep School will join the Alleyn’s Schools Group as Alleyn’s Oakfield from September 2025. A prep school in West Dulwich, Oakfield has offered exceptional education for children aged 2-11 for over 140 years. The school has a focus on building a community for joyful, holistic learning, which will be enriched by the shared vision and educational philosophy of Alleyn’s School. This partnership means that children who go to Alleyn’s Oakfield will automatically pass through to the Alleyn’s Senior School without the need to sit the 11+ exam. If you think Alleyn’s Oakfield might be the right place for your child, please get in touch to find out more.

Alleyn’s School Fees

£10,008 (inc. VAT) per term for the senior school. There is a deposit payable on acceptance of a place which is returned when the pupil ultimately leaves the school. Alleyn’s also offers means-tested bursaries of up to 100% of the fees.

Alleyn’s 11 Plus Open Days

Before registering your child for admission, we recommend that you and your child attend a school Open Event. Our tutors note that pupils who have experienced the school themselves come across as better prepared at interview and indeed more settled upon beginning their school career at Alleyn’s. 

Open events are on September 17th and 27th 2025 for applicants hoping to join Year 7 in 2026, in addition to a taster day on the 26th of September. Tickets will be available to reserve from the school website a few weeks in advance of each event.

The 11+ Admissions Process for Alleyn’s School

Registration for 11 plus opens on 1st September the year before admission and closes in November.  The school requires you to complete a form detailing basic information about your child and yourself, any current connection with Alleyn’s (eg. a sibling that is already in attendance) and any scholarship or bursaries that you are applying for. 2026 applications must be submitted by November 7th 2025.

Once you submit your registration, Alleyn’s will request a report from your child’s current school and any letters from an educational psychologist if applicable.

In Year 7, Alleyn’s admit about 150 children into their Senior School. A third of these admissions will be children already attending the Alleyn’s Junior School, with the remainder made up of children from a variety of state and independent schools.

One of our many experts in the school entrance exams can help guide you through the process and ease any worries that you or your child may have.

Alleyn’s 11 Plus Exam Content

The ISEB Common Pre-test does not form part of the 11+ process. All candidates (except those who are overseas) will be expected to attend Alleyn’s in early January for written assessments in Reasoning, English and Maths. Candidates hoping to join Year 7 in 2026 will be examined on the 9th of January 2026.

The Reasoning paper is a multiple choice 45 minute test that covers:

• Verbal Reasoning: reasoning involving words; includes a variety of question types that involve the production of, use of, and relations between, words
• Non-Verbal Reasoning: abstract figures; for example relationships between shapes, sequences of shapes
• Spatial Reasoning: questions typically involve the mental creation, retention and manipulation of visual images

The English paper is 40 minutes (10 minutes reading, 25 minutes writing) and consists of a directed writing question. Candidates will write a section of
narrative or description in response to a written stimulus. Evidence of detailed comprehension, clarity,
fluency and accuracy of written expression are assessed; imaginative and linguistic flair will also be
rewarded.

The Maths paper is 30 minutes that largely follows the National Curriculum. Calculators are not required.

The aim of entrance assessments allows children to demonstrate what they’re capable of, and to offer an enjoyable and rewarding experience to all candidates. You can help them prepare for this with an 11 Plus tutor. 

Sample Exam Papers

Find sample past papers for the Alleyn’s written exam below.

• English sample paper 1
• Maths sample paper 1
• Maths sample paper 2

The Alleyn’s 11 Plus Interview and Group Session

Alleyn’s invite children who score highly enough on the written entrance exam for a group activity and one-on-one interview, some time in January.  Each child typically has a group assessment followed by an individual interview. Interviews will take place on the 24th of January 2026 for the 2026 cohort.

The Alleyn’s interview is a very important part of the selection process and not just a box ticking exercise. Academic ability is a given but personality and a ‘have a go’ attitude is key.  

An example of a recent group assessment would be three candidates with one Alleyn’s teacher planning a survival trip with a group discussion about what to take in terms of resources and what to leave behind. There are no right or wrong answers, and all resources could be argued for example, bottled water, sun cream, fishing rod but the group must collectively pick three items out of a larger group of items. Important considerations for your child to think about include the ability to work well as part of a team, listen to other children, listen to instructions carefully and be able to argue logically for their own choices.

Individual Interview

Following the group session, candidates have an individual interview with a member of staff. Alleyn’s is known for its challenging interviews, which test critical thinking skills and are difficult to prepare for. Notorious questions have included:

• Would you rather come to school on an elephant or a giraffe and why?
• Explain yellow to a blind person?

Children will really benefit from having tackled this sort of question beforehand, so they are not thrown on the day. It is important for candidates to grasp that there is no right or wrong answer to these sorts of questions Interviewers are just trying to see how they think and if they can articulate their ideas well. Candidates are also often shown a mysterious object and asked to work out what it might be. 

From experience, we believe it is clear that Alleyn’s don’t just interview for very bright children, but also children who are happy and friendly and behave in an age appropriate way. The teachers pick children they would like to teach.

Preparing your child for this sort of interview can feel like something of a minefield – you want them to have done enough work to feel ready for it, but not so much that their responses appear rehearsed. The thought of an interview can also be quite daunting for some children who find it harder to express their views, which is why confidence is key!

Every year Mentor run individual and group sessions to build confidence. Focusing on interview prep and what to expect, we encourage children to develop answers and present their best self by instilling that sense of self-assurance and confidence.

Alleyn’s 11+ Scholarships

Many of our Tutors have had great scholarship success and are experienced with pushing the boundaries of learning for exceptional students. Alleyn’s offer academic scholarships worth up to £5,000 a year based on performance at the entrance exam, as well as scholarships in music, sport, art and DT.

Meet our 11+ Tutors for Alleyn’s School

If you’d like an experienced third party to help you stay on track with your preparation, see below our range of specialist school entrance tutors with significant Alleyn’s entrance experience. 

With more than 40 years of experience in tutoring children to gain admission to some of London’s most competitive independent schools, we at Mentor have a wealth of knowledge on how best to prepare your child for Alleyn’s entry. 

Over 80% of our tutors are qualified teachers, so they have an in-depth knowledge of their subject, the syllabus and the most effective teaching methods. Many have been heads of department, head teachers or examiners and all come with a wealth of experience and a great track record of success. All have been reference checked and have up-to-date DBS certificates. Wherever possible we will match your child with a tutor who has a track record at Alleyn’s themselves.

For some information on our tutors’ unique approach to testing children in preparation for exams, contact our team.

More on Alleyn’s School

The school has entry points at 4, 7, 9, 11 and 16, with over 1,250 pupils aged 4-18, split almost 50/50 between boys and girls. With over 200 weekly clubs and activities, over 26 acres of land and a sports programme of including water polo, cricket and football among many others, extra-curricular life at Alleyn’s is easily as rich as the academic offering. Surprisingly for such a highly academic co-ed school it punches well above its weight in many sporting categories, with many teams competing in (and winning) National and Regional competitions. The past few years has seen great advancements in girls sport in particular, a highlight being a national win (ISFA) for the girl’s u18 football team.  

 Jane Lunnon, the current head of Alleyn’s, started in January 2021 Voted Tatler’s Best Head of a Public School 2020, Lunnon is nothing short of a Superhead and her fantastic reputation precedes her, with highly regarded tenures as Head at Wimbledon High School and Senior Deputy Head at Wellington College.  She took over from Gary Savage, who was head at Alleyn’s for ten years, she has described the opportunity as an “enormous privilege” and is sure to bring a dynamic approach to her leadership at the school.

Address: Alleyn’s School, Townley Road, Dulwich, London, SE22 8SU

Telephone: 020 8557 1500

Website: www.alleyns.org.uk

Local Authority: Southwark

School’s Unique Reference Number (URN): 100864

Gender: Co-educational

Age Range: 4-18

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Other Independent Schools:

If you’re considering Alleyn’s, you might also find information on other Independent Schools interesting, find a list of other schools below:

• Channing
• City of London (Boys)
• City of London (Girls)
• Dulwich College
• Emanuel
• Highgate
• Ibstock Place
• JAGS
• KCS Wimbledon
• Latymer Upper
• Merchant Taylors’
• North London Collegiate School
• Putney High
• Royal Russell
• St Dunstan’s
• St Paul’s (Boys)
• St Paul’s (Girls)
• Streatham & Clapham High
• Sydenham High
• Trinity
• Westminster Upper
• Whitgift
• Wimbledon High