How to pass the City of London School 11+

An Introduction to the City of London School 11 Plus

Are you considering City of London School for your son? Find out everything you need to know about the City of London 11 Plus admissions process, and how to help your son succeed.

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• The 11+ admissions process
• Exam content
• The interview
• Scholarships
• Find a tutor for CLS
• Contact us

About City of London School

City of London School is a high achieving private day school for boys on the banks of the Thames next to Millennium Bridge. Approaching its 580th anniversary, CLS has long upheld a reputation for academic and co-curricular excellence, wonderful pastoral care, and a diverse and enthusiastic pupil body.

City of London aims to fully prepare respectful, optimistic and inquisitive boys to meet the demands of the world as the best versions of themselves. Aspiring to provide an education in the broadest sense, the school takes an outward-looking and forward-thinking approach to education. City of London is highly competitive, considering its outstanding results when it comes to higher education and university admissions. In 2024, 92% of GCSE’s achieved at Grade 9-7 (A*-A), and 50% achieved the top grade 9. In the same year, 81% of A Levels were achieved at A* or A.

CLS is known for its high academic status and exceptional exam results. However, while that status usually goes hand in hand with a “hothouse” reputation, CLS has generally avoided that, despite being known as academically demanding. City of London is known for being a grounded, welcoming and down to earth school. Pastoral care is a high priority; there is an intense focus on student welfare and a highly praised PHSE programme. City of London prides itself on being a culturally, socially, and economically diverse community. Alan Bird has served as the Headmaster at City of London since 2018, previously Deputy Head at Brighton College for five years.

Fees

£9,462 per term for Years 7-13. A deposit equal to one term’s school fees is required upon acceptance of a place. A portion of this is offset against the first term’s fees, and the remainder taken off your final school fees payment.

City of London 11 Plus Open Days

Before registering your son for admission, we recommend that you and your son attend a City of London Open Day. This will give your son a sense of what life is like attending City of London, the facilities it offers, and offers a chance to meet members of staff and current pupils. We have found boys who attend City of London 11+ Open Events are better prepared in interviews and more confident upon joining.

City of London usually host two Open Events and this year they are 25th and 28th September 2025. They are available to book on the school website here. Here is a link to a virtual tour of the school available all year round.

City of London School 11 Plus Admissions Process

Applications for 2026 entry to City of London are now open and will be until the 3rd of November 2025. Typically, applications for the City of London 11 plus are open from April when your son is in Year 5 to the beginning of November of his Year 6. Candidates must pay a non-refundable registration fee of £150 upon completing the online form.

There are also 40 to 44 places available for 10 Plus entry into Old Grammar, City of London’s Year 6. Entry registration for the Old Grammar closes in the November of a boy’s Year 5.

At 11 plus, City of London accept 55 to 60 boys into the Senior School. There are usually around 40 available places for 13 plus entry and approximately 12-15 available for 16 plus entry. Around 800 children apply for the 11 plus. Year on year however, this number is subject to change. This means the odds of securing a place is usually around 1 in 13 but can be as high as 1 in 20. While City of London welcomes applications from family of existing or previous students, there is no preferential consideration given.

11 plus exam content at City of London

All applicants to City of London will sit the 11 plus entrance exam in the November of their Year 6. Everyone will be invited to the school to sit computerised assessments in Maths, English, Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning, Creative Comprehension, Puzzles and Creative Writing. These tests are generally very challenging, with many boys finding the technique and time management especially difficult, so it is vital to prepare in advance. Invitations for the second stage will be sent out by the 12th of December and this involves an interview and a group activity. The exam is created by Atom Learning and they also provide familiarisation tests on the school website.

If you want an experienced third party to help you stay on track, our specialist tutors have significant City of London 11+ entrance experience.

City of London 11+ Interviews

Those who perform well in the City of London 11+ entrance examination are invited to City of London for an interview and a group task. The interview will take place in January in the year your child is expected to enter the school and will last around 20 minutes. It is one-to-one with a teacher. The interview is an important part of the City of London 11 plus admission process and success here is key to get into CLS. It aims to explore a candidate’s interests, academic profile, personal qualities, and aptitudes. Boys may be asked to demonstrate academic ability, such as reading and discussing a passage or solving mental maths problems.

Teachers are looking for enthusiastic, confident boys who they will enjoy teaching at the school, and who will make the most of what the school has to offer. It is important your son can engage and respond during discussion. City of London prefers boys not to appear over-practised; rehearsed answers reduce the chance of an offer.

The group task is also crucial in this second stage of assessment. Typically, these are collaboration exercises to see how candidates work with others and assess their behaviour. Can they share, take turns, express views without interrupting, and show social confidence? Boys may also participate in academic lessons to observe classroom behaviour.

Boys can find it very daunting to spend a whole day at the school and be assessed in many ways, including individual interviews, group tasks and social situations such as playground time and breaks. Every year Mentor runs individual and group interview sessions to build confidence and practice typical questions.

For more information about interview preparation and how we can help, please see here.

City of London School 11 Plus Scholarships

City of London as a school focuses on their bursary programme to promote access to the school to the widest range of young people as possible. They do offer Academic Prizes for the entrance exams but the financial reward for these is only £35. There is no specific entry route to access the academic scholarships, they are simply given to the highest performers in the test, who also do very well in their interview.

City of London also offer Music and Sport scholarships at 11 plus. Music Scholarships are awarded on the basis of an audition and interview. Music Scholars will receive free tuition on two instruments at the School, or the equivalent monetary value towards external tuition in addition to the monetary value of a Scholarship. Sports scholarships are awarded based on your son’s performance in a sports trial. In addition to the monetary value of a Scholarship (only £35), Sports Scholars are eligible to receive funding from the Sports Scholarship Fund to support their personal and team sporting development. All candidates must also satisfy City of London’s normal academic entry requirements.

Entry to City of London at 10+

Approximately 40 boys join CLS at 10+ in Year 6 (called Old Grammar). The application process is very similar to the 11+, with boys sitting computerised assessments in English, Maths and Reasoning (verbal and non-verbal), Creative Comprehension and Puzzles and a creative writing assessment. For 2026 entry these assessments will take place on November 26th 2025. Boys who score well in the assessments will be invited back to the school for a 20 minute interview and a group activity in January. If you would like more information about 10+ admissions please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Find a tutor for the City of London 11 Plus

To guarantee your son has the best chance of receiving an offer from City of London at 11+, you will need to accelerate the Year 6 curriculum, such that he knows the whole of Year 6 Maths and English by the time he sits the exam in November. You will also need to ensure that he has practiced all the types of Verbal and Non Verbal puzzles. Finally, exam technique is critical to ensure children get through the tests with sufficient speed and accuracy.

With more than 40 years’ of experience 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 son for entry to City of London.

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 up-to-date DBS certificates and are fully reference-checked. Wherever possible we will match your son with a tutor who has a track record at City of London themselves.

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

More information on CLS

The main entry points at City of London are 10+, 11+, deferred 13+ entry, and 16+. The school has over 900 boys aged 10-18. CLS belongs to a family of schools associated with the City of London Corporation, and enjoy particularly strong links with its’ sister school, City of London School for Girls.

Alongside its academic success, City of London offers a broad range of co-curricular opportunities. Its central location is fully utilised—museums, galleries, theatres, and academic institutions are visited regularly. Boys also travel globally on educational trips, supporting the school’s commitment to developing socially and culturally aware young men. A wide range of clubs run at lunch and after school, including Robotics, Zoology, Chinese Culture, and Cheese Appreciation.

Major sports at City of London include football, basketball, cricket, and water polo. Other options include fencing, karate, sailing, athletics, and kayaking. The school boasts excellent on-site facilities and a twenty-acre sports ground at Grove Park in southeast London.

Drama is widely encouraged. Boys regularly participate in productions in the 170-seat Winterflood Theatre—whether acting, designing costumes, or working in sound and lighting. Music is also central to life at CLS. There are many opportunities to perform choral, orchestral, and chamber music at a high level. All boys learn an instrument; those already playing one may choose another orchestral instrument.

Address: City of London School, 107 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 3AL

Telephone: 020 3680 6300

Email: enquiries@cityoflondonschool.org.uk

Website: www.cityoflondonschool.org.uk

Local Authority: City of London

School’s Unique Reference Number (URN): 100003

Gender: Boys

Age Range: 10-18

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Other Independent Schools:

If you’re considering City of London School (Boys), you might also find information on other Independent Schools interesting, find a list of other schools below:

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• City of London (Girls)
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• Ibstock Place
• JAGS
• KCS Wimbledon
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• North London Collegiate School
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• St Paul’s (Girls)
• Streatham & Clapham High
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• Whitgift
• Wimbledon High