London is not one test area
“London grammar schools” sounds like one market, but admissions are local and route-specific. Some schools share a test, such as Bexley, Sutton SET or Redbridge. Others use their own process, including Tiffin School, The Tiffin Girls’ School and Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet.
This is where families lose time: they shortlist schools by name, then realise too late that the registrations, test dates and second-stage processes do not match.
Example
A family looking at Sutton, Bexley and Tiffin schools may be dealing with different registration forms and test routes. The child may be able to sit more than one, but each route adds a deadline, test day and result to manage.
What to check
- The admissions page for each named school.
- Whether the school is in a shared consortium.
- Whether there is a first-stage and second-stage test.
- Whether the result can be used for one school or several schools.
- Whether the journey is still realistic if the school offers.
Build the route list before the school list
For London, start by grouping schools by exam route. The London grammar schools guide and route pages are better starting points than a single city-wide list. Then decide which routes are worth registering for.