Know exactly where your child stands for Birkdale School
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Birkdale School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Birkdale School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Birkdale School
Birkdale School is an independent, co-educational day school in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, offering Year 7 entry. The school uses the ISEB Pretest as its single-stage 11+ entrance exam, and there is no interview stage in the admissions process. Birkdale School is academically selective and transitioned to being fully co-educational across all year groups following a phased move that began in 2020.
Birkdale School suits a child who wants to be known by name and stretched a little. It is an independent, academically selective day school in Sheffield, with no boarding, taking pupils from four to eighteen. It is now co-educational throughout: girls have been in the sixth form since 1995, and a phased move that began in 2020 brought them into every year group. The buildings sit on quiet residential streets in the west of the city, around Oakholme Road: older houses and later additions rather than one grand campus.
It opened in 1904 as a small boys' preparatory school, added teaching to sixteen in 1978 and a sixth form in 1988. The four senior houses are named after former heads, and Year 7 is called S1, which takes new parents a term to absorb. The youngest senior pupils have the Johnson Building to themselves, with their own common room, lockers and two acres of lawn, and are asked to take up two activities a term. Phones stay off in lockers. A Christian foundation sits behind the pastoral work: a chaplain, a counsellor and a wellbeing coach alongside form tutors who keep the same group for two years. Michael Palin is an Old Birkdalian.
The Good Schools Guide describes academic performance without losing attention to the individual, and quotes pupils saying 'They have my back'. It notes how many pupils learn an instrument and how full the choirs and orchestras are. It suits a child who would rather be a familiar face in a busy school than a number in a large one, who will sing or play or turn out on a Saturday, and who wants teachers close enough to notice when something is off.
Key facts
Annual fees
Per term from September 2026, inclusive of VAT: Lower School (Years 7 and 8) £7,109; Middle School (Years 9-11) £7,227; Sixth Form £7,227. Fees include lunches, textbooks (except A Level), general stationery, games transport and worldwide travel insurance. Non-returnable registration fee £50.
Admissions
Admissions contact
enquiries@birkdaleschool.org.uk
Admissions phone
0114 266 8408
Registration form
Sibling policy
What this school tests
ISEB Common Pre-Test
English
- Grammar
- Punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Comparison
- Reading Comprehension - Evaluation
- Reading Comprehension - Grammar and punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Inference and Deduction
- Reading Comprehension - Information Retrieval
- Reading Comprehension - Language Techniques and Imagery
- Reading Comprehension - Sentence-level Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension - Sequencing
- Reading Comprehension - Structure, Form, Voice and Tone
- Reading Comprehension - Summarising
- Reading Comprehension - Text Classification and Purpose
- Reading Comprehension - Types of Words and Phrases
- Reading Comprehension - Word Meaning / Choice
- Spelling
- Vocabulary
Maths
- Algebra
- Angles and Degrees
- BIDMAS
- Coordinate Grids
- Estimation and Rounding
- Factors and Multiples
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
- Measurement
- Money
- Number and Place Value
- Operations
- Perimeter, Area and Volume
- Position and Direction
- Properties of Shapes
- Ratio and Proportion
- Reflection, Rotation and Symmetry
- Sequences
- Special Numbers
- Speed, Distance and Time
- Statistics
- Time
Non-verbal Reasoning
- Figure Analogies
- Figure Series
- Grid Matrices
- Horizontal Codes
- Most Like Three Figures
- Most Like Two Figures
- Odd Figure Out
- Star Matrices
- Triangle Matrices
- Triangle Series
- Vertical Codes
Verbal Reasoning
- Compound Words
- Embedded Words
- Form a Word
- Insert a Letter
- Move 1 / 2 Letters
- Odd Word Out
- Shuffled Sentences
- Synonyms
- Verbal Classification
- Word Analogies
- Word Completion
- Word Match
- Word Opposites
- Word Pairs
Spatial Reasoning
- 2D Rotations
- 2D View of 3D Shape
- 3D Rotations
- Block Counting
- Building Blocks
- Combining Shapes
- Fold and Punch
- Folding Cubes
- Hidden Shapes
- Missing Face of Cube
- Nets - Opposite Face
- Shape Completion
- Vertical/Horizontal Reflections
Catchment area
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
2025: 26% of grades at grade 9, 47% at grades 8-9, 64% at grades 7-9
A-level results
21% at A*, 53% at A*-A, 80% at A*-B
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does Birkdale School use for the 11+?
Birkdale School uses the ISEB Pretest for its 11+ entrance exam.
Is there an interview stage for Birkdale School 11+ admissions?
No, there is no interview stage as part of the 11+ admissions process for Birkdale School.
Is Birkdale School co-educational or single-sex?
Birkdale School is a fully co-educational school, welcoming both boys and girls across all year groups.
What are the school fees for Birkdale School?
From September 2026, fees for the Lower School (Years 7 and 8) are £7,109 per term, inclusive of VAT. There is also a non-refundable registration fee of £50.
What is the website for Birkdale School admissions?
You can find more details on the school's admissions journey page at https://www.birkdaleschool.org.uk/your-admissions-journey/.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d38084.04231912252!2d-1.5444778!3d53.3745289!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x487983ef5906e41f%3A0xf27badf97069bb8!2sBirkdale%20School!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sph!4v1787305579735!5m2!1sen!2sph
