Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact City of London School for Boys 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 City of London School for Boys 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
If your son is independently-minded and ready to become a young commuter, City of London School occupies one of the most enviable sites in London — a striking riverside building beside the Thames, just below St Paul's, with the College of Arms opposite and the river on one side. Run by the City of London Corporation and tracing its roots to a 1442 bequest by town clerk John Carpenter — originally to educate four deserving local children — it has welcomed boys of all faiths and backgrounds from the start. That instinct has never left it.
Around 1,041 boys attend, with a sixth form of just over 300, and what parents single out is not the prestige but the genuine diversity. Boys travel in from across London, some up to an hour each way, and the mix that creates is what families consistently say sets the school apart from its peers — private education, but emphatically not a bubble of privilege, and not a school for helicopter parents. Bursaries of up to full fees, plus academic, music and sport scholarships, keep that intake broad in practice as well as in principle.
Music is a particular strength, with a concert programme parents compare to the Festival Hall; sport thrives despite the thoroughly urban setting. Old boys range from Prime Minister H. H. Asquith to Daniel Radcliffe, with John Carpenter's statue still presiding over the glass-roofed atrium in between. It suits a bright, self-possessed boy ready to throw himself into a fast-paced, intellectually busy school — and make the most of the city that surrounds it.
City of London School for Boys uses the Independents and Quest Admissions exam boards for its 11+ entry.
Yes, an interview stage is part of the 11+ admissions process at City of London School for Boys.
City of London School for Boys is a single-sex school for boys.
The official website for City of London School for Boys 11+ admissions is https://www.cityoflondonschool.org.uk/admissions/11-entry/#dates.
The 11+ exam process at City of London School for Boys consists of two stages.
Yes. The school offers means-tested transformational bursaries, which can cover up to all of the fees plus extras for families with limited means. To apply, register your son for the entrance assessments and tick the bursary box on the form, then complete the financial declaration you are sent. A Bursary Programme Manager guides families through each stage, which may include a home visit. Bursaries are reviewed each year.
City of London awards prizes rather than fee-reducing scholarships at 11+. Boys offered a place may receive an academic prize for outstanding entrance assessment results, a music prize after an audition and interview, or a sports prize after a trial. Music prizes also bring free instrumental tuition. These prizes recognise achievement and do not reduce fees; help with fees comes through the separate means-tested bursary scheme.
Boys who do well in the assessments are invited back for an interview and a group activity. The interview lasts around 15 to 20 minutes and lets staff get to know your son beyond his marks, while he learns more about the school. No special preparation is expected. It is a friendly chat about his interests rather than a test, so your son can simply be himself.
