What Should a Three-Session Week Look Like for CLSG's 11+?

When a school publishes two assessment stages, it is easy for home practice to expand until every evening feels spoken for. A better starting point is three short sessions with different jobs: learn something, revisit it and use it in a fresh problem.

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What families need to know for 2027 entry

These details were checked on 16 October 2026. Use the official admissions page again before relying on a deadline or making arrangements.

For September 2027 entry, City of London School for Girls says registration closes on Friday 30 October 2026.[2]

The first assessment runs between 13 and 18 November 2026 and is a one-hour computer-based test of numerical, verbal and non-verbal skills.[2]

Shortlisted pupils return on Wednesday 6 January 2027 for a 45-minute English paper and a 45-minute Maths paper, with interviews later in January.[2]

The English paper tests creative writing and analytical skills, while the Maths paper tests problem-solving.[2]

That route includes more than English and Maths, but your home week does not need a separate routine for every label. Strong reading, precise writing, secure number work and thoughtful problem-solving give your child useful foundations.

Session one: learn one small thing

Choose a skill your child is almost ready to master. In English, this could be finding a sentence that supports an inference, using paragraph breaks or selecting a precise verb. In Maths, it could be fraction equivalence, a written calculation or deciding what a multi-step problem is asking.

Explain the idea briefly and work through one example together. Then ask your child to try two or three fresh examples. If they get stuck, return to the point where the method stopped making sense rather than supplying the final answer. Twenty focused minutes can be enough.

Session two: return to it after a gap

A day or two later, start with a question that uses the same idea in a slightly different way. Do not announce every step in advance. Let your child decide how to begin, then ask, “What made you choose that?”

You might notice that the idea was secure in the original example but less certain when the wording changed. That is helpful information. Revisit one step, try another example and finish with a question your child can complete successfully.

For vocabulary, use words from real reading rather than an isolated list. Ask what a word seems to mean in its sentence, which nearby words provide clues and where else the word could fit. For Maths, change the surface details while keeping the underlying method similar.

Session three: combine skills gently

Use a short mixed task: a passage with a few different question types, a small set of Maths problems, or a brief writing prompt followed by time to check. The goal is to choose between familiar approaches, not to endure a full mock assessment.

Begin untimed. When your child can maintain a careful method, introduce a short time window. Eight or ten minutes is enough to observe whether they still read instructions, set out working and check an answer. If the timer creates hurried guessing, take it away and make the task smaller.

Make room for writing and problem-solving

For creative writing, practise making a quick plan before drafting. Three notes can be enough: where the scene begins, what changes and how it ends. Encourage your child to leave a few minutes to reread for missing words, sentence endings and paragraph breaks.

For Maths problem-solving, ask your child to say what information matters before calculating. A quick sketch, bar model or estimate can make the structure clearer. Praise a sensible choice of method, even when arithmetic still needs correction.

Review the week without turning it into a verdict

At the end of the third session, choose one thing that became easier and one thing to revisit. Keep the note specific: “she found evidence but did not explain it” is more useful than “comprehension weak”; “he chose multiplication but lost track of units” gives you a clear next action.

The City of London School for Girls guide keeps the school route and official links together. For a simple next session, open a live English lesson and let your child's response guide what you practise afterwards.

Sources

[2] 11+ admissions - City of London School for Girls