Latymer Upper School

Entry points and who can apply

Latymer Upper is a co-educational day school in Hammersmith. Its main entry point for younger children is 11+, into Year 7. The only other usual entry point is 16+, into the Sixth Form. There is no regular 10+ or 13+ entry. Places in Years 8, 9 and 10 come up only occasionally, and the school says there are typically no more than one or two per year group.

• 11+ (Year 7), September 2027 entry. For children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016. Registration closed at midday on Monday 12 October 2026, and the school says late registrations will not be considered.
• 11+ (Year 7), September 2028 entry. For children born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017. If your child is in Year 5 now, this is the round that matters to you. The school has not yet published the 2028 dates. Its admissions policy says registration opens in the spring and closes in the autumn term of the year before entry. For the 2027 round, registration opened on Friday 1 May 2026.

The school says Year 7 typically has 168 children: about 44 move up from its own Latymer Prep and about 124 join from other schools, state and independent in roughly equal numbers.

You register online and pay a non-refundable £220 registration fee. The fee is waived if you apply for a full bursary. The school does not take children outside their year group, apart from some medical and summer-born cases. It has no sibling preference.

The assessment: what your child will sit

Every child registered before the deadline is invited to the entrance exam. It is held at the school, with morning and afternoon sessions. For 2027 entry the date is Wednesday 2 December 2026. The school sets its own papers in English and maths.

That is 2 hours 20 minutes of writing time. The school says there is a 20-minute break after the English paper.

The school publishes two sets of sample papers on its admissions pages. It says they show the style of questions and the timings to expect, and that it does not provide answers or mark schemes.

There is no alternative exam day. If another school's exam falls on the same date, tell both schools; Latymer says it can usually schedule around it. Overseas candidates must sit the exam at Latymer. If your child needs learning support adjustments, say so when you register: for this round the reports were due by midday on Wednesday 14 October 2026, and without them the school cannot make arrangements.

What this means in practice

• Two subjects, long papers. The school lists only English and maths papers. The maths paper lasts a full hour, so your child needs to work steadily for that long.
• Writing has its own paper. One of the two English papers is 45 minutes of descriptive writing.

Interview Session and the decision

After the exam, the school writes to your child's current school for a reference. Selected candidates are then invited back for an Interview Session. For 2027 entry, the school's dates are:

• Tuesday 8 December 2026: decisions sent to all candidates after the exam
• Tuesday 15 December 2026: interview schedules sent to invited candidates by the end of the day
• Wednesday 6 January 2027: 11+ Interview Day

The Interview Session is a half day of "immersive learning activities" in classrooms, plus a one-to-one interview. The school says it uses the session to learn about character, curiosity and "teachability". It also says adjustments are made for children with a learning difference.

The decision draws on the entrance exam, the interview and the reference from your child's current Head. Offer letters go out in early February; the school lists the exact 2027 date as to be confirmed. Families then have three weeks to accept. If you accept, you confirm that you have not accepted another school's offer and pay a £2,400 deposit (the school calls it non-refundable; it is held until your child leaves). The school says it offers places from a waiting list after the acceptance deadline.

Open days for 2028 entry are not yet published. For 2027 entry they were in September and October, with no small group tours.

Help with fees: bursaries and scholarships

Tuition from September 2026 is £10,675 a term including VAT. The school says it can now offer a means-tested bursary to 1 in 4 of its students, with an average award of over 80% of fees. Bursaries range from 25% to 100% and are offered at 11+ and 16+.

• Same academic bar. Bursary applicants must meet the same entry standard as everyone else. The school says it does not set a higher pass mark for them.
• How to apply. Say you want a bursary when you register; you will then be sent the bursary form. The assessment is handled by an external company. The school's pages describe the bursary deadline in two ways, so follow the date in your Registration Confirmation email and check with the admissions team if unsure.
• Who might qualify. The school says it sets no strict thresholds and looks at income, savings, property and personal circumstances. Its bursary pages give indicative figures; call the admissions team if unsure.
• What happens next. Shortlisted families are contacted by the external assessors, and senior staff may make a home visit. Awards are confirmed with the offer in February and are reviewed every year.

At 11+, the only scholarships are for music. There are no academic scholarships. A music scholarship can be worth up to 20% off fees, with tuition on two instruments. One major award, the Walter Legge Scholarship, can be worth up to 40%. Candidates should ideally play two instruments, one of them orchestral, and be at roughly Grade 5 on their main instrument. Auditions are in January, after the entrance exam, and music scholars must meet the academic standard first.

How to prepare

The school's admissions policy says no specific preparation for its entrance tests is needed, and that all candidates start on an equal footing. The ideas below are everyday habits for Year 5 and Year 6, built around the paper format.

1. Read widely and talk about it. Fiction and non-fiction, with conversations about what a writer means and why. This supports the comprehension paper directly.
2. Secure Year 5 and Year 6 maths. Work on accuracy and confidence with the core topics, and practise checking answers.
3. Practise descriptive writing. One English paper is descriptive writing, so practise describing a place, a person or a moment in detail. Aim for 45 minutes, clear paragraphs and careful punctuation, and read the pieces back together.
4. Use the school's sample papers. The school publishes two sets; use them under the published timings to see the format. There are no answers, so go through them together afterwards.
5. Practise a full sitting. The three papers add up to 2 hours 20 minutes, with one 20-minute break. Try a full timed sitting once or twice before the exam.
6. Watch the calendar. For 2027 entry, registration, learning support and music scholarship deadlines all fell in mid-October, with no late entries.

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