St Paul's Boys/City of London Boys Reserve List Exams

[EduLdn]

Hi all. My son wrote his 11+ exams in 2023 for 13+ entry in 2026 at both schools and although he made it to the interview stage he didn't get a final offer. He will now be taking the reserve list exams for both schools in 2025. We are new to the UK and there is very limited information on the nature of these exams. Could anyone who has gone through these exams provide some advice on the format of the exams and what is the best way to prepare for them? Would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

For CLS they sit papers in Maths and English. Successful candidates will then be recalled for an interview. They also ask for a reference direct from their school.

I should also add that if they get offered a reserve list place they will also be expected to sit their Common Entrance in the Summer (or if their school doesn't do CE they will be asked to sit equivalent papers at CLS)

'If offer-holders attend a school which prepares them for the new syllabus Common Entrance examinations, we will expect them to sit papers in Mathematics (Core non calculator and the Additional paper), English (Parts 1 and 2), French (Reading and Writing) and Latin (Level 3, if chosen as a subject by the offer-holder). No other subjects will be required and we expect that the offer-holders will be able to achieve a high score (usually above 70%) in each paper.

If offer-holders attend a school which does not follow the full Common Entrance curriculum, we will also expect them to sit papers at CLS (likely during Common Entrance week) in Mathematics, English, French and Latin (if chosen as a subject by the offer-holder). Offer-holders will be expected to achieve a high score (usually above 70%) in each paper.'

Thanks very much for the detailed information LondonMummer. I wasn't aware of the fact that he would need to take the Common Entrance papers too.

Regarding the assessment papers at City in Maths and English would it be sufficient for my son to perform at a high level at school in Y7 to be adequately prepared for the assessments? For 11+ we had used out of school resources such as Atom Learning but for these 13+ exams what resources would you recommend?

I suggest getting in touch with Admissions at the school. I seem to remember that they shared a list of the maths topics that candidates were expected to be familiar with.

My son secured a place through the 13+ route in similar circumstances.

It's the most amazing school. He started in September and I can't say enough positive things about it.

Congrats on him getting through! I agree it is a fantastic school and it was our No 1 choice. We were quite disappointed our son didn't make it past the interview stage. So close yet so far!

I had reached out to the school but they told me they would only provide guidance on the exam during the summer break which is still quite a while down the road. We will have to take it as it comes.

This is the list we were given. Things might change so please don't take it as given.

That said, if he lost out at interview stage I would suggest this is an area to really work on. I think it was the interview that nailed it for my son (he hadn't got to that stage previously)

Mathematics checklist
• Whole number arithmetic
• Long multiplication and division
• Decimals
• Order of Operation (BIDMAS)
• Sequences
• Perimeter and area
• Fractions, decimals and percentages
• Angles
• Algebra
• Coordinates
• Factors, multiples and primes
• Straight line graphs
• Proportion and ratio
• Probability
• Constructing triangles
• Negative numbers
• Rotation, reflection and translation
• Area and perimeter of circles