Exam board not published
How to prep for Haberdashers' Girls' School
Current route format
Quest Assessment online test plus a handwritten Creative Writing paper. The online Quest Assessment (approximately 105 minutes) covers: English/Creative Comprehension (50 minutes), Mathematics (20 minutes), Puzzles and Problem-Solving (15 minutes), Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes), and Non-Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes). This is followed by a handwritten Creative Writing paper (30 minutes). The exam is sat at the school. Around half of applicants are invited back for interview based on exam performance.
Month-by-month plan
Based on a 12-month prep window. If you have less time, compress the early foundation months; if you have more, extend the foundation phase.
Foundation
Months 12–9 before examFill curriculum gaps before moving to exam-style work. Consistency > intensity.
- Daily 20-minute practice across all four subjects (rotate, not all at once)
- Identify weak topics via a diagnostic and prioritise them
- Build reading stamina — 20 minutes of fiction + 10 minutes of non-fiction daily
- Learn core mental maths facts (times tables to 12, doubles, halves, %)
Skill-building
Months 8–5Move from learning topics to practising them under mild time pressure.
- Introduce timed mini-tests (15 questions in 15 minutes) per subject weekly
- Add vocabulary-building: aim for 10 new words per week with usage
- Start verbal and non-verbal reasoning technique drills (one type per week)
- Review mistakes — a wrong answer without a follow-up is a wasted question
Exam-style
Months 4–2Full past papers under real exam timing. Match the format of the school.
- Complete one full past paper per week, then mark together
- Build mock-exam resilience — do at least one sitting in exam-style conditions
- Target weakest topic from the diagnostic each week
- Introduce double mock days (two papers in a morning) for stamina
Final stretch
Final 4 weeksPeak condition — maintain volume, reduce novelty, prioritise sleep.
- Short daily sessions (25–30 min) — no marathons
- Review mistakes notebook — revisit questions, don't re-do unrelated topics
- Do a dress-rehearsal paper at the same time of day as the real exam
- Sleep, hydration, breakfast — treat the final week like athletes treat taper
FAQ
When should we start preparing for Haberdashers' Girls' School?
Start from your child's current needs and the published Year 7 11+ entry calendar. Leap does not infer a school-specific starting point or score gap where the school has not published one.
What format does Haberdashers' Girls' School publish?
Quest Assessment online test plus a handwritten Creative Writing paper. The online Quest Assessment (approximately 105 minutes) covers: English/Creative Comprehension (50 minutes), Mathematics (20 minutes), Puzzles and Problem-Solving (15 minutes), Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes), and Non-Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes). This is followed by a handwritten Creative Writing paper (30 minutes). The exam is sat at the school. Around half of applicants are invited back for interview based on exam performance.
Can we prepare without a tutor?
Yes — many children pass without private tutors. The keys are consistent daily practice (30–45 minutes), full past papers under timed conditions, and an honest weekly review of mistakes. App-based prep like Leap replaces the tutor's content prep and scheduling role.
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