The Wandsworth Test (Wandsworth Year 6 Test)

Which schools use it

The papers

Part 1

Non-verbal reasoning: 75 questions in four timed sections (three of 10 minutes with 19 questions each, and one of 9 minutes with 18). 55 minutes in all, including instructions and practice questions.

Part 2

Verbal reasoning: 80 questions in 50 minutes.

• There is a short practice session at the start and a break between the two parts. The instructions are read aloud.
• Non-verbal reasoning uses shapes and codes, so it needs very little reading. Verbal reasoning uses word puzzles, such as matching words with similar meanings or making one word from the letters of another, and children read the questions themselves.
• Answers are marked in pencil on a pre-printed answer sheet, which a computer reads. There is no writing.
• The council points parents to GL Assessment’s own multiple-choice verbal and non-verbal reasoning practice packs.

Key dates for 2027 entry

Registration

Online with Wandsworth Council by 3 September 2026 (now closed)

The test

Thursday 24, Friday 25, Saturday 26 or Monday 28 September 2026, at one of four secondary school test centres

Results

By email on 23 October 2026

Apply for a place

Name the school on your local authority’s Common Application Form by 31 October 2026

Offers

1 March 2027 (National Offer Day)

These are the dates for 2027 entry. The council reopens registration in mid-October for a late test session. We’ll update this page when the dates for 2028 entry are published.

How the results work

• It isn’t a pass or fail test. GL Assessment scores the papers, and your child’s age is taken into account in the scores.
• The council emails the scores to parents, and only the schools you apply to see them. The scores are confidential and for school use only.
• Each school uses the scores in its own way (see above), so a score that leads to an offer at one school won’t necessarily lead to one at another.
• At Chestnut Grove, an applicant who hasn’t sat the test is put in a band at random. At Ashcroft, an untested applicant isn’t considered until every banded child has been offered a place.

Our mock

Verbal Reasoning: 80 questions in 50 minutes. Non-Verbal Reasoning: 75 questions in 39 minutes, in 4 timed sections. Timed, multiple choice and styled on the published format, with every answer's timing recorded and the weakest topics ranked afterwards. It is an unofficial practice paper: we aren't affiliated with any of these schools, and a sitting needs a free parent account.

Common questions

Where is it sat?

At a Wandsworth secondary school test centre, never in primary schools. This applies wherever your child goes to school, including independent schools and home education. You can’t choose the date, time or venue, and the venue needn’t be a school you’re applying to.

Does my child need it if they have an EHCP?

No. Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan apply through a separate process, and no school needs a test score for it.

Do other schools use the Wandsworth Test?

No. Schools in other boroughs, and independent schools, that need a test set their own and don’t use these results.

Can a mock tell me which band my child will be in?

No. Bands and selective cut-offs come from everyone who applied that year. Our mock shows the score on each paper and a breakdown by question type, never a band.

Where these facts come from

• Wandsworth Council: About the Year 6 test
• Wandsworth Council: Year 6 test structure
• Wandsworth Council: Year 6 test marking and results
• Choose a Wandsworth Secondary School: admission to secondary schools in September 2027 (each school’s admission criteria, PDF)

Checked against these pages in September 2026. If anything here disagrees with them, theirs is right: please tell us and we'll fix it.