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Area guide · entry in September 2027The 11+ in Sutton
Sutton runs the only two-stage system in this guide. One shared test in September decides who is allowed to sit a second, harder examination at the individual schools a fortnight later — so passing the first test is not the finish line, it is permission to keep going.
On this page
Sutton at a glance
- Stage one: the SET Tuesday 15 September 2026, shared by six schools. It is a filter, not a decision.
- Stage two decides the place Each school's own exam, on Saturday 26 September or Saturday 3 October 2026.
- Apply by 31 October 2026 Name every school you want on your home council's application form.
- Offers 1 March 2027. Passing a test does not guarantee a place.
What the test covers
The council's and Sutton Grammar School's pages we checked give the dates but do not say what the Selective Eligibility Test contains. Ask the schools before you plan practice.
For children in Year 5 now · starting secondary school in September 2028
Entry in September 2028: what is published so far
The Sutton schools have not published dates for this round yet. We will add them here as soon as they do.
Only what has been published. From: Sutton Grammar School — Admissions.
The calendar
Every date for entry in September 2027, from the published arrangements. Dates that have passed are in grey.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Friday 1 May 2026 | SET registration opened |
| Tuesday 12 June 2026 | Deadline for access arrangements requests Requests and supporting evidence for candidates with SEN. Six weeks before registration itself closes. |
| 31 July 2026 | SET registration closed |
| Tuesday 15 September 2026 | Selective Eligibility Test (SET) Stage one, shared by all six schools. It decides who may sit stage two. |
| Saturday 26 September 2026 | Second-stage examinations begin Stage two, at two of the schools. This is where places are decided. |
| Saturday 3 October 2026 | Second-stage examinations, including Sutton Grammar |
| Saturday 10 October 2026 | Wilson's School aptitude tests Football and music places, registered for by 31 July alongside the SET. |
| 31 October 2026 | Secondary school application deadline On your home council's common application form. Name every school you want considered. |
| 1 March 2027 | Offers made |
Six schools, one registration
The Selective Eligibility Test is the shared first stage for Greenshaw High School (selective band), Nonsuch High School for Girls, Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School, Wallington High School for Girls and Wilson's School.
You complete the online registration form once, whatever number of these schools you are interested in. The same form is reachable from any of the participating schools' websites.
- Registering for the SET is a registration to sit a test. It is not an application for a school place.
- The access arrangements deadline, 12 June 2026, falls well before registration closes on 31 July. A family that registers in July has already missed the window to ask for adjustments.
The part most families need
What passing the first stage actually gets you
This is where Sutton differs from Kent, Buckinghamshire or Essex, and where families misread the system.
At the five grammar schools, being eligible after the SET earns your child the right to sit that school's second-stage entrance examination. At Greenshaw, eligibility puts your child in the running for the school's ability places.
So the September test is a filter, not a decision. The examinations that follow in late September and early October are where the places are actually decided.
- Sutton Council's own wording is worth keeping in mind: success in tests or assessments for any of these schools does not guarantee an offer of a place.
- The second-stage examinations fall on Saturdays, two and three weeks after the SET. A child who scrapes through stage one has very little recovery time before stage two.
Applying for the place itself
Sutton's page states that for the Selective Eligibility Test you will have your results before the closing date for applications — which is the point of running the test in September. It does not publish the results date itself, and we have not guessed one.
Whatever the results say, a school can only consider your child if you have named it on your home authority's common application form by 31 October 2026.
Things that catch families out
- The access arrangements deadline is six weeks earlier than the registration deadline. Diarise 12 June, not 31 July, if your child needs adjustments.
- One registration covers all six schools, so there is no advantage in registering repeatedly — but there is also no reminder if you leave a school off your application form later.
- Wilson's football and music aptitude places are registered for at the same time as the SET, back in July, for tests that happen in October.
- Stage two is where the offer is decided. Preparation that stops at the SET stops one test too early.
Sources
3 official pages, checked 22 September 2026
Admissions rules are set again every year, so check the council's own pages before you rely on a date, and tell us if you find something out of date.
London Borough of Sutton
Sutton Grammar School
When the Sutton dates change
An email when a new area guide is written or a new year of papers goes up. A few times a year, no more — and nothing else, ever.
We send a confirmation email first, and the address does nothing until you click the link in it. One click to leave, any time. What we do with it.