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IndependentBoys

City of London School

Beside the Thames in the heart of the City, CLS has educated London's brightest boys since 1834 — and its adaptive bespoke 11+ is one of the most technically demanding entry assessments in the capital.
Exam board
Bespoke-SET
Entry
Year 7
Founded
1834
Year 7 places
100
City of London School logo

City of London School

SMA Difficulty
Expert
Location: City of London
School type: Independent
Admissions test: Bespoke-SET
Free 11+ Baseline Assessment
LOCATION & GETTING THERE

Where City of London School sits — and how to reach it

● Schools● Trains● Buses● School coaches
LOCATION
City of London School
107 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 3AL
Other selective schools nearby, closest first — useful if you are considering more than one.
City of London School for Girls
City of London, London · 1.0 km away
View guide →
Westminster School
Westminster, London · 2.4 km away
View guide →
Westminster Under School
Westminster, Central London · 3.1 km away
View guide →
Queen's College London
Marylebone, London · 3.4 km away
View guide →
Nearest railway and Underground stations, with the lines that serve them. Distances are straight-line from the school.
London Blackfriars
0.3 km from the school — Thameslink: cross-London services; Southeastern: services to Kent
Blackfriars
0.3 km from the school — London Underground: Circle and District lines
Mansion House
0.4 km from the school — London Underground: Circle and District lines
Millennium Bridge (Stop SG)
0.1 km from the school — routes 4
Millennium Bridge (Stop SF)
0.1 km from the school — routes 4
St Paul's Cathedral (Stop SJ)
0.3 km from the school — routes 15, N15, 17, N21, 26, N26, 76, N199, N550, N551
Bus stops closest to the school, with the routes that serve them. Distances are straight-line from the school.
London Blackfriars
0.3 km from the school — Thameslink: cross-London services; Southeastern: services to Kent
Blackfriars
0.3 km from the school — London Underground: Circle and District lines
Mansion House
0.4 km from the school — London Underground: Circle and District lines
Millennium Bridge (Stop SG)
0.1 km from the school — routes 4
Millennium Bridge (Stop SF)
0.1 km from the school — routes 4
St Paul's Cathedral (Stop SJ)
0.3 km from the school — routes 15, N15, 17, N21, 26, N26, 76, N199, N550, N551
Coach services run by the school itself, where they exist.
London Blackfriars
0.3 km from the school — Thameslink: cross-London services; Southeastern: services to Kent
Blackfriars
0.3 km from the school — London Underground: Circle and District lines
Mansion House
0.4 km from the school — London Underground: Circle and District lines
Millennium Bridge (Stop SG)
0.1 km from the school — routes 4
Millennium Bridge (Stop SF)
0.1 km from the school — routes 4
St Paul's Cathedral (Stop SJ)
0.3 km from the school — routes 15, N15, 17, N21, 26, N26, 76, N199, N550, N551
Private coach services are run by local operators — confirm routes and seats directly each September.
ON THIS PAGE
OVERVIEW

How the test is structured

City of London School runs its own bespoke single-stage computerised assessment for all 11+ candidates, held at the school in November of Year 6. The 95-minute test covers Mathematics (20 minutes), English (20 minutes), Non-Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes), Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes), Puzzles and Problem Solving (15 minutes), and Creative Comprehension (20 minutes). Crucially, the Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning sections are adaptive: questions get harder or easier in real time depending on each candidate's responses, so no two papers are identical.

Candidates who perform well are invited back in January for an interview and group activity, which lasts around 15–20 minutes. The school weighs assessment results, interview feedback and the current school's report before making offers. Registration closes in early November; a non-refundable fee of £160 applies.

HISTORY & ETHOS

The school's story

City of London School was established by private Act of Parliament in 1834, following a bequest of land made in 1442 by John Carpenter, Town Clerk of London, for the education of poor children in the City. The original school opened at Milk Street before relocating to the Victoria Embankment in 1879 and moving to its current purpose-built home on Queen Victoria Street — immediately beside the Millennium Bridge — in 1986. It was one of the first schools in England to include science on the curriculum and to incorporate scientific experiments into regular teaching, a progressive tradition maintained to this day.Old Citizens include Peter Higgs (theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate), the mathematician and codebreaker Max Newman, novelist H.H. Asquith, and Edwin Abbott Abbott whose mathematical work Flatland remains in print more than a century after publication. Over 140 Old Citizens appear in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. This culture of intellectual breadth — science, mathematics and the humanities in equal measure — sits naturally alongside Singapore mastery's insistence that mathematical understanding must be built from first principles, not inherited from rote.

Why the maths is genuinely hard

The adaptive computerised Maths section adjusts difficulty in real time — boys cannot skip ahead or go back. Combined with separate Puzzles and Problem Solving questions, CLS tests genuine mathematical aptitude under genuine time pressure, rewarding flexible thinkers over well-rehearsed exam technique.

SMA DIFFICULTY VERDICT

Our honest take on the difficulty

The SMA Verdict

4

/5

Expert

City of London School's bespoke adaptive assessment is one of the most technically sophisticated 11+ formats in London. The real-time difficulty adjustment in the Maths section means that highly capable boys are pushed to the very edge of their ability — there is no ceiling a well-prepared candidate can hit and coast. The additional Puzzles and Problem Solving section rewards exactly the kind of flexible, model-based reasoning Singapore mastery develops: boys who can deconstruct an unfamiliar problem and work through it logically have a clear edge here.

CATCHMENT & TOWNS

Where families come from

City of London
Islington
Hackney
Southwark
Bermondsey
Clerkenwell
Wapping
Canonbury
Greenwich
Dulwich
KEY DATES

The 11+ admissions calendar

November 2026Registration deadline
November 2026Bespoke computerised assessment (all candidates)
January 2027Interviews and group activity
February 2027Offers issued
FAQ

Parents' most common questions

Does City of London School use the ISEB Common Pre-Test?

No. CLS runs its own bespoke computerised assessment for all 11+ candidates, held at the school in November of Year 6. It does not use the ISEB Common Pre-Test. The school's assessment covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Puzzles and Problem Solving, and Creative Comprehension in a single 95-minute sitting.

What does 'adaptive' mean in the CLS Maths assessment?

The Maths (and reasoning) sections adjust difficulty in real time: if a boy answers correctly, the next question is harder; if he struggles, the next is easier. Boys cannot skip questions or go back to change answers. This means the assessment accurately measures each candidate's true ceiling, regardless of how well they have been drilled on specific question types.

What is the Puzzles and Problem Solving section?

A 15-minute section distinct from the Maths component, specifically designed to assess logical and lateral thinking through unfamiliar puzzle-style problems. This rewards boys who can approach novel mathematical and reasoning challenges methodically — a direct product of mastery-based preparation.

How many boys does CLS admit at 11+?

The school does not publish a fixed quota, but the Year 7 cohort is drawn from candidates who pass the November assessment and perform well at interview in January. Given CLS's Thames-side location and superb transport links, the applicant pool is large and highly competitive.

How does Singapore Maths preparation help for the CLS 11+?

Because the CLS Maths assessment is adaptive, there is no fixed ceiling to memorise. Boys who genuinely understand mathematical structures — and can reason flexibly when pushed beyond their comfort zone — will keep answering correctly as the questions get harder. Singapore mastery builds precisely this deep structural understanding, rather than surface-level technique that collapses under pressure.
EXAM PAPERS

Past and sample papers

COMING SOON

We're gathering the sample and familiarisation papers City of London School publishes, so you can see the real thing before you prepare. If you'd like them sooner, just ask.

NEARBY SCHOOLS

Other selective schools in the area

City of London School for Girls
City of London, London · 1.0 km
View guide →
Westminster School
Westminster, London · 2.4 km
View guide →
Westminster Under School
Westminster, Central London · 3.1 km
View guide →
Queen's College London
Marylebone, London · 3.4 km
View guide →

Preparing for City of London School?

We teach the reasoning these papers actually reward — not test tricks. Small online groups, qualified teachers, and a Singapore Maths method built on genuine understanding.