Inside HBS in 2026: A Parent’s 11+ Guide for 2027 Entry
So how do you actually get into HBS?
It is the question I am asked most often, by parents whose daughters are in Year 4 or Year 5, at the kitchen table at 9pm on a Tuesday. They have usually spent two hours on Mumsnet and another forty minutes on a tutoring blog, and are no clearer for it.
Let me tell you something parents are often surprised to hear. The Henrietta Barnett School is, on the numbers, the hardest school in this London selective system to get into. Around 2,000 girls register for the entrance test each year for 120 Year 7 places. That ratio of roughly seventeen applicants per place makes HBS statistically more competitive than NLCS, more competitive than Habs Girls’, and more competitive than most fee-paying schools in the country. And HBS is free.
That single fact reframes everything. A girl with the academic ability to win a place at NLCS or Habs Girls’ absolutely has the ability to win a place at HBS. But the test is different, the timing is different, and the strategy is different. Families who treat HBS as a backup to an independent school misjudge the level.
I am a Habs Girls’ Old Girl. I do not have a family connection to HBS, and I will not pretend to one. What I can give you is two decades of expert peer-institution knowledge: I know the schools that sit alongside HBS in the north London selective system from the inside, I have seen hundreds of girls go through the HBS process, and I know exactly where the small mistakes happen.
This guide is current as of May 2026, for parents whose daughters will sit on 2–4 September 2026 for September 2027 entry. By the end you should be calmer than you started.
Inside HBS in 2026
The Henrietta Barnett School sits on Central Square in Hampstead Garden Suburb, in the London Borough of Barnet, with Golders Green tube about 15 minutes’ walk away. The school occupies a Grade II* Listed building designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens — one of the most beautiful state-school sites in the country.
Founded in 1911 by Dame Henrietta Barnett, the school carries 115 years of history. Henrietta Barnett was a Victorian social reformer who co-founded the Hampstead Garden Suburb, established Toynbee Hall, and campaigned all her working life for the education of girls from every background. The school she built was free, academically ambitious, and unapologetically rigorous. 115 years on, the institution carries that same founding character.
In 2022, 94 per cent of GCSE grades were 9 or 8. At A-Level, 88 per cent of grades were A* or A and 97 per cent were A* to B. 28 girls received Oxbridge offers in the same year.
What parents tell us they love
The combination of academic excellence and zero fees. The Lutyens building and Hampstead Garden Suburb setting. A diverse pupil body that reflects the real make-up of London (around 75 per cent of girls from minority ethnic backgrounds, over half from homes where English is not the first language). Outstanding leavers’ destinations. A founding mission that is still visible.
What parents tell us they worry about
The competition — around 17 girls register for every Year 7 place, statistically harder than NLCS or Habs Girls’. The 3-mile priority rule. The format complexity: HBS uses two completely different test formats, and practice for one does not prepare for the other. The September timing — Round 1 falls in the first week of Year 6. The integration with the CAF, which runs alongside the school’s own registration.
A note from Reena. HBS is, on the numbers, the most competitive school I have ever prepared girls for. It is also genuinely free, and it shapes leavers in a way I rarely see elsewhere. For a family with a bright, hardworking daughter, especially one within the 3-mile priority area, HBS is one of the best opportunities in the country. But it requires the right preparation, started early, tuned to the HBS format.
The admissions process for September 2027 entry
HBS runs a two-round process, both written. No interview at any stage. Round 1 is a GL Assessment paper in Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and English, sat in early September of Year 6. The top 300 ranked candidates are invited to Round 2 in early October — two papers set by HBS staff (English comprehension and creative writing, plus Maths). Final offers come on National Offer Day in March 2027.
Three things parents often miss. First, registration on the school’s own form is separate from the CAF you submit to your local authority. Both must be done, in two different places, by two different deadlines. Miss either and your daughter cannot be considered. Second, HBS has no catchment for sitting the test, but a 3-mile priority rule for offers. Third, Round 1 and Round 2 formats are completely different and require different preparation.
Key dates for September 2027 entry
Verified against hbschool.org.uk in May 2026.
Date
Day
What happens
1 April 2026
Wednesday
Registration opens on the HBS website
30 June 2026
Tuesday
Open Day (Year 5 students and parents only — bookings open 3 June at 6pm)
1 July 2026
Wednesday
Registration closes (5.00pm sharp)
2–4 September 2026
Wed–Fri
Round 1 Entrance Test (GL Assessment)
By 28 September 2026
TBC
Round 1 results, invitations to Round 2
5 October 2026
Monday
Round 2 Test (English & Maths, school-set)
Late October 2026
TBC
CAF deadline (Common Application Form via your local authority)
1 March 2027
Monday
National Offer Day
TWO REGISTRATIONS, TWO DEADLINES You must do both: Step 1: Register your daughter directly with HBS on the school’s online form by 5.00pm on 1 July 2026. Step 2: Submit the Common Application Form (CAF) to your local authority (Barnet for HBS) by the late October deadline, naming HBS as one of your preferences.Without the CAF, an HBS offer cannot be made even if your daughter passes the test. Late submissions are not accepted.
The 3-mile priority rule (this catches many families out)
HBS has no catchment for sitting the test — anyone can register and sit Round 1. But for the offer of a place, HBS applies a sequence of priority criteria. After looked-after children and Pupil Premium places, the next priority is candidates living within 3 miles of the school, measured in a straight line. Beyond 3 miles, candidates are ranked by combined test score regardless of distance.
A girl within 3 miles with the same score as a girl outside 3 miles has a meaningfully better chance. It does not guarantee a place — she still needs to score highly — but it places her in the higher-priority pool. We tell parents living outside 3 miles to be honest about the maths: HBS is achievable, but the score required is higher.
How places are awarded
After Round 2, HBS combines the standardised scores into a final ranked list. Places are offered in priority order: looked-after and previously looked-after children; up to 20 Pupil Premium candidates ranked in the top 300; candidates within 3 miles, in rank order; then all remaining candidates, in rank order. Offers come on 1 March 2027 through the CAF process.
The two rounds of tests
What follows is a parent-friendly map of each round, with the named techniques we teach.
No real exam questions appear anywhere in this guide. Every example is written by Academic Success in the style of the papers. HBS does not release Round 2 past papers, sample papers, or mark schemes; the calibration here draws on years of preparing girls for HBS Round 2.
Round 1 (early September): GL Assessment, multiple choice
A multiple-choice paper set by GL Assessment, covering three subjects. Exact timings vary year to year and are confirmed in the invitation letter. Verbal Reasoning tests vocabulary, word relationships, codes, sequences, and logical deduction. Non-Verbal Reasoning tests pattern recognition with shapes. English is reading comprehension with multiple-choice questions, plus vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation in context.
Three named techniques are non-negotiable for Round 1. Skip-and-Return: if a question takes more than 30 seconds, mark it, move on, and return at the end. The cost of one tricky question swallowing the next ten is the most common reason capable girls miss the cut. The Inference Ladder for English comprehension (literal meaning, key word, connotation, writer’s intent). And the Definition Method for vocabulary in context.
Worked example, in our voice. Library is to books as orchard is to which one of the following? A) trees, B) fruit, C) apples, D) gardens, E) flowers. A library is the place where books are kept and used. An orchard is the place where fruit trees are grown. The closest structural match is A (trees). Tempting wrong: B (fruit), because fruit grows in an orchard. But fruit is the product, not what an orchard contains by definition. The answer is A. Speed plus precision is the Round 1 skill.
Round 2 (early October): school-set, written
After Round 1 results, the top 300 return for Round 2. Two papers, set by HBS staff, in standard format (write your own answers). The English paper is a comprehension passage with extended written-response questions, plus a creative writing task. The Maths paper is multi-step problem-solving — material can stretch beyond Key Stage 2 into early Year 7 territory. Working space is provided; the school marks both answer and method.
For Round 2 English, three techniques. The PEE Chain for every paragraph of every comprehension answer: Point, Evidence, Explanation. STAR for creative writing (Setup, Tension, Action, Resolution). The In the Action Rule for openings: open with a character already doing something interesting, not “It was a sunny morning. I woke up.”
For Round 2 Maths, four techniques: the Column Method for any addition, subtraction, or multiplication beyond two digits; the LCM Method for fractions; the Hidden Question for word problems (underline what is actually being asked); and the discipline of showing every step of working.
Worked example, in our voice. A school library has 240 books on display. One quarter are reference, one third fiction, one fifth biographies, the rest poetry. How many poetry books? Working: a quarter of 240 is 60; a third is 80; a fifth is 48; reference + fiction + biographies = 188; poetry = 240 − 188 = 52.
A note from Reena. Every technique above is a specific, named method. “Read the passage carefully” is not a technique; it is a wish. “Climb the Inference Ladder” is a technique. “Write a PEE chain” is a technique. Girls remember named techniques under exam pressure. They do not remember vague advice.
What HBS is really looking for
HBS tests VR, NVR, English, and Maths across two rounds, with no interview at any stage. That is unusual at this level of selectivity. Four qualities show up again and again across the girls we have helped onto the HBS offer list.
- Speed and accuracy under multiple-choice pressure. Round 1 is multiple choice. The GL papers reward girls who read carefully, eliminate distractors quickly, and keep moving. Many bright girls who excel at written work struggle with the rhythm of fast-paced multiple-choice. The girls in the top 300 treat each question as a 30-second decision and move on.
- Endurance and breadth across two formats. Round 2 is the opposite of Round 1: write-your-own-answer, longer questions, creative writing. A girl brilliant on multiple choice but rarely writing a structured paragraph from scratch will hit a wall in Round 2. A girl who writes beautifully but rushes timed multiple-choice will not make it to Round 2 in the first place. HBS tests girls who can do both.
- Quality of independent thought in writing. Because Round 2 English includes creative writing, HBS markers reward girls who plan rather than start at “once upon a time” and hope. They look for an opening that engages, a structure that holds, vocabulary chosen with care, varied sentence rhythm, and clean technical accuracy.
- Calm under high stakes. No interview, but the pressure is real — around 17 girls compete for every place. The girls who succeed at HBS sit a paper at full pace without the panic spiralling on a single tricky early question.
The six most common pitfalls
Across the HBS families we have worked with, the same six mistakes come up again and again.
- Treating Round 1 and Round 2 as one paper. Round 1 is multiple-choice, fast-paced, GL Assessment. Round 2 is written-format, longer, set by HBS staff. The skills are genuinely different, and practice for one is not practice for the other. The most common mistake we see is families drilling GL papers all year and then panicking when their daughter cannot write a structured paragraph in October. Split preparation explicitly from spring of Year 5.
- Missing the 1 July registration or the CAF deadline. Two separate registrations, two separate deadlines. HBS school registration closes at 5pm on 1 July 2026. The CAF (via Barnet Council) is in late October. Missing either by a single day disqualifies the application. Put both in the calendar in March and submit two weeks early.
- Misunderstanding the 3-mile rule. Inside 3 miles: priority. Outside 3 miles: no priority, ranked by score. Many families assume the rule means “someone 5 miles away cannot get in.” Not true. Plenty of girls outside 3 miles are offered places every year — but only those who score among the very highest in the combined ranking. If you live outside 3 miles, the strategy must accept the higher score required and add a strong second-choice.
- Not preparing creative writing. Round 2 includes a creative writing task and HBS markers weight it heavily. A girl who has rarely written a 20-minute story under timed conditions before October is at a real disadvantage. Drill STAR, In the Action openings, and Show Don’t Tell weekly from spring of Year 5.
- Drilling only multiple-choice. Almost all online 11+ practice is multiple-choice. Round 1 is multiple-choice, yes — but Round 2 is write-your-own-answer. A girl with thousands of MCQs under her belt can still struggle when asked to write a paragraph from scratch under timed conditions. Use written-format practice in parallel from spring of Year 5.
- Letting nerves grow over the summer. Round 1 falls in the first week of September, so the August run-in matters more for HBS than for any other school. Two extremes hurt girls equally: the total break and the total panic. Both avoidable with a half-paced summer plan.
The 12-month preparation pathway
A calm, well-paced 12 months for a Year 5 girl targeting HBS, from September of Year 5 to Round 1 in early September of Year 6.
September to October (Year 5): Foundations. A diagnostic in maths and English. Daily reading, 20–30 minutes. Begin a vocabulary book. Confirm Year 4 and Year 5 fluency on times tables, fractions, decimals, place value. One short written-answer English exercise per fortnight.
November to December: Building. GL-style VR and NVR in small doses. English comprehension with the Inference Ladder taught explicitly. Maths: Column Method, LCM Method, Hidden Question as defaults. Creative writing introduced — one short STAR-structured piece per fortnight. At least one classic text by Christmas.
January to March (Year 6): Curriculum and dual-format. Maths: cover the Year 6 KS2 content HBS Round 2 tests, plus introductory Year 7 problem-solving. English: longer comprehension with critical analysis. PEE Chain for written answers. GL-format VR and NVR practice steps up. First short-format mock at the end of March.
April to May: Pace and accuracy. Full GL-format mocks every three to four weeks (Round 1 calibration). Round 2 written practice in parallel. Begin timed VR and NVR drills. Reading slows in volume but rises in difficulty.
June to mid-July: Mastery. Two full Round-1-format mocks per month. Side-by-Side Review every mock. HBS registration submitted by 1 July. Open Day attendance on 30 June 2026.
Mid-July to early September: Sharpening. No more than four sessions a week. Two Round-1 mocks across the holidays, no more. A real holiday in there. Last week before Round 1: gentle revision only.
Mid-September to early October: Round 2 run-in. After Round 1 results in late September, two weeks to prepare for Round 2 (if invited). Daily written practice. Three short Round-2-style mocks. PEE Chain and STAR drilled until automatic.
The final eight weeks
From early July to early September, your daughter is in the run-in to Round 1. Keep the temperature low.
Eight weeks out (early July). Three sessions a week, no more. One full Round-1-format mock per fortnight. Genuine break time built in. Target only the top three weakest areas.
Six weeks out (mid- to late July). Two full Round-1 mocks across this fortnight. Mark them, review them, do not redo them. Sleep schedule moving towards an exam-day pattern.
Four weeks out (early August). Light maintenance only. Two short sessions a week, focused on Round 1 pace and accuracy. Side-by-Side Review every time. A real holiday week if possible. Practise the Anchor Face.
Two weeks out (late August). Two short Round-1-style mocks. Confidence level, not stretch. Finish all heavy revision. Tighten sleep.
Round 1 week (first week of September 2026). No mocks. None. Light vocabulary review only, 15 to 20 minutes a day. Drive the route to HBS in advance — Hampstead Garden Suburb has limited parking and unusual one-way streets. Two evenings before: early dinner, a film, early night. The night before: lay out the equipment together. She sleeps. You read.
THE ANCHOR FACE TECHNIQUE Girls lose marks in fast-paced multiple-choice papers not because they don’t know the answers but because a tricky question early on sets the panic spiralling. Once a girl is rattled, she gets a string of easy questions wrong.We teach the Anchor Face. When she meets a question she can’t do in 30 seconds, she marks it, breathes once, and moves on with her face deliberately neutral. The face affects the body. The body affects the next answer. It is the difference between a Round 2 invitation and a near miss for many girls.
A note from Reena. In the final week, your job as a parent is not to add. It is to remove. Remove distractions. Remove screens after 8pm. Remove the impulse to ask “are you ready?” every five minutes. Your calm is the most important variable in your daughter’s exam-day performance.
Mock exam strategy for HBS
Mocks are not just rehearsal. Used well, they are the most efficient piece of preparation in the 12 months.
When to start. Not in the first six months. Short-format mocks from late spring of Year 5. Full Round-1-format mocks from June of Year 5. Full Round-2-style mocks from late September of Year 6 (after Round 1 is sat).
What a good HBS-format mock looks like. Two distinct types are needed. Round-1-style: GL Assessment format, multiple choice, three subjects (VR, NVR, English), separate answer sheets, paced like the real test. Round-2-style: school-set format, written throughout, English (comprehension and creative writing) plus Maths (problem-solving). Both marked the same week with a written report.
How to read a mock report. The score is the least important. The breakdown of where marks were lost is where the value sits. So are the top three recurring error types: misreading the question, weak PEE structure, vague vocabulary, scrappy working, predictable creative writing openings. Track the trajectory, not the absolute score.
Our HBS mocks run several times across Year 5 and Year 6, calibrated to both Round 1 and Round 2 formats.
Frequently asked questions
We live more than 3 miles away. Is HBS realistic?
Yes, but the maths is harder. Inside 3 miles, your daughter benefits from a priority criterion. Outside 3 miles, she is ranked purely on combined score. Plenty of girls outside 3 miles are offered places every year, but they tend to be girls scoring at the very top of the combined ranking. HBS is achievable from outside 3 miles, but the test score required is higher, and a strong second-choice option is sensible.
My daughter is at a state primary. Is she at a disadvantage?
Not at all. HBS is a state grammar, and the cohort it admits is overwhelmingly drawn from state primaries. Around 75 per cent of the school's community is minority ethnic, and over half come from homes where English is not the first language. The myth that HBS only takes prep-school girls is a myth.
Does sibling status help at HBS?
No. HBS does not include sibling priority in its oversubscription criteria. Every girl is ranked purely by test score within the priority sequence. Some other state grammars do use sibling priority, and assumptions carry over.
Is there a Pupil Premium pathway?
Yes. Up to 20 of the 120 Year 7 places are reserved for candidates eligible for Pupil Premium, provided they rank in the top 300 in Round 1. Written confirmation must be provided directly from your daughter's current school by the deadline (usually mid-July). The school will not contact your daughter's current school directly — the responsibility is yours.
How does HBS compare to NLCS, Habs Girls', or QE Boys'?
NLCS and Habs Girls' are the closest fee-paying peers in academic ceiling, both offering broader extra-curricular and more resources. HBS matches or exceeds both on academic results, is free, and runs a leaner co-curricular programme. QE Boys' is the boys' state-grammar peer, so HBS for girls and QE Boys' for boys often run in parallel for families with children of both genders.
Why does HBS not have an interview?
The school's position is that two rounds of written tests measure academic capability more reliably than an interview. The practical implication: every mark counts, and there is no second chance to recover from a weak paper.
How do I know if my daughter has a realistic chance?
We know after one diagnostic and one trial class. Within two hours we can usually tell you whether HBS is realistic, ambitious, or beyond comfort. If realistic, we plan the year. If ambitious, we plan the year and add a strong second-choice. If beyond comfort, we have a candid conversation about other schools where her ability shines.
No 11+ programme can guarantee an offer. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something.
The girls I see succeed at HBS are not always the brightest in the room, and they are almost never the ones who started latest or worked the longest hours. They are the girls whose families started at the right time, picked the right preparation, and stayed calm through the summer of Year 6.
What preparation can deliver is this. By the time your daughter sits HBS Round 1 in September, she will know the GL Assessment format inside out. She will have named techniques for every question type. She will have sat the paper at full pace under timed conditions multiple times. She will walk into the room calm. And by Round 2 in October (if invited), she will have written extended answers under timed conditions, with STAR-structured creative writing as a reflex, and the endurance for the longer format. Whether the offer comes is in her hands. But she will sit it as the best version of herself.
That is what twelve good months can do.
Your next steps with Academic Success
Three things to do next.
- See the website. Download the full PDF guide. This blog is the front door. The full HBS parent’s guide goes deeper: every named technique with worked examples, the complete 12-month pathway, and the longer parent FAQ. Free.
Download the full HBS Parent’s Guide at academicsuccess.uk →
- Join us on social media. I post weekly on Instagram and TikTok at @academicsuccess.uk — short videos and longer pieces on the London selective schools, named techniques in action, and the small things parents can do this week.
- Sign up to the programme that fits your daughter.
- Weekly Workshops — small-group term-time classes on Zoom, building maths and English fluency, written comprehension, creative writing, VR and NVR, and exam technique. Designed for both HBS Round 1 (GL Assessment) and Round 2 (school-set written) formats. Browse weekly workshops →
- Holiday Intensives — October half-term, Christmas, February half-term, Easter, May half-term, summer. The August programme is particularly important for HBS, falling in the run-in to Round 1. Browse holiday intensives →
- Summer School at NLCS, Edgware — our flagship in-person summer school. The August timing is calibrated to HBS September Round 1. Browse Summer School →
- HBS-format Mock Exams — covering both Round 1 and Round 2 formats, with full written feedback and a Side-by-Side Review session. Browse HBS-format mocks →
- Round 2 Intensive — a targeted block in late September of Year 6, for girls who pass Round 1. Focuses on PEE chain extended responses, STAR-structured creative writing, and Round 2 problem-solving Maths. Browse Round 2 Intensive →
For current dates, prices, and availability, see academicsuccess.uk.
About Reena and Academic Success
Reena Damani is the founder and head teacher of Academic Success UK. A Habs Girls’ Old Girl with over two decades in the north London selective school system, working alongside HBS as a peer institution. Her view of HBS is the considered view of a senior practitioner: she knows what the school tests, what its priority criteria mean in practice, and the small handful of differences that separate girls who walk out of Round 2 with a place from those who don’t.
With more than 20 years preparing children for selective school entry, she has guided hundreds onto the offer lists of London’s most competitive schools, including HBS, NLCS, Habs Girls’ and Habs Boys’, City of London Girls’, South Hampstead, QE Boys’, and the Tiffin schools.
Academic Success UK is a specialist tutoring and school preparation company based in north London. Small-group teacher-led classes, term-time programmes, holiday intensives, and full mock exams for 4+, 7+, and 11+.
Confidence first, results follow.
academicsuccess.uk
