Last updated: July 2026 — application dates and exam format confirmed for 2027 entry.
Queen Elizabeth’s School in Barnet is one of the most competitive grammar schools in England — 3,400 applicants for 180 places, a minimum qualifying score of 220, with a particularly demanding English paper specifically designed to stretch even very high-ability children sitting the test at the start of Year 6. This guide draws on over 22 years of specialist 11+ experience preparing boys for QE Boys entry in North London, including first-hand knowledge of the school. It covers everything you need to know about the 2027 application process, exam format, pass mark and how to prepare your son effectively.
Useful QE Boys guides
If you are preparing for Queen Elizabeth’s School, these specialist guides may help with the most common parent questions:
- How hard is the QE Boys 11+ English exam?
- Best 11 Plus English Practice Papers for QE Boys
- SPaG vs Comprehension in the QE Boys 11+
- QE Boys vs Latymer
- QE Boys vs Habs Boys
A brief introduction to Queen Elizabeth’s School
Queen Elizabeth I granted the school a charter in 1573. Ever since, this leading boy’s grammar school has prided itself on its well-deserved reputation for academic excellence and pastoral care.
Queen Elizabeth’s School has always focused on producing confident, responsible and able young men. They foster resilience and independent thought that stays with students throughout their adult lives.
As one of the highest performing schools in the UK, Queen Elizabeth’s has consistently outstanding Ofsted ratings. In fact, it’s listed as “outstanding” in all five of Ofsted’s judgement areas, and The Good Schools Guide even praised the school as “one of the most inspirational learning environments” they’d come across, offering an education “even private schools struggle to compete with”.
What’s more, in the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2026 (Sunday Times subscription required for full access), Queen Elizabeth’s School won five national and regional awards simultaneously — including State Secondary School of the Year, State Secondary School of the Year for Academic Excellence, State Secondary School of the Year for A-Levels, State Secondary School of the Year in London, and State Secondary School of the Year in London for Academic Excellence. It is the fourth time QE has won State Secondary School of the Year. QE also tops the Sunday Times State School Parent Power rankings combining weighted GCSE and A-Level results
This academic strength is also reflected in the school’s outstanding exam results. In 2025, over 98% of A-Levels were awarded an A*-B grade. In the academic year 2025/26, 44 pupils received offers from Oxford and Cambridge universities – over the last four years the school has secured a remarkable 202 Oxbridge offers.
Does Queen Elizabeth’s School charge fees?
No, Queen Elizabeth’s School is state-funded. This means there aren’t any fees for a child to attend.
What’s the application process for Queen Elizabeth’s School?
To apply to Queen Elizabeth’s School, you must complete an online registration form.
This “entrance test request form” will be available from Thursday 1st May 2026. It registers your son to sit the school’s September entrance exams.
The deadline for these requests will be Friday 8th July 2026 at midday.
The school will also hold an Open Day on the Thursday 2nd July 2026, which provides an opportunity for prospective parents and students to visit the school, meet teachers and pupils, and see the facilities.
The entrance test itself (consisting of multiple-choice papers in Maths and English) is scheduled for Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th September 2026. More precise arrangements are sent by the school to anyone registered for the exam.
If your son is offered a place, you must also submit a “Common Application Form” (which means you’ve formally applied to the school) with your Local Authority.
If you have any questions about the admissions process, it’s best to email the school directly at: admissions@qebarnet.co.uk
Who sets the test for Queen Elizabeth’s School?
GL Assessment is responsible for developing the test materials and papers used by Queen Elizabeth’s School.
As a prominent provider of educational assessments, they focus on evaluating a diverse set of skills, such as numerical ability, critical thinking, and problem-solving. The QE Boys entrance test places particular emphasis on advanced numerical problem-solving, inference-based comprehension, and exceptional spelling, punctuation and grammar skills.
These tests are created to ensure fairness and impartiality, with no preferential treatment given to students based on their background or school affiliation.
Where can I find Queen Elizabeth’s School sample test papers?
While previous years’ papers aren’t released by Queen Elizabeth’s School, GL Assessment offers familiarisation papers for both Maths and English. These papers are available on their website.
The school also provides sample papers that might help your preparation, although they don’t follow the exact format of the exam. For example, the actual format, number and difficulty of questions may differ from those contained in the sample papers.
Because Queen Elizabeth’s School does not release past entrance papers, parents should use familiarisation materials carefully and then move towards more challenging QE-style practice.
Here are a few tips for making the most of practice exam papers:
- Familiarise yourself with sample papers: While you don’t know what questions will come up, it’s a good idea to familiarise your child with as many different papers as possible, as early as possible. This will help them feel more comfortable and confident on the day.
- Identify areas for improvement: Use the past papers to identify areas where your child needs extra support and guidance. Look at the questions they struggled with (analysing any mistakes together) and work on those areas.
- Practice regularly: Make sure to practise consistently, using past papers and other materials. Regular practice will help build your child’s confidence and improve their performance.
- Time management: Make sure your child practices managing their time effectively. They should learn how to allocate their time appropriately for each question and section of the exam.
- Seek feedback: Consider getting feedback from an experienced 11+ tutor who understands the level required for QE Boys. This can help you identify further areas for improvement and give you a better understanding of how well your child is prepared for the exam.
What’s the format of the Queen Elizabeth’s School test?
The test for Queen Elizabeth’s School consists of two multiple-choice papers in English and Maths. These tests last roughly 50 minutes each, although the exact format and question types can vary from year to year.
Both papers are taken in the same session, and scores are age-standardised and then ranked. The marks for Maths and English are combined to give an overall test result for each candidate.
Overall, the test is designed to assess a student’s mathematical reasoning, problem-solving skills and overall English skills.
What’s the pass mark for the Queen Elizabeth’s School entrance paper?
In the past, any child who scored a minimum of 210 across both English and Maths was considered for a place at the school. For 2024, however, this increased to 220.
It’s important to know that even meeting the minimum test requirement doesn’t automatically guarantee a place.
In 2025, there were over 3,400 candidates for just 180 places. For 2025, a minimum score of 235 was actually required to gain admission, showing how competitive the process remains and how little comfort parents should take from simply reaching the qualifying threshold.
You can find more admissions information (including further guidance on September 2027 entry) on the school’s website.
If you’re considering applying to schools in the South West Hertfordshire Consortium (as well as Queen Elizabeth’s School), check out our previous guide to 2027 admissions.
How can I help my child prepare for the Queen Elizabeth’s School 11+ exam?
We’ve already looked at tips on the best ways to use past papers, but there are plenty of other ways you can prepare for the Queen Elizabeth’s School 11+ exam.
There’s no doubt it’s a highly competitive test. Given the sheer number of applicants and high scores required, it’s important to focus on careful, consistent and targeted long-term preparation.
Work on English and Maths Key Stage 2 content in the first instance, we would advise particularly for Maths that all the content (Year 6) has been mastered well before the actual exams. Your child should have a strong foundation in Maths, with a focus on problem solving and working with speed and accuracy. For English, focus on comprehension, spelling, punctuation, and grammar, as these are all tested in the exam. In fact, historically there have been two separate comprehensions in the test, so developing strong reading skills is vital.
- For Maths, top candidates tend to practise regularly and focus on the areas where most support is actually required. Timed practice can help build speed and accuracy, but it should always be followed by careful review. Parents should look for patterns: careless arithmetic errors, weak problem-solving technique, gaps in Year 6 content, or difficulty applying knowledge under pressure.
- For English, reading comprehension is fundamental. Encourage your child to read widely and practice summarising what they’ve read. Additionally, working on spelling, punctuation, and grammar through regular practice writing exercises (whether that’s journals, creative writing or school essays) will help your child develop the skills they need to succeed.
- Track progress honestly: Use practice papers to identify specific weaknesses rather than just measuring overall scores. A child scoring 80% but consistently dropping marks on inference questions needs different preparation to one dropping marks on SPaG
Preparing your son for the QE Boys 11+ English exam?
The QE Boys English paper is one of the hardest 11+ papers in the country — two long comprehension passages, 65 questions, strict time pressure, and classical texts most ten-year-olds have never encountered. Standard GL practice papers are useful for familiarisation, but they do not fully prepare children for the specific level, pace and English demands of QE Boys.
Our QE Boys practice paper packs are written specifically for Queen Elizabeth’s School — not adapted from generic materials. Each pack includes two full-length comprehension papers and a bonus SPaG paper, calibrated to reflect the level of difficulty, pace and question style expected in a demanding QE-style English paper.
Compared with the cost of private tutoring or mock exam sessions, these packs offer a focused and affordable way to practise QE-style English at home.
In our experience, the boys who improve most are not simply those who complete the most papers, but those who review their mistakes carefully and learn how QE-style questions are constructed.
These packs give your child the equivalent of a full exam session with expert-written materials, detailed answers and vocabulary support — for £19.99.
Choose your pack:
→ QE Boys English Practice Pack — Classic Texts Set 1 — £19.99
→ QE Boys English Practice Pack — Classic Texts Set 2 — £19.99
→ QE Boys English Practice Pack — Mixed Genres Set 1 — £19.99
→ QE Boys English Practice Pack — Mixed Genres Set 2 — £19.99
Created by 11+ content specialists with over 22 years of experience preparing children for Queen Elizabeth’s School.
FAQ
Does QE Boys have a catchment area?
No. Queen Elizabeth’s School admits boys from all over London and beyond with no catchment area restriction. Boys travel from across North London, Hertfordshire and further afield to attend.
How many boys get into QE Boys each year?
QE Boys admits approximately 180 boys into Year 7 each year. With over 3,400 applicants competing for those places, the acceptance rate is around 5% — making it one of the most selective state schools in England.
Is the QE Boys English paper harder than the Maths paper?
For many candidates, yes. The English paper is considered the more challenging of the two — it requires deep comprehension of classical texts, strong SPaG knowledge and the ability to work at speed under pressure. Many strong mathematicians incorrectly assume a strong maths score will suffice when in fact the English paper ends up the deciding factor in their final score.
When should my son start preparing for QE Boys?
Many serious QE candidates begin structured preparation in Year 4 or early Year 5, especially where they need time to build vocabulary, reading stamina, SPaG accuracy, problem-solving confidence and familiarity with more challenging classical texts.
However, starting very early is not essential for every strong candidate. Some able boys prepare successfully with a shorter, more focused period of high-quality preparation. The best starting point depends on your son’s current level, maturity and motivation — not simply his age.
Does QE Boys require an interview?
No. Admission to QE Boys is based entirely on the entrance exam score. There is no interview, no assessment day and no additional selection process beyond the September exam.
What awards has QE Boys won?
In the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2026, Queen Elizabeth’s School won five awards simultaneously — State Secondary School of the Year, State Secondary School of the Year for Academic Excellence, State Secondary School of the Year for A-Levels, State Secondary School of the Year in London, and State Secondary School of the Year in London for Academic Excellence. It is the fourth time QE has won State Secondary School of the Year nationally. QE also tops the Sunday Times State School Parent Power rankings for combined GCSE and A-Level results
