Frequently Asked Questions about the school
Does the school have a catchment area?
Our catchment area is divided into two parts, the Inner Area and the Designated Area , and priority is given to children living in these areas. Since this system was introduced in September 2014, places have only been offered to students living in our catchment area.
In addition, of the 180 places, up to 60can be reserved for students living in the Inner Area who achieve a score at or above the 350th highest in the test.
What is the Inner Area?
The Inner Area is made up of the following 13 electoral wards :
- Berrylands
- Canbury Gardens
- Coombe Hill
- Coombe Vale
- Green Lane & St James
- Kingston Gate
- Kingston Town
- New Malden Village
- Norbiton
- St Mark’s & Seething Wells
- Surbiton Hill
- Tudor
- Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside
To find out which electoral ward you live in from your postcode, you can use websites such as www.streetcheck.co.uk .
What is the Designated Area?
This area is made up of the following 44 local postcode districts:
Kingston School Admissions (on behalf of Kingston local authority) will measure the distance between your child's home and the school using a computerised Geographical Information System. On the application you must give your child's home address , and this must be the address where your child permanently lives at the time of application. Your local authority may ask for documents proving that it is the permanent home address.
How are places allocated on National Offer Day, 3 March 2026?
Places are offered by your local authority according to the school's admission criteria and the order of preference you gave on your application.
The school's admission policy gives priority to disadvantaged children:
- looked after children or previously looked after children,
- children living in the Designated Area who receive pupil premium or service premium support.
A 10% tolerance will be applied to these children's test scores.
How many students will be admitted in September 2026?
The number of students admitted to Year 7 in September 2026 will be 180 . This is the Published Admission Number (PAN) set for that year.
How will I know whether to put The Tiffin Girls' School on my daughter's application?
After the Stage One Test , we will let you know whether your daughter has been invited to the Stage Two Test (no test results will be given).
If your daughter is invited and you wish to apply to The Tiffin Girls’ School , you must name The Tiffin Girls’ Schoolas one of your preferences on the application form. Applications are managed by your local authority and are made online at www.eadmissions.org.uk before 31 October 2025 .
To help, we recommend that you read, in the school admissions section of your local authority's website, the secondary transfer guide .
If your daughter is NOT invited to the Stage Two Test and you still name The Tiffin Girls’ Schoolon your application, your application to this school will be invalid. Your other school preferences will not be affected.
Does it matter if I put another school above The Tiffin Girls' School on the application form?
Yes, this is very important. You should list schools in your true order of preference . Your order of preference is known only to the local authority and is completely confidential. No school knows where you ranked it.
If you put The Tiffin Girls' School first and your daughter meets the entry criteria, she will be offered a place at this school.
Likewise, if you put another school above Tiffin Girls' and that school can offer you a place, then however well your daughter does in the Tiffin tests, you will be offered the higher-ranked school first..
If your daughter is NOT invited to the If she does not meet Tiffin Girls' entry criteria and so cannot be offered a place there, she will be offered a place at the next school whose entry criteria she meets .
What if my daughter has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)?
If your daughter has an EHCP (formerly a “Statement of Special Educational Needs”), a different process applies and you should first contact your local authority. They manage the process.
Your daughter will still need to sit the admission tests , and to register her for the tests you must complete the online registration form. You must also give us the information we need to put access arrangements in place.
(A link to the relevant guide will be added.)
When will I receive a school offer?
Your secondary school offer will be sent to you by your local authority on the evening of 2 March 2026 (National Offer Day). If you applied online, you will be able to see the result on the evening of 2 March 2026 on the www.eadmissions.org.uk website.
Your local authority will keep you informed as the date approaches.
Supplementary Information Form – registering for the Stage One Test
How do I register my daughter for the Stage One Test?
To be considered for a Year 7 place in September 2026 at The Tiffin Girls’ School, you must register your daughter for the school's Stage One Test.
To do this, you need to complete the online Supplementary Information Form (SIF) on the admissions page of the school's website .
When can I register my daughter for the Stage One Test?
Registration opens at noon on Tuesday 3 June 2025 and closes at 12.00 noon on Monday 1 September 2025 .
How do I register my twin daughters?
You need to register each child separately . When registering, it's important to use the same parent details ; this avoids any confusion.
How can I find out whether my child is eligible for Pupil Premium / Free School Meals (FSM)?
The best people to help with this are the staff at your child's primary school. Please contact the school.
What should I do if my child is outside the normal age range for applying?
Children starting Year 7 in September 2026 should normally have been born between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015 .
However, in exceptional circumstances, applications outside this age range may be considered.
In such cases, parents should, before registering for the test , write to the school's admissions team.
Before deciding, the school may consult the child's current primary school and will take into account the factors set out in the government's guidance for school admissions authorities.
(The relevant guidance is here: government guidance for school admissions authorities)
What is the registration deadline?
After 12.00 noon on Monday 1 September 2025 online registration will not be possible.
In addition, supporting documents relating to special needs, medical conditions or Pupil Premium / Service Premium eligibility must also have reached the school by this date .
How will I know I've registered successfully online?
After you complete registration, the email address you gave will receive, within one school day , an email confirming that your registration form has been received.
You should keep this email as proof of registration..
If you don't receive the email, please first check your “Junk (Spam)” or “Deleted” folders . If you still can't find it, contact the admissions team.
Tests
When will the admission tests take place?
Stage One Test will be held on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 October 2025 .
If there are any changes to these dates, they will be announced on the school's website .
Stage Two Test will be held for invited students in November .
When will I find out about the arrangements for test day?
All the details about test day, such as drop-off and collection times , will be sent about one week beforethe test to the email address you gave when registering.
What will the Stage One tests be like?
The admission tests consist of English and maths papers.
The Stage One English testis in multiple-choice format.
The Stage One maths testwill include different types of question:
some may be multiple choice, while others may require your daughter to write a numerical answer .
For both tests, answers are marked on special answer sheets read by computer .
What are the Stage Two tests like?
Stage Two tests also consist of English and maths papers.
In these tests written answers are required, and in the English test some questions may ask for longer written answers .
The English test includes reading comprehension and creative writing sections.
The test questions are written and marked by the school.
Are past papers available for practice?
No, we do not publish past papers..
The content of the tests changes from year to year, including the number of questions, the length of the test and the types of question.
Each year new tests are written.
However, other selective schools' 11+ papers and many other free practice papers from other sources are available online.
Alternatives like these can be useful, but we don't specifically recommend any particular test or publisher.
What topics do the admission tests cover?
When setting the tests, The Tiffin Girls' School assumes that students have covered Year 5 English and maths in the National Curriculum for England .
Students do not need to have studied topics beyond this level. However, the tests may include questions in unfamiliar formats , designed to assess students' ability to apply their knowledge and adapt .
The tests aim to identify students with ability in the following areas:
- A love of reading
- Writing ability
- Creative thinking
- Working with numbers
- Problem solving