Reading School Mock Exam Days
2025-2026
Welcome to the Reading School mock entrance exam days by Brainbox Learning. With only 138 day places available each year, competition levels are naturally high - our mock exam days aim to equip boys with the confidence, resilience and knowledge needed to reach their full potential.
Our mock exam days provide boys with:
the experience of sitting an entrance exam under timed conditions and managing their nerves, in an exam hall filled with unfamiliar faces from other schools
a realistic opportunity to track and measure their progress and level, and increase their confidence
fully individualised, detailed, question-by-question feedback reports, with question walkthroughs, teacher comments and links to further practice resources
We replicate as closely as possible the conditions boys will experience on the day of the real exam, from the moment they are dropped off, all the way through to pickup time. Our papers are carefully created from scratch by a team of expert 11+ teachers, with many years of experience teaching in schools, privately, and writing, marking and moderating real school exams. For each mock exam sat with us, parents will receive a fully comprehensive feedback report and presentation to look through with their child.
Suitable for Years 4 and 5
Welcome to the Reading School mock entrance exam days by Brainbox Learning. With only 138 day places available each year, competition levels are naturally high - our mock exam days aim to equip boys with the confidence, resilience and knowledge needed to reach their full potential.
Our mock exam days provide boys with:
the experience of sitting an entrance exam under timed conditions and managing their nerves, in an exam hall filled with unfamiliar faces from other schools
a realistic opportunity to track and measure their progress and level, and increase their confidence
fully individualised, detailed, question-by-question feedback reports, with question walkthroughs, teacher comments and links to further practice resources
We replicate as closely as possible the conditions boys will experience on the day of the real exam, from the moment they are dropped off, all the way through to pickup time. Our papers are carefully created from scratch by a team of expert 11+ teachers, with many years of experience teaching in schools, privately, and writing, marking and moderating real school exams. For each mock exam sat with us, parents will receive a fully comprehensive feedback report and presentation to look through with their child.
“Our daughter scored 126 in this year’s Kendrick School exam. As we live in P1, this means she is almost guaranteed to be offered a place for 2025. I can’t thank Rosemary and the rest of the team enough for their support throughout 2024. (Name redacted) had weekly sessions with Rosemary between January and June, and then two sessions a week in the run up to the exam. She also sat the mock in August and found this experience useful, even moreso since she suffers from anxiety. Thank you once again for all your support and kindness.”
Parents of prospective Kendrick School candidate
Real life exam hall experience
Sitting an exam in unfamiliar surroundings, with boys from a mixture of different local schools, can often be a daunting prospect. One of the key benefits of attending our mock exam days is preparing boys for this experience, so that the real exam day in September is less stressful, allowing them to perform at their best, and give themselves the best chance of success. Our mock exam days replicate as closely as possible the conditions of the real exam, right from the point of being dropped off in the morning. Audio instructions will be read out at the beginning of each section of each paper, followed by example questions and answers. Each section is separately timed, and there will be a short break between each paper, with access to snacks, refreshments and bathroom facilities. Our friendly team of experienced invigilators will be on hand at all times.
Central Reading exam hall
Our Central Reading exam hall in RG1 is less than a 5 minute walk from The Oracle shopping centre, and less than a 10 minute walk from Reading train station. In addition, over 15 local bus routes are within a 5 minute walk.
We offer:
Free limited on site parking, with additional paid street parking directly outside, and additional paid parking in The Oracle car park, 5 minutes away by foot
Free tea and coffee for parents and carers, in association with one of Reading’s top independent local coffee shops
A waiting room area separate from the exam hall for those who wish to remain on site, however most parents prefer to use their time to make the most of the local shopping and food and drink outlets Reading has to offer
Full disabled access
-
![Individual section scores]()
Individual section scores
Individual scores for each section of each paper, showing how your son scored in relation to other boys who have sat the same paper, both on the same day and in the past.
-
![Anonymised standardised scores]()
Anonymised standardised scores
Anonymised standardised scores for the exam as a whole, displaying how your son scored in relation to other boys sitting the same paper, and in relation to the most recent actual qualifying score for Reading School.
-
![Detailed progress report]()
Detailed progress report
Tables showing your son’s progress across each component of each paper for all mock exams sat with us over the course of Year 4 and Year 5. Up to 5 different papers are available for boys to sit with us.
-
![Full breakdown by section]()
Full breakdown by section
Individual scores for each section of each paper, showing how your son scored in relation to other boys who have sat the same paper, both on the same day and in the past.
-
![Question by question feedback]()
Question by question feedback
Individual feedback and learning resources for each incorrectly answered question, showing your son’s answer, the correct answer, and the exact method required to get to the answer.
Hand marked by a team of qualified teachers
All papers are marked by hand by our team of qualified teachers. No computer or automated marking is involved in the process. This allows for fully personalised, individual feedback to be provided to each child, approximately 7 days after they sit their mock with us. In addition, parents will receive our full report, which includes:
Individual scores for each section of each paper, showing how your son scored in relation to other boys who sat the same paper, either on the same day or in the past
Anonymised standardised scores for the exam as a whole, displaying how your son scored in relation to other boys sitting the same paper, and in relation to the most recent actual qualifying score for Reading School
Tables showing your son's progress across each component of each paper for all mock exams sat with us over the course of Year 4 and Year 5. Up to 5 different papers are available for girls to sit with us.
Individual feedback and learning resources for each incorrectly answered question, showing your son's answer, the correct answer, and the exact method required to get to the correct answer
Reading School mock exam day timings
Our team on the day
Children are in safe hands throughout, and are supervised at all times by members of our friendly core tuition and invigilation team, who are used to supervising and looking after children on a daily basis. Our entire team is enhanced DBS certified and have had rigorous background and reference checks carried out.
In addition, we have a dedicated on-site waiting room where parents are welcome to wait, if this is their preferred option.
-
These papers consist of multiple choice and free response questions, based on the KS2 National Curriculum up to the end of Year 5.
Spelling
Punctuation
Grammar
Reading comprehension
Vocabulary
Verbal reasoning
Measurements
Numbers
Statistics
Geometry
Following Reading School’s announcement in Feb 2025, regarding changes to their entrance exams starting this September, we are closely monitoring the situation, and we will be building an appropriate amount of wider KS2 and creative thinking content into our tuition and mock exam schedule over the coming weeks. This will be assessed further once Reading School release their updated official familiarisation paper. National Curriculum subjects in addition to Maths and English, which could appear starting with this year’s exams include:
History
Science
PE
Geography
Languages
Art & Design
Music
Computing
Design & Technology
-
This is the Creativity Task. In the real exam, Paper 3 will only be assessed if students achieve an eligible score in Papers 1 and 2, however all papers are marked in our mock exams. Reading School define creativity as: the ability to think of new and imaginative ideas, or to solve problems in original and unique ways.
Paper by paper - what to expect
5 sets of papers to choose from
Our papers are carefully created from scratch by a team of expert 11+ tutors and teachers, with many years of experience teaching in schools, privately, and writing, marking and moderating real school exams. Each of our sets of papers, numbered 'R1' through to 'R5', are completely unique, with no repeated questions, so boys can attend up to five of our mock exam days without seeing the same question twice. Our papers are not commercially available and are developed entirely in house. 5 different sets of papers to choose from:
Papers R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5
Detailed progress reports make tracking progress and identifying areas of improvement easy
No repeated questions
Save up to 20% by sitting multiple papers
Frequently asked questions
-
Following Reading School’s announcement in Feb 2025, regarding changes to their entrance exams starting this September, we are closely monitoring the situation, and we will be building an appropriate amount of wider KS2 and creative thinking content into our tuition and mock exam schedule over the coming weeks. This will be assessed further once Reading School release their updated official familiarisation paper. National Curriculum subjects in addition to Maths and English, which could appear starting with this year’s exams include:
History
Science
PE
Geography
Languages
Art & Design
Music
Computing
Design & Technology
-
Although there is no ‘best time’ to start tuition, the majority of children choose to start their 11+ preparation with us in either Year 4 or Year 5, often opting for an hour of tuition per week throughout Year 4, before increasing to two hours per week in Year 5. This allows skills to be built up gradually across all areas of Maths and English (as well as Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Creative Writing where appropriate), and plenty of time for exam question practice, including full timed mocks.
-
As corporate members of The Tutors' Association, we adhere to strict safeguarding procedures. All sessions are also fully insured. We interview all of our tutors and teachers face-to-face, as well as meticulously checking references and qualifications, and ensuring that all tutors have up to date, valid enhanced DBS checks.
-
Yes! We are based in Reading, including all tutors and staff. This gives us a great level of knowledge when it comes to local schools and local exams. You can also check out our local community and charity page here.
-
Individually, our tutors have helped over 100 students to gain qualifying scores for Kendrick School and Reading School through private tuition over the last 5 years. Across the 2024 exams, our success rate was over 80% for girls and over 85% for boys. For students combining our tuition with at least one mock exam day, our success rate for both girls and boys was over 90%.
-
Yes – our mock exam days are suitable for anyone in Year 4 or Year 5. These exams are suitable for students studying with us, and they are also beneficial for students studying elsewhere, and students who are not being tutored. All students sitting a mock exam with us are also eligible to book a one-off, one-to-one feedback session with one of our experienced 11+ tutors. This option is available to all children, including children being tutored elsewhere.
-
We generally always recommend that children studying with us should attend at least one mock exam day, although plenty of our students have also been successful in their entrance exams without doing this. While all of the necessary skills for success are covered through our tuition, nothing can quite replicate the experience of actually sitting an exam under timed conditions. Students who have sat at least one mock exam day with us have said that it has helped them to feel less daunted on the day of the real exam.
-
Item description
-
Audio instructions will be read out at the beginning of each section of each paper, followed by example questions and answers.
Testimonials
-
“Our daughter scored 126 in this year’s Kendrick School exam. As we live in P1, this means she is almost guaranteed to be offered a place for 2025. I can’t thank Rosemary and the rest of the team enough for their support throughout 2024. (Name redacted) had weekly sessions with Rosemary between January and June, and then two sessions a week in the run up to the exam. She also sat the mock in August and found this experience useful, even moreso since she suffers from anxiety. Thank you once again for all your support and kindness.”
Parents of prospective Kendrick School candidate
-
“For me, the most challenging aspect of the entry exam was the verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. These were very different to anything I’d done before. My friends mostly felt the same.”
Current Kendrick School Year 8 Student
Why study with us?
Because we’re based in Reading, we know the local area inside out, and everything we do is tailor-made towards the specific exams being sat by local students. We pride ourselves in knowing all of our tutors and students as individuals. We also love supporting local charities.
We strongly believe in face-to-face tuition over remote learning, and we make it easy! Our tutors will come to you. It’s been regularly proven that the improved rapport built between student and tutor leads to better engagement, higher productivity levels and ultimately better results.
You can trust us to deliver, both in terms of punctuality and safety. We go above and beyond, providing all of our tutors with an enhanced DBS check. Our lessons are all covered by our public liability insurance, and to top things off we are proud members of The Tutors’ Association, the UK’s professional membership body for the tuition industry.
Our unique approach gets results. We get to know every student individually, and this allows us to tailor everything we do to their specific needs, rather than following a predefined program. By mixing our work between focusing on problem areas, the school syllabus, and regular exposure to real world mock exam questions, we ensure every student is learning the right things, in a way that will easily translate to exam success.