The short answer: each school is legally its own admissions authority. Tiffin School and The Tiffin Girls' School are two separate academies in Kingston upon Thames. Each school's own admissions policy states that, as an academy, it is its own admissions authority, which under the School Admissions Code means it sets its own admission arrangements, including the entrance test. Tiffin School works in partnership with Quest to create what it calls a bespoke test that changes annually. The Tiffin Girls' School sets its own papers. Nobody coordinates the two.
- They are separate academies, and each is its own admissions authority. That is the whole reason.
- You must register twice, on two forms, to two different deadlines. Neither registration is an application for a place.
- The Stage One formats are very similar: English and maths, OMR answer sheet, Year 5 curriculum ceiling.
- The scoring differs. The girls' school publishes a 60% English / 40% maths Combined Mark. Tiffin School averages its two Stage One papers into one score to decide who reaches Stage Two.
- Neither test is "harder": each is standardised within its own applicant pool, so the scores are not comparable.
The legal reason, in one sentence
Both schools are academies. An academy is its own admissions authority, rather than having its arrangements set by the local council, and both schools say so in identical language in their own published policies. Tiffin School's admissions policy states that it "is an academy school and therefore is its own admissions authority". The Tiffin Girls' School's determined arrangements state that the school "is an academy and therefore is its own admissions authority".
Once you know that, everything else follows. Two independent admissions authorities in the same town, admitting different children to different schools, each designing the test it thinks best identifies the pupils it wants. There is no shared consortium here of the kind Essex has with the CSSE, or Sutton has with the SET. Kingston has two schools quietly doing their own thing a mile apart.
What is actually the same
This surprises most parents, because the received wisdom is that the two tests are worlds apart. Structurally they are close cousins.
| Feature | Both schools |
|---|---|
| Stages | Two: a Stage One sift, then Stage Two by invitation only |
| Subjects | English and maths only. No standalone verbal or non-verbal reasoning paper |
| Stage One marking | OMR answer sheet read by a computer |
| Stage One English | Multiple choice |
| Stage One maths | Multiple choice plus numerical answers entered digit by digit in columns |
| Stage Two | Hand written answers, marked by people |
| Timing | Stage One in early October, Stage Two in November |
| Curriculum | Year 5 National Curriculum, with both schools stating they do not expect content beyond it |
| Places | 180 in Year 7 at each school |
The practical consequence is that preparation transfers well between the two at Stage One. A child who can handle multiple choice English, numeric column entry in maths, and Year 5 content dressed up in unfamiliar formats is ready for the shape of either paper.
What is genuinely different
| Tiffin School (boys) | The Tiffin Girls' School | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the papers | In partnership with Quest, described by the school as a bespoke test that changes annually | The school sets its own |
| Who marks Stage Two | Marked by Quest, using English and maths experts including some with Key Stage 3 expertise | Marked by the school |
| Stage One length | Typically 40 to 60 minutes per paper | Less than 60 minutes per paper |
| How Stage One is used | The two papers are standardised, age weighted and averaged into one Stage One score, used only to decide who is invited to Stage Two | Stage One maths still counts towards the final mark, in a 3 to 1 ratio with Stage Two maths |
| Final ranking | Determined at Stage Two | A published Combined Mark: 60% English, 40% maths, with English taken from Stage Two only |
| Registration | Its own form and deadline | Its own form and deadline, which do not match the boys' school |
So which one is harder?
This is the question everybody actually wants answered, and the honest response is that it cannot be answered. Both schools standardise and age weight scores within their own applicant pool. A mark means "how this child did against the other children who sat this paper this year", nothing more. There is no common scale, no shared cohort and no conversion between them.
Anyone who tells you one is definitively harder is comparing two numbers that were never on the same axis. What can be said is that both are heavily oversubscribed super-selectives, both cap content at Year 5, and both deliberately use unfamiliar question formats rather than harder topics to separate candidates.
Three mistakes parents make
- Assuming one registration covers both. It does not. Two schools, two Supplementary Information Forms, two firm deadlines. Missing one is unrecoverable.
- Assuming registration is an application. It is not. Registering gets your child a seat in the test. You still have to name the school on your local authority's common application form by the national deadline.
- Preparing with harder content instead of unfamiliar formats. Both schools cap at Year 5 and say so in writing. Pushing into Year 6 or 7 content is largely wasted effort; practising Year 5 material presented in shapes your child has not seen is not.
How to prepare for either
Start with each school's own free illustrative questions, which both publish on their websites. Neither school releases past papers, and Tiffin School says plainly that its papers change significantly from year to year, so the illustrative sets are the closest thing to the real article that exists.
When those run out, our free Tiffin Stage One style practice papers follow the same published format, including the rotating OMR answer letters and the numeric column entry that catch children out on the day. If you are also looking at other super-selectives, Sutton SET is the other major South West London route and works quite differently.
Tiffin 11+ FAQs
Why do Tiffin Boys and Tiffin Girls have different 11+ tests?+
Because each school is legally responsible for its own admissions. Tiffin School and The Tiffin Girls' School are two separate academies in Kingston upon Thames, and each school's own admissions policy states that, as an academy, it is its own admissions authority. Under the School Admissions Code that means each school designs its own admission arrangements, including the entrance test. Tiffin School sets its papers in partnership with Quest; The Tiffin Girls' School sets its own.
Are Tiffin School and The Tiffin Girls' School part of the same trust?+
They are separate schools with separate admissions. Both are academies, both are in Kingston upon Thames, and both have a long shared history and similar academic standards, which is why parents assume a single admissions process. In practice you register with each school separately, on different forms, to different deadlines, and a registration for one is never a registration for the other.
Is the Tiffin Boys test harder than the Tiffin Girls test?+
There is no meaningful way to compare them. Each school standardises and age weights scores within its own applicant pool, so a mark only has meaning relative to the other children who sat that specific paper in that specific year. A high score at one school does not convert into a predicted score at the other. Both are heavily oversubscribed and both cap their content at the Year 5 National Curriculum.
Do I have to register separately for both Tiffin schools?+
Yes, and this is the single most common and most costly mistake. Each school has its own Supplementary Information Form, its own registration window and its own deadline, and both deadlines are firm. Registering with one school does not put your child in for the other, and neither registration is an application for a place. You still have to name the school on your local authority's common application form.
What is actually the same about the two Tiffin tests?+
More than parents expect. Both schools run a two stage process. Both test only English and maths. Both mark Stage One on an OMR answer sheet read by a computer, with the English paper multiple choice and the maths paper mixing multiple choice with numerical answers entered in columns. Both hold Stage One in early October and Stage Two in November. Both require hand written answers at Stage Two, and both assume the Year 5 National Curriculum and state that they do not expect content beyond it.
What is genuinely different between the two Tiffin tests?+
Three things matter. First, who writes the papers: Tiffin School works in partnership with Quest to create what it calls a bespoke test that changes annually, while The Tiffin Girls' School sets its own. Second, how the final ranking is calculated: the girls' school publishes a Combined Mark of 60% English and 40% maths, with the English mark taken from Stage Two only and the maths mark drawn from both stages in a 3 to 1 ratio, whereas Tiffin School standardises, age weights and averages the two Stage One papers into a single Stage One score used to decide who is invited to Stage Two. Third, the calendar: registration windows and test dates are set independently and do not match.
Does preparation for one Tiffin school work for the other?+
Largely yes at Stage One, because the format and the curriculum ceiling are so similar. A child who is comfortable with multiple choice English, with maths answers entered digit by digit into columns, and with Year 5 content presented in unfamiliar ways, is prepared for the shape of either paper. Where preparation should diverge is emphasis: because the girls' school draws its entire English mark from the written Stage Two paper, extended writing carries more weight there than the Stage One score alone would suggest.
Every fact on this page is taken from the two schools' own published admissions policies, determined arrangements and admissions FAQs. Pip is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Tiffin School, The Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston Council or Quest. Always confirm dates and arrangements against the schools' own websites before relying on them.
