Every few weeks, someone in an 11+ Facebook group asks how to prepare their child for the grammar school interview. There's usually a flurry of replies, half of them recommending coaching companies that charge £80 an hour for "interview technique". Before you spend a penny on any of that, here's what nobody in the thread seems to say. For almost every grammar school in England, there is no interview. Not for your child, and not for you.
Do grammar schools interview children for the 11 plus?
No. State grammar schools can't interview as part of admissions, full stop. The School Admissions Code, the statutory rulebook every state school in England has to follow, bans it outright. A grammar school decides places using the test score and its published oversubscription criteria. Things like distance from the school, siblings already there, or whether your child is in care. A headteacher can't sit your child down for a chat and let that influence the decision. They can't interview parents either.
So why does the myth persist? Partly because the prep industry benefits from it. An anxious parent who believes there's an interview is a parent who'll pay for interview coaching. And partly because interviews do exist in two specific situations, which muddies the water. Let's take them in turn.
The exception: state boarding grammar schools
A small number of grammar schools offer boarding places alongside day places. Reading School is one, which I know well because it's just up the road from us. Ripon Grammar in North Yorkshire is another, and Skegness Grammar in Lincolnshire. Cranbrook in Kent has boarding too, though its main entry point is Year 9 rather than Year 7.
If you apply for a boarding place at one of these schools, the school may interview your child. But the Admissions Code is very specific about what that interview is allowed to do. The school can only use it to work out whether your child will cope with and benefit from boarding. They're also allowed to check there's no serious health or safety concern for the other boarders. That's it. They can't use the interview to pick the academically strongest children, and they can't use boarding suitability as a tiebreaker between applicants either.
What does it actually look like? It's a conversation, not an exam. Expect questions about how your child feels about being away from home, and whether they've done sleepovers or residential trips. They might ask about routines, hobbies, and what they think they'd miss. Nobody is going to spring mental arithmetic on them.
And if you're applying for a day place at the same school? No interview at all. The boarding chat sits completely outside the normal admissions route.
What about faith grammar schools?
Same rules apply. A faith grammar can ask you to fill in a supplementary form. It can ask for evidence of church attendance too, usually a reference from a priest or minister. What it can't do is interview your family to judge how devout you are. The rules stamped that out years ago. If another parent tells you their faith grammar "interviewed" them, the smart money says it was an open day chat or a post-offer welcome meeting. Neither has anything to do with admissions.
Independent school interviews are a different story
Here's where interviews are real. Private selective schools interview at 11+ all the time, usually after an entrance exam or the ISEB Pre-Test. Plenty of families around Berkshire and London sit an independent school exam as a backup to the grammar test. If that's you, the independent route is where an interview will actually happen.
These usually run 15 to 30 minutes with a senior teacher. The classics come up every time: what you're reading, what you do outside school, why you want to come here. Some schools add a small puzzle or a picture to discuss, less to test knowledge and more to watch how a child thinks out loud.
This is also where the confusion about names bites. Plenty of fee-paying schools have "grammar" in their name for historical reasons. Manchester Grammar School is independent. So is Royal Grammar School Guildford. If a school with grammar in the name has invited your child to an interview, check whether it charges fees. That changes everything about the process you're in.
How to prepare your child without coaching a robot
Schools that interview can spot a coached child within about ninety seconds, and it works against them. A ten-year-old reciting a rehearsed answer about their "passion for the violin" is far less convincing than one who lights up about Minecraft redstone circuits. So don't script anything.
What helps instead is practice at ordinary conversation with adults who aren't you. Ask a grandparent or a family friend to chat with your child about their hobbies and what they're reading. The skill is simple: give full answers rather than one word, look at the person, and don't be afraid of a pause while you think. That's all an interviewer wants to see at this age.
Make sure the book they mention is one they've actually read and enjoyed, not the worthy one you'd prefer they'd read. An interviewer will ask a follow-up question, and a child who loved the book will answer it easily. A child who skimmed the blurb won't.
For boarding interviews, honesty matters more than polish. If your child has doubts about being away from home, let them say so. The school is trying to avoid placing a child who'll be miserable, and that protects your child as much as it protects them.
What this means for your prep time
If your target schools are standard day grammars, and they almost certainly are, cross interviews off your worry list. Put the time into the thing that actually decides the outcome: the test. Wouldn't that hour of "interview coaching" be better spent on a timed verbal reasoning paper or twenty minutes of reading together?
FAQ
Do grammar schools interview parents?
No. The School Admissions Code bans interviews with parents as well as children for state school places. If a school asks you to attend a meeting before an offer, ask in writing what role it plays in admissions. For a state grammar, the answer must be none.
My child has an interview at a school with "grammar" in the name. Did the rules change?
No, you're almost certainly dealing with an independent school. Manchester Grammar School and Royal Grammar School Guildford are fee-paying despite the name. Independent schools can interview however they like, so prepare as you would for any private school assessment.
Does the boarding interview affect a day place application at the same school?
No. Schools like Reading School and Ripon Grammar decide day places on the test score and their published oversubscription criteria. The boarding suitability conversation only applies if you've applied to board, and even then the school can't use it to rank academic ability.
Is interview coaching worth paying for?
For state grammars, no, because there's no interview to coach for. For independent schools, save your money there too. Regular conversation practice with adults outside the family, plus a child who reads and can talk about it, beats a rehearsed script every time.
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