Surrey is one of the most-searched 11+ regions in the country, and it's also one of the most misunderstood. Here's the thing most parents don't realise when they start Googling: Surrey County Council doesn't run any state grammar schools. Not one. The schools you're thinking of when you say "Surrey grammars" are almost all in London boroughs that used to be part of Surrey decades ago. That distinction matters. It changes how you apply, when the tests happen, and who you're competing against.
So what counts as a "Surrey" grammar school?
When parents talk about Surrey grammars, they usually mean two clusters. The first is in the London Borough of Sutton, which has five state grammar schools: Sutton Grammar and Wilson's School for boys, Wallington High School for Girls and Nonsuch High School for Girls, plus Wallington County Grammar for boys. The second cluster is in Kingston upon Thames, which has two: Tiffin School for boys and Tiffin Girls' School. Add Reigate Grammar in the south of the county, but that one's independent and fee-paying, not a state grammar.
If you live in Guildford, Woking, Epsom, or anywhere in central Surrey itself, your state secondary options are non-selective. Strong schools in many of those areas, but not selective. Children from those parts can still apply to the Sutton or Kingston schools, but they'll be travelling in.
The Sutton schools and the SET
Until 2021, each Sutton grammar ran its own test. That meant a child who wanted options had to sit four or five different exams in quick succession. Different formats, different days. It was exhausting and the schools agreed it wasn't sensible.
Since then, the five Sutton grammars have used a single common test called the Selective Eligibility Test, or SET. Your child sits the SET once, and you apply to as many of the five schools as you like through the normal local authority admissions process. Each school then ranks its own applicants by SET score and offers places to the top scorers, working down until the places are filled.
The SET is administered by GL Assessment and covers English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. It's sat in October of Year 6. Registration usually opens in May of Year 5 and closes in early July. Miss that deadline and there's no late entry. Set the reminder now if your child is in Year 5.
What makes the Sutton schools so demanding isn't the test itself, which is broadly similar to other GL tests around the country. It's the ranking. So how does that actually work? Every Sutton grammar is super-selective. They rank purely by score and offer places to the highest scorers, regardless of where the child lives. Distance is only a tiebreaker between children who score identically. The result is that the qualifying mark on the SET sits well above a normal grammar pass. Children scoring in the top 10 percent are the ones who get offers at Wilson's or Nonsuch. A standard 121 standardised score wouldn't be enough at most of these schools in most years.
Tiffin: Kingston's two-stage process
The Tiffin schools work differently. They've kept their own admissions tests rather than joining anyone else's. Tiffin School for boys and Tiffin Girls' School each run a two-stage selection process.
Stage one is a written test in maths and English, held in September of Year 6. Roughly the top third of candidates are then invited back for stage two, which is a longer, more demanding paper that determines the final ranking. Offers go to the highest scorers across both stages combined.
Tiffin is also super-selective. Like the Sutton schools, they don't operate a normal catchment area. Children come in from Surrey, south-west London, and well beyond. The Tiffin Girls' School is one of the most competitive state schools in the country by some measures. You're looking at ratios of seven or eight children for every place.
Registration for Tiffin is separate from Sutton, and you can absolutely enter your child for both. Plenty of families do.
What about Reigate Grammar?
Reigate Grammar is in the south of Surrey and it's the school most parents in Reigate, Redhill or Horley think of first. But it's an independent school. Fees are around £8,000 a term in 2026. It has its own entrance exam through the ISEB or its own paper, depending on the year and entry route. If you're thinking about Reigate Grammar, you're in a different conversation entirely. That's independent school admissions, not state 11+.
This is where parents sometimes get confused. A search for "11 plus Surrey" pulls up Reigate Grammar alongside Sutton and Kingston, but the systems are completely separate. If your budget doesn't stretch to independent fees, focus on the state grammars in Sutton and Kingston.
How to prepare for the Surrey 11+
For Sutton's SET, the materials are well covered. CGP, Bond and Schofield & Sims all produce GL Assessment-style practice papers that closely match the format. Because the bar is so high, preparation needs to focus on accuracy and speed, not just familiarity. A child who can solve a maths problem in two minutes but can't do it in 45 seconds will lose marks. Those are marks they shouldn't lose.
For Tiffin, practice materials are harder to find because the format is bespoke. The schools publish sample papers on their own websites and these are the single most useful resource. Beyond that, broad work on written English, strong mental maths, and timed comprehension are what separate a stage-two invitation from a stage-one rejection.
The biggest mistake I see Surrey parents making is starting too late. With super-selective schools, a child can't just be "ready" — they need to be substantially above the local 11+ standard. That kind of preparation takes 12 to 18 months of consistent work, not a frantic six-week sprint over the summer.
Is tutoring necessary in Surrey?
Honestly, among children who get offers at Wilson's, Tiffin or Nonsuch, tutoring is close to universal. That doesn't mean it's a magic wand. It means the children who get those places tend to have done substantial structured preparation. A tutor is one way to make that happen, but it isn't the only way.
If you can coach maths and English yourself and you trust your child to do regular timed practice, you can prepare without a tutor. The question to ask is whether your child will stick to a routine without an external deadline. Most ten-year-olds need that structure, which is half of what tutors actually provide.
FAQ
Can my child sit both the Sutton SET and the Tiffin tests?
Yes. They're on different days, run by different admissions bodies, and the scores aren't shared. Most families I know with one strong all-rounder enter for both. You register twice, prepare for both formats, and let the results speak.
We live in Guildford. Is it realistic to apply to Sutton or Tiffin?
Realistic, yes. Easy, no. The Sutton and Tiffin schools are super-selective and don't use distance against you, so geography isn't the barrier. The barrier is the daily commute if your child gets in. Guildford to Sutton is an hour on the train. That's a real commitment for a twelve-year-old.
Are the Sutton grammars all roughly the same standard?
Not quite. Wilson's and Nonsuch tend to attract the highest scorers in their respective gender cohorts. Sutton Grammar, Wallington County Grammar and Wallington High School for Girls sit a small step behind. All five are excellent schools, and the differences in average score are smaller than the parent rumour mill suggests.
My child is in Year 5 and we haven't started — are we too late?
No. Starting in Year 5 is normal and gives you 12 to 18 months. The children who start in Year 3 don't get an automatic advantage, and quite a few burn out before the test. Steady, structured work from January of Year 5 is the pattern that produces the best outcomes for super-selective entry.
If you want to find out where your child actually stands before you commit to a year of prep, readyfor11.co.uk gives you a free benchmark test. It covers English, maths and reasoning. No account, no paywall. It takes about 20 minutes and it'll tell you honestly whether your child is currently in the running for super-selective entry, or where the gap is.