Year 7 Scholarship Entry Guide for Parents: Timeline, Skills and Prep

Year 7 entry scholarship guide for parents

Year 7 is the most common entry point for independent school academic scholarships. This guide covers when to start, what is tested, how to choose practice, and how to manage applications to several schools without burning your child out.

Usually sat in

Year 6

Prep often starts

Year 5

Tests to check

ACER secondary, Edutest, AAS

Each school sets

Its own date, fee and deadline

A timeline mindset, not a crash course

Scholarship tests reward skills that build slowly: reading stamina, reasoning, problem solving and writing under time. A sensible plan spreads practice across many months. The exact timing depends on your school’s test date, so work back from the earliest one on your list.

Year 5Shortlist schools and check which provider each uses. Build foundations: wide reading, quick mental arithmetic, regular writing. Introduce reasoning question types in small doses.
Start of Year 6Confirm this year’s test dates, registration deadlines and fees on each school’s page. Take a diagnostic to find gaps. Set a weekly routine you can keep.
Middle monthsTarget the gaps the diagnostic found. Add timed writing with feedback. Practise in the format of the provider your child will sit.
Final weeksA few full practice runs under real timing. Review mistakes rather than piling on new papers. Rehearse test-day logistics.
Test weekLight review only, plenty of sleep, and a calm morning. Confidence matters more than one last paper.

What is tested across the providers

Skills commonly tested for Year 7 entry (check each school’s exact sections)
Skill area	Where it appears	What it looks like
Reading and interpretation	ACER Humanities, Edutest Reading Comprehension, AAS reading	Fiction, non-fiction, poetry and visual texts, with questions on meaning, inference and author intent
Mathematics	All three	Year-level number, measurement, geometry and data, often in multi-step problems, usually without a calculator
Numerical reasoning	Edutest, often AAS	Number series, matrices, arithmetic puzzles and deduction
Verbal or abstract reasoning	Edutest Verbal Reasoning, AAS abstract reasoning	Analogies, word relationships, codes, shape patterns and logic
Writing	All three	A timed piece, often creative or persuasive, sometimes from a picture or quotation prompt

Not sure which provider applies? Read ACER vs Edutest vs AAS for the full comparison.

How to choose practice that actually helps

Match the provider. Practice in the format your child will sit beats a generic workbook.
Diagnose before you drill. A short diagnostic shows which skills are secure, so you do not spend weeks on what your child can already do.
Prefer worked solutions over answer keys. A letter at the back of the book tells you a question was wrong, not why. Children improve when they understand the method and then try a similar question.
Revisit mistakes. The same kind of question coming back a week later is how a weakness becomes a strength.
Save full papers for later. Early on, short focused sets build skill. Full timed papers matter most in the final weeks.

Writing and maths tips, without the guesswork

Writing under time

Spend a minute or two planning: a clear idea, a beginning, middle and end. Edutest’s Written Expression is only 15 minutes.
Practise both narrative and persuasive pieces, as prompts vary.
Aim for a strong opening and a deliberate ending rather than maximum length.
Leave a minute or two to reread for missing words and punctuation.
Get feedback from a teacher, tutor or confident adult, since writing is hard to improve alone.

Maths without a calculator

Keep times tables and mental strategies quick and automatic.
Practise reading a problem twice and underlining what is actually asked.
Use estimation to rule out options in multiple choice.
Use any space the test allows. Edutest does not allow working-out paper, so practise working in your head too.
If stuck, mark it, move on and come back. Every question is usually worth the same.

For school-level maths revision that overlaps with the Mathematics sections, the free maths worksheets are a useful extra.

Applying to several schools

Most families applying for Year 7 scholarships apply to more than one school. A simple tracker saves a lot of stress:

One row per school: provider, test date, registration deadline, fee, format and location.
Whether the school needs anything else: interview, school reports, NAPLAN results, references or a portfolio.
Whether a single sitting can be shared across schools, or each needs its own registration. Check with each school.
Clashes between test dates, and travel time if sittings are on campus.
When and how results and offers are communicated.

Where Tuterly fits

Tuterly covers the Numerical Reasoning side only, so use it alongside provider-specific papers and writing feedback. The start of Year 6 (or late Year 5) is a sensible time for a baseline, while there is still time to work on what it finds. Today you can already try the free scholarship numerical reasoning practice (choose Year 6 for Year 7 entry). Younger child? See Year 5 and Year 6 prep, or go back to the scholarship hub.

Questions parents ask

When does my child sit the test for Year 7 entry?

Usually during Year 6, the year before they would start. Each school sets its own date, so check every school on your list. Some schools test earlier in the year than others.

When should we start preparing for Year 7 entry?

Many families begin light, regular practice in Year 5, then build up through Year 6 as the test approaches. Starting months ahead lets you spread practice out and avoid cramming. If you are starting later, a diagnostic helps you spend the time you have on the biggest gaps.

What score does my child need for a scholarship?

Schools do not publish cut-off scores, and results are compared against the other students who sat the test. Many schools also consider interviews and school reports. Focus on steady improvement in the skills tested rather than a target number.

How much practice per week is reasonable?

Short and regular beats long and occasional. A few focused sessions a week, plus one longer timed practice closer to the test, suits most Year 6 children. Watch for signs of fatigue and adjust.

Can we apply to more than one school?

Yes, and many families do. Each school has its own registration, fee and date, even when two schools use the same provider. Track each one separately so nothing is missed.

Where does Tuterly Scholarship fit for Year 7 entry?

Tuterly's Year 7 entry diagnostic is 40 Numerical Reasoning questions, pitched for Year 6 students, in the Tuterly app on iPhone. It does not cover reading, writing or humanities. The first 10 questions are free, with results for those 10. A one-off Scholarship Pass for the Year 7 entry level, not a subscription, unlocks the rest, with worked solutions and follow-up practice on everything your child misses. Families on the Scholarship list will get a launch discount.