The London Borough of Barnet is home to two of the country's most competitive super-selective grammars — Queen Elizabeth's for boys and Henrietta Barnett for girls.
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Start 7-day free trial →Barnet's two selective state schools — Queen Elizabeth's (boys) and The Henrietta Barnett School (girls) — are among the very highest-performing and most oversubscribed grammar schools in England. Both admit almost entirely on test rank rather than catchment.
Because entry is rank-based rather than distance-based, families apply from across London and beyond. That also makes these two schools genuinely hard to prepare for on qualifying alone — the offered rank sits far above any minimum.
The Individual school admissions — Queen Elizabeth's and Henrietta Barnett each run their own two-stage entrance tests and admit almost entirely on test rank. Register with each school directly.
Both schools run a two-stage process: a first-round test (typically English, Maths and Reasoning) that shortlists a large field, followed by a more demanding second-round test for those who progress.
The tests are timed and highly discriminating, designed to separate very able children at the top end. Exact formats and dates are set by each school — confirm on their admissions pages early in Year 5.
These are super-selective schools, so preparation is about depth and accuracy at the top end rather than just covering the basics. Strong, fast, accurate Maths and rich reading/vocabulary are the foundations.
Practise under strict timing and with harder material than a typical qualifying-score area demands. Both stages reward children who stay accurate when the questions get tough.
Effectively no — both admit on test rank rather than distance, so children from across and beyond London compete on the same footing. This is why the effective bar is so high.
A large field sits an initial test; the highest scorers are invited to a second, harder test that determines final offers. A child must perform strongly at both stages.
Yes — Queen Elizabeth's and Henrietta Barnett run separate processes, so you register and prepare for each individually.
Among the most competitive in the country — thousands of applicants for a few hundred places, with offers going to children ranking near the very top of the field.
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