City of London School Admissions | Familiarisation Tests | Mock Tests

City of London School Admissions Process

The City of London School admissions process consists of online and written assessments and an interview. The online exam is provided by Quest Assessments and takes around 2 hours to complete. The maths, VR and NVR elements of the exam are adaptive meaning the questions each child is given are based on their previous answers. Once the answer to a question has been submitted the child cannot go back to check or correct the answer. This is an important feature to familiarise your child with. The English, Puzzles & Problem-Solving and Creative Comprehension elements are not adaptive so all children see the same questions, however some children may progress further through the questions than other.

We have a free City of London School familiarisation test for you to gain a brief insight into the exam, and we have full length City of London School Mock Tests available to purchase which replicate the format and content of the entrance exam.

City of London School Exam Format

Part 1 - online assessments (105 minutes)

Mathematics - 20 minutes
English - 30 minutes
Non-verbal Reasoning - 10 minutes
Verbal Reasoning - 10 minutes
Puzzles & Problem-Solving - 15 minutes
Creative Comprehension - 20 minutes

Part 2 - Creative Writing assessment (30 minutes)

Candidates will be provided with an image to base their short story around. The story must be written in paragraphs, candidates will be assessed on the following:

Creativity - how interesting, imaginative and descriptive is it?
Vocabulary - can they use interesting words and techniques for effect?
Accuracy – can they spell and punctuate accurately?

Take the BOFA^® City of London Familiarisation Test Buy a BOFA^® Mock Test pack

BOFA City of London School Mock Tests

Our BOFA^® City of London School Mock Tests have been designed and created specifically to replicate the City of London School entrance exam situation in order to help pupils familiarise themselves with the format and structure of the City of London School exam. Our Mock Tests follow the same three stage learning process as the BOFA^® 11+ site (test, practice, retest) but the emphasis is on the exam preparation rather than the learning element. Our Mock Tests are sold in packs of 3 as we believe 3 is the minimum number of tests a pupil will need to complete to become comfortable with the format and style of the exam. You can purchase Mock Tests for the City of London School entrance exam from our Mock Test Shop.

Take the BOFA^® City of London Familiarisation Test Buy a BOFA^® Mock Test pack

BOFA Mock Tests for other schools

We also have Mock Tests for the ISEB Common Pre-Test, the London 11+ Consortium and more than 40 independent schools' bespoke entrance exams and admissions processes.

Here are some of the other schools for which we offer Mock Tests. Click the following link for the full list of schools for which we have Mock Tests.

BOFA11+

As well as offering these specific Mock Tests we also offer an online adaptive learning platform on a subscription basis for long term support and exam preparation. Our 11+ subscription site is our unique online learning platform which covers material from 8+ through to 12+, designed to assist pupils in their learning and understanding of syllabus content in preparation for the 11+ exam. All our tests follow our three stage learning process of initial test, followed by tailored teaching and learning before a retest. Although referred to as the 11+ subscription site, a subscription gives you access to all the subscription site material and is therefore suitable for pupils aged 7 to 11, in school years 3 to 6. You can purchase a recurring monthly subscription, which can be cancelled at any time, or you can take out a fixed term 3, 6, 9, 12 or 24 month subscription with a one-off payment. All our prices can be found in our 11+ shop.

Last review: October 2025