Families · 家长指南
A plain-English route map for 11+ and 13+ families
给家长的 11+ / 13+ 入学路线图
From choosing schools to the day offers arrive, here is how the route usually runs, and the basics for families moving to the UK from overseas. Everything links to the official source.
从选择学校到收到录取通知,大致的流程如下。下面还有海外家庭的基本信息,所有内容都附官方来源链接。
Last checked 3 November 2026 against GOV.UK's Child Student visa and Family visa pages. This page gives facts, not immigration or legal advice.
The route · 流程
Four steps from shortlist to offer
从选校到录取的四个步骤。
1. Choose schools
Use our schools page to find each school's own entrance page and exam.
2. Find the exam
Read the exams guide to see how ISEB and the London 11+ Consortium differ.
3. Register and prepare
Registration dates vary by school. Prepare with words learnt by use, timed reading and writing.
4. Interview and offers
Schools run their own interviews, then send offers. Check each school's page.
PHOTO · to be supplied
A parent and child (about 11 years old) sitting side by side at a kitchen table, looking at a laptop with school prospectuses and a notebook beside them. Warm, unposed, daylight. No branded uniforms or visible school crests.
Moving from overseas · 海外家庭
The basics, with the official links
These are facts taken from GOV.UK and the test provider. Fees and rules change, so open the official page before you rely on any figure. Hongwen does not give visa advice.
以下信息摘自 GOV.UK 和考试机构(2026 年 10 月 30 日),费用和规定会变化,请以官方页面为准。Hongwen 不提供签证建议。
Child Student visa
For children aged 4 to 17. The child needs an unconditional offer from a licensed Child Student sponsor, a suitable place to live, access to enough money, and a parent's or guardian's consent. The fee is £558, whether you apply from outside or inside the UK, and the healthcare surcharge is paid on top. You can apply up to 6 months before the course starts from outside the UK (a decision usually takes 3 weeks) or up to 3 months before from inside the UK (usually 8 weeks). A parent who wants to come too needs their own visa, below.
GOV.UK: Child Student visaParent of a Child Student visa
The fee is £637. The child must be aged 4 to 11 when the parent applies, only one parent can accompany them, and the parent cannot do paid work. The stay lasts until the child's visa expires or the child turns 12, whichever comes first.
GOV.UK: Parent visaUKiset
UKiset is an English test some UK schools ask overseas applicants to take. The provider's About page says it costs £295, is for ages 9.5 to 18, results are valid for one year, and a retake is possible after 3 months. Check the provider's page for the current rules.
UKisetMoney rules and the funds you must show are on GOV.UK's Child Student money page. A Family visa is a different route, for living with a partner, parent, child or other relative, and is not the visa for a child at school: see GOV.UK's Family visas page.
Questions about the route?
Tell us your child's age and the schools you are considering.
Hongwen is an independent tutoring service. It gives facts, not immigration, legal or financial advice, and cannot promise any exam outcome.