11 Plus Maths Tuition Kingston | Tiffin Entrance Test Maths

In short

Tiffin School and The Tiffin Girls' School are Kingston's selective schools, and each runs its own two-stage test. Stage One is an English paper and a maths paper, each under an hour, answered on a computer-marked OMR sheet; in maths, some questions are multiple choice and others need a numerical answer written into digit columns. Children with the highest Stage One scores are invited to Stage Two, where answers are handwritten. Both schools say the tests assume the National Curriculum up to Year 5, with some unfamiliar formats. For September 2027 entry, Stage One falls on 1 and 2 October 2026, and Stage Two on 7 November (girls) and 12 November (boys). Maths counts for half of Tiffin School's combined score and 40% at Tiffin Girls'. We teach the maths, live online, for both kinds of answer. There is a free first lesson; afterwards a group place is USD 100 a month and one to one teaching USD 150 a month.

Where to begin for Tiffin

Three courses for answers without options

Choose by accuracy, not speed: a column answer with one wrong digit scores nothing.

KINGSTON / A

Tiffin-ready 11 plus maths

Year 5 content practised with multiple-choice, digit-column and handwritten answers.

Open the syllabus →

KINGSTON / B

Reliable mental arithmetic

Checking an answer in the head before committing each digit to a column.

Open the syllabus →

Elementary Maths for Grades 1-5 course thumbnail

KINGSTON / C

Place value and number basics

For children in Year 4 who still mix up tens and hundreds under pressure.

Open the syllabus →

The two tests

What Tiffin School and Tiffin Girls' publish

Kingston's council admissions service returned an error to our reader, so everything here comes from the two schools' own pages and 2027 FAQs, read on 26 September 2026.

Key dates for September 2027 entry, as each school publishes them
Step	Tiffin School (boys)	The Tiffin Girls' School
Registration	Opened 5 June 2026, in the summer term of Year 5	Closed 12.00 noon, Tuesday 1 September 2026
Stage One	Friday 2 October 2026, morning or afternoon	Thursday 1 and Friday 2 October 2026
Stage Two invitations	16 October 2026	On or around 14 October 2026
Stage Two	12 November 2026	Saturday 7 November 2026

Tiffin School works "in partnership with Quest to set our Year 7 Entrance Tests". Stage One is English and maths, each about 40 to 60 minutes, answered on an OMR sheet "marked by a computer". For the maths paper, the FAQ says, answers "may be similar to those above (multiple choice), or they may be numerical". Stage Two papers are of similar length and "require hand written answers".

The Tiffin Girls' School describes the same pattern: Stage One is "an English paper and a maths paper", each lasting less than 60 minutes, with maths answers that are either multiple choice or "a numerical answer". Its Stage Two papers are set and marked by the school, with an answer sheet for maths.

Both schools say they do not publish past papers. Tiffin School publishes illustrative questions; Tiffin Girls' warns that its papers change each year, "often involving the number of questions, time limits, and question types". Both assume children have completed the National Curriculum for Year 5, and Tiffin Girls' adds that some questions will be "in unfamiliar formats".

We note one thing and leave it there: the published registration deadline for Tiffin School appears in more than one form across its page and FAQ, so we do not print one. Families should check the school's current key dates. Admissions, priority areas and ranking belong to the schools.

Sources: Tiffin School, Year 7 admissions and its FAQs for entry in September 2027; The Tiffin Girls' School, Year 7 admissions and its FAQs for September 2027. The council's admissions pages returned HTTP 403 and were not used. Modern Age Coders has no connection with either school, Quest or the council.

The lesson

Writing a number into columns, one digit at a time

The Tiffin Girls' School FAQ shows how numerical answers are marked: one column per digit, with examples of 7, 87 and 521, and a time written like a digital clock.

Column answers of the kind the schools describe, with Year 5 questions of our own
Our question	Columns on the sheet	Answer to write
What is 1,000 - 637?	Three: hundreds, tens, ones	3 6 3
How many minutes are there in 3 hours 20 minutes?	Three	2 0 0
What is the largest whole number that rounds to 700 to the nearest 100?	Three	7 4 9
A film starts at 18:40 and lasts 1 hour 35 minutes. When does it end?	Four, as a digital clock	2 0 1 5 (20:15)
What is the smallest prime number greater than 80?	Two	8 3

The Tiffin Girls' School says that for numerical answers "the columns will represent single digits, `tens', and `hundreds'", so a one-digit answer has one column and a three-digit answer three. That turns the grid into a check. If a child's answer to a three-column question has four digits, something has gone wrong before any digit is written: a place value slip, a multiplication by ten too many, a forgotten step.

The check has limits, and we teach them honestly. It catches answers of the wrong size. It does not catch 463 written for 363. For that, a child still needs the other habits: estimate first (1,000 - 637 is a bit less than 400), then check the last digit (7 + 3 ends in 0).

Times are the second trap. The school's own example gives 5 minutes past 7 as 07:05, four columns with a leading zero. A child who writes 7:5, or 705 in three columns, has the right idea and the wrong answer. Converting between analogue and digital time, and between hours and minutes, is primary work; writing it in exactly the form asked is a separate skill we practise.

All the examples the school publishes are whole numbers or clock times. We therefore teach children to expect numerical questions whose answers are whole numbers, and to treat a decimal or a remainder in their working as a sign to reread the question.

Sources: The Tiffin Girls' School FAQs for September 2027 (the OMR column description and its examples); Tiffin School FAQs (maths answers "may be numerical"). The questions in the table are written by Modern Age Coders.

The second stage

Stage Two: handwritten, and marked on the answer alone

Children with the highest Stage One scores are invited back in November. The maths changes character again.

What the schools say

Tiffin School says Stage Two papers are similar in length to Stage One and "require hand written answers". The Tiffin Girls' School says its Stage Two maths has an answer sheet, and states: "No marks are given for calculations or workings out."

That sentence is worth sitting with. In school, and later at GCSE, a child who sets out a method well gets credit even with a slip at the end. In this paper, as the school describes it, the final answer is all that counts. A beautiful method with a copying error scores the same as a blank.

How we teach for it

We still teach children to write working, because working is how they get the answer right. What changes is the ending: every answer is checked against the question before it goes on the sheet. Does it answer what was asked? Is it in the right unit? Is it the right size?

We also teach children to copy carefully from working to answer box, which sounds trivial and is not. Under time pressure, 368 in the margin becomes 386 on the sheet more often than anyone expects.

How the two schools say the maths is weighted in the combined score
School	Share of combined score from maths	How the maths share is built
Tiffin School	50%	Stage One and Stage Two maths in the ratio 2:3
The Tiffin Girls' School	40%	Stage Two and Stage One maths in the ratio 3:1

Both schools weight the written second stage more heavily than the first. We give those published ratios so families can see why Stage Two maths deserves as much preparation time as Stage One, not to suggest any score. Both schools also standardise raw marks for age.

Changing papers

Papers that change every year

Neither school publishes past papers, and Tiffin Girls' says its papers change in the number of questions, time limits and question types. That is a reason to prepare differently, not to worry.

Content is fixed

Both schools assume the Year 5 National Curriculum and nothing beyond it. Whatever the format, the maths inside is known in advance.

Format is not

A child who has only ever practised one layout can be thrown by a new one. We vary layouts on purpose: multiple choice one week, columns the next, written the week after.

Unfamiliar is the point

Tiffin Girls' says some questions test "application skills and adaptability". A familiar idea in a new setting is exactly what Year 5 problem solving should look like.

Tiffin Girls' notes that other schools' past papers and online resources exist, that practising with them "can be helpful preparation", and that it does not endorse any. We agree with the caution. Papers from elsewhere are useful for stamina; they say nothing about what Tiffin will ask.

Our own questions are written for Year 5 content and for the answer formats the schools describe. We do not reproduce the illustrative questions or anything from either school's tests.

The girls' school also asks that children bring no ruler and use a standard HB pencil. We set practice the same way, so the physical side of the test is familiar long before October.

English is half or more of both combined scores, and we do not teach it for the test. Families should know that before booking with us.

Kingston and beyond

Two schools, two tests, one lesson at home

The tests are sat in person, Tiffin School's Stage One at the school itself. The preparation needs no travel at all.

Tiffin School and The Tiffin Girls' School run separate tests with separate dates, so a family applying to one is preparing for one set of papers. The maths content and answer formats are similar enough that the same teaching serves both.

For coding and computing in the borough, we have a separate Kingston coding page.

Groups are formed by level. A child preparing for Tiffin can share a lesson with children at the same stage of Year 5 maths from other parts of the UK, five to ten at a time, all on video.

We have no link with either school, with Quest or with the council, and we give no advice on registration choices, priority areas or places.

The months ahead

Four stages to an October test

Kingston's Stage One falls in early October of Year 6, a little later than many areas. For a child in Year 5 now, that is roughly a year away.

Building to multiple-choice, column and written answers
When	Stage	Ready when
Year 4	1. Place value	Reads, writes and rounds numbers confidently, and knows which digit is worth what
Autumn and spring, Year 5	2. Year 5 content	Covers the full Year 5 curriculum with accurate written methods
Summer, Year 5	3. Column answers	Writes numbers and digital times into columns, and uses the column count as a check
September, Year 6	4. No options	Answers without choices, checks against the question, copies accurately to the sheet

Starting late

Registration is in the summer of Year 5, and Stage One in October of Year 6, so a late start still leaves months. Spend them on accuracy first.

We will tell you frankly at the free lesson how much can be done in the time.

After November

Accurate, checked answers are the habit of good secondary mathematicians. Many children carry on with maths through coding, where a program either gives the right output or it does not.

Some try the challenges on our competitions calendar.

All our courses

Maths and coding for Kingston families

Organised by stage; every card opens the syllabus.

I

For the Tiffin tests

Years 3 to 5

KGM / 01

11 plus maths preparation

Year 5 maths for every answer format.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 02

Mental maths for kids

Quick checks before an answer is committed.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 03

Primary maths, Years 1 to 5

Place value and number sense from the start.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 04

Abacus and mental maths

Columns of beads before columns on a sheet.

Open the syllabus

II

Secondary

Year 6 onwards

KGM / 05

Middle school maths mastery

Key Stage 3 number, algebra and geometry.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 06

GCSE maths, foundation and higher

Accurate answers and clear working to GCSE.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 07

Olympiad and competition maths

Answer-only problems, the competition way.

Open the syllabus

III

Coding

Precision practised

KGM / 08

Maths through coding

Programs that are either right or wrong.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 09

Scratch coding for kids

Exact instructions, tested straight away.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 10

Python and AI for kids

Typed code for children ready for more.

Open the syllabus

IV

Further ahead

Teenage years

KGM / 11

Vedic maths and speed calculation

Faster methods on firm foundations.

Open the syllabus

KGM / 12

AI and machine learning for teens

Numbers in, predictions out.

Open the syllabus

Timetable

Lessons fitted around a Kingston school day

Teaching comes live from India. We keep primary lessons to early evening and weekend morning slots in UK time, and our side absorbs the clock change each spring and autumn.

Weekday evenings, early

Soon after the school day ends.

Weekend mornings

When children are fresh.

Holiday weeks

Short extra sessions in the breaks.

A constant teacher

The same person every week tracks each child's habits.

Plain reporting

A few honest lines after lessons, including what went badly.

Groups of five to ten

Same level, so every explanation is pitched right.

Our questions only

Nothing copied from either school's illustrative material.

One to one on request

For accuracy problems that need close attention.

Maths, not English

No English coaching and no advice on admissions.

Student work

What our students go on to make

Four projects published by students at our school, built on the same careful arithmetic. See the rest on the student labs page.

AI and ML

NutriLife

An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.

by Bhavya · Open it

AI and ML

Misti

A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.

by Harshit · Open it

AI and ML

GuardianX

An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online.

by Vivaan · Open it

Web app

SkyCast

A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.

by Krish

Fees

Monthly, in US dollars, the same for all families outside India. No sign-up fee and no fixed term.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

A taught lesson, not a sales call
Our frank view afterwards
No card details

Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

Five to ten children, matched by level
A regular teacher
Answers checked in class
Certificate on completion

Start here

One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

One child, one teacher
Close work on accuracy
Helpful between Stage One and Stage Two

Enquire

What families say

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

What parents have written on our Google profile, verbatim.

★★★★★

"The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it. The teachers explain complex concepts clearly with practical exercises and interactive content."

Ria Mukherjee

Parent

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease."

Samriddha Mondal

Student

★★★★★

"One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development."

Vansh Agarwal

Student

★★★★★

"My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative."

Sonam Oswal

Parent of Dhairya

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation."

Sonu Goyal

Parent

★★★★★

"I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding."

Ritu Kedia

Parent

Tiffin questions

What Kingston families ask us

What is the maths like in the Tiffin Stage One test?

Both schools say Stage One includes a maths paper of under an hour, answered on a computer-marked OMR sheet. Some questions are multiple choice; others need a numerical answer written into columns.

How are numerical answers written?

The Tiffin Girls' School says the columns represent single digits, tens and hundreds, so the number of columns matches the number of digits. Times are written as on a digital clock, for example 07:05.

What happens at Stage Two?

Children with the highest Stage One scores are invited back in November for English and maths papers with handwritten answers. Tiffin Girls' says no marks are given for calculations or workings out.

How much does maths count?

Tiffin School says its combined score is 50% English and 50% maths, with Stage One and Stage Two maths in the ratio 2:3. Tiffin Girls' says 60% English and 40% maths, with Stage Two and Stage One maths in a ratio of 3:1.

What maths do the tests cover?

Both schools assume completion of the National Curriculum for Year 5 and do not expect topics beyond it, though some questions come in unfamiliar formats.

When are the tests for September 2028 entry?

Not published when we checked on 26 September 2026. For 2027 entry, Stage One is on 1 and 2 October 2026 and Stage Two in November 2026. The schools publish new dates each year.

Are there Tiffin past papers?

No. Both schools say they do not publish past papers; Tiffin School publishes illustrative questions. We write our own practice and do not copy either school's material.

Do you prepare children for the English papers?

No. We teach maths only, and we do not advise on registration, priority areas or places.

Can my child take a ruler?

The Tiffin Girls' School asks that children do not bring a ruler, as rulers are not allowed in any of its tests.

How much are lessons?

The first lesson is free. After that it is USD 100 a month in a group or USD 150 a month one to one, with no joining fee.

Nearby pages

More for families in south-west London and Surrey

Coding in Kingston, the national 11 plus page, and neighbouring selective areas.

Coding classes in Kingston

Our coding page for the borough.