Sutton · Selective Eligibility Test and second stage maths · Live online, small groups or one to one

11 plus maths tuition in Sutton

Sutton's selective schools ask a child to show their maths twice. First comes the Selective Eligibility Test, a multiple-choice maths paper and a multiple-choice English paper, with no verbal or non-verbal reasoning at all. For the boys' schools and the girls' schools that hold one, a second stage follows a few weeks later: another maths paper, but this time "not multiple choice". The content is the same Key Stage 2 maths. The task is not. With five options on the page, a child can check a wrong answer against the list; with a blank line, nothing warns them. That shift, from choosing to producing an answer, is what this page is about, together with what the schools and the council publish.

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Maths only · No English teaching for the test · No connection with any Sutton school

In short

Six schools share the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test: Greenshaw High School, Nonsuch High School for Girls, Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School, Wallington High School for Girls and Wilson's School. The SET is two multiple-choice papers of 40 to 50 minutes, one maths and one English, and the schools say it includes no verbal or non-verbal reasoning. The pass is on the total of the two, with no negative marking. Children who pass then sit a written second stage for the girls' or boys' schools: again maths and English, but "not multiple choice". For September 2027 entry the SET was on Tuesday 15 September 2026, the girls' second stage on 26 September and the boys' on 3 October. The maths is broadly Key Stage 2 throughout, and we teach it for both formats, live online. There is no charge for the first lesson; regular lessons cost USD 100 a month in a group or USD 150 one to one.

First steps for Sutton

Three courses for a two-stage test

Pick by how your child copes when there are no answers to choose from.

11 Plus Maths Prep course thumbnail

SUTTON / 1

11 plus maths, both formats

Key Stage 2 content taught for five-option questions and for written answers on a blank line.

Open the syllabus →
Mental Maths for Kids course thumbnail

SUTTON / 2

Mental arithmetic, sharpened

No calculators at either stage; quick, reliable calculation leaves time to check.

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Elementary Maths for Grades 1-5 course thumbnail

SUTTON / 3

Core primary maths

For a Year 4 child who needs place value, tables and fractions secured before anything timed.

Open the syllabus →

Stage one

The Selective Eligibility Test, as the schools describe it

The London Borough of Sutton lists the six schools and their deadlines; the schools publish the detail, in a shared FAQ on Sutton Grammar School's website. Read on 26 September 2026.

SET and second stage dates for September 2027 entry, from the participating schools and the council
StepDateWhat is published
Registration opensFriday 1 May 2026One online form, reachable from any participating school's website.
Access arrangementsBy Friday 12 June 2026Earlier deadline for requests and evidence for children with SEN.
Registration closesMidnight, Friday 31 July 2026No late registrations accepted.
SETTuesday 15 September 2026Maths and English, multiple choice, for children in Year 6.
Girls' second stageSaturday 26 September 2026Joint test for Nonsuch High School for Girls and Wallington High School for Girls.
Boys' second stageSaturday 3 October 2026Shared test for Sutton Grammar, Wallington County Grammar and Wilson's.

The SET is short and plain. The FAQ describes "a multiple-choice Maths paper and a multiple-choice English paper", each taking between 40 and 50 minutes, with a break between. It adds, unusually clearly: "The tests do not include verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning." Children shade a lozenge for A, B, C, D or E, and some questions ask for a combination of answers.

The schools say there is no negative marking, that papers are marked twice, by machine and then by hand, and that it is the total score that decides a pass, so "a very good performance in English can compensate for one that is a little weaker in Maths". A child sits the SET once only, in Year 6; it cannot be taken earlier as practice.

No rough paper is given. The FAQ says candidates may use any spare space on the question papers for working, and calculators are not permitted. The schools do not publish specimen papers, only a short set of sample questions for each subject.

Greenshaw High School uses the SET only for its ability places, and not every school holds a second stage. How each school then uses the results for places is set out by the schools, and we leave it there. This page is about the maths in the two stages.

Sources: London Borough of Sutton, secondary school tests and assessments; Sutton Grammar School, admissions FAQs, covering the SET and the shared second stage; SET Maths sample questions for 2027 entry. Modern Age Coders has no connection with any participating school or with the council.

Stage two

The same subjects, with the options taken away

The second stage keeps maths and English and removes the list of answers. That is the single biggest change in Sutton's process, and the one preparation most often ignores.

What is published

For boys, Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School and Wilson's School share one second stage: "two papers; a Maths paper and an English paper. The tests will not include verbal or non-verbal reasoning, and are not multiple choice. Each paper will be around 45 minutes to 1 hour in length." No sample tests are released; the content is broadly Key Stage 2.

For girls, Nonsuch High School for Girls and Wallington High School for Girls hold a joint second stage, with maths and English papers, and apply common criteria.

How the scores combine at Sutton Grammar

Sutton Grammar School publishes its own arithmetic. Four standardised scores, SET English, SET maths, second-stage English and second-stage maths, "will be weighted in the ratio 2:2:3:3, an age allowance will be added, and the total rounded to the nearest four marks". Wilson's and Wallington County publish their own methods.

Read as a Year 6 ratio, 2:2:3:3 has ten parts, and the two second-stage papers hold six of them. At that school the written papers count for more than the multiple-choice ones. We mention it to show why written maths deserves real time, not to predict anyone's result.

For a family, the practical point is the calendar. The SET falls in mid-September and the written papers two or three weeks later. There is no time after the SET to learn a new way of answering. Written maths has to be practised through Year 5 alongside multiple-choice work, not bolted on at the end.

The lesson

Answering when nobody offers you a choice

Two Year 5 curriculum statements carry most of the weight here: interpreting remainders for the context, and using rounding to check answers.

One division, three questions: a Year 5 lesson we use with Sutton pupils (our own example)
The questionThe calculationThe answer that fits
215 guests sit at tables of 8. How many tables are needed?215 ÷ 8 = 26 remainder 727 tables: the 7 left over still need a table
215 guests sit at tables of 8. How many tables are completely full?215 ÷ 8 = 26 remainder 726 tables
215 stickers are shared among 8 children. How many does each get?215 ÷ 8 = 26 remainder 726 each, with 7 left over
215 m of ribbon is cut into 8 equal pieces. How long is each piece?215 ÷ 8 = 26.87526.875 m, or 26 m 87.5 cm

The national curriculum asks Year 5 pupils to use short division and "interpret remainders appropriately for the context". The same sum has four right answers depending on what is being divided. On a multiple-choice paper, a child who writes 26 remainder 7 can often find the right option by elimination. On a written paper they must decide, alone, whether the answer is 26, 27, 26 remainder 7 or 26.875.

We teach one habit for every written answer: reread the last line of the question and say the answer out loud as a sentence. "We need 27 tables." Sentences expose nonsense that bare numbers hide.

The second habit is checking by rounding, which the curriculum also names: "use rounding to check answers to calculations and determine, in the context of a problem, levels of accuracy". 215 is close to 216, and 216 ÷ 8 = 27, so an answer near 27 is right and an answer near 270 or 2.7 is not.

The third is units. A written paper has no options to hint that the answer is in metres rather than centimetres. Children learn to write the unit before the number, so the unit is decided first.

Source: national curriculum in England, mathematics, Year 5 multiplication and division, and addition and subtraction (statutory requirements). The table is a Modern Age Coders teaching example, not a test question.

Two formats, one course

Teaching for five options and for none

A child who can only do one format is half prepared for Sutton. We teach both side by side, from the start.

The multiple-choice week

Short sets of five-option questions, marked at once, so speed and accuracy on the SET style become routine. No negative marking means every question is answered.

The written week

The same topics, with the options removed. The child writes the answer, the unit and a one-line check. We mark the check as well as the answer.

The swap

Then we give a question the child got right with options and ask it again without them. That is where hidden weaknesses show, and where the real teaching happens.

The SET gives no rough paper, so we practise with working written in the margins of the question sheet, small and in order. The second stage, being written, rewards the same tidiness: a teacher marking a script can follow neat work, and a child can find their own mistake in it.

Some SET questions ask for a combination of answers rather than one. In maths that usually means "which two of these are true?" questions, which punish half-checking. We practise them so the instruction to choose two is noticed every time.

We do not have Sutton papers and do not pretend to. The schools release sample questions only, and we never copy those. Our questions are written for Key Stage 2 content, in both formats, and changed every term so they cannot be learned by heart.

English is half of the SET total and part of the second stage, but it is not something we teach for the test. Families should know that before they book with us.

The participating schools

Six schools, two second stages, one online class

The council and the schools name the participants. We list them so it is clear which tests this page covers.

The six participating schools, as the Sutton Grammar School FAQ and the council list them
SchoolAfter the SET
Greenshaw High SchoolSET used for its ability places; no second stage
Nonsuch High School for GirlsJoint girls' second stage
Wallington High School for GirlsJoint girls' second stage
Sutton Grammar SchoolShared boys' second stage
Wallington County Grammar SchoolShared boys' second stage
Wilson's SchoolShared boys' second stage

Registration is one form for all six schools, whichever school website a family starts from, and the SET is the same paper wherever a child lives. So is our lesson: live, on a screen at home.

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

Our groups are built by level, not by postcode. A child preparing for the SET joins others at the same stage in Year 5 maths, from anywhere in the country, which is how we keep the groups between five and ten.

We have no connection with any of the six schools or with the London Borough of Sutton, and we give no advice on applications or places.

Sources: Sutton Grammar School admissions FAQs; London Borough of Sutton, secondary school tests and assessments; both read 26 September 2026.

Working back from September

Four stages, two formats

For a child now in Year 5, the next SET will fall in September of Year 6, with written papers soon after. Every stage below is practised in both formats.

Building towards a multiple-choice paper and a written one
WhenStageWhat secure looks like
Year 41. FactsTables and number bonds instant; place value clear to a million
Autumn, Year 52. Written methodsLong multiplication and short division correct, with remainders read for the context
Spring, Year 53. The swapQuestions answered correctly with options are also answered correctly without them
Summer, Year 54. Two clocksA 45-minute multiple-choice paper one week, a written paper the next, both finished and checked

Late start

Starting in the summer of Year 5 still leaves time, if the written format is not left out. It is the part that improves slowest.

At the trial lesson we will say plainly what a few months can do.

After October

Written maths is the maths of secondary school. Many children continue into maths through coding, where every answer has to be produced, not picked.

Keen ones try the challenges on our competitions calendar.

Our courses

Maths and coding for Sutton families

Grouped by stage. Open any card for the syllabus.

I

For the SET and stage two

Years 3 to 5

STM / I-a

11 plus maths preparation

Key Stage 2 maths for chosen and written answers.

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STM / I-b

Mental maths for kids

Calculation without a calculator, at speed.

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STM / I-c

Primary maths, Years 1 to 5

Foundations for a child not yet ready for timed work.

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STM / I-d

Abacus and mental maths

Concrete, then visual, then mental calculation.

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II

Secondary

Year 6 and after

STM / II-a

Middle school maths mastery

Written reasoning and algebra for Key Stage 3.

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STM / II-b

GCSE maths, foundation and higher

Where method marks and written working count most.

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STM / II-c

Olympiad and competition maths

Problems that need a full written argument.

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III

Code and maths

Producing answers, not picking them

STM / III-a

Maths through coding

Programs that compute and check their own answers.

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STM / III-b

Scratch coding for kids

Precise instructions, tested at once.

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STM / III-c

Python and AI for kids

Typed code for confident primary pupils.

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IV

Beyond

Teenage years

STM / IV-a

Vedic maths and speed calculation

Quicker methods, once the standard ones are secure.

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STM / IV-b

AI and machine learning for teens

Maths that ends in working software.

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Timing

After school, on the UK clock

Our teachers are in India, and when Britain changes its clocks in March and October the gap changes with it. We fix primary lessons in UK time, in the early evening or at weekends, and adjust on our side.

Early evening, weekdays

A settled hour between school and supper.

Weekend mornings

Good for children who flag after a school day.

Half terms

Short intensive sessions in the break.

One teacher, all year

Continuity means patterns in a child's mistakes are spotted early.

Brief honest reports

A few plain lines to parents after lessons, good news and bad.

Five to ten per class

Children at the same level, so the pace suits everyone in the room.

Written by us

All questions are ours, in both formats; no school material is reproduced.

Private option

One to one when a child needs targeted help with written answers.

Maths only

We do not teach the English papers and do not advise on admissions.

Student work

Where our students go next

Four projects built by students at our school, every one of whom started with arithmetic like this. See more on the student labs page.

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Fees

Fees

A flat monthly fee in US dollars, as for all families outside India. No deposit and no minimum term.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

  • A full lesson with a teacher
  • An honest account of what we saw
  • No card asked for
Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

  • Five to ten children, one level
  • The same teacher weekly
  • Written work marked and returned
  • A certificate at the end
Start here

One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

  • One teacher, one child
  • Focused on written answers if needed
  • Valuable between the SET and stage two
Enquire

What families say

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

Reviews by parents on our Google profile, reproduced exactly.

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"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."

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Sutton questions

What Sutton families ask us

What is in the Sutton Selective Eligibility Test?

Two multiple-choice papers, maths and English, each between 40 and 50 minutes, according to the participating schools. There are no verbal or non-verbal reasoning papers. Answers are shaded as lozenges A to E.

Is there negative marking in the SET?

No. The schools say there is no negative marking in the SET papers, so a child should answer every question.

Does my child have to pass the maths paper on its own?

The schools say it is the total score that determines a pass, so a strong performance in one paper can make up for a slightly weaker one in the other.

What is the second stage?

For boys, a shared second stage for Sutton Grammar, Wallington County Grammar and Wilson's: a maths paper and an English paper that are not multiple choice, each around 45 minutes to an hour. For girls, a joint second stage for Nonsuch and Wallington High School for Girls.

What maths do the papers cover?

The schools say the content is broadly based on the Key Stage 2 curriculum. For a September test in Year 6, that means the primary curriculum up to the end of Year 5, answered without a calculator.

When are the tests for September 2028 entry?

They had not been published when we checked on 26 September 2026. For 2027 entry, registration ran from 1 May to midnight on 31 July 2026 and the SET was on Tuesday 15 September 2026.

Are there past papers?

No. The schools publish sample questions only, and no samples for the second stage. We write our own practice in both formats and do not copy school material.

Do you teach the English papers?

No. We teach maths only, and we do not give advice on applications or places.

Can a child take the SET early for practice?

No. The schools say the SET is for children in Year 6 and can be taken only once.

What are your fees?

The first lesson is free. After that, a group place is USD 100 a month and one to one is USD 150 a month, with no deposit and no minimum term.

Nearby

Related pages for south London and Surrey families

Coding in Sutton, the national 11 plus page, and other selective areas nearby.

Coding classes in Sutton

Our page on coding for the borough.

11 plus maths tuition

The national 11 plus maths page.

11 plus maths in Kent

A county test sat in the first week of Year 6.

11 plus maths in Trafford

A consortium that names four maths areas.

Coding classes in Surrey

For families over the county line.

All our UK pages

Every UK area we cover.

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Arrange a free lesson

Let us know the school year and whether written answers or multiple choice feels harder. We teach a real lesson and then give you a straight account of it.

Reading first? The course syllabuses are all online, how we teach sets out our method, and the roadmap shows what follows what.

WhatsApp us · +91 91233 66161 · contact@modernagecoders.com

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