Sutton's selective schools share one first-stage test
Sutton does not run a patchwork of separate entrance exams. Six schools in the borough share a single first-stage paper called the Selective Eligibility Test, or SET. A child sits it once, on one date, whatever combination of Sutton schools the family is targeting.
Sutton Grammar School and Wilson's School publish the same list: "The 'participating schools' in the Selective Eligibility Test, 'SET', are Greenshaw High School, Nonsuch High School for Girls, Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School, Wallington High School for Girls and Wilson's School."
What differs between schools is the second stage. The five grammars invite candidates who reach their own pass mark back for a stage-two paper, and there are two separate stage-two exams on two different dates. Greenshaw has no second stage at all.
Stage one: the SET
For entry to Year 7 in September 2027, the SET is on Tuesday 15 September 2026. Registration opens on Friday 1 May 2026 and closes on Friday 31 July 2026. Requests for access arrangements have an earlier deadline of Friday 12 June 2026.
The format, per Sutton Grammar School's admissions FAQs: "The test is made up of two papers; a multiple-choice Maths paper and a multiple-choice English paper." Each paper runs 40 to 50 minutes with a break between them, and candidates mark a separate answer sheet by filling in a lozenge for A, B, C, D or E.
There is no verbal reasoning and no non-verbal reasoning in the SET. This is the single most common misconception about Sutton, and it matters for prep: a child drilled on VR and NVR papers has been prepared for a different region's test.
None of the six schools names an external test provider on its admissions pages. Sutton is not a published GL Assessment region in the way Kent or Bexley are, and you should treat any tutoring site that tells you which board writes the SET as unsourced.
Stage two: two exams, two dates
Passing the SET is not an offer. It makes a child eligible to be considered, and each school sets its own pass mark after the papers are marked.
Nonsuch High School for Girls and Wallington High School for Girls run a joint paper, the Nonsuch and Wallington Second Stage Entrance Examination (NWSSEE), on Saturday 26 September 2026. Two papers, English and Maths, each 40 to 50 minutes, not multiple choice, no verbal or non-verbal reasoning. The English paper is composition rather than comprehension.
Sutton Grammar School, Wallington County Grammar School and Wilson's School share a second-stage exam on Saturday 3 October 2026. Again two papers, English and Maths, each around 45 minutes to an hour, not multiple choice, no reasoning content, broadly based on the Key Stage 2 curriculum. Each school then applies its own pass mark and its own weighting: Wallington County Grammar combines the two stages in a 2:3 ratio of SET to second stage, while Wilson's uses a 1:2:2 weighting.
Greenshaw High School admits up to 60 students under an academic ability criterion on the SET result alone. Its determined arrangements for 2027/28 state: "Up to 60 students will be admitted based on the outcome of the Selective Eligibility Test (SET)."
Wilson's School also offers Sport and Music aptitude places, tested on Saturday 10 October 2026. These assess potential in football and in music, and they are open to boys who have already qualified for the Wilson's second stage. They are not an alternative academic route.
Pass marks are not published in advance
Wallington County Grammar states it directly: "It is not possible to state pass marks in advance of the examination. Pass marks will be decided by each individual school after the papers have been marked." Greenshaw's arrangements say the same, adding that each participating school determines its own.
Any specific SET score circulating online is a figure from a past cycle, reported after the event, for one school. It is not a target published by the admissions authority for 2027 entry.
Common cross-borough applications
Sutton families often also apply to selective schools outside the borough. These are entirely separate processes with their own registration, their own tests and their own dates. Nothing carries over from the SET.
The Tiffin Girls' School and Tiffin School (Kingston) each run a two-stage process in English and Maths. Both stage-one tests fall in early October 2026, with stage two in November 2026.
Newstead Wood School (Bromley, girls) runs a single-stage test of two papers, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. Its own guidance says: "The Selection Test consists of two papers. The first will assess Verbal Reasoning and the second will assess Non-Verbal Reasoning. We do not test on any other subjects." Testing for 2027 entry is in September 2026.
St Olave's Grammar School (Bromley, boys) has a two-stage process. Note the naming trap: St Olave's calls its own stage-one paper the SET as well, and it is a completely different test from Sutton's. Its own arrangements say: "The SET will last one hour and will comprise multiple choice questions in English, Logic (both Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning) and Mathematics." Stage two is then English and Maths papers.
A family targeting Sutton plus Bromley is therefore preparing for reasoning content that the Sutton SET does not contain.
How prep typically runs
Year 5. Key Stage 2 foundations in English and Maths. Because the SET carries no reasoning content, time spent on VR and NVR is only worthwhile if a cross-borough school on your list tests it.
Year 5 summer. Familiarisation with the multiple-choice format and the lozenge answer sheet. Registration opens 1 May 2026 and closes 31 July 2026, so this window is also the administrative deadline.
Autumn of Year 6. The SET on 15 September, then stage two on 26 September or 3 October depending on which schools invited your child. The gap between the two is short, and stage two is a different discipline: written answers and extended writing rather than multiple choice.
31 October 2026. The Common Application Form deadline. Stage-two outcomes are emailed before this so families can rank schools with results in hand.
1 March 2027. National Offer Day.
What to look for in a Sutton-specialist tutor
Sutton prep has a specific shape: one multiple-choice stage followed by a written stage a fortnight or so later. Questions worth asking:
Do they prepare for both stages, and do they treat the written stage-two paper as a separate skill from the multiple-choice SET?
For girls, do they know the NWSSEE composition paper, which has no comprehension element?
If cross-borough schools are on your list, do they cover the reasoning content that Sutton itself does not test?
Which of the six SET schools have they prepared students for recently?
Be cautious of any tutor who quotes you a SET pass mark for the coming cycle, or who describes Sutton as a verbal and non-verbal reasoning region. Both are signals that their information is out of date.