The Sutton SET (Selective Eligibility Test) is the shared first-stage exam for the Sutton grammar schools: Sutton Grammar, Wilson’s, Wallington County and, jointly, the girls’ schools Wallington High and Nonsuch. One test, one morning in September, and the result decides whether your child is invited to each school’s own second stage. This guide covers the format, the timeline and a sensible preparation plan.
What the SET actually tests
Stage 1 is multiple-choice English and maths, sat under strict time pressure. The English paper rewards fast, accurate comprehension and a wide vocabulary. The maths paper stays inside the Year 5 curriculum but asks questions in unfamiliar ways, so fluency matters more than advanced topics.
The two-stage structure
Children who score above the qualifying line are invited to Stage 2 at each school they applied to. Stage 2 papers are written, not multiple-choice, and differ by school: Sutton Grammar sets its own maths and English, Wilson’s and Wallington set written papers with a composition element. This is why we publish separate Stage 2 sets per school. See each school’s page for its exact format: Sutton Grammar, Wilson’s, Wallington County.
The timeline that matters
Registration usually opens in May and closes in early August. The SET is sat in the second week of September, with results in early October, before the national CAF deadline at the end of October. Stage 2 exams follow in October. Check each school’s admissions page for this year’s exact dates.
A term-by-term preparation plan
Spring term (Year 5)
Build the foundations: daily reading (fiction and non-fiction), times tables to automatic recall, and one relaxed practice session a week. No timed papers yet.
Summer term and holidays
Introduce timed multiple-choice practice. One full paper a week is plenty, marked honestly together, with the week spent on whatever the marking exposed. Our MCQ English and MCQ Maths sets follow the SET format exactly.
The final fortnight
Ease off. One light paper, early nights, and a practical dry run of the journey to the test centre. A calm child recovers marks that a crammed one loses.
Frequently asked questions
How many children pass Stage 1?
The qualifying line varies by year, but roughly one in three sitters progresses to at least one Stage 2. The SET is a filter, not a ranking: Stage 2 decides places.
Is tutoring necessary?
No, but structured practice is. A parent with a good set of format-matched papers and an honest marking routine covers most of what a tutor provides for Stage 1.
What if my child freezes in the exam?
Practise the format until it is boring. Familiarity is the best treatment for nerves, which is the whole argument for papers that match the real test paper by paper.
Written by Manju Pillai, who has prepared children across Sutton, Croydon and Bromley for the SET since 2015. [Draft for Manju’s review.]