Apply to The Henrietta Barnett School, in plain English.
HBS is one of the country's most selective girls' grammars: its 120 places are decided by combined score across a two-round own entrance test, with only a small priority band for girls who live within 3 miles. More than 3,100 families applied in 2025 for those 120 places, so the qualifying score is very high. You must submit the school's Entrance Test Entry Form by 5pm on 1 July 2026 — late entries are ranked behind girls who registered on time.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these.
HBS runs its own two-round test — the entry form closes 1 July 2026 at 5pm.
HBS does not use the Barnet, Kent or any borough 11+. Girls sit the school's own test in two rounds: Round One (Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and English) on one of 2, 3 or 4 September 2026, and the top 300 scorers are invited back for Round Two (English and Maths) in early October 2026. You must submit the school's Entrance Test Entry Form by 5pm on 1 July 2026.
Places go to the highest combined scorers — with two small priority categories.
HBS is "super-selective": after both rounds are marked and standardised into a single combined score, girls are offered places largely in rank order until all 120 are filled. Two categories come first among qualifiers — looked-after children and Pupil Premium girls (each must rank in the top 300) — and a small band gives priority to qualifiers living within 3 miles. There is no sibling, faith or staff priority.
There is no catchment area. A 3-mile band helps local girls only at the margin.
HBS has no geographic catchment — a girl from anywhere competes on the same combined score. The only place location helps is a 3-mile priority band (Criterion Three): qualifiers who live within 3 miles are placed before the open rank-order group. For the great majority of places, your combined score is what decides — the circle on the map is illustrative, not a boundary.
Four steps — starting now.
Reach the standard first — then four criteria decide the order.
A girl must first sit both rounds and reach the qualifying standard. Qualifying girls are placed in a single rank order, and the criteria below — applied in this order — decide who is offered the 120 places. Tap any criterion to see the exact wording.
In plain English: A girl who is, or was, in council care and who ranks in the top 300 of Round One is placed first, ahead of other qualifying girls. In practice this group is very small.
What the document says: Criterion One — Looked After Child (LAC) or Previously Looked After Child (PLAC) who is ranked in the top 300 applicants in the Round One test. Applications must be supported by documentary evidence.
In plain English: A girl eligible for Pupil Premium funding who ranks in the top 300 of Round One is placed ahead of the open rank-order group. You must send written confirmation of Pupil Premium eligibility from your daughter's current school by 1 July 2026 — the school will not chase it for you.
What the document says: Criterion Two — Candidates who are eligible for Pupil Premium funding, provided they are ranked in the top 300 applicants in the Round One test. Written confirmation from the current school must be received by Wednesday 1 July 2026.
In plain English: A qualifying girl who lives within 3 miles of the school — and who sat Round Two — is placed ahead of the open rank-order group. If this band is ever oversubscribed, places within it go in rank-score order. Distance is measured in a straight line to the Central Square gate using Barnet's mapping system.
What the document says: Criterion Three — Candidates who live within 3 miles of the school at the point of application, who are capable of following the HBS education (taken to mean they sat the Round Two test). Where there are more candidates than places, places are allocated in rank score order. Distance is measured in a straight line by the London Borough of Barnet's GIS.
In plain English: Every remaining qualifying girl is ranked purely by her combined test score, and the highest-scoring girls fill whatever places are left — wherever they live. If two girls have exactly the same combined score, the one living closer to the school (by straight-line distance to the gate) is placed higher; if they are still tied, a random allocation decides.
What the document says: Criterion Four — All remaining candidates in rank score order. Where candidates are equally ranked, geographical proximity to the school decides the final placings, and applicants who live the same distance from the school are selected in random order.
What "qualifying standard" means: only the top 300 girls from Round One are invited to Round Two, and only girls who complete both rounds and reach the standard are ranked for a place. HBS does not publish a single fixed pass mark — the bar moves with each year's cohort, and reaching it does not guarantee a place: a girl still has to rank high enough for one of the 120.
No boundary — but a small 3-mile band helps local girls.
HBS has no catchment area: once a girl reaches the qualifying standard, her place depends mainly on where her combined score ranks against everyone else's. A girl in Hertfordshire, Camden or Harrow competes on the same terms as a girl in Hampstead Garden Suburb. The one exception is a 3-mile priority band — qualifying girls who live within 3 miles are placed ahead of the open rank-order group. The illustrative circle on the map shows roughly how far HBS's intake travels from; it is not a boundary.
Beyond that band, distance only matters as a tie-break: if two girls finish on exactly the same combined score, the one living closer to the Central Square gate (measured in a straight line) is placed higher, and a random allocation settles any remaining tie. For most applicants, the combined score is what decides.
See The Henrietta Barnett School on the GrammarBound mapScore ranks first — the 3-mile band only sorts qualifiers near the cut-off.
A girl with one of the highest combined scores is offered a place wherever she lives — score comes first. The 3-mile band only changes the order for qualifying girls near the cut-off: among them, those living within 3 miles are placed ahead of girls further out on a similar score.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
Any qualifying girl who sat both rounds, applied and was not offered a place is placed on the waiting list automatically (unless she has been offered a higher preference). The list is held in rank-score order until the end of the first term, after which Barnet clears it — contact Barnet Admissions if you want her kept on it.
Held via the London Borough of Barnet.
Appeal
You can appeal to an independent panel. Because HBS is super-selective, an appeal generally has to show the test result did not reflect your daughter's true ability. Appeal details appear on the school website no later than the day before National Offer Day, and appealing does not remove her from the waiting list.
HBS admits external girls into Year 12.
The grade floor.
Every applicant — internal and external — needs at least six grade 7s or above at GCSE. If you are not continuing English Language or Maths into the sixth form, you still need at least a grade 6 in each. Individual A-level subjects set their own minimum grades, published on the school website, and offers are ranked by a "Best 7" GCSE points score that must include Maths, English Language and English Literature. The actual standard for entry is usually well above the floor.
Apply direct to the school.
External applicants apply to HBS directly: the application form opens on the school website in November 2026 and must be submitted online by 5pm on 31 January 2027, with a reference from your daughter's current school. A minimum of 30 places is offered to external applicants each year (49 enrolled in 2024, 53 in 2025). Conditional offers state a minimum Best-7 points score that must be met on results day in August 2027.