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Henrietta Barnett Round 2: English, maths and past papers
HBS Round 2 for September 2027 entry is on 6 October 2026, for invited candidates. English lasts 60 minutes and maths 50 minutes. HBS does not release Round 2 past papers, resources or detailed marking schemes. A commercial “HBS paper” is independently written practice.
Source: HBS admissions and current test notice (accessed 2026-09-24)
Choose resources for the right round
Source: HBS admissions and current test notice (accessed 2026-09-24) · GL free familiarisation materials (accessed 2026-09-24)
Round 1 tests English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. Round 2 tests English and mathematics. The school links to GL familiarisation for Round 1; those booklets are not HBS past papers.
Our suggestion: use the official GL link to understand instructions, then review one skill at a time. Do not spend the weeks before Round 2 only practising reasoning because it felt familiar in Round 1.
Try an English explanation before a full paper
Worked example Support an inference
Original teaching example. Read: “Nadia folded the invitation twice. When the bell rang, she slipped it under her exercise book and told her brother she had nothing to show him.” What suggests Nadia wants to keep the invitation private? Write two sentences using details from the passage.
Why this works: A supported answer links hiding the invitation under the book with denying she has anything to show. Both actions suggest concealment. “She hides the invitation and avoids telling her brother about it” is stronger than merely naming a feeling.
Why the tempting route fails: “She is ashamed of failing an exam” invents an event. The passage does not explain why she wants privacy.
Suggested follow-up: write the next paragraph from Nadia’s viewpoint without explaining the secret immediately. Review whether actions reveal her feelings, whether tense is consistent and whether sentences are punctuated. This is a writing exercise, not a claim that HBS sets this task or uses this rubric.
Keep the reasoning visible
Worked example Work backwards
Original teaching example. A club spends three eighths of its money on equipment, then £18 on tickets. It has £57 left. How much did it start with?
Why this works: Before buying tickets it had £75. That is five eighths of the original amount. One eighth is £15, so the original total is £120. Check: £120 minus £45 minus £18 is £57.
Why the tempting route fails: Taking three eighths of £57 applies the fraction to the wrong whole. Identify what the remaining amount represents first.
- Ask your child to name the whole before calculating a fraction.
- Review one incorrect decision before adding time pressure.
- Practise a different problem with the same method on another day.
A manageable preparation plan
- Year 4: read together, discuss unfamiliar words and explain number methods. Treat these as foundations, not an early full-paper schedule.
- Year 5: choose a small English or maths target from work your child finds difficult. Add reasoning for Round 1 without dropping maths.
- After a Round 2 invitation: follow the appointment instructions, practise working independently and keep the final evening light.
Ask a resource seller which claims come from the current school notice. A detailed predicted paper layout or negative-marking rule should not be treated as an official HBS fact.
Round Two English practice, with a 60 minute clock
Source: HBS admissions page (accessed 2026-09-26)
HBS publishes the length of each paper and nothing about the content or marking. This is our own complete English task: a short passage, three written questions and a composition.
Original practice task. Not an HBS paper: the school releases no Round Two past papers or marking schemes.
Round Two English practice: 60 minutes
Spend about 20 minutes on the three reading questions and about 35 on the composition, leaving a few minutes to check. That split is our suggestion; the school does not publish one.
HBS publishes a 60 minute English paper for Round Two.
The station clock
[1]The station clock had been four minutes fast for as long as anyone could remember. Passengers who knew the town simply took the four minutes off in their heads, the way you step over a loose paving stone without looking down.
[2]Ada had worked in the ticket office for a month when the engineers came to fix it. They arrived with a ladder, a toolbox and a printed instruction sheet, and by lunchtime the clock agreed exactly with the radio.
[3]That evening the 6.40 left without Mr Lyle. He stood on the platform with his newspaper folded under his arm, watching the red lights shrink. "Eleven years," he said, to nobody in particular, "and I have never once needed to run."
[4]Ada wrote a notice in her neatest capitals: THE CLOCK IS NOW CORRECT. Then she paused, crossed out the full stop and added: PLEASE STOP TAKING FOUR MINUTES OFF. She pinned it beside the timetable, where Mr Lyle would see it in the morning.
In paragraph 1, what does the comparison with stepping over "a loose paving stone" suggest about how passengers treated the clock?
Why does Mr Lyle miss the 6.40? Support your answer with evidence.
Explain why Ada changes her notice, and what the change shows about her.
Write a story in which something that has always been slightly wrong is suddenly put right, and not everyone is pleased.
Plan for a few minutes first. Your plan and draft stay on this device only.
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Round Two Maths practice, with a 50 minute clock
Source: HBS admissions page (accessed 2026-09-26) · HBS admissions policy 2027-28 (accessed 2026-09-26)
The 2027-28 policy says Round Two tests numeracy appropriate to Key Stage 2. These five problems are multi-step Year 6 maths. Check each final answer as you go.
Reviewed practice questions from our HBS bank. Not an HBS paper, and the question mix is our choice.
Round Two Maths practice: five written problems
Work without a calculator. Write each final answer with units where the question uses them, then check your working against the worked steps.
HBS publishes a 50 minute Maths paper. Five problems suit a 25 minute half-paper; use 50 to practise pacing with a second set.
A shop has 240 badges. On Monday it sells one quarter of them. On Tuesday it sells two fifths of the remaining badges. The rest are packed equally into nine bags. How many badges are in each bag?
An empty jar and its lid weigh 180 g. Filled with honey to half its capacity, with the lid on, it weighs 540 g. Filled to five sixths of its capacity, with the lid on, how much does it weigh?
A club has 34 members. Each member chooses exactly one activity: chess, drama or music. Twice as many choose drama as chess. Six more choose music than chess. How many choose music?
A hall has 15 rows of 18 seats. For a concert, the front two rows are removed. One third of the remaining seats are reserved. Of the unreserved seats, 85 are occupied. How many unreserved seats are empty?
A fruit drink contains one part syrup to four parts water. Maya makes 1.5 litres of the drink. How many millilitres of syrup does she use?
Questions parents ask
Are there Henrietta Barnett Round 2 past papers?
No. The HBS admissions page says the school does not release any past papers or offer any resources for Round Two, and gives no further detail about the content or marking schemes.
How long is HBS Round 2?
For 2027 entry the school publishes a 60 minute English paper and a 50 minute Maths paper, on Tuesday 6 October 2026, for the top 300 girls invited after Round One.
What level is HBS Round 2?
The 2027-28 admissions policy says Round Two tests literacy and numeracy appropriate to Key Stage 2. It does not publish a question list or a mark scheme, so any practice paper, including ours, is an informed guess at the style.
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Sources and independence
Sources
HBS admissions and current test notice. Official guidance. Accessed 2026-09-24. Read the official sourcehttps://www.hbschool.org.uk/admissions/
GL free familiarisation materials. Official guidance. Accessed 2026-09-24. Read the official sourcehttps://11plus.gl-assessment.co.uk/pages/free-materials
HBS admissions policy 2027-28. Official source. Accessed 2026-09-26. Read the official sourcehttps://henrietta-barnett.ams3.digitaloceanspaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/10095733/Admissions-Policy-2027-2028.pdf
Accessed 2026-09-24. Independent preparation, not affiliated with or endorsed by the school or test provider. Activities and routines are our suggestions, not official questions, marking schemes or promises of admission. Check the entry year before using a policy. Sources for the practice and data sections were read on 2026-09-26.