Private school entrance exams: a parent's guide
The private collèges of Greater Montreal select their students in the fall of Grade 6, often three weeks into the school year, and the exams are written in French. Here is how the process works, what is tested, and how to prepare your child without turning it into a source of stress.
Applying to an English private school instead (St. George's, LCC, Bialik, ECS)? Their test is different, in English and without math: see the Common Admission Test and try the free English practice test.
The admission calendar
Spring of Grade 5
Open houses and shortlisting. This is the moment to target 2 or 3 schools and check how each one selects: entrance exam, report cards or an interview.
Summer before Grade 6
Applications go in (most collèges close theirs between mid-August and the end of September) and preparation starts: a few short, regular sessions a week.
Late September to mid-November
The exams happen, usually on a Saturday morning, in French. French, mathematics and logical reasoning depending on the school, mostly on Grade 5 material.
Winter of Grade 6
Schools send their answers. After a refusal, several collèges run a second round, and selective public programs (IB, sports-études, concentrations) remain excellent options.
Fall 2026 dates
For entry into Secondary 1 in 2027. Verified on each school's own admission page on August 31, 2026.
Where things stand (October 7, 2026): applications are closed at these schools, and the big September and October 3 exams are over. Answers come in over the fall and winter. Is your child in Grade 5? Expect a similar calendar in fall 2027: spring is the time to pick the schools and write down their dates.
-
Collège Jean-Eudes · Rosemont : applications until September 10; exam on Saturday, October 3.
-
Collège Laval · Laval : applications until September 17 at noon; exams on September 19 and 20.
-
Collège Sainte-Anne · Lachine : applications from August 10 to September 14.
-
Collège de Montréal · Downtown : second application round until September 15; assessment of logic and written French.
-
Collège Notre-Dame · Côte-des-Neiges : no exam: file-based, applications until September 30, answers on October 8.
-
Collège Regina Assumpta · Ahuntsic : no entrance exam; applications go through the school portal.
-
Collège Durocher Saint-Lambert · South Shore : no exam (a short introduction video replaces it); open house on September 19.
-
Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf · Côte-des-Neiges : applications for 2027-2028 are already closed.
Other schools set their own dates, and several also close their applications in September. Some reopen a second round later in the year: ask the school directly. Application fees and formats change every year.
Open house calendar
Checked on each school's own website on October 7, 2026. Almost all French-language collèges hold their open house in mid-September of Grade 6, often just before applications close: if your child is in Grade 5, that is the period to watch next year.
French-language collèges
- Collège de Montréal Centre-ville
- · past
- · past
Registration required, by visit time slot.
-
- · past
No registration needed.
- Collège Regina Assumpta Ahuntsic
- · past
- Collège Sainte-Anne Lachine
- · past
- Collège Laval Laval
- · past
No registration needed.
- Collège Letendre Laval
- · past
- Collège Beaubois Pierrefonds
- · past
- Collège Notre-Dame Côte-des-Neiges
- · past
No registration needed.
- Collège Durocher Saint-Lambert Rive-Sud
- · past
Registration required.
- Collège Charles-Lemoyne Rive-Sud
- · past
Time slot to book.
- Collège Stanislas Outremont
- · past
Registration required. A second date is announced for January 2027: confirm it with the school.
- Collège Jean-Eudes Rosemont
- · past
Spring open house, for families of children now in Grade 5.
English-language schools (Grade 7 entry)
- Selwyn House School Westmount
- · past
- · past
- · past
- · past
- · past
Grade 7 open houses, at 8:30 a.m., registration required.
- St. George's School of Montreal Westmount
- · past
- · past
- The Study Westmount
- · past
A personal visit can be booked with admissions.
- Trafalgar School for Girls Centre-ville
- · past
Private tours can be booked.
-
- · past
- · past
Registration required. October 7: Grades 7 to 12; October 17: all grades.
Brébeuf lists no open house for secondary school. Lower Canada College offers a webinar rather than a Grade 7 open house, and Bialik offers in-class visits, already full. Dates change every year: always confirm on the school's website before you go.
What the exams test
French
Grammar, agreements, conjugation and reading comprehension, sometimes with a short composition. The expected level is a solid end of Grade 5. For children from English or bilingual schools, this is usually where preparation pays off the most.
Mathematics
The Grade 5-6 (Cycle 3) program, no calculator: place value, fractions and percentages, prime numbers, measurement, solids and multi-step problems, all in multiple choice at a pace of about one question per minute.
Logical reasoning
Sequences, reasoning, figures and short logic problems. It is the least familiar section for most children, and the one where practising the format pays off the most.
Depending on the school, the exam can also include a dictée, general knowledge or a written composition; our full simulation (below) covers every one of these sections.
Download the free practice exam: 25 items with answer key (in French)
Applying to an English school? The test is a different one.
St. George's School of Montreal, Lower Canada College, Bialik High School and ECS share a single entrance test for Grade 7, the Common Admission Test, administered by Brisson Legris. Families register once, and the result goes to every school they apply to.
What the schools publish about it: it has three parts, it is multiple choice, it is completed online from home in about an hour and a half, and there is no math test and no French test.
Ability test
Logic-type questions: figure grids and series, analogies, letter and number patterns, short deductions.
Reading comprehension
An English text with questions on details, inferences, vocabulary in context and the author's purpose.
Learning attitudes
A short questionnaire about how your child approaches school work. Not scored, no right answers.
Fall 2026 sessions
September 13, 20 and 27; October 4, 18 and 25: the last two sessions of the season are October 18 and 25. Registration closes about ten days before each session, through the Brisson Legris form, after you have applied to the school. Fee: $80.48 (taxes included), paid to Brisson Legris, whatever the number of schools. St. George's shares its Grade 7 decisions on November 4, 2026.
The schools say no studying is required, and there is indeed nothing to memorize. What helps is having already seen the question formats and having read a text against the clock: the child spends the session thinking instead of decoding instructions.
Prefer the simulation with a one-hour tutor debrief ($199)? Book it here. For the Discovery and Complete packages with coaching hours, tell us about your child and we pair you with a tutor.
The real test is taken online, so our simulation is too: a full timed run in the same format, corrected question by question with a detailed report by section and question type ($99). Most families add a one-hour online debrief in which a tutor goes through every mistake with your child and turns them into a work plan ($199 for both). The Discovery package adds five hours of coaching and a second simulation the week before the test ($449); the Complete package includes ten hours ($699). In-person supervision of the simulation can be arranged on request.
Entrance exam simulation, at home
A practice PDF prepares the material. The simulation prepares the day itself: a tutor comes to your home and runs your child through a complete exam of about 3 hours, timed section by section, under real test conditions, with a strict protocol, timed breaks and official booklets. It runs in French, exactly like the real exams.
The exam is then corrected with a detailed grid. Your child does not keep the booklets (that is what keeps the simulation valid for every family), but you receive a precise picture of their strengths and of what to work on, section by section. Many of our tutors are bilingual and can debrief with you in English.
Simulation + correction
$249The full supervised exam at home, corrected with the grid, and the results summary delivered to the parents.
Complete package with review
$499The simulation and correction, plus a section-by-section review with the tutor: your child understands every one of their mistakes and leaves with a targeted work plan for the weeks before the real exam.
Most fall 2026 exams are over. Does your child still have an exam ahead, or a second round this winter? The simulation is still available. For fall 2027, plan it two to three weeks before the school's date.
The schedule, minute by minute
| Logical reasoning | 30 min |
| Mathematics | 30 min |
| Break | 15 min |
| French quiz | 15 min |
| French reading | 30 min |
| General knowledge | 15 min |
| Break | 15 min |
| Dictée (French dictation) | 25 min |
| Written composition (depending on target schools) | 45 min |
About 3 hours without the written composition, 3 h 45 with it, like the schools' real exams.
The collèges families ask us about the most
Every school has its own process (exam, file or interview) and its own dates; the name ties each collège to the area where our tutors know it well.
Your area: see tutoring by city.
Preparing without overloading
Honestly, most children do not need a year of preparation. The exam covers Grade 5 material: a child who is comfortable mostly needs to get familiar with the format, the timer and the question types, which is exactly what a practice exam is for.
Preparation becomes genuinely useful in two cases: shaky notions to consolidate (often fractions, multi-step problems or French agreements, especially for children from English or bilingual schools), or a child who finds exam settings stressful. In both cases, a short regular routine (a few sessions a week starting in the summer, with a length decided by how tired your child is) beats last-minute intensive weekends.
If you choose to be accompanied, our tutors build the preparation around the format of the schools you are targeting: focused work on weak notions, time management and, for the dress rehearsal, the full at-home simulation described above. Most families do 6 to 10 sessions between August and the exam.
Frequently asked questions
When are the private school entrance exams in Montreal?
Earlier than most families expect. In fall 2026, most of the big collèges closed their applications between September 10 and 30, and the first exams took place as early as September 19 and 20 (Collège Laval); another big Saturday followed on October 3 (Collège Jean-Eudes). Several schools now select on report cards instead, with no exam. Each collège sets its own dates: check its admission page by the end of Grade 5.
When do private schools hold their open houses?
Mostly in mid-September of Grade 6. In fall 2026, most French-language collèges in Greater Montreal held theirs between September 11 and 20, often just before applications closed. A few add a later date, like Stanislas on October 20, 2026, or a spring date for Grade 5 families, like Jean-Eudes on May 1, 2027. English-language schools hold Grade 7 open houses from mid-September into October. The full calendar, checked school by school, is on this page.
Are the entrance exams in French?
Yes. At the French collèges, the exam is written in French: grammar, reading comprehension, often a dictée, plus mathematics and logical reasoning. For a child from an English or bilingual elementary school, the French portions are usually where preparation pays off the most. A few schools, like Villa Maria, run bilingual programs; check each school's admission page for its exact process.
What is TutorAide's entrance exam simulation?
A full dress rehearsal at home, supervised by a tutor: about 3 hours of timed sections (logic, mathematics, French, reading, general knowledge, dictée, and a written composition depending on the target schools), under real exam conditions and in French, like the real thing. The exam is then corrected with a detailed grid. The simulation with correction costs $249; the complete $499 package adds a section-by-section review with the tutor to turn mistakes into a work plan.
When should preparation start?
Ideally in the spring of Grade 5 or over the summer. The exam comes very early in Grade 6 and covers mostly Grade 5 material. A few weeks of regular practice is often enough; starting a full year ahead is rarely necessary.
What exactly is tested?
Depending on the school: French (grammar, reading comprehension, sometimes a short composition), Grade 5 mathematics without a calculator, and often a logical reasoning section. Several collèges also weigh the Grade 4 and Grade 5 report cards.
Do all private schools have an entrance exam?
No. More and more schools select on report cards, an interview or an observation activity instead of an exam. Check the exact process of each school you are considering; it is spelled out on their admission page.
What if my child is not admitted?
Several collèges run a second admission round in the winter when spots open up. Selective public programs (IB, concentrations, sports-études) are also excellent and just as competitive; some hold their own selection process in the fall.
My child is applying to an English private school (St. George's, LCC, Bialik, ECS). Is it the same exam?
No. Those schools share one Common Admission Test for Grade 7, administered online by Brisson Legris on six dates between mid-September and late October. It has three parts: logic-type reasoning questions, English reading comprehension and a learning-attitudes questionnaire. There is no math and no French. Our free English practice test reproduces the reasoning and reading parts; see the section below.
How much does entrance exam preparation cost?
Our prices are published. The practice exam PDF is free. The full at-home simulation with correction costs $249 ($499 for the package with a mistake-by-mistake review with the tutor). Preparation tutoring starts at $33/hour with a Plus package; a typical preparation is 6 to 10 sessions between August and the exam.
A preparation plan for your child
Tell us which schools you are aiming for and a real person calls you back with a plan: tutor, frequency and a schedule that holds until the exam.
Request a tutorOnline match within 24-48 h · From $33/h · Published prices