Assessment and Preparation

Admission is by competitive examination in Maths and English, a group discussion activity, and a reference from the candidate’s current school.

We will also ask parents to provide either the child’s ISEB code or 11+ grammar test score in early November. If an applicant is not taking the ISEB or a grammar school test, we will ask parents to email the Registrar during the confirmation process to discuss alternative options for sitting a Reasoning pre-test in the autumn. If your child is taking the ISEB test, please note that we do not hold the assessments at Sevenoaks, so candidates would need to take the ISEB either at their current school or at another registered ISEB test centre.

Following these initial results, the majority of candidates will be invited to the assessment day at Sevenoaks School in early January. On the assessment day, candidates will sit papers in English and Maths and will participate in a 40-minute group discussion activity led by our teachers. Our friendly staff and students aim to make it an enjoyable day; we love to see the candidates making friends with each other and leaving with big grins on their faces.

We are keen to accommodate candidates who need extra time, word processing or other provision. You can read more about the school’s Learning Support here.

For international candidates, we are happy to consider testing overseas if necessary. Please email the Registrar to discuss options.

Timetable for Year 7 Entry in September 2025

Results

Offers of places, including scholarships, are sent by email to all candidates. Acceptance of places must be confirmed by the payment of a deposit (£2000 for day pupils) and the completion of a Form of Acceptance by the date, in early March, specified in our offer letter. Any candidate who decides not to accept their place is requested to inform us of their decision as soon as possible so their place can be released to candidates on our reserve list.

Some candidates will be reserved. This means they have passed our tests and have demonstrated that they would be good Sevenoaks students. Places often become available in early March once the grammar school places have been announced. Parents are advised to keep in touch with Olivia Power, Assistant Director of Admissions in this situation. We consider our reserve candidates as a pool, not a list. When a place becomes available, we offer it to the most suitable reserved candidate.