1. Visit Us
We hold a number of Open Mornings and Group Visits throughout the year which provide a general introduction to the school and a tour of the campus. Following a visit, you can arrange an individual meeting with a member of the Admissions team. We also offer virtual events if you are unable to visit the school in person.
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2. Application
The first step is to complete the online application form and to pay the registration fee – £240 (VAT inclusive) for a day application. You can register at any time up to 15 September, the year before you wish your child to join us.
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Pupils should be aged 11 on 1 September of the year of entry. We are willing to consider candidates who fall outside the standard age boundary by up to three months. Please email Admissions before completing the application form if your child’s date of birth falls outside the expected dates.
Late applicants should first email the Registrar before filling out the application form.
Click below to find out which entry point(s) your child is eligible to apply for.
AGE CHECKER
Parent contact details
The information given on the online application form is used for all our communications. It is therefore important that you notify us of any change of email, postal address or circumstances during the application process. This is particularly important if you have applied some years in advance of entry.
3. Confirmation
Between July and September one year prior to entry, we will ask you to confirm that you wish to go ahead with the Year 7 assessment process. We will also ask you to provide us with more detailed information about your child’s co-curricular passions, as well as any medical conditions, learning support and special educational needs that your child may have. At this time, we will provide further information about the entrance tests. Day students who wish to apply for financial assistance should read the policy and apply at the confirmation stage: details of how to make an application for financial assistance will be provided in the confirmation forms. Candidates may also express an interest in applying for a Music Scholarship.
References from current school
Before we can offer a place, we must receive a confidential reference from the candidate’s current school. We will write to the school to request a reference once the confirmation forms have been submitted.
4. Scholarships
If you would like to apply for a Music Scholarship, you will have the opportunity to do so the confirmation stage. The Music Scholarship assessments are held in the autumn of Year 6. Academic Scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance in the entrance exams and group discussion activity, plus the reference from the candidate’s school.
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
5. Assessment Days
The first stage of the assessment process is a pre-test in the autumn before entry. Candidates must take the ISEB online pre-test if their school offers this. Where a candidate is attending a school which does not offer the ISEB, but the student has taken the Kent Test or an alternative grammar school test, they may submit this score instead. If an applicant is not attending a school which offers the ISEB and is not already planning to take a grammar school test, we will ask parents to email the Registrar during the confirmation process to discuss the options. We will also consider the school reference at this stage, along with other information such as the co-curricular form that parents have completed. Following the pre-test process, the large majority of candidates will be invited through to the second stage.
The second stage takes the form of an assessment day at Sevenoaks in early January. On this day, all candidates will take written examinations in Maths and English (for which past papers are available) and participate in a 40-minute group discussion activity led by Sevenoaks teachers. Our friendly staff aim to make this an enjoyable day; we love to see the candidates making friends with each other and leaving with big grins on their faces.
More details
6. Results
Offers of places, including Academic and Music Scholarships, are sent by email to all candidates in mid-February of Year 6. Successful applicants will be given the opportunity to spend some time at the school on our Post-Offer Morning. We hope this day will help families to make a final decision, although those who accept places beforehand are very welcome to attend.
Some candidates will be Reserved. This means they have done well in our assessments 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 Beck, Head of Year 7 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.
7. Accepting your place
Congratulations! We’re looking forward to seeing you at Sevenoaks soon. There are many activities for new students and parents that we will invite you to as part of the induction process.
Acceptance of all places must be confirmed by the payment of a deposit (£2,000 for day pupils) and the completion of an Acceptance Form 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 a candidate on our reserve list.
