How to apply to Year 9

Please note that the deadline for registration for entry to Year 9 in 2024 has now passed. If you would like to be on our waiting list, please email your school report and a covering letter outlining your interests and achievements to regist@sevenoaksschool.org. We welcome applications from students interested in joining Year 9 for entry in September 2025 and beyond. 

Application Form

The first step in applying to Sevenoaks School is to complete the online application form below and pay the registration fee. The registration fee which is non-refundable covers the cost of processing the application and the entrance tests (unless taken overseas). The fee is £175 for day applicants and £350 for boarding applicants.

Before you make an application, please check here that your child's age is correct for the Year of Entry. 

The deadline for applications is 1 October two years before entry.

Candidate’s/Parents’ 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.

Candidate’s present school

Before we can offer a place, we must receive a reference from the candidate’s present school. We will write to schools in the February of Year 7 once you have confirmed that you wish to go ahead with the Year 9 entry process (see Confirmation below). 

Applications to other schools 

As we have a limited number of places available, we recommend that applicants consider an alternative school or schools. It is interesting for us to know which other schools the candidate is applying to, but it does not influence our admissions process in any way. 

More information and FAQ for overseas candidates is available here.

Application Forms

Day Application Form
Boarding Application Form

Visiting the school

We do encourage applicants to visit Sevenoaks if possible. We hold several Open Mornings during the year for Y7, Y9 and Sixth Form entry.If you would like to come to an open morning please book a place through our website. We are also happy to arrange individual visits to the school. Individual visits include a tour of the campus, a meeting with the Director of Admissions, and a visit to a boarding house for boarding candidates. To arrange an individual visit please contact: regist@sevenoaksschool.org

Confirmation

In the December of Year 7 (ie approximately 21 months before entry) we will send out a Confirmation Form. This asks you to confirm that you wish to go ahead with the Year 9 entry process and that the details we hold on our records are still correct. We also ask you to provide us with information regarding medical conditions, learning support and special educational needs. At this time we provide further information regarding the entrance tests.

Entrance tests

All candidates take part in an assessment process in Year 7. This takes place in Sevenoaks, and in a number of overseas locations in April, and consists of an English and a Mathematics test (past papers are available here) a Verbal Reasoning test and a group discussion. There will be an additional assessment fee for those taking the tests overseas. Candidates sitting the tests at Sevenoaks will additionally take part in a co-curricular activity during the afternoon, and boarding candidates spend the night before the tests in one of our boarding houses.

For more information please contact us using the Year 9 Admissions contact form (see left).

Entrance test results

Unconditional offers will be made in late May / early June of Year 7. Results will be sent by email to all the candidates' parents and their schools. Acceptance of all places must be confirmed by the payment of a deposit (£2000 for day pupils, £5000 for boarders) and the completion of a Form of Acceptance by the date 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 that their place can be released to candidates on our reserve list.

Candidates studying at a UK Preparatory School will usually take either the Academic scholarship examinations in the May of Year 8 or the Common Entrance examinations in the June of Year 8. The Common Entrance results of these candidates will be used for setting purposes; they should aim for an average of 70% or above in their core subjects. Those candidates not attending UK Preparatory Schools are not expected to sit the Common Entrance examinations.

Candidates who perform exceptionally well in the Year 9 entrance tests are invited to take part in the Academic scholarship examinations which take place at Sevenoaks in the May of the year of entry (Year 8). Please note that it is not possible to take the scholarship examinations overseas. 

Some candidates will be placed on our reserve list. These candidates have demonstrated that they would be good Sevenoaks students. Places often become available later in the process and parents are advised to keep in touch with the Director of Admissions in this situation.

We consider our reserve candidates as a pool, not a list; there is no ranking order or priority. When a place becomes available, we offer to the most suitable candidate given the vacancy.

Some candidates will be advised that they have not been awarded a place.

Scholarships

In addition to the Academic scholarship process outlined above, it is also possible to apply for one of the following Co-curricular scholarships: Art, Drama, Music or Sport.

The registration deadline is 1 February in the year of entry (Year 8). The Co-curricular scholarship assessments take place immediately before or after the Academic scholarships in May.

Results of the Academic and Co-curricular scholarships are sent out by email to all candidates within a few weeks of the scholarship assessments.

Financial Assistance

Means-Tested Financial Assistance is available for those day students who are unable to afford the full fees. We will send an application form if requested during the confirmation process, ahead of testing. For more details on financial assistance, please click here.

The deadline for submitting an application for financial assistance is 1 January in the year prior to entry (20 months ahead of entry). Parents will receive the Finance Committee’s decision in mid-March of the year prior to entry.