11+ Admissions Process

We welcome applications from pupils from a range of primary and preparatory schools. We seek inquisitive, intelligent pupils who will engage with and enjoy the wide curriculum we offer. Although we use entrance testing, greater emphasis is placed on the interview, samples of work, and the pupil's most recent school report. 

If you are interested in applying for a place for your child in Year 7 at Kew House School, please follow our 11+ Admissions Process step by step below. Our prospectus is available to download below for prospective parents to see what Kew House can offer to all of our students and families. 

Click here to view our prospectus

 

If you have a question which is not answered on our website, please contact our Admissions Team by email at [email protected] or by phone on 020 8742 2038 (option 3). 


1. Visit Us! 

Our Open Events give prospective parents a chance to see the school in action and get a snapshot of a ‘day in the life’ at Kew House School (KHS).

Headmaster Will Williams will give a presentation followed by a tour of the school. Tours are led by senior staff who will be able to answers your questions and give their personal view of the school, its ethos and its character. If our Open Events are full, please contact our friendly Admissions Team who will be more than happy to help.

2. Registration Form & School Report

Please complete a Registration Form online and pay the registration fee. You will receive an email confirming receipt from our Registrar. Please note that forms submitted without payment of the registration fee will not be processed. After completing the form, please send a copy of your child's latest school report to our Admissions Team at [email protected]

If your child wishes to apply for a scholarship, you will also need to fill in a Scholarship Application Form at the time of registration. For more information, please see our Scholarships page. 

3. Assessment & Interview

All applicants are required to sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test. This is a widely used and respected computer-based assessment for pupils moving from primary or prep schools to selective senior schools, run by the Independent Schools Examination Board (ISEB). There are four timed sections, which assess the English and Mathematics content covered in the National Curriculum up to the end of Year 5 as well as Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The tests are designed to identify potential as well as what pupils have been taught and learnt, and no specific preparation is required. The tests provide a universal and standardised measure of attainment, ability, and potential. Candidates are registered by their parents by completing the ISEB online registration form and emailing their ISEB Applicant ID code to us when applying. Results are available to all senior schools for which the candidate is registered, so the candidate only has to sit one test. Students may sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test at their own junior schools, at other senior schools, or at Kew House School. We hope that the flexibility offered by the ISEB Common Pre-Test will reduce anxiety in pupils and parents alike and make the test more accessible for all. For further information, please see our FAQs page. 

In addition to this assessment, an enhanced confidential reference is requested from your child’s current school, together with internal assessment results and an example of their work.

All applicants are required to attend an informal interview with the Headmaster or a Senior member of staff, for which they should prepare a three-minute presentation. Pupils may present on any topic of their choice and are encouraged to bring in something visual along with them. The interview usually consists of three pupils being seen at the same time. This format gives the interview a more relaxed, conversational feel, which we hope puts candidates at ease.

4. Offers

Once all interviews have been conducted, offers are made for places. All decisions are sent via email and by post on or before Friday 14th February 2025. The deadline for acceptance of offers is March 2025 at 12 noon. Offers are held open until this date, after which places will be offered to those on our priority waiting list. 

5. Offer Accepted

Once a place has been confirmed and an offer is accepted, parents are asked to complete an Acceptance Form and pay a deposit by bank transfer. This deposit payment is retained until the student comes to the end of their school journey (e.g. at the end of Year 13 or if they leave the school at an earlier stage). The deposit is thereafter returnable, provided we are given a full term’s notice (see terms & conditions). The full deposit of £3000 is also required from successful applicants currently attending the Gardener Schools Group’s preparatory schools, Kew Green Preparatory School and Ravenscourt Park Preparatory School. 

6. Taster Day

We invite our new students who have accepted a place to come for a taster day in June to experience life at KHS prior to starting in September. They will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the school, and to meet staff members and fellow pupils, so that they feel relaxed about starting with us after the Summer break. 


Key Dates (Provisional): 

The following dates are for entry into Year 7 in September 2025. All deadlines are at 12 noon. For dates of upcoming open events (online and onsite), please see our Open Events Booking page.

For entry into Year 12 in September 2025, please see our Sixth Form Admissions page. Applications for entry into other years are considered on a rolling basis. If you have any queries, please contact our Admissions Team. 

March 2024Registration opens
November–December 2024Interviews
Friday 13th December 2024Registration deadline
November 2024ISEB Common Pre-Test (for pupils not able to take the assessment at their current school)/Entrance Examination
January/February 2025Scholarship Auditions & Interviews
Friday 14th February 2025Results sent by email and by post
March 2025Deadline for all responses

Additional Information:

  • Class sizes (prior to Year 9 GCSE options) do not usually rise above 22, but if a class is full, parents will be advised about waiting lists and offered the opportunity to put their child on that list until a place becomes available.
  • Siblings may be given preference, subject to completing the admissions process and meeting our admissions criteria, at the discretion of the Headmaster. Faced with candidates of equal merit, sibling preference permits the headmaster to favour one application over others. There is no automatic sibling priority.

Read the full Admissions Policy here.

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