Senior School Admissions
Pupils may be admitted to the school at any age, but the principal points of entry are at 11+, 13+, and 16+ (Sixth Form). Please complete our online application form below if you wish to apply.
In the last academic year the school was significantly over-subscribed and was obliged to operate a waiting-list for girls wishing to secure a place.
Before the school can consider any candidate for entry, the application form must be completed and submitted, together with:
- a non-refundable registration fee of £125 (£150 for overseas applicants)
- a current photograph
- a copy of her end-of-year 5/8 school report (when available)
- a copy of her passport (or birth certificate if no passport is held)
Prospectus
Download our latest prospectus
For occasional vacancies in other years please contact our Registrar, Mrs Janine Funsch at admissions@schs.gdst.net or download our Senior School Application Form.
Please complete the online Application Form, which should be submitted before Friday 20 November 2020 (Friday 13 November 2020 for any applications which indicate an interest in a bursary place or specialist scholarship application).
Check for forthcoming Senior School open days
Entrance Exams, Creative Writing Submissions and Interviews
11+ Entrance Exams (Special Arrangements for 2021 Admissions)
Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, SCHS is suspending its traditional entrance-examination arrangements for external 11+ candidates (which comprised of English and Mathematics papers, taken at SCHS in the January ahead of the academic year of admission). Instead, we shall require all external candidates for 11+ admission for September 2021 to sit the ISEB (Independent Schools’ Examination Board) Common Pre-Test, which is an online and adaptive test comprising exercises in English, Mathematics, verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
Familiarisation With the ISEB Test
Further details are available here, including a familiarisation exercise.
The ISEB have confirmed that no specific preparation is required in order to sit these tests.
Timings
We envisage that the majority of candidates at prep schools will take this test at their school between November and early January on a date of their school’s choosing.
Candidates at maintained primary schools, independent schools which have both junior and senior wings, or who cannot sit the examination at their present schools for any reason will sit this examination at SCHS between mid December 2020 through to 8th January 2021, or other reserve dates, suitably socially distanced.
11+ Creative Writing Submission
In addition to the exam, we shall ask candidates to submit a piece of creative writing, in connected prose, on a choice of topics that we shall post to your home address on Friday 27th November (unless your daughter’s current school have agreed to administer this).
Format
- The submission should not be longer than 500 words.
- It should be handwritten (or typescript with regard to those candidates who normally use laptops as their usual way of working)
Deadline & Submission
- It needs to be sent to us by Friday 4 December.
- Please scan if handwritten and send directly to registrar@schs.gdst.net (or by post to The Registrar, SCHS, 42 Abbotswood Road, London SW16 1AW)
- All candidates and a parent or guardian are required to sign and date a declaration that the submitted work is completed independently and without any assistance from others.
Interviews
We will not be interviewing candidates this year but will arrange for them to tour the school if they have not visited for an Open Event or tour previously. In light of current restrictions, we hope to resume the family tours as soon as permitted.
Managing The Changes
We recognise that this year’s approach constitutes a marked shift from our previous arrangements (necessitated by the present Covid-19 pandemic and the risk of further restrictions on the operation of schools as we proceed into the winter season). We are aware that the ISEB includes verbal and non-verbal components which have previously not been part of our entrance examination. In this regard, please be reassured that we shall survey the breadth of results and available evidence to assess candidates’ aptitude and will give special consideration to all prospective pupils in the light of the mixed educational experiences that they may have had in recent months.
In particular, the results in the English and Mathematics components will, this year, carry more weight in the admissions process than the verbal and non-verbal reasoning scores, as we are aware that a number of candidates will not be familiar with these types of exercises.
Academic Scholarships
Offers of academic scholarships will be made on the basis of the entrance-examination results and all the other information we have about the candidates, including school reports and references.
Reducing Stress
We are also mindful that other schools use the ISEB Common Pre-Test for the purposes of 11+ assessment and that, by joining with them in adopting this approach, SCHS is reducing the number of discrete examinations that 11+ candidates sit, in turn relieving them of additional anxiety and the stress of preparing for a multiplicity of assessments, all with different demands.
Confirmation of the arrangements for the examinations
Once we receive your application, we shall confirm with your school details of the examination procedure. If your daughter is not taking the ISEB exam at her school, we will let you know arrangements for taking the entrance exam at SCHS (14 December 2020 or other reserve dates) in early December 2020.
Entrance Examinations: Key Dates
11+ ISEB onsite
Mid December through to 8th January
13+ Entrance Examination
Monday 11 – Wednesday 13 January 2021
16+ Entrance Examination
Friday 8th January – Monday 11 January 2021
Confirmation of the arrangements for the examinations will be sent to parents of all registered candidates by letter in December 2020.
Selection & Offers
The offer of a place is made by the Head Master on the evidence of:
- the candidate’s performance in the entrance examination;
- a copy of the candidate’s most recent school report (and a confidential reference from the Head of her present school if requested).
Offers of 11+ places will be sent by first-class post on Thursday 11 February 2021 and Friday 12 February 2021 for 13+ and 16+. Offers are to be accepted by 12 noon on 3rd March 2021.
Read more about our Scholarships
11+ Academic Scholarships
Offers of academic scholarships, worth up to 25% of fees, will be made on the basis of the entrance-examination results and all the other information we have about the candidates, including school reports and references.
11+ Specialist Scholarships
A number of specialist scholarships, worth up to 25% of fees, are awarded to talented girls in the areas of Art, Drama, Music and Sport. To find out more please click on one of the links below:
Bursaries
A small number of means-tested bursaries, worth up to 100% of fees, are available only at 11+ entry.
Parents should indicate on the application form if they wish to be considered for a bursary. We shall then email applicants log-in details in order for them to complete an online bursary application. In addition to satisfying means-testing criteria, recipients of bursary awards must also score highly in our entrance examination.