Abingdon School 11+ Admissions: Entrance Exams, Registration and Fees

How do you get into Abingdon School at 11+? Entry to Year 7 is decided by the school's own entrance assessment in English, mathematics and reasoning, held on a single day in January of Year 6, together with an interview for almost all candidates and a confidential reference from their current headteacher. There is no catchment area or feeder-school route, so any boy in Year 6 can apply, and girls become eligible to apply for a First Year place as part of the school's move to co-education.

Places are awarded on the combined outcome of the assessment, interview and reference, with academic and music awards available to strong candidates and means-tested bursaries covering up to 100 percent of day fees for families who need financial help.

How entry to Year 7 works

Entry into First Year happens at age eleven, with further entry points at thirteen and into the sixth form. There is no local catchment area, so any boy in Year 6 can register regardless of where he lives, and girls become eligible to apply for a First Year place as part of the school's move to co-education. Places depend on performance in the entrance assessment, interview and school reference, and are not allocated on a first-come basis; Abingdon has not published a fixed number of places or forms of entry for Year 7.

How the 11+ assessment is structured

The entrance assessment covers English, mathematics and reasoning, sat on a single Saturday in January of Year 6 at the school, or at an authorised centre such as the British Council for international candidates. English combines a computer-based, multiple-choice reading comprehension paper testing spelling, punctuation and grammar with a handwritten descriptive writing task based on a choice of picture stimuli. Mathematics and reasoning are both mostly computer-based and multiple-choice, covering National Curriculum topics and problem-solving puzzles in maths, and verbal and non-verbal questions in reasoning; no typing skill is required, since answers are selected on screen. International candidates also sit an additional English grammar paper.

• English: computer-based reading comprehension, plus a handwritten descriptive writing task
• Mathematics: mostly computer-based, National Curriculum content plus problem-solving puzzles
• Reasoning: computer-based, verbal and non-verbal questions

Interview and school reference

Nearly all candidates who sit the entrance assessment are invited to interview, which the school describes as a friendly, informal discussion of interests outside the classroom. A candidate may bring an object or piece of work to talk about, and interviews are usually held in person at the school, with video conferencing offered to international applicants. Abingdon also requests a confidential reference from the candidate's current headteacher, covering character, academic strengths and interests, and only candidates with a good record of behaviour are considered for a place.

Registration steps and timeline

Registration is completed online through the school's MyAbingdon portal, where a new applicant creates an account, fills in the registration form and pays a non-refundable registration fee; the form also asks whether the family wishes to be considered for a free or subsidised place. Registration closes in the autumn before entry, and the school publishes the exact date on its admissions pages. The entrance assessment follows in January, interviews take place shortly afterwards, results letters go out in early February, and families confirm acceptance by a deadline in early March.

Scholarships at 11+

Academic and music awards are available to First Year candidates and are held throughout Lower School; the school does not require a separate application, since academic awards are decided on performance in the entrance assessment itself, while music awards involve a pre-audition followed by an audition. Award holders gain access to extra tuition, lectures and visits, but scholarships and awards carry no fee remission, and continuation depends on satisfactory academic progress and behaviour, reviewed annually.

Bursaries and financial help

Means-tested financial help, worth up to 100 percent of day fees, is available to boys who pass the entrance assessment and need it to take up a place. Boarding fees are not covered, and a bursary does not require winning a scholarship first. Priority goes to the strongest performers in the entrance process, to those likely to gain most from an Abingdon education, and to UK families living locally. Families begin with an informal call to the Financial Controller, then a written application on income, assets and liabilities, a remote assessment by an external company, Bursary Assessment Associates, and a decision from the fee support panel, usually given alongside the offer of a place; applications stay confidential throughout.

How to prepare for the assessment

Preparation works best when it targets Abingdon's exact assessment format: on-screen, multiple-choice testing for reading comprehension, mathematics and reasoning, alongside regular handwriting practice under timed conditions for the descriptive writing paper, which stays handwritten even though the rest of the test is computer-based. Since the interview is an informal conversation about interests outside the classroom, a child gains most by talking naturally about hobbies, books or an object they choose to bring, without rehearsing set answers. Keeping the current school informed matters too, since a headteacher's reference forms part of the decision.

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Preparing for the Abingdon School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

The Abingdon School 11+ rewards steady preparation over a year or so, with the last term given to timed practice and interview confidence. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors match the programme to the school's assessment format and to where the child is starting from.

Because the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, and more than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status, families get a tutor who understands what the assessors are looking for. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in Oxfordshire and further afield work with us online, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject, with no registration fee and a free initial consultation to talk through your child's current level and the timeline to the 11+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.

Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.