AKS Lytham 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment, Registration and Fees

Entry to Year 7 at AKS Lytham depends mainly on how a child performs at the school's own Entry Assessment day, held in January of Year 6, alongside registering by the preceding autumn deadline and, for some candidates, a further scholarship assessment. AKS Lytham is an independent, co-educational day school in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, admitting pupils from Nursery through to Sixth Form, with Year 7 serving as the main entry point into the Senior School.

The process centres on a single assessment day, combining an online test with a short interview and informal, unassessed activities designed to settle nervous applicants. Families register directly with the school, which manages its own admissions independently of any local authority or shared testing arrangement.

Fees and key dates for 2026/27

AKS Lytham publishes day fees of £6,560 per term for 2026/27, taken from the school's own fees page in October 2026. Registration dates for the next 11+ round are published by the school's admissions office. Fees and dates change each year, so the school's website remains the reference for the current round.

How entry to Year 7 works

AKS admits pupils from Nursery through to Sixth Form, and Year 7 is the main entry point into the Senior School for children joining from other primary schools, alongside pupils progressing internally from the Preparatory School. The school's admissions pages do not publish a fixed number of places or a specified number of forms of entry for Year 7. Sixth Form (Year 12) is the other significant point of external entry, alongside smaller-scale entry into Nursery, Reception and other Prep School year groups. The school manages its own admissions directly with families, independently of any local authority or shared testing consortium used by some other schools in the area.

How the 11+ Entry Assessment day works

Year 7 applicants attend a single Entry Assessment day, usually held on a Saturday in January of Year 6, combining an online assessment with a short meeting between the child and a member of the Senior School Leadership Team. Alongside these assessed elements, the day includes a series of interactive sessions that are not assessed, designed to put children at ease and help them get to know other applicants before they start at the school.

The school's admissions pages do not specify which subjects or reasoning types the online assessment covers, or name the test provider used. Every child registered for the Entry Assessment is automatically considered for an Academic Scholarship on the same day, so no separate application is needed for that award.

Registering and applying for Year 7

The admissions process follows a sequence of steps. Families register their child by completing the school's registration form and uploading an electronic copy of the child's most recent school report, ahead of the closing point at the end of the autumn term preceding entry. Registered children then attend the Entry Assessment day in January, together with any optional Scholarship assessment day for sport, music or drama, for which applications open in the November beforehand. The school's admissions team, led by the Registrar, remains the point of contact throughout for families with questions about the process.

Scholarships

AKS offers Academic, Sport, Music and Drama Scholarships to pupils joining Year 7, with an Art Scholarship available only at Sixth Form entry. Awards are based on school-based assessments together with the candidate's track record in the relevant field; the school states that awards are not dependent on family income and are non-negotiable once made. A scholarship reduces annual fees by up to 20%. Scholars are expected to continue developing the relevant subject or activity throughout their time at the school, and Academic Scholars join a programme of related events, seminars and mentoring.

• Academic Scholarship: automatic consideration for every child who registers for the Entry Assessment
• Sport, Music and Drama Scholarships: separate application, assessed on dedicated days in January
• Art Scholarship: available at Sixth Form entry only

Financial support and bursaries

Beyond scholarships, the school offers an Assisted Places scheme for new Year 7 and Sixth Form pupils, providing a means-tested reduction of up to 85% of fees, reassessed annually and requiring families to disclose full financial circumstances in confidence. Clergy Bursaries are available for children of Church of England or other Christian denomination clergy, and of forces chaplains, offering up to a two-thirds reduction for one child or 75% where more than one sibling attends.

Existing pupils facing a change in family circumstances can apply for a hardship bursary, means-tested annually and prioritised for those who have been at the school for several years or who are studying for GCSEs or A-levels; this support can extend to uniform, books, equipment and transport as well as fees. The AKS Foundation, the school's affiliated charity, provides further means-tested bursaries for pupils it judges particularly deserving, and sibling discounts apply automatically from the second child enrolled, rising to 25% for a fourth child and beyond.

• Assisted Places: means-tested, up to 85% of fees, new Year 7 and Sixth Form entrants only
• Clergy Bursaries: up to two-thirds reduction, or 75% with more than one sibling attending
• Hardship bursaries: means-tested support for existing pupils, extending to uniform, books, equipment and transport
• AKS Foundation bursaries: further means-tested support for particularly deserving pupils
• Sibling discounts: automatic, rising to 25% for a fourth child and beyond

Fees

The school publishes termly day fees for the Senior School on its admissions pages, covering the cost of textbooks and stationery but excluding extra subjects, public examination fees and lunch, which is charged separately. Field trips and sports tours may bring additional costs beyond the standard termly fee. A sibling discount applies automatically where more than one child from a family attends, and the school's Finance team can advise on the payment options available.

Preparing for the 11+ entry assessment

Since the Entry Assessment combines an online test with an interview-style meeting and unassessed group activities, preparation works best when it covers more than exam technique alone. Children tend to benefit from becoming comfortable navigating a timed, screen-based assessment before the day itself, since this has a different rhythm from the paper-based tests used in most primary schools.

Encouraging a child to see part of the day as a chance to meet other applicants, in line with how the school frames its unassessed sessions, tends to help nervous candidates settle. Keeping the most recent school report up to date and ready to upload alongside the registration form, and registering ahead of the autumn deadline, allows families to focus on the assessment itself as the day approaches, without last-minute paperwork.

Related guides

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Preparing for the AKS Lytham 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the AKS Lytham 11+ tends to go best when it starts early and stays steady, and most families who work with us begin between twelve and eighteen months out. Our tutors, who have prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, plan the work backwards from the school's own assessment format and registration deadline.

The tutors we match to 11+ preparation are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families work with us online from anywhere in the UK or abroad, 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.