Badminton School 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment and Fees Guide

Getting into Badminton School at 11+ means registering your daughter for Year 7 entry, then sitting an assessment day that combines an English paper, an online Maths test, an online Cognitive Reasoning test, a short interview and a reference from her current school. Badminton is an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3 to 18 in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, and Year 7 forms part of what the school calls its Lower School alongside Year 8.

Registration opens ahead of the assessment day and closes on a published deadline in January, with the entrance exams themselves held on a Saturday in mid-January. Families apply through the school's own registration forms for day girls, UK boarders or overseas boarders, and the school states it aims to keep the process clear and straightforward, weighing fit alongside academic assessment.

How entry works at the school

Badminton admits girls at several points, including Prep School entry, Year 7 (11+), Year 8 (12+), Year 9 (13+), Year 10 (14+) and Lower Sixth. Year 7 and Year 8 together form what the school calls its Lower School, and entry at 11+ is the main entry point into the Senior School.

The school does not publish a fixed quota of places on its 11+ admissions page; instead it describes assessment as combining academic evaluation with a judgement of whether Badminton is the right fit for the candidate.

How the 11+ assessment works

The entrance assessment day has three components: an interview, a reference from the candidate's current school, and a set of academic assessments. Candidates sit an English paper, an online Maths assessment and an online Cognitive Reasoning test, which the school uses to gauge underlying ability and potential, independent of what has been taught or revised.

The interview lasts around ten minutes and is conducted, where possible, in person with the Head or a senior member of staff; the school describes it as relaxed, intended to build a fuller picture of the candidate beyond her academic performance. The school also requests a reference from her current school to understand her day-to-day school life.

Overseas candidates sit the assessments at selected test centres around the world; those who meet the initial assessment criteria are then invited to an interview with a senior member of staff by video conference.

• English paper
• Online Maths assessment
• Online Cognitive Reasoning test
• Interview, around ten minutes
• Reference from current school

Registration and the admissions process, step by step

Families begin by registering, choosing the relevant form for a day girl, UK boarder or overseas boarder applicant. Registration closes on a published deadline in January, and the entrance assessment day itself is held on a Saturday in mid-January at the school.

After the assessment day, the school confirms outcomes for first-round applications; the school states this is normally at the beginning of February. Families are then able to accept a place that is offered.

Throughout the process, the school's admissions team is available to talk families through each stage, and prospective families can also attend open days or arrange a private visit beforehand.

• Register using the relevant day girl, UK boarder or overseas boarder form
• Sit the entrance assessment day, including papers, interview and reference
• Receive the outcome of first-round applications, normally in early February
• Accept the place offered

Scholarships for Year 7 entry

Badminton offers Academic, Art, Music, Drama and Sport scholarships at 11+, each carrying a remission on fees. Academic scholarships go to the highest-scoring candidates in the entrance assessments and interview, with no separate application needed.

Art scholarship candidates present a portfolio and complete a practical assessment plus an interview with the Head of Art. Music candidates audition on their first instrument, or two instruments if played, normally expected to have reached at least Grade 4 standard, alongside an interview with the Director of Music. Drama candidates perform a monologue of one to two minutes from a published play, off-book, with an interview with the Head of Drama. Sport candidates complete a skills assessment plus an interview with the Director of Sport.

Scholarship applications for Year 7 entry close on the same deadline as general registration, and practical scholarship assessments in art, sport, music or drama are arranged separately, by arrangement, from November through January.

• Academic: assessed via entrance exams and interview, no separate application
• Art: portfolio, practical assessment, interview with Head of Art
• Music: audition, typically Grade 4 standard, interview with Director of Music
• Drama: one to two minute monologue, interview with Head of Drama
• Sport: skills assessment, interview with Director of Sport

Bursaries for Year 7 entry

Badminton offers means-tested bursaries for UK-based external candidates entering the Senior School. A bursary can be applied for alongside a scholarship or on its own.

Priority for bursary support goes to families whose daughter also performs well in the academic entrance assessments, typically ranking in the top 25% of the cohort. Bursary applications must be submitted by the registration deadline; the school states that once a place has been offered, a bursary application will not be considered, and late applications may not be considered either. Families are encouraged to apply ahead of the entrance assessments themselves.

How to prepare for the assessment format

As the English, Maths and Cognitive Reasoning components are framed around underlying ability, preparation is usually most useful when it builds familiarity with the online test format and general reasoning and comprehension skills; heavy last-minute revision adds little value.

For the interview, the school's own guidance is to encourage the candidate to be herself and do her best; since interviewers say they are less concerned with rehearsed answers than with genuine engagement, practising open conversation about interests and experiences tends to help more than scripted preparation.

Families considering a scholarship application should build in time for the relevant practical preparation, whether that is a portfolio, an audition piece at the required standard, a monologue performed off-book, or a sport skills assessment, alongside the standard entrance assessments.

Related guides

• Tutors for families in Bristol
• Independent school fees compared

Preparing for the Badminton School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Badminton School 11+ usually come to us a year or so before the assessment, though shorter runs work where the foundations are already sound. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors build each programme around the format the school actually uses, whether a written paper, an online pre-test, an interview or a combination of them.

More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, so the preparation is led by people who know how selective schools assess. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in Bristol and Bath 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.