The Cathedral School, Llandaff 11+ Admissions: Entry, Tests and Fees

Entry to The Cathedral School, Llandaff at 11+ depends on entrance tests, an interview and a reference from the child's current school, with around 25 to 30 places offered to external candidates for Year 7 each year. Registration opens ahead of the autumn before entry, and testing and interviews follow once registration closes, with the school publishing exact dates on its admissions calendar each cycle.

Most candidates apply from local primary or independent schools, alongside pupils moving up from the school's own Junior School. The process is built to identify pupils suited to a co-educational, academically selective senior school run on a day-only basis in Llandaff, Cardiff.

How does Year 7 entry work at the school?

Year 7 entry at the Cathedral School is decided through entrance tests, an interview and a school reference, with around 25 to 30 places offered to external candidates each year. The school runs as a co-educational day school for pupils aged 3 to 18, so Year 7 marks the start of the senior section that continues through to Sixth Form. Applicants come from a mix of local primary and independent schools, alongside pupils already in the Junior School.

What does the 11+ assessment involve?

The 11+ assessment combines written entrance tests with an interview and a school reference, without a single exam paper deciding a place. Interviews run as small-group sessions in which candidates work through challenges together, alongside individual meetings with the Head, a Deputy Head or a Housemaster or Housemistress. The child's current school also provides a reference confirming a positive attitude to study and school life. The school has not published the subjects or format of the written tests on its admissions pages, so families should confirm current details directly with the Registrar.

How does registration and the admissions process run?

Registration for Year 7 entry closes in the autumn before entry, with the school publishing exact dates on its admissions calendar each cycle. Group interviews follow once registration closes, then an Orientation Day gives registered applicants a taste of a typical school day, ahead of the entrance testing session itself. Families are then notified of places, scholarship offers and waiting-list decisions, and a place is confirmed by paying a deposit ahead of the acceptance deadline.

• Registration
• Group interviews
• Orientation Day
• Entrance testing
• Notification of places and offers
• Acceptance with deposit

Scholarships and bursaries at Year 7

The Cathedral School, Llandaff offers academic, music and sport scholarships at Year 7, alongside means-tested bursaries including Foundation Bursaries reserved for this entry point. Academic scholarship candidates do not submit a separate application, since results from the entrance tests are used to identify those considered further for an award. Music and sport scholarships require a formal application and an audition or assessment with the relevant director.

Foundation Bursaries are means-tested using the Independent Schools Bursars Association structure and can cover a significant proportion of fees for eligible families. The Registrar holds the current application forms and criteria for both scholarships and bursaries.

How to prepare for the assessment

Because the process combines a written test, a group interview and a school reference, preparation works best when it covers more than exam papers alone. Practising comprehension, written expression and number work supports the written element, whilst talking through how to listen, contribute and build on others' ideas helps with the group interview's collaborative challenges. A consistent, positive reference from the child's current school matters as much as test performance, so steady effort and engagement at school in the lead-up to application counts for as much as any last-minute revision.

Visiting the school: open days and individual tours

Prospective families can attend a Whole School Open Morning covering all age groups, alongside a Senior Open Morning aimed at Year 7 entry and above. An Information Afternoon for Year 7 entry gives parents a chance to hear about the admissions process before registration closes, and a Discovery Day lets younger children experience the school firsthand. Families who prefer a one-to-one visit can contact the Registrar, Ms Deborah Whitehouse, to arrange an individual tour at a convenient time.

Related guides

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Preparing for the Cathedral School, Llandaff 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Cathedral School, Llandaff 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.