Chesham Preparatory School 11+ Admissions: Entry Points and Transfer

Getting into Chesham Preparatory School means applying at one of its main entry points: Nursery, Reception or Year 3. The school runs from age three to eleven, and Year 6 is its final year, so age 11 is when children leave; new children join at the earlier points. Parents searching for "11+ entry" to this school are usually really asking how it prepares Year 6 pupils for the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test and for independent senior school entrance exams, since that transfer defines the top end of a child's time there.

Registration opens with an online form and a non-refundable fee, after which children are invited in for a taster session or, from Year 3 onwards, a formal Assessment Day; a place is confirmed once the school receives a reference from the child's current nursery or school. From Year 4 onwards, in-year places are assessed with an online cognitive ability test alongside a day spent in school. This guide sets out how admission at each stage works, what the Year 3 assessment covers, how the 11+ transfer to senior schools is organised, and how families can prepare calmly for both.

How entry works at Chesham Prep

The main points of entry are Nursery, Reception and Year 3, with occasional in-year places available in other year groups when space allows; Year 6 is the school's final year, so it does not have an 11+ intake in the way a senior school does. Registration begins with an online form and a non-refundable administration fee; being registered places a child on the list of prospective pupils for their intended year of entry but does not guarantee a place.

Families are typically invited in for a taster or assessment session once registered, timed to the year group applied for, and are contacted by the admissions team when a decision point is reached.

• Nursery and Reception: main entry points, alongside occasional places elsewhere
• Year 3: the other main entry point, assessed formally
• In-year places: considered across all year groups subject to availability
• Year 6: the school's leaving year.

What happens at each admissions stage

Assessment is informal for the youngest children and becomes more structured from Year 3. Children applying for Nursery or Reception attend a play-based session of around an hour and a half in the Nursery setting, with no pass mark; those applying for Years 1 and 2 spend a full day joining a class with children their own age as a taster.

From Year 3, applicants attend a dedicated Assessment Day covering maths reasoning and arithmetic, a reading comprehension exercise and a short piece of writing with drawing, plus a PE session and an art or craft activity; several candidates attend together. For in-year places from Year 4 onwards, children spend a full day in school with their peer age group and sit an online cognitive ability test covering English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. At every stage, a place is confirmed only once the school has received a reference report from the child's current nursery or school.

How the 11+ transfer to senior schools works

Age 11 is when Chesham Prep pupils move on, most commonly by sitting the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test for entry to the county's grammar schools. Around three-quarters of each Year 6 cohort sits the test each September, and the school acts as a partner test centre, so pupils sit the paper on site.

The school reports an average qualifying rate of around 70% over eight years among those who sit the test, against a county average of about 37%, though results vary by cohort and this is not a guarantee for any individual child. Pupils not sitting the grammar test, or applying alongside it, sit entrance exams and interviews set by individual independent senior schools, and the school states that pupils are supported in preparing for these, including interview practice.

Where pupils go on to school

Destinations are spread across grammar, independent and state secondary schools. The school describes leavers moving on to somewhere in the region of 18 to 19 different senior schools in a typical year, including several Buckinghamshire grammar schools such as Chesham Grammar School, Dr Challoner's High School and Dr Challoner's Grammar School, independent schools including Berkhamsted, and a smaller number of state secondary schools, several in Hertfordshire.

The Headmaster and Deputy Head Academic meet with parents individually to discuss a child's strengths and suggest suitable senior schools, reflecting the range of destinations the school supports.

Scholarships and financial help

Chesham Preparatory School does not offer its own scholarships or bursaries for places at the school. Financial awards that Chesham Prep pupils receive, such as academic, sport, art, drama or music scholarships, are made by the senior schools they move on to at 11, so families should check each senior school's own scholarship and bursary arrangements separately as part of the 11+ application process.

How to prepare for the Year 3 and 11+ assessments

For Year 3 entry, the assessment day mixes formal papers with informal observation, so preparation is best focused on comfort with arithmetic and reasoning questions, reading a passage carefully before answering, and writing a short, well-organised piece to a prompt, alongside a relaxed attitude to the PE and art activities, which are there simply to see the child in a natural setting.

For the 11+ transfer, the relevant practice is for the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test itself and for any independent school's own entrance papers and interview, since Chesham Prep's role at this stage is academic preparation and pastoral support; the test itself is set externally. Familiarity with verbal and non-verbal reasoning formats, timed practice papers and, where an independent school is involved, interview practice all tend to help, building steadily as a sustained effort over Year 5 and 6.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared

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