Claires Court Schools 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Assessment Days, Fees and Scholarships

Getting into Claires Court Schools starts with registering for an entry point at Year 3, Year 7, Year 9 or Year 12, and for the main Senior entry at Year 7 the selection process is an assessment day in the autumn of Year 6 with literacy testing, numerical testing and a group interview. The school is a selective independent day school across three sites in Maidenhead, and it sets its own tests for that day.

Offers weigh the test results alongside the reference from the child's current school, reports and the interview, and the school states that each intake admits pupils across a range of abilities. Entry at Year 3, Year 9 and Year 12 follows different routes, set out below with the fee, scholarship and preparation details a parent needs.

Entry points and places

The usual entry points are Reception and Year 3 for the Juniors, Year 7 and Year 9 for the Senior Schools, and Year 12 for the Sixth Form, with in-year transfers accepted at other points when there is capacity. Year 7 is the main Senior entry point, which is why Year 9 places are limited and families are asked to call the school to discuss them.

Senior Boys usually runs four forms per year group, with about 15 to 16 boys per form in Years 7 and 8 and 18 per form in Year 9, whilst Senior Girls runs two to three forms of about 15 to 18. The Juniors normally have at least two classes per year group, averaging 16 to 18 children.

• Year 3 (7+): individual appointment with the Head, then a Taster Day
• Year 7 (11+): assessment day in the autumn of Year 6
• Year 9 (13+): limited places, Taster Day before joining
• Year 12 (16+): tour, interview and minimum grade expectations

How the 11+ assessment works

The Year 7 assessment is a single assessment day, held in the autumn before the following September entry, that combines literacy testing, numerical testing, a group interview and a tour of the facilities with the Head. The tests are the school's own and cover the subjects taught in Years 5 and 6 at the child's current school.

The school states that the tests are written so that they cannot be prepared for, which means they check current ability against the work already covered in class. Its pages give no test duration, question types or pass mark, so the published format stops at the four components above.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration is the first step at every entry point, and for Year 7 the registration deadline falls in the autumn of Year 6, the same term as the assessment days. Families complete the registration form, return it by email or post to the Registrar at Ray Mill Road East, and pay the non-refundable registration fee.

Registration places the child on the Entry List, which the school says does not constitute the offer of a place. Applications received after the autumn deadline are considered in the order received and invited to an assessment morning subject to availability.

• Registration form and registration fee returned to the Registrar
• Entry List confirmation, with a waiting list in order of registration date for full year groups
• Interview or assessment day under the selection process
• Formal offer letter, issued at the end of the autumn term of Year 6 for Year 7
• Acceptance by email with the signed Acceptance Form and deposit, due in the spring

Interviews and references

Interviews differ by age, and the Head is involved at each stage. For Year 3 and the other Juniors years the Head holds an individual appointment with the parent or parents and the child, after which the child attends a Taster Day where they are informally assessed.

At Year 7 the interview is a group interview within the assessment day, exploring interests, strengths, ambitions and school life to date, and children can ask questions of their own. A reference from the child's current school and any specialist reports are required before interview, and families submit the end of Year 5 report in the early autumn of Year 6 so the school can request that reference.

Scholarships available

Scholarships are offered at Year 3 and Year 5 (academic only), Year 7 (academic, art, performing arts and sport) and Year 12 (academic, art, performing arts, sport and a High Performance Pathway covering football, rugby, rowing, tennis, netball and hockey). A specialist High Performance Pathway also exists for Year 10, and both internal and external pupils can apply.

Awards reach up to 50% of fees and are made at the discretion of the Executive Principal. Assessment can include CAT4 or other standardised testing, auditions, portfolios, sports trials, interviews and references, and for Years 3 and 5 it is academic assessment and interview. The pages read describe no means-tested bursaries.

• Child must be registered, with the registration fee paid, before applying
• Online scholarship application form, then supporting documents by the deadline
• Scholarship applications close in the autumn of Year 6 for Year 7, with assessments that term and outcomes by the end of the autumn term

Fees and what they include

Fees are published per term for each year group on the school's fees page, with separate tables for the autumn term and for the terms from January, and all fees include VAT unless stated. Tuition rises through Reception, Years 1 and 2, Years 3 to 5, Year 6, Years 7 to 11 and the Sixth Form.

Every year group includes personal accident insurance, PTA membership and the Fees Refund Scheme, whilst Reception to Year 8 also covers textbooks and non-residential trips. Food, public exam charges, individual instrument tuition, specific learning support and before and after school care are not included. Sibling discounts apply for brothers and sisters attending together, and an instalment scheme spreads payment over nine monthly direct debits.

Where pupils join from

The Year 7 cohort is drawn from independent primary schools, state schools and the school's own Juniors, which the Admissions FAQs describe as equal thirds, with around 60 per cent of pupils joining from about 40 other schools. The school names no formal partner or feeder schools.

Juniors pupils are expected to continue into the Senior Schools, with a Senior School event for families in Year 4, a Taster Day in Year 5 and time with Senior staff in Year 6. The Juniors page describes no entrance test for this move. Year 9 entrants often come from Windsor Middle Schools, as well as independent and state schools.

How 13+ and 16+ entry work

Year 9 (13+) entry is welcomed from boys and girls starting their GCSE courses, and the school encourages families to register during Year 6 to improve the chance of a place. The Year 9 pages describe a Taster Day, a buddy for each new pupil and classes of no more than 20, with no separate entrance test.

Year 12 (16+) applicants provide their most recent school report or grade card and any specialist reports before interview. External applicants take a tour led by a member of the Student Leadership Team and then an interview with the Head, and internal candidates are interviewed in the Lent term. Each subject has a minimum grade expectation in the Sixth Form Programme, and an offer follows a successful interview or trial day, assessment and satisfactory references.

How to prepare

Preparation for the Year 7 day is best tied to the two written components, literacy and numeracy, built on the Year 5 and Year 6 curriculum the tests draw from. Because the school says the tests cannot be prepared for, steady classwork, regular reading and confident arithmetic usually matter more than practice papers.

For the group interview, children can practise talking about their interests, strengths and ambitions and thinking of questions to ask. Families can also attend an Open Event, Discovery Day or individual tour, and Year 3 and Year 9 applicants usually meet the school through a Taster Day, which tends to make the assessment setting more familiar.

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