Claremont School, St Leonards-on-Sea 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Taster Day, CAT Test and Fees

You get into Claremont School, St Leonards-on-Sea by enquiring, visiting, applying with school reports, and then attending a Taster Day where your child sits an assessment in non-exam conditions, alongside a CAT test taken by every UK applicant. The school describes itself as non-selective on academic ability, and the assessment is used to plan support for the child.

Entry is possible at Prep from Year 3 (7+), at Year 7 (11+), at Year 9 (13+) and into the Sixth Form at Year 12 (16+), with the Prep School covering ages 7 to 13. Scholarships are linked to Year 7, Year 9 and Sixth Form entry, which is why those three points matter most when you plan.

Entry points and places

Claremont takes pupils from Nursery and Pre-Reception at age 2 through to the Sixth Form at 18, so the entry points from age 7 upwards are Year 3 at Prep (7+), Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) and Year 12 (16+). Admissions for Prep are described as open all year round, and the admissions team helps families choose a start date.

The school does not publish a number of places or forms of entry for any year group, and the application pages give no age cut-offs. Boarding is available from age 10, as a day, weekly or full boarding place.

• Year 3 (7+): start of the Prep School, ages 7 to 13
• Year 7 (11+): scholarship entry point
• Year 9 (13+): scholarship entry point
• Year 12 (16+): Sixth Form, scholarship entry point

How the Taster Day and CAT assessment works

The assessment is a Taster Day plus a CAT test, and the school states that it does not select on academic ability. On the Taster Day the child meets prospective classmates, takes part in creative, sporting and academic activities, and sits an assessment in non-exam conditions.

All prospective UK students take the CAT test so that the school can support the child well once they join. The pages published by the school do not give the length, subjects or question types of the CAT or of the Taster Day assessment, so the admissions team is the place to ask for those details.

International applicants follow a separate route, taking an online English language test and supplying an English assessment from their home country or a recent IELTS or Cambridge result.

Featured tutors

Ellis

Master Tutor

Computer Science

I'm Head of Computer Science at a secondary school in Cornwall, where I lead staff CPD, after seven years in technology consulting. I teach GCSE and A-Level Computer Science, and I'm known for explaining the algorithms pupils find hardest in plain terms, little and often.

Enquire about this tutor

Michael

Master Tutor

Business StudiesEconomics

I taught Economics for nine years, latterly as Head of Economics at Winchester College, and I examine for AQA and Edexcel. I teach Economics and Business Studies to A-Level and prepare Oxbridge and UCAS applicants, working from Rosenshine's principles of direct instruction.

Enquire about this tutor

Michael

Master Tutor

BiologyChemistryEconomicsEnglish

I have a First in Economics from York and an MSc from UCL, and have tutored for seven years, including SEN students. I teach maths, economics, physics, chemistry and biology to GCSE, A-Level, IB and AP. I build strong foundations so advanced questions feel intuitive.

Enquire about this tutor

See all tutors

Registration and the admissions timeline

Applications follow a fixed sequence of steps for UK families, and the school lists no application deadline. Families first get in touch with admissions, then visit on an Open Day (held twice a year) or by private appointment, where senior leadership can be met at Open Days.

After the visit, a family applies, attends the Taster Day, receives a conditional offer, completes the acceptance forms and then receives a welcome pack, as set out step by step below.

• Apply for a day or boarding place with the application form, recent school reports and the registration fee
• Attend the Taster Day and sit the assessment
• Receive a conditional offer letter once the formalities are complete
• Complete the acceptance forms and pay the deposit
• Receive a welcome pack with start-of-school information

Interviews and references

UK applicants are not described as having a school interview; the only interview published is for international Football Academy applicants, who meet the Football Academy Director. Domestic Football Academy families meet the football leadership team and either visit the campus or send a showreel for the coaching staff to review.

Recent school reports are required with the application. Once the acceptance form arrives, the school contacts the child's current school for a reference if that school is independent.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships are offered for entry to Year 7, Year 9 and the Sixth Form, and they tend to be awarded to a maximum of 15% of tuition fees. They recognise strong potential in sport, creative and performing arts or academic subjects, are open to international applicants, and cover tuition fees only.

Families download the scholarship application pack for the relevant year group and pay a non-refundable application fee. The pages do not describe the tests, auditions or deadlines, so ask admissions how a scholarship is assessed.

Means-tested bursaries are available to any registered pupil regardless of ability, up to 30% of tuition fees. An external agency assesses the financial forms and makes a recommendation, the Headmaster decides in consultation with the Principal, and a bursary can top up a scholarship. Bursaries must be reapplied for annually.

Fees and what they include

Fees are charged per term, include VAT, and depend on year group, whether the child is a day pupil, weekly boarder or full boarder, and whether the family is UK, EU or non-EU. Tuition can be paid termly or annually. The figures are in the key facts and on the school's tuition fees page.

New families pay a non-refundable registration fee, an enrolment fee credited against the first term's invoice, and a deposit that is held and refunded when the pupil leaves; boarders pay higher registration and deposit amounts. A sibling discount applies to tuition fees for the second and third child attending at the same time, and a Football Academy charge is published separately.

Transport, extra-curricular trips, music, dance and LAMDA, learning support and uniform are priced separately.

How sixth form entry works

Sixth Form admissions are open all year round, and the admissions team helps families find a suitable start date. The school publishes no minimum GCSE grades, entrance papers or admissions interview for Year 12.

A Levels run across subjects including Mathematics, the sciences, Economics, Business, Drama, Dance, Music and Fine Art, with Level 3 BTECs in some subjects. Scholarships are available at this entry point, and pupils from Year 9 to Year 13 are tracked through a Flightpath and RAG progress system.

Where pupils join from

Many pupils move up through the school's own Pre-Prep and Prep, which cover ages 5 to 7 and 7 to 13, into the Senior School and Sixth Form, and the school presents the Sixth Form as a natural progression from earlier years. The Prep School is at Ebden's Hill, Westfield.

The school names no external feeder or partner schools. New pupils from elsewhere, including international boarders, are welcomed with an allocated buddy and a meeting with their personal tutor in the first weeks.

How to prepare

Preparation for this process centres on the Taster Day, the CAT test and the school reports, since no entrance papers are published. The assessment is sat in non-exam conditions and the school uses it to plan support, so a calm, familiar routine on the day usually matters more than topic revision.

Practical steps include asking admissions for the CAT format, making sure recent reports are ready for the application, and talking through the creative, sporting and academic activities so the child knows what a Taster Day involves. For scholarships, ask which pack applies to Year 7, Year 9 or Sixth Form and how the award area is assessed.

Related guides

• Best private schools in Sussex
• Independent school fees compared
• Bede's Senior School (11+)
• Lewes Old Grammar School (11+)
• Eastbourne College (11+)
• Battle Abbey School (11+)
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• The 7+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained
• Boarding schools in the UK

Preparing for the Claremont School, St Leonards-on-Sea 7+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Claremont School, St Leonards-on-Sea 7+ 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 7+ 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 7+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact.

Read more about our 7+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.