Downsend School 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Assessment Days, Fees and Scholarships

You get into Downsend School by registering through the Cognita online portal, paying the registration fee and attending one of the school's own assessment days, which cover Maths and English at Downsend Junior (7+) and Downsend Senior (11+ and 13+), followed by a time-limited offer and a deposit. Sixth form entry at 16+ runs on GCSE grade requirements for each A-Level or BTEC pathway.

The main entry point is Year 7, where the assessment combines online and paper-based tests with a team problem-solving exercise, and the school asks for the latest school report and a reference from the current school. Nursery entry has no formal assessment, so the process below applies from Junior upwards.

Entry points and places

Downsend takes pupils at Downsend Junior (ages 7 to 11), Downsend Senior (ages 11 to 16) and Downsend Sixth (ages 16 to 18), with the school's admissions page assessing children for Junior in Years 2 to 6 and for Senior in Years 7 to 11. Year 7 is the main entry into Senior, and scholarships are also open for Year 9 and Year 12.

The pages read do not publish a number of places or forms of entry for any year group. Where applications exceed the places available, the admissions policy lists the criteria that may be applied, including siblings in the school, references from previous schools, results in standardised tests, length of time registered and a co-educational balance across the cohort.

How the 11+ and 13+ assessment works

Entry to Downsend Senior is decided at an assessment day where pupils are assessed in Maths and English and take part in a problem-solving exercise that tests creativity and teamwork. The school describes the days as informal and friendly, and children sit both online and paper-based tests. The pages read do not name a test provider, the number of papers, the length of each paper or the question types.

Senior assessment days serve 13+ applicants joining Year 9 as well, and a separate Senior scholarship day runs for Years 7 to 9. Junior applicants are assessed in Maths, English and Writing, and they also interact as a group so that staff can see their wider skills.

The admissions policy ranks demonstration of Future Skills when places are oversubscribed: thinking with a global perspective, working collaboratively, being creative in problem-solving and showing aptitude with digital technology and terminology.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Admission runs in six steps, and registration comes before any assessment booking. Enquiries are taken all year, and assessment days are held in November, January and March; the policy states that registered children are invited to a day in the November and January before the September of entry.

Booking numbers are capped, and early registrants are placed in November until that target is reached, after which bookings move to January.

• Make contact with the Admissions team, who welcome an informal conversation.
• Visit through a private tour or an open event.
• Register through the Cognita online portal, paying the registration fee and supplying a current school report and a reference.
• Attend the assessment day, whose booking link is emailed once registration and payment are complete.
• Receive a time-limited offer, usually within two weeks of the assessment day; otherwise a place on the waiting list may follow.
• Confirm by returning the paperwork by the deadline with the deposit; a place is only available once a formal offer has been made and the deposit received.

Interviews and references

Downsend asks for a copy of the child's latest full school report, any interim reports and the details of the current school so that the Admissions Team can request a reference. The pages read describe the assessment day, with its group and team activities, as the way staff meet each child, and they do not mention a separate interview for Junior or Senior entry.

Parents are also asked about the child's general development and any identified special educational needs before a place is offered. Overseas applicants may be asked to complete a written language proficiency assessment, which may include an interview.

Scholarships and bursaries

Downsend offers scholarships in Music, Sport, Drama, Academic and Art, Design and Technology, open to new and current pupils joining Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12. Awards are fee remission in recognition of commitment and achievement, and the pages read give no maximum percentage.

The assessment depends on the area. Music candidates perform for up to five minutes, sit sight-reading and aural tests at around Grade 3 and have a short interview. Sport involves fitness tests and a games assessment, with swimmers timed on two strokes. Drama requires a monologue of at least 90 seconds, a group session and an interview with the Head of Drama. Art, Design and Technology involves a still life study and design solutions to a brief.

Academic scholarship runs on Cognitive Ability Test scores followed by an interview with the Head of Downsend Senior, and pupils typically score in the top 10th percentile to qualify. Written submissions for the other areas are due by October half term, only shortlisted candidates are invited to the Saturday assessment day, and Drama applicants from other schools need a written reference from a previous Drama teacher. The scholarship pages read do not describe means-tested bursaries.

Entry requirements for the 16+ sixth form

Downsend Sixth offers A-Level, A-Level Combined and BTEC pathways, with a general guide of grade 5 or above in English Language or Mathematics and grade 6 or above in subjects chosen at A-Level. Some subjects set higher grades, such as grade 7 in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Physics, and grade 8 in Maths for Further Maths.

BTEC routes ask for grade 4 or 5 in named subjects, for example grade 5 in English Language and Maths for Business. Heads of Department can discuss exceptions for students who have shown potential during the year or in mocks. The pages read do not describe an entrance paper or interview, so Sixth Form admissions is the contact for the process.

Sixth form scholarships cover Drama, Sport, Music and Art, Design and Technology, with Drama candidates expected to be predicted grade 7 or above in GCSE Drama.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published termly on the school's fees page by year group, with Years 3 to 6, Years 7 to 8 and Years 9 to 11 each priced separately, and the lunch fee is compulsory from Reception to Year 11. Tuition fees are inclusive of VAT and the lunch fee is VAT exempt.

Extras include Early Birds from Year 3, extended day in Years 3 to 6, Supervised Study in Years 7 to 11, optional trips and GCSE exam fees. Registration is a non-refundable fee, and the deposit is refundable on leaving per the terms and conditions. Sibling discounts apply from the second child, and a full term's written notice is required. Insurance covers are optional apart from the automatic pupil accident cover.

Where pupils join from

Downsend has its own early-years setting in Little Downsend, with sites in Ashtead (ages 6 months to 4) and Leatherhead (ages 2 to 7), and Downsend Junior and Senior are on the Leatherhead campus. Nursery entry has no formal assessment, and the admissions policy says progression from Nursery to Reception is considered individually.

Junior leads into Senior for ages 11 to 16. The pages read do not describe an automatic transfer at 11 or name any external feeder schools. Children from other schools join through the registration and assessment-day route described above.

How to prepare

Preparation for the Senior assessment day is best shaped around the two named subjects, Maths and English, together with the team problem-solving exercise. Practising written and on-screen work in both subjects helps a child feel at ease with the online and paper-based formats, and the lack of a published provider or past papers means school-level confidence tends to matter more than test technique.

For the team exercise, pupils can practise explaining their thinking aloud, listening to others and sharing ideas in a group, since the policy highlights collaboration and creative problem-solving. Junior candidates have Writing assessed as well, so regular short pieces of writing are useful.

Families booking an assessment day can visit through a private tour or an open event first, which usually makes the day itself more familiar.

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Families preparing for the Downsend 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.

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