Duke of Kent School 7+, 8+ and 11+ Admissions: CAT4, Scholarships and Fees

You get into Duke of Kent School by registering a child for a year group, visiting the school, completing an age-appropriate assessment (GL Assessment English and Mathematics tests at Year 3, the CAT4 cognitive assessment from Year 4 and for the Senior School) and meeting the Head, the Head of Prep or the Head of Senior School. The main entry points are Reception (age 4), Year 3 (age 7) and Year 7 (age 11), and applications are accepted throughout the year, subject to availability.

The school states that no special preparation is required, which shapes how families approach each stage. Each entry point, the format of the assessments, the order of the admissions steps, scholarships and bursaries, fees and the practical ways to get ready are covered in the sections below.

Entry points and places

Duke of Kent takes pupils at Nursery, Reception, Year 3 and Year 7 as its main entry points, with other year groups open when a place becomes free. Nursery children join without formal testing from the term they turn 3, and applicants from Reception to Year 2 attend a visit day with an informal interview.

The school does not publish a number of places or forms of entry for any year group. Where a year group is full, a waiting list operates in the order in which the registration form and fee were received, and places occasionally open in other year groups. Years 10 and 11 are not offered because GCSE courses begin in Year 9.

• Reception to Year 2: visit day and informal interview with the Head or Head of Prep
• Year 3 (7+): GL Assessment tests in English and Mathematics, plus an interview
• Years 4 to 6 (8+, 9+, 10+): CAT4 assessment and interviews
• Year 7 (11+): CAT4 assessment and interviews, with other Senior School years on the same basis

How the Year 7 assessment works

The Year 7 assessment is the CAT4 cognitive assessment, taken on a Senior School assessment day at the school and followed by an interview. CAT4 is a cognitive test, so it does not follow a subject syllabus, and the school asks for no special preparation.

The school's admissions page also says CAT4 is used from Year 3 onwards, whilst its Year 3 section names GL Assessment tests in English and Mathematics, so a family applying at 7+ should confirm the exact format with the registrar. Years 4 to 6 follow the CAT4 route, and later dates are offered after the main assessment day if space remains.

11+ tutors

Hannah

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationCommon Entrance PreparationCreative WritingCritical Thinking

I am a UK-qualified teacher with 15+ years across private and state schools in the UK and abroad, and hold a BSc from LSE and a PGCE with QTS. I teach English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, 11+ and Common Entrance preparation. My approach is personalised, confidence-building and rigorous.

Enquire about this tutor

Sochima

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationBiologyChemistryComputer Science

I'm a qualified teacher in a London classroom every day, with a BSc in Computer Science from Brunel and a PGCE with QTS. I teach Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science to A-Level, plus 11+ preparation, through project-based work that suits SEND learners well.

Enquire about this tutor

Robert

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationBiologyChemistryEconomics

I am a qualified teacher with over twenty years' experience in the UK, Gulf and New Zealand, holding an MA in History and PGCE. I teach English, History, Geography and French from KS2 to A-Level and IB, preparing 11+/13+ candidates. My approach is student-led, focused and diagnostic.

Enquire about this tutor

See all tutors

Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration starts through the enquiry link on the school's online admissions page, and the steps then follow a set order. A non-returnable registration fee puts a child's name down, although the form and fee do not guarantee a place.

Registration forms are valid only for the requested year of entry, so a new form is needed if the year changes. Siblings of current pupils receive priority, subject to the usual entry criteria, and other applicants are then offered places in order of application.

• Register through the online admissions enquiry and pay the registration fee
• Visit the school or attend an Open Morning
• Sit the age-appropriate assessment and attend the interview
• Meet the Head, Head of Prep or Head of Senior School
• Receive the school's decision and accept an offer
• Pay the deposit on acceptance: for Nursery to Year 6, with a top-up when moving from Prep to Senior; for Year 7 and above, a single deposit

Interviews and the meeting with the Head

Every applicant from Reception upwards meets a senior member of staff, and from Year 3 the interview sits alongside the assessment. Reception to Year 2 applicants have an informal interview with the Head or Head of Prep during the visit day.

For Years 4 to 6 and the Senior School, the interview follows the CAT4 assessment, and the process lists a meeting with the Head, Head of Prep or Head of Senior School as the final stage. The admissions pages read do not describe school references or reports, so families can ask the registrar whether any are requested for their child's year group.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships at Duke of Kent are offered in Academic, All Rounder, Art, Computer Science, Music, Performing Arts and Sport, and the scholarship booklet states that they are awarded to pupils entering Year 7, both from the school's own Year 6 and from outside. Assessments take place at the school, where candidates are seen by subject specialists and interviewed by the Head.

The Academic Scholarship follows the general assessment morning, usually on the first Saturday in November, with extension papers in English and Maths and an interview. All other scholarship assessments take place the following week, and Sport adds a successful interview with PE staff. All Rounder candidates need a high standard in at least two further areas. Scholarships carry a small financial reward and are reviewed annually.

Bursaries reduce fees in cases of proven financial hardship and mainly give continuity of education to pupils already at the school. Awards start from 10% of day fees, last from one term to several years under annual review, and require full financial disclosure assessed by the Finance Committee. No maximum share is published, and the bursary policy is available from the Head of Finance.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published per term for each year group in a school fees document on the fees page, which states the academic year it covers and shows Senior School fees rising from Year 7 to Year 8 and again from Year 9 to Year 11. Fees include VAT apart from Nursery, which is exempt.

Termly fees cover breakfast, lunch, refreshments and tea from Year 3, curriculum trips, textbooks, extra-curricular activities and a Chromebook from Year 3, within an extended day from 7:30am. Individual music and LAMDA lessons, learning development support, residential trips, school transport and GCSE examination fees are charged separately. Minibus routes are banded and serve stops including Ewhurst, Wotton, Gomshall, Shamley Green, Dorking and Cranleigh.

Where pupils join from

Pupils join Duke of Kent from nursery settings, other primary and prep schools, and from its own Pre-Prep and Prep, because the school teaches from Nursery to GCSE on one site in Ewhurst. The school does not define a catchment area and welcomes pupils from across Surrey and surrounding areas.

Prep pupils move up to the Senior School at Year 7 and pay an additional amount that tops up their existing deposit. Scholarships are open to this internal Year 6 cohort as well as external candidates. The pages read name no partner or feeder schools, and the school has no sixth form, so the next stage after GCSE is a move to another school.

How to prepare

Preparation for Duke of Kent centres on the visit, the CAT4 assessment and the interview, because the school says no special preparation is required. Visiting during an Open Morning gives a child familiarity with the site before the assessment day, and the school offers visits and Open Mornings through its website.

For Year 3 applicants, steady classroom practice in English and Mathematics suits the GL Assessment tests. For Years 4 to 6 and Year 7, CAT4 assesses cognitive reasoning, so reading widely and relaxed practice at puzzles tends to be enough. Scholarship candidates can ask the school for an example of the extension paper question level, and talking through interests helps with the interview.

Related guides

• Best private schools in Surrey
• Independent school fees compared
• Reigate Grammar School (11+)
• Royal Grammar School Guildford (11+)
• Claremont Fan Court School (11+)
• Epsom College (11+)
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• The 7+ entrance exam explained
• The 8+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained

Preparing for the Duke of Kent School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Duke of Kent 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.

More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, so the preparation is led by people who know how selective schools assess. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in Kent and further afield work with us online, 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.

Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.