Dulwich College 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment, Interview and Fees

Boys join Dulwich College at 11+ into Year 7 by registering online, sitting the College's own entrance assessment in the December of Year 6, and then attending an interview before offers are confirmed the following February. Around 90 places are available to boys joining from other schools, and a further group of boys move up automatically from the College's own Junior School, so the Year 7 cohort typically totals around 150.

Dulwich College is an academically selective school in Dulwich, South London, admitting boys from Year 3 (7+) through to Year 13 (16+ entry), with boarding available from Year 9 onwards. Offers at 11+ rest on entrance examination performance, the interview and a reference from the boy's current school, and all candidates are automatically considered for an academic scholarship, whilst means-tested bursaries become available for the first time at this entry point.

How Year 7 (11+) entry works

The school admits boys at several points: Year 3 (7+), Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) and Year 12 (16+), alongside a co-educational nursery and infants' school, DUCKS, for children from six months to seven. At 11+, around 90 places go to boys joining from other primary and prep schools, whilst a further intake progresses automatically from the College's own Junior School, bringing the total Year 7 cohort to roughly 150 boys.

Boarding is not offered at 11+; boarders join the College from Year 9. Boys applying at 11+ must fall within the College's specified birth-date range for that entry year, which the admissions team confirms when registration opens.

• 7+ (Year 3)
• 11+ (Year 7)
• 13+ (Year 9)
• 16+ (Year 12)

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment is taken online and combines adaptive and non-adaptive sections across mathematics, English, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, puzzles and problem solving, and creative comprehension, run over roughly three hours including breaks. Because parts of the test are adaptive, question difficulty adjusts to a candidate's responses, so the College provides an online familiarisation test beforehand to show the style of question without revealing the content.

A separate handwritten creative writing task follows, with a short planning period before writing. Candidates may use paper and pencils provided by the College for working out, but calculators, dictionaries and mobile devices are not permitted; extra time is added automatically for candidates with agreed access arrangements, and paper copies are kept as a backup in case of a network outage.

Registration and the admissions process, step by step

Families register online through the College's admissions portal, specifying the intended point of entry; this route cannot be changed after a date set shortly before registration closes. Registration requires supporting documents including a passport or birth certificate, a recent photograph, a current school report, and any relevant educational psychology or medical reports.

After registration closes, all candidates sit the online entrance examination and creative writing task on the same day. Boys who perform well are then invited to interview, and results are issued by post and email several weeks later; families who accept a place pay a deposit to secure it.

• Register online and choose the entry point
• Submit supporting documents
• Sit the entrance examination and creative writing task
• Attend interview, if invited
• Receive results and, if successful, accept the place

Interview and the current school's report

Candidates who show promise in the written assessment are invited to Dulwich for an interview with a member of College staff, intended as a friendly, informal conversation giving the boy a chance to talk about his interests and enthusiasms. The interview sits alongside the examination result and a reference from the boy's current school as the three elements the College weighs when making offers.

Selection also takes account of compliance with the College's standard terms and conditions of entry, which families confirm as part of the registration process.

Scholarships at 11+ entry

Every boy who sits the 11+ entrance examinations is automatically considered for an Academic Scholarship, awarded to those achieving the highest grades across the examination and interview; academic and music scholarships are each worth up to a third of tuition fees, and no combination of awards to one boy can exceed that limit.

Music Scholarships are decided by audition, ideally on two instruments, with Grade 5 treated as a minimum benchmark for 11+ applicants; award holders receive funded tuition on two instruments. Sports Scholarships, typically worth a tenth of tuition fees, are awarded after a written application and references lead to an invitation to an interview day involving individual performance tests and sport-specific assessment. None of these awards is means-tested, though a scholarship can be topped up with a bursary where genuine financial need exists.

Bursaries and financial support at 11+

Year 7 (11+) is the earliest point at which the school offers means-tested bursaries; they are not available for entry into the Junior School, but continue to be offered at 13+ and 16+. Families apply by ticking the relevant box on the online registration form, after which the admissions team sends a separate bursary application form to complete; the registration fee itself is waived for families whose son receives pupil premium.

An independent organisation carries out a confidential financial assessment, looking at household income, assets and liabilities, any capital that could be released towards fees, contributions from family members, and the cost of educating siblings, alongside the family's travel distance from the College. Bursary awards are announced at the same time as the offer of a place, and a full award can cover tuition, textbooks, lunches, school transport, a uniform allowance, exam fees and other core costs. Awards are reviewed each year and may rise or fall with the family's circumstances.

How to prepare for the 11+ assessment

Because the online test is partly adaptive, preparation is best aimed at building broad, secure fluency across mathematics, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and puzzle-based problem solving; memorising fixed question types offers little benefit. The College's own familiarisation test and specimen creative writing paper, published on its admissions pages, give the clearest sense of format and are worth working through calmly and more than once.

Pupil premium-eligible families can access free 11+ and Key Stage 2 preparation resources, including practice questions and mock tests, through the College's partnership with an online learning platform. For the creative writing task, practising short, planned pieces within a tight time limit tends to help more than lengthy unstructured writing practice, since the assessment rewards a clear, well-organised response produced under timed conditions.

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Preparing for the Dulwich College 11+ with Taylor Tuition

The Dulwich College 11+ rewards steady preparation over a year or so, with the last term given to timed practice and interview confidence. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors match the programme to the school's assessment format and to where the child is starting from.

Because the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, and more than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status, families get a tutor who understands what the assessors are looking for. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in London 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, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.

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