Eltham College 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment and Fees

Getting into Eltham College at 11+ means registering for Year 7 entry, then sitting the school's own entrance assessment in January of Year 6: written Maths and English papers, a computer-adaptive verbal and non-verbal reasoning test, and a one-to-one interview with a senior member of staff. Around 120 pupils join Year 7 each year, roughly half moving up from Eltham College Junior School or Blackheath Prep and the remainder from external schools competing for the remaining places.

This guide sets out how the assessment is structured, how registration and offers proceed, what scholarships and means-tested bursaries are available, and how families can prepare calmly for the specific format the school uses.

How entry works

Around 120 pupils join Year 7 each year, with roughly half coming from the school's own Junior School and Blackheath Prep, and the remaining places going to external candidates. Junior School pupils move up into the Senior School automatically without further assessment if they wish to, while Blackheath Prep pupils, following that school's merger with the college, have a priority entry arrangement not available to other feeder schools.

External candidates apply from more than 30 other schools across south east London and Kent, competing for the remaining places through the standard assessment process. The school notes that year groups are typically full, though occasional vacancies can arise in other year groups within the Junior and Senior Schools.

How the 11+ assessment works

The college's 11+ assessment for external candidates has three parts: a written Mathematics paper, a written English paper, and a computer-adaptive verbal and non-verbal reasoning assessment. Every candidate also has a one-to-one interview with a senior member of teaching staff, and the school does not publish a fixed pass mark, weighing the papers, the reasoning test and the interview together.

Successful candidates must also provide a satisfactory reference from their current school. Because the reasoning test is computer-adaptive, the questions respond to a child's answers as they progress, so calm, steady pacing across the test matters as much as raw practice.

Registering and the admissions process, step by step

Registration is completed online through the school's application portal, with a non-refundable registration fee payable at the time of applying. Registration for Year 7 entry closes on a set date in the autumn before entry, published on the school's admissions page each year.

After registering, candidates are invited to sit the entrance exams on one of two dates in early January of Year 6. Scholarship candidates who wish to be considered for an additional award attend further assessments later in January. Offers are issued on a single offer day in February, and families must accept by a stated deadline in early March, after which a commitment payment secures the place. Offer holders are then invited to a morning or afternoon of taster lessons before joining in September.

• Register online and pay the registration fee
• Sit written Maths and English papers plus the computer-adaptive reasoning test, and attend an interview
• Scholarship candidates attend further assessments later in January
• Offers issued on offer day in February
• Accept the offer and pay the commitment payment by the acceptance deadline
• Attend a taster morning or afternoon before starting in September

Scholarships and bursaries

The school offers Academic, Sport, Music, Art, Chess and Drama scholarships at 11+ entry, awarded on equal terms to internal and external candidates. Every candidate sitting the entrance exams is automatically considered for an Academic Scholarship, which is awarded at the Headmaster's discretion to those who excel in the entrance examination and interview; there is no separate application for it.

Candidates wishing to be considered for a Music, Sport, Art, Chess or Drama scholarship take further assessments alongside the main entrance process: Music scholars are guided towards roughly Grade 6 standard on their first study and Grade 4 on a second; Chess scholars are guided towards an ECF grading in the region of 1400; Art scholars submit a portfolio and complete a practical workshop challenge; Drama scholars perform a short monologue and respond to direction; the maximum Chess award is 10% of the published tuition fees.

Means-tested bursaries are available separately for families who need financial support, judged on family circumstance alongside performance in the entrance examination and interview, and can be combined with a scholarship. Interest in a bursary must be indicated on the registration form, and the average level of bursary support provided is around 85% of fees, with some recipients receiving full support plus help with costs such as uniform, lunches and IT equipment.

How to prepare for the 11+ assessment

Because the format combines traditional written Maths and English papers with a computer-adaptive reasoning test and an interview, preparation works best when it covers all three elements equally. Familiarity with adaptive-format reasoning questions, where difficulty shifts in response to a child's answers, helps children stay settled if questions suddenly feel harder or easier than expected.

The interview carries real weight alongside the papers, so children benefit from practising talking clearly about their interests, their current school work and why they want to join the school. Reports from the child's current school also feed into the decision, so steady classroom performance in the lead-up to assessment matters as much as exam technique on the day itself.

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Preparing for the Eltham College 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Eltham College 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 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 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.