Embley School 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment, Registration and Fees

Getting into Embley School at 11+ means registering online, attending a taster session and sitting the school's own entrance assessment, which combines an English written paper with a computer-based cognitive ability test and an interview with a senior member of staff. The school describes its process as focused on a child's potential over prior attainment, and takes up a reference from the child's current school alongside the assessment results before making an offer.

Year 7 is the main entry point into Embley's Senior School, though places are also available at Year 9 and Year 12, each with its own scholarship round. This guide sets out how the 11+ process runs in order, what the assessment covers, and how scholarships, bursaries and fees work for families applying to the school.

How entry works at Embley

Year 7, at age 11, is the main entry point into Embley's Senior School, and the school describes itself as welcoming children from a range of primary and prep schools. Places are also available at Year 9 (13+) and Year 12 (16+), and the school notes that occasional places can arise in other year groups, with Year 8 and Year 10 applicants sitting an additional maths paper as part of their assessment.

Progression from Year 7 through to the Sixth Form is normally assured, according to the school, through a combination of appropriate behaviour, hard work and academic success; a further formal entry test at each stage is not required. The admissions team asks families to confirm current availability before registering, since places in a given year group can be limited.

How the 11+ assessment works

Embley's Year 7 entrance assessment has three parts: an English written paper, a computer-based cognitive ability test, and an interview with a member of the Senior Leadership Team. The school describes the cognitive ability test as measuring how a child can think in areas known to make a difference in achievement and learning; it does not test curriculum content directly.

Alongside the assessment itself, the school takes up a reference from the child's current school and asks parents to submit a recent school report. The stated aim of the process is to let children show their character, curiosity and passion for learning alongside their academic ability, and the school frames its approach around potential over prior attainment.

• English written paper
• Computer-based cognitive ability test
• Interview with a member of the Senior Leadership Team
• Reference and recent report from the child's current school
• Additional maths paper for Year 8 and Year 10 applicants

Registering and the steps in the admissions process

Registration for a place starts with an online form and a registration fee, and the school recommends registering early since it asks families to confirm current availability before applying. From there, the process runs as a sequence: visiting the school or attending an open event, registering online, a taster session, the entrance assessment and interview, and finally an offer followed by acceptance paperwork and a deposit to secure the place.

• Visit an open event or arrange an individual visit
• Register online and pay the registration fee
• Attend a taster session and meet potential classmates
• Sit the entrance assessment and interview; the school takes up a reference from the current school
• Receive the outcome; accept the offer and pay a deposit to secure the place

Scholarships at 11+ entry

Embley offers Academic, Art & Design, Drama, Music, Sports Performance and Sailing scholarships to children joining in Year 7, alongside equivalent rounds at Year 9 and Year 12. Academic scholarship candidates are automatically considered on the basis of their entrance assessment, interview and reference, without a separate application.

The creative and sporting scholarships each have their own process: Art & Design applicants submit a digital portfolio before a workshop and interview; Drama applicants submit a video monologue before a group workshop and interview with the Director of Drama; Music candidates need at least Grade 3 on their instrument and audition with two contrasting pieces; Sports candidates are assessed on skills, technique, knowledge and fitness; Sailing candidates interview with the Head of Sailing. All scholarships awarded in Year 7 run for the duration of Senior School.

Bursaries and financial support

Embley offers a limited number of means-tested bursaries for children entering in Years 7, 9 and 12, awarded case by case against both financial need and academic ability, and reviewed annually. The school states that it does not offer full bursaries, so parents are expected to make a contribution towards fees, with the award calculated on a sliding scale based on the financial position of both parents.

Bursary applications are administered on the school's behalf by Bursary Administration Ltd, and families must first register their child with Embley before a bursary application can be considered. The school also notes that emergency bursaries can sometimes be available for short-term circumstances such as sudden unemployment.

Fees, discounts and payment options

Embley publishes separate day and boarding fee rates for Years 7 to 13, with boarding fees varying by whether a pupil is a UK, EU or international boarder; all figures include lunch. Fees can be paid annually, termly or monthly, and invoices are sent in July, November and March for the three terms.

A sibling discount applies where more than one child from a family attends at the same time, and a separate reduction is available for regular serving members of the Armed Forces. Public examinations such as GCSEs and A Levels, along with items like peripatetic music tuition, school buses and trips, are charged separately from the termly fee.

How to prepare for Embley's assessment format

Since the assessment combines an English written paper with a computer-based cognitive ability test and an interview, preparation works best when it covers all three; focusing solely on written English is insufficient. Familiarity with sitting a timed test on a computer, as well as a paper-based English exercise, helps a child feel settled on the day, and talking through the kind of open, conversational questions an interviewer might ask can ease nerves.

Because the school states its process looks at potential over prior attainment, and takes up a current school report and reference, a calm, well-prepared child who can talk about their interests and approach to learning is better placed than one drilled solely on past papers. The taster session earlier in the process is also a useful opportunity for a child to become familiar with the school environment before assessment day.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared

Preparing for the Embley School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Embley School 11+ 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 11+ 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 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.