Giggleswick School 11+ Admissions: Entry, Assessment and Fees

Getting into Giggleswick School at 11+ means registering for a Year 7 place, sitting an online English and Maths assessment, and attending an interview with the Headmaster; the school uses this to understand a child's current level of knowledge, without setting a pass mark. Alongside the assessment, the admissions team asks for two recent school reports and a reference from the child's current school, and most families are also invited to a taster day so the child can experience school life before a final decision.

Giggleswick also offers scholarships at Year 7 across Academic, All-Rounder, Drama, Music, Sport and Art categories, with means-tested bursaries available where a scholarship alone doesn't close the gap in fees. Registration, the assessment and any scholarship application run through the same admissions team, who can advise on timing and documents needed.

How entry works at the school

Entry into Year 7 forms the main 11+ intake at Giggleswick, alongside further entry points at Year 9 and Sixth Form; the school also admits pupils into other year groups subject to availability. Places are not allocated against a catchment area or a shared consortium test, since Giggleswick is an independent school running its own admissions process. Families apply directly to the school's admissions team, who coordinate visits, registration and the entrance assessment for each year group.

What the 11+ assessment involves

The Year 7 entrance assessment at Giggleswick covers English and Maths, sat as an online test, and is followed by an interview with the Headmaster. The school treats the assessment as a way of understanding a child's current level of knowledge, using the results to plan the right academic support and pathway once a child joins. A taster day usually follows, giving the child a chance to experience lessons and school life before a final decision is made.

• English and Maths, completed online
• Interview with the Headmaster
• Two recent school reports and a reference from the current school
• Taster day experience

How registration and the admissions process run

Families typically begin with a visit or taster day arranged through the admissions team, before completing and returning a registration form together with the non-refundable registration fee. The school then asks for copies of the child's two most recent school reports and a reference from their current school. Once these are in, the child sits the English and Maths assessment and attends an interview with the Headmaster, usually alongside a taster day. Where a place is offered, parents complete acceptance forms and pay a deposit to secure it.

• Visit or taster day
• Registration form and fee
• School reports and reference submitted
• Entrance assessment and Headmaster's interview
• Offer, acceptance and deposit

Scholarships available at 11+ entry

Giggleswick offers Year 7 scholarships across several categories: Academic, All-Rounder, Drama, Music, Sport and Art, each carrying a fee remission of around 5 to 10 per cent. Applications draw on a child's two most recent school reports and supporting references from relevant teachers or coaches, with Music candidates also asked for grade certificates. Alongside an interview with the Headmaster and Deputy Head (Academic), each award involves further assessment: subject interviews, auditions or practical work with the relevant head of department, held at the school.

Bursaries and financial assistance

Bursaries at Giggleswick are means-tested and designed to complement a scholarship when the award alone isn't enough for a family to take up an offered place. They sit within the school's wider charitable aim of keeping entry open to children on ability and potential, whatever a family's means. Parents interested in a bursary should raise this with the admissions team during the application, since it is considered alongside the standard admissions and scholarship process.

How to prepare for the assessment

Giggleswick frames its entrance assessment as a way of understanding a child's current level, without a pass mark to clear, so preparation works best when it builds familiarity and keeps pressure low. The school points families to a familiarisation test through Quest Assessments, letting a child see the format of the online English and Maths questions ahead of assessment day. Steady practice in reading, writing and number work at home, combined with treating the Headmaster's interview as a relaxed conversation about interests and hobbies, helps a child feel settled going in.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared

Preparing for the Giggleswick School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Giggleswick 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 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.