Hoe Bridge School 7+, 11+ and 13+ Admissions: Pre-Tests, Scholarships and Fees

Hoe Bridge School admissions at the main entry point, Year 7, begin with online registration and the ISEB Common Pre-Test, a set of computer-based multiple-choice papers in English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Shortlisted candidates then attend an Interview and Activity Day, and the school asks the current headteacher for a confidential reference.

Hoe Bridge also takes a small number of pupils at 7+ into Year 3 and at 13+ into Year 9, with occasional places in other year groups. The 13+ route uses ISEB reasoning tests alongside written English and Maths, and scholarships are available at both 11+ and 13+.

Entry points and places

Hoe Bridge admits pupils at 7+ into Year 3, at 11+ into Year 7 and at 13+ into Year 9, and it also has occasional places in other year groups. The school educates children from 6 months to 16 years, so there is no 16+ entry.

At 7+ a small number of places are offered at the start of Year 3, depending on availability. Years 3 and 4 each have three classes of up to 21 children, with Maths and English set in four groups from Year 3 and French set in three groups from Year 4. Year 7 places are offered if spaces are available, and the school does not publish a figure for either Year 7 or Year 9.

• 7+ (Year 3): small number of places, offer process arranged by the admissions team after registration
• 11+ (Year 7): ISEB Common Pre-Tests, then Interview and Activity Day
• 13+ (Year 9): ISEB reasoning tests plus written English and Maths

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment is the ISEB Common Pre-Test, taken online as multiple-choice papers in four parts. English lasts 40 minutes, Maths 40 minutes, Verbal Reasoning 30 minutes and Non-Verbal Reasoning 25 minutes, which the school describes as about two and a half hours in total.

Candidates sit the papers at Hoe Bridge, or at their current prep school if it uses ISEB. The school says no special preparation is required and describes the tests as designed to identify potential as well as attainment. Shortlisted candidates are told by email, and the next stage is the Interview and Activity Day.

• English: 40 minutes
• Maths: 40 minutes
• Verbal Reasoning: 30 minutes
• Non-Verbal Reasoning: 25 minutes

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Interviews, activity day and references

Shortlisted 11+ candidates attend an Interview and Activity Day, where each child is interviewed individually by members of the senior leadership team. The day also includes a short composition or creative writing task, group reading and team-building activities.

The school asks for a confidential reference from the current headteacher as part of the 11+ process. Scholarship candidates also need a scholarship-specific reference from their school, and the school's pages do not describe a separate interview for 13+ entry, where the Activity Day is listed as not applicable.

How the 13+ assessment works

The 13+ assessment combines ISEB computerised Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning tests with written English and Maths papers, all sat on a single assessment day in the autumn term. Registration closes on the same deadline as 11+ and scholarships.

Shortlisted candidates are notified by email a week after the assessment, and the acceptance deadline, with the deposit paid, follows within a fortnight of that. This is much earlier than the 11+ acceptance deadline, so families sitting 13+ need to be ready to decide quickly. The school's pages do not describe a Common Entrance route or a separate 13+ interview.

Registration and the admissions timeline

Families register online through the admissions portal and pay a non-refundable registration fee, which is published on the registration page. For 11+ and 13+ entry the registration deadline falls in the autumn term, and scholarship applications close on the same date.

Once registration is complete, 11+ entry moves through five stages, from the Pre-Tests to the signed acceptance and deposit, and the steps below follow that order.

• Create an account on the admissions portal and register online, paying the registration fee
• Sit the ISEB Common Pre-Tests at Hoe Bridge or at the current prep school if it uses ISEB
• Receive an email if shortlisted, then attend the Interview and Activity Day in the new year
• Receive the offer by email in the spring term
• Return the signed Acceptance Form and pay the acceptance deposit by the stated deadline, after which an unaccepted offer is withdrawn and passed to another family

Scholarships and bursaries

Hoe Bridge offers scholarships at 11+ and 13+ in academic work, music, art and design technology, performing arts and sport, with a discretionary Headmaster's Scholarship for candidates strong in more than one area. Academic scholarships need no separate application, because every candidate is considered from their entrance results and may be invited to a Scholarship Day with an interview and higher-order thinking activities.

Other scholarships have their own application forms and assessments. Music candidates audition with Grade 4 or above at 11+ and Grade 5 or above at 13+; art candidates submit two pieces of work and complete two timed tasks; DT candidates need a portfolio and sit a morning workshop task; performing arts candidates perform a prepared monologue and an unseen piece; sport candidates take practical and fitness tests.

Many scholarships are honorary and carry no fee reduction, and a small number carry a percentage reduction set by the school. Scholarships generally last for a pupil's time at the school, subject to annual review. The scholarship and fees pages do not mention means-tested bursaries, so families needing financial support should ask admissions directly.

Fees and what they include

Hoe Bridge publishes its fees per term, by year group, on a single fees page, and the figures include VAT apart from nursery fees, which are VAT-exempt. Fees include lunch for full-day pupils, break-time drinks and snacks, all school-based curriculum activities and personal accident insurance, including dental damage cover.

A 5% sibling discount applies to the younger child where two or more children attend at the same time, and a 10% discount is available to regular serving military personnel with a valid MOD90. Families receive only the largest discount that applies. Bills are issued before each term and are due before it starts, and wraparound care is priced on a separate page.

Where pupils join from

Pupils join Hoe Bridge from its own nursery and pre-prep as well as from other schools. The school runs a full-year nursery from 6 months, a term-time nursery, Reception, a prep school for Years 3 to 8 and a senior school, and nursery children can move into Reception.

External Year 7 candidates come from other prep schools, which can host the ISEB Common Pre-Tests if they use ISEB. The school welcomes Reception children from many different nurseries, and its pages name no feeder or partner schools.

How to prepare

Preparation for the 11+ is best built around the four ISEB Common Pre-Test papers, which are all computer-based and multiple-choice. Practising the question styles in English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning against the 40, 40, 30 and 25 minute timings helps a child manage pace on screen, even though the school says no special preparation is required.

For the Interview and Activity Day, children can practise reading aloud, writing a short piece of creative writing in a set time and talking with unfamiliar adults about their interests. At 13+, written English and Maths practice sits alongside the reasoning tests, and scholarship candidates can prepare the specific requirements named for their subject, such as the music grade, the art sketchbook, the DT portfolio or the monologue.

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• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• The 7+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained

Preparing for the Hoe Bridge School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

The Hoe Bridge School 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 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.

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