Kent College, Canterbury 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Assessments, Fees, Scholarships

To get into Kent College, Canterbury, a child registers online, sits entrance assessments in English, maths and non-verbal reasoning, and meets the Head or a member of the senior team, with the main entry points at Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) and Year 12 (16+). The Senior School describes itself as non-selective and open to pupils from all backgrounds, yet every applicant must complete entrance exams before a place can be offered.

Sixth form applicants from UK schools are usually offered a place on school reports, mock GCSE results and minimum GCSE requirements, and other year groups can be considered when a place is available. Scholarships are offered at Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12, and means-tested bursaries are assessed at registration.

Entry points and places

The Senior School admits at Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) and Year 12 (16+), and other year groups are possible whenever a place is available. The school does not publish the number of places or forms of entry at any of these points, so the Admissions office is the contact for current availability.

Applicants can apply for a day place, full boarding or one of several flexible boarding options, and boarding is offered from age 10. International students may apply to the International Study Centre, which also runs a Year 11 (15+) course as a route into the sixth form.

How the 11+ assessment works

Year 7 applicants sit assessments in maths, English and non-verbal reasoning on an annual assessment day held in January. English and maths trial papers are available on the school's application page, which gives families a direct view of the material before the day. The school does not publish paper lengths or question types.

A getting to know you session for pupils and parents with a Senior Management Team member follows the assessments. Offers are generally sent during the February half term, and the same January results are used to consider every Year 7 candidate for an academic scholarship without any extra registration.

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How the 13+ and other in-year assessments work

Applicants for Year 9 (13+), and for any year from Year 8 to Year 11, take online exams in English, maths and non-verbal reasoning, followed by a getting to know you interview with the Head or a Senior Management Team member. A response is expected within a week of marking.

The school's pages describe no pre-test in Year 6 or Year 7 and no conditional offer. Common Entrance results may be used as a stand-in for the entrance tests when Year 9 candidates are considered for an academic scholarship, and a report from the current school is requested in every case.

Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration is completed online with a non-refundable registration fee, and it does not commit the family or guarantee a place, although it is required before assessment. Closing dates tend to fall in the autumn for Year 7 and in January for Years 9 and 12, with Year 9 and Year 12 assessments and interviews at the end of February. The steps below show the order in which families usually meet each stage.

• Register online, supplying the two most recent school reports, a passport and a birth certificate or ID, and declare any learning support needs with assessment reports so the SENDCO can meet the family.
• Visit, with a personalised tour built around the child's interests, or a Zoom call if a visit is not possible. An Open Morning is held in early October, alongside information evenings.
• Sit the entrance assessments and attend the getting to know you session or interview.
• Receive an offer if the entry criteria are met.
• Return the acceptance form and pay the deposit, which is refunded from fees when the pupil leaves, then complete the Parents' Contract, medical questionnaire, laptop and IT agreements and biometrics consent.
• Attend the New Pupils' Information Day in June (Year 7) and an induction morning before term starts.

What 16+ sixth form entry requires

Sixth form entry at Year 12 requires at least 6 GCSE passes, with grade B or above in the subjects chosen for A Level or the IB Diploma. UK applicants are usually offered a place on their school reports, mock GCSE results in maths and/or English depending on subject choices, and these minimum requirements.

Pathways are the IB Diploma, A Levels and Cambridge Technicals. International applicants take an Oxford online English assessment, and those at B1 or below may be invited to an online interview with the Head of the International Study Centre. Scholarships at this point can consider predicted GCSE results.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships are offered at Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12 in academic, IB Diploma (Year 12 only), art and design (Years 9 and 12 only), drama, music including choral, and sport, with a combined maximum of 50% of tuition fees. They are not means tested and are requested through the online registration. Assessment differs by type: art candidates bring a portfolio and sit an observational drawing and design test; drama candidates perform a monologue and a contrasting poem and join a workshop; IB candidates submit a reply of up to 300 words and a piece of up to 1,000 words, then have a short interview.

Music auditions expect roughly Grade 3 at Year 7, Grade 5 at Year 9 and Grade 6 to 7 at Year 12, and sport candidates need a practical test and coach references.

Bursaries are means tested on parental income, savings, property and outgoings, may involve a home visit or interview, and are awarded at the Headmaster's discretion. Applications must be made before or at registration, because a bursary cannot be awarded after a place is offered. No maximum share is published, and the reduction applies to day tuition fees only.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published per term, including VAT, by year group on the school's fees page, with separate tables for the Junior School, Senior School day pupils, weekly boarding and full-time boarding. The standard fee covers curriculum activities, books and stationery supporting the curriculum, career profiling in Years 11 and 12, first-sitting exam fees for GCSE, A Level and IB, and co-curricular clubs. Boarders also have meals, bedding and internal laundry included.

Lunch is compulsory and charged separately, and extras are invoiced in arrears each term, including music tuition, instrument hire, LAMDA lessons, the minibus service and learning support. A deposit applies to every place, at a higher level for boarders, and it is returned at the end of the pupil's time at the school less any unpaid charges. Sibling allowances of 20% for a third child and 40% for a fourth or further child apply, along with remissions for Armed Forces families and Methodist ministers.

Where pupils join from

Most Junior School pupils (ages 3 to 11) enter at nursery or Reception on the Harbledown site, and the Junior School is non-selective. The admissions page links to a document titled Moving Up to Year 7 for these families, and the Junior School office on 01227 762436 handles questions about that step. No other feeder or partner schools are named.

External applicants arrive with their two most recent school reports and sit the same assessments as other candidates. International applicants aged 7 to 17 need a Child Student visa, which the school supports as a UKVI sponsor, and a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies is issued once the place, guardian agreement, deposit and evidence of funds are in place.

How to prepare

Preparation for Year 7 centres on the English and maths trial papers on the application page, plus some practice with non-verbal reasoning questions, which are the three subjects tested. Working through the trial papers in a calm, timed setting a few weeks before the January assessment day tends to make the format familiar.

For Year 9 and other in-year entry, the exams are taken online, so practice on a screen is useful. Both the Year 7 session and the in-year interview are described as getting to know you conversations, which usually go best when the child can talk about their interests. Scholarship candidates can prepare the specific item named for their discipline, such as a portfolio, a monologue and poem, prepared music pieces with grade marksheets, or the two IB written pieces.

Related guides

• Best private schools in Kent
• Independent school fees compared
• Sevenoaks School (11+)
• The King's School Canterbury (13+)
• Ashford School (11+)
• Sutton Valence School (11+)
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained
• Boarding schools in the UK

Preparing for the Kent College, Canterbury 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Kent College, Canterbury 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 in Kent 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.

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