King's School Rochester 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment, Registration and Fees

Getting into King's School Rochester at 11+ means registering for a Year 7 place in the Preparatory School (or, for boarders, through the school's separate 11+ boarding admissions route), then sitting the school's own entrance assessment in English, mathematics and reasoning, attending an interview with the Head of the Preparatory School, and providing a reference from your child's current school.

There is no external test board named on the school's admissions pages; the papers are set and marked in-house, and assessment days run in the November or March before September entry, with alternative dates offered if a child cannot attend either. Places are confirmed once the Headmaster makes a formal offer and parents return an acceptance form with the entrance deposit.

How 11+ entry works

Age 11 entry sits inside the Preparatory School, which runs from Year 4 through Year 8; pupils joining at 11+ enter Year 7 and, if they stay on the day route, move up through Year 8 before transferring into the Senior School at 13+. Boarding is available from age 11 onward, and the school treats 11+ boarding admissions as a distinct pathway from day entry, with its own admissions page and process.

The school's admissions pages do not publish a fixed number of places or forms of entry for Year 7, so families should check current availability directly with the admissions office.

How the 11+ assessment is structured

The 11+ Assessment Days cover English, mathematics and non-verbal reasoning, sat on dedicated Assessment Days held in the November or March before September entry. The wider Preparatory School entrance assessment, which candidates joining at 11+ also sit within, additionally draws on verbal reasoning and creative writing, so children can expect a mix of comprehension, written composition, arithmetic and problem-solving, and abstract reasoning items.

Beyond the papers, the school builds in a personal element: an interview with the Head of the Preparatory School, and a reference requested from the child's current school. Many candidates also attend a Taster Day, often after first visiting on an Open Morning, so the assessment sits alongside a chance to experience the school as part of a broader visit.

• English
• Mathematics
• Non-verbal reasoning
• Verbal reasoning (Preparatory School entry generally)
• Creative writing (Preparatory School entry generally)
• Interview with the Head of the Preparatory School
• Current-school reference

Registration and the admissions process, step by step

Families begin by completing the online registration form and paying a non-refundable registration fee. The school then requests a reference from the child's current school, alongside a recent end-of-year report, before the child sits the entrance assessment and attends interviews.

Once assessment and interviews are complete, the Headmaster considers offers; where a place is offered, parents return an acceptance form and pay an entrance deposit to secure it. Where a child has a diagnosed additional educational need, the school asks for a current educational psychologist's report and arranges a meeting with the Head of Additional Needs to discuss the support available.

• Register online and pay the registration fee
• Current-school reference and recent report requested
• Entrance assessment and interview
• Headmaster decides on offers
• Acceptance form and entrance deposit to confirm the place

Boarding entry at 11+

Boarding from 11+ runs as a separate admissions route from day entry, though it uses the same Assessment Days, English, maths and non-verbal reasoning papers, interview and current-school reference. Boarding is available right through from age 11 to Sixth Form, and the school also offers flexible, night-by-night boarding for pupils who want an occasional or trial stay alongside its full-time boarding provision.

An entrance deposit is payable once a boarding place is offered, in the same way as for day entry, and is set against fees or refunded when the pupil leaves, subject to the usual notice conditions.

Scholarships and bursaries at 11+

Year 7 candidates, whether already at King's Rochester or joining from another school, can apply for Academic, Music, Sports, Drama or Art scholarships. Academic candidates need a mean average score of 125 or higher in the preliminary entrance test, plus separate scholarship papers in English, mathematics, creative writing and logic and an interview with the Vice-Principal; music candidates are assessed at around Grade IV standard or higher through audition, aural tests and musicianship; sports candidates need county-level competition experience plus a portfolio and practical session; drama and art candidates submit a CV or portfolio alongside an audition or observational task.

Every scholarship type carries a fee reduction at the Principal's discretion, and music scholars also receive free tuition on two instruments plus music theory. All scholarship holders are automatically eligible for an additional means-tested bursary, and the school will also, in some cases, consider bursary support for children who meet the entrance standard without holding a scholarship, based on parental income and assets and the likely benefit to the child.

Fees for Year 7 entry

Day and boarding fees for Year 7 are published on the school's fees page and vary by boarding status, with separate rates for flexible, night-by-night boarding. A non-refundable registration fee is payable with the registration form, and an entrance deposit is payable once a place is accepted; for day pupils this deposit is refunded against final fees or forfeited if the family does not take up the place.

The school also publishes reductions for clergy families, Service families under the MoD Continuity of Education Allowance scheme, and siblings, where a reduction applies to the third child and beyond.

How to prepare for the assessment

As the papers are set by the school itself and not a standardised external test, practice is best aimed at the skills named on the admissions pages, without following a specific past-paper format: comprehension and creative writing for English, arithmetic and problem-solving for maths, and reasoning-style questions for the non-verbal and verbal reasoning elements.

The interview and current-school reference carry real weight alongside the papers, so it usually helps for a child to be comfortable talking about their interests and current schoolwork, and for the current school to be aware a reference will be requested. Attending an Open Morning or Taster Day beforehand tends to make the assessment day itself feel more familiar, since pupils will already have some experience of the school.

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Preparing for the King's School Rochester 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the King's School Rochester 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.