Lancing College Entry at 11+, Year 7 and 13+: Admissions Explained

Lancing College does not offer 11+ entry into Year 7; the school's main entry point is 13+ (Third Form, Year 9), reached through the Advance Programme that starts with registration in Year 6. Parents searching for a Year 7 place at Lancing College itself will find the earliest formal route is the Year 7 Application Route, an early-registration pathway leading to Year 9 entry, with no provision for immediate admission at eleven.

Families wanting genuine 11+ entry at age eleven can apply instead to Lancing's affiliated preparatory schools, Lancing Prep Worthing and Lancing Prep Hove, both of which admit into Year 7 and feed pupils through to the senior school at 13+. This guide sets out how admission to Lancing itself works, alongside the Year 7 Route, scholarships, bursaries and fees.

Does the senior school admit at 11+?

No. Lancing is a senior school and its own admissions pages do not list an 11+ or Year 7 entry point into the College itself; the school's published entry points are Third Form (Year 9) at 13+ and Sixth Form at 16+. The earliest way to engage with admissions is the Year 7 Application Route, under which children are assessed at the College in the Year 7 autumn term for a place from Year 9. The school notes that places at this stage are small in number, particularly for day pupils, and more competitive than applying through the main Advance Programme.

How entry works: the Advance Programme and Third Form entry

Most pupils join Lancing into the Third Form (Year 9) through the Advance Programme, registered by the end of October in Year 6 for assessment the following January, with results given in February or March. The school recommends this route as the surest way to secure a firm place, warning that applying within eighteen months of Year 9 entry risks being offered only a place on the waiting list. A further entry point exists at Sixth Form (Year 12), assessed separately in a candidate's own right. Lancing states that it welcomes new pupils to the College every year across these entry points.

What the assessment involves

Candidates on the Advance Programme attend an Experience and Familiarisation Day at the College as part of assessment; no papers are sat at a separate test centre. The Year 7 Route similarly involves an assessment day at the College during the Year 7 autumn term. Lancing's published admissions pages do not set out specific papers, subjects or an external test provider for either route, so families should check directly with the Admissions Office for the current format before applying.

How registration and admissions work, step by step

Admission to the school follows a fixed sequence regardless of entry point.

• Register interest and submit the registration form
• Attend the assessment day at the College (the Experience and Familiarisation Day for the Advance Programme, or an assessment day for the Year 7 Route)
• The school notifies families of the outcome
• Families accept by returning a signed acceptance form together with the required deposit, without which no pupil can be admitted

Scholarships and bursaries

Lancing offers scholarships at Third Form and Sixth Form entry across nine categories: Academic, Art, Drama, Music, Sport, Design & Technology, the Ken Shearwood Award for all-rounders and the Peter Robinson Cricket award at Year 9, plus an Organ scholarship at Sixth Form. Scholarships are awarded through a competitive assessment process irrespective of a family's financial circumstances and typically carry a fee remission; a candidate may apply for up to two categories but can only benefit from one award.

Bursaries, which are means-tested, are only available to pupils who have already been awarded a scholarship, so the school advises applying for both at the same time to avoid restricting bursary funding. Assessment of financial circumstances follows the standard method recommended by the Independent Schools' Bursars Association, and families should flag the need for financial assistance on the registration form.

Year 7 and 11+ entry through Lancing's prep schools

Families seeking an 11+ place at age eleven, as an alternative to the Year 7 Route into Lancing, can apply to Lancing Prep Worthing, which welcomes new pupils into Year 7 from state primary and other schools and offers means-tested 11+ scholarships at that stage. Lancing Prep Hove also takes pupils into Year 7. Both are separate preparatory schools within the Lancing Foundation, described as a pathway towards Lancing itself, or another senior school, at 13+.

How to prepare for entry

Lancing's own published routes centre on an assessment day at the College and do not involve a bank of past papers, so preparation focuses less on a specific test format and more on registering in good time; the school recommends the Advance Programme because late registration can leave a place on the waiting list without a firm offer. Families weighing the Year 7 Route should treat it as a smaller, more competitive door into Year 9, and contact the Admissions Office directly to confirm what the current assessment day involves before the child attends.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared

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Preparation for the Lancing College Entry at 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.

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