Lewes Old Grammar School 11+ Admissions: Entrance Exam and Fees

Getting into Lewes Old Grammar School at 11+ means registering with the school, visiting, and having your child sit the school's own Entrance Examination before a place in Year 7 is offered; there is no local authority test or catchment area to navigate, because the school sets and runs its own admissions process.

Entrance Examination results are also used to consider pupils for merit scholarships, while bursaries are assessed separately on financial need.

How entry works at 11+

11+ entry takes a child into Year 7 of the Senior School, which the school's own materials describe as running through to GCSEs in Year 11, followed by a dedicated Sixth Form building for pupils continuing to age 18. Pupils below this age attend the Junior School, known as Morley House, covering Pre-Reception, Reception and Years 1 to 6.

The school does not publish a number of places or forms of entry for Year 7 on its admissions pages, so families weighing their chances should raise this directly with the admissions team when registering interest.

What the 11+ entrance assessment involves

The school assesses 11+ candidates through its own Entrance Examination, referenced by name on its scholarships and bursaries page, where results are described as the measure used for merit scholarship consideration.

Beyond confirming that an Entrance Examination exists, the school's admissions, FAQ and scholarships pages do not set out the subjects tested, question formats, timings or whether an interview or current-school reference forms part of the process; this detail is not published online and is best confirmed with the admissions office or in the current senior school prospectus.

How registration and admissions work

The school describes admissions as something its team is on hand to help with by phone or email, and visits are treated as central to the process; personal visits run every week during term time, each including a pupil-led tour, a lesson observation and a one-to-one meeting with the Head of Junior School or the Senior School Headmaster.

Families arrange a visit by completing a form on the admissions pages, after which the admissions team makes contact to confirm details. Pupils joining partway through the school year can also take part in a taster day to experience a typical day before a final decision is made.

• Register interest and book a visit via the admissions pages
• Attend a visit or taster day
• Sit the school's Entrance Examination
• Await the outcome, including any scholarship or bursary consideration

Scholarships and bursaries at 11+

Scholarships at Lewes Old Grammar School are awarded on merit and irrespective of financial means, measured by a pupil's results in the Entrance Examination, and can also reflect other talents in drama, music or sport. The number of scholarships offered and their value are decided at the discretion of the Headmaster and Trustees, and an award may be withdrawn if a pupil's work or conduct later falls short.

Bursaries are a separate, means-tested form of support intended for pupils who would benefit from attending the school but whose families could not otherwise afford the fees; academic merit and other talents are also taken into account. As with scholarships, the number and size of bursary awards sit at the discretion of the Headmaster and Trustees, and applications are assessed against evidence of financial circumstances.

[heading] Fees

Day fees for Years 7 to 13, covering the whole of Senior School and Sixth Form, are published on the school's fees page as a single termly figure inclusive of VAT. No boarding fees are listed anywhere on the school's fees pages, and the school is set up as a day school.

The fees page also refers to a School Fee Plan, which lets parents spread the cost of each term's invoice across manageable monthly instalments; school lunches, transport and extra-curricular trips are charged separately from the termly fee.

How to prepare for 11+ entry calmly

Because the school does not publish the structure of its Entrance Examination, broad, general preparation is the most useful approach: consolidating the English and mathematics expected by the end of Year 6, and reading and writing regularly, tends to serve a candidate well whatever the exact paper format turns out to be.

Taking up the offer of a personal visit or taster day also helps a child arrive at the assessment familiar with the building, the staff and the rhythm of a lesson, which can settle nerves more than any amount of extra practice. Where a scholarship is a possibility, it is worth remembering that the same Entrance Examination result is used for that decision, so there is no separate paper to prepare for at this stage.

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Preparing for the Lewes Old Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

The Lewes Old Grammar 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, 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.