LVS Ascot 7+, 9+, 11+ and 16+ Admissions: Quest Assessment, Fees and Scholarships

How do you get into LVS Ascot? Applicants register online, sit the school's adaptive Quest assessment, attend an interview with a member of the Senior Team and have their school reports and a formal reference reviewed, with the main Senior School entry at 11+ in Year 7 and further entry points at 7+, 9+ and 16+. The school describes itself as all-ability, so the Quest assessment sits alongside the interview and references as one part of the decision.

The Quest assessment is the entrance test that parents searching for the LVS Ascot entrance exam are looking for: it lasts about an hour, adapts to the child's answers and covers Maths, English, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. Each step of the process is set out in the sections below, along with the fees the school publishes and the scholarships and bursaries on offer.

Entry points and places

The school takes applicants into every year group from Reception to Sixth Form, subject to available space, and the entry points from age 7 upwards that its pages highlight are Year 3 (7+), Year 5 (9+), Year 7 (11+) and Year 12 (16+). Year 7 is described as a main point of entry into the Senior School.

The Infant and Junior School runs from Reception to Year 6, the Senior School from Year 7 to Year 11 and the Sixth Form covers Years 12 and 13. Boarding is available from age 11 upwards, and the Year 5 and Year 6 boarding fees on the fees page suggest junior boarding exists as well. The number of places at each entry point is not published, so the Admissions Department is the contact for current availability.

• Year 3 (7+) and Year 5 (9+): Junior School entry, with academic scholarships
• Year 7 (11+): main Senior School entry
• Year 12 (16+): Sixth Form entry, with scholarships in any discipline
• Other year groups: considered where space allows

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment is the Quest assessment, an adaptive test of about one hour covering Maths, English, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning, which can be sat online or in person after discussion with the Admissions Team. Adaptive means the questions respond to the child's earlier answers, so no two candidates see exactly the same sequence.

The school applies the same Quest assessment to all applicants, so Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 12 candidates sit it alongside an interview and references. English is one of the four sections, which means the school sets no separate English test for applicants on the pages read. The pages do not name a test provider or publish a pass mark.

• Format: adaptive, about one hour
• Subjects: Maths, English, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning
• Setting: online or in person, agreed with the Admissions Team

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Interviews and references

Every applicant has an interview with a member of the Senior Team, held in person or online, and the school also asks for copies of school reports and a formal reference from the current school. These form part of the decision alongside the Quest result.

Reports from previous schools are requested in the autumn term before the year of entry, which fits the timing of firm offers at the end of that term. The school is all-ability and states that it can consider applicants with mild learning difficulties, so families with a diagnosed need are directed to the relevant sections of the Admissions Policy on the support available. Reading that policy before registering is advised, because the registration fee is non-refundable.

Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration starts with a visit and ends with a deposit, and the school sets out the sequence in four stages. Families first book an Open Day or an individual tour, and Junior School families can also book a Taster Day by emailing the Admissions Office.

The remaining steps run in a fixed order, and the Admissions Department is open all year round.

• Step 1: complete the online application form and pay the non-returnable registration fee, which places the child on the provisional entry list for the chosen year
• Step 2: sit the Quest assessment and attend the interview, while the school collects reports and a reference
• Step 3: firm offers, usually made at the end of the autumn term before the year of entry, and earlier where documents and eligibility are verified sooner
• Step 4: accept the offer and pay the deposit, which firmly enters the pupil on the entry list; a 14 calendar day cooling-off period runs from signing the acceptance form

Scholarships and bursaries

The school offers scholarships at several entry points, usually worth up to 50 per cent of fees, and awards can be combined up to a maximum of 50 per cent. Academic scholarships exist at Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 12; art, sport and performing arts scholarships at Year 7; football scholarships at Years 7, 9, 10 and 12; aviation at Years 10 and 11; and Oxbridge and medical pathway awards at Years 10 and 12.

The Year 3 and Year 5 academic scholarships apply to day fees, are open to internal and external applicants and involve a morning academic assessment. For Year 7 and Year 12 awards, applicants complete a scholarship application form and submit a CV and supporting documents, and the registration fee also applies to scholarship applications.

Bursaries of up to 100 per cent of fees are described as means-tested, with Licensed Trade Charity bursaries linked from the same page. The means test asks for bank statements for all household accounts and statements for debts such as mortgages, and the school uses the Joseph Rowntree minimum income standard to estimate disposable income.

Fees and what they include

Fees are charged per term and include VAT, with Senior Day fees for Years 7 to 11 and Senior Boarding fees for the same years published on the school's fees page, and the figures are given in the fees field of this guide. Day fees include lunch, boarders receive all meals plus evening and weekend activity programmes, and all pupils have curriculum books, exam entrance charges, personal accident insurance and most after-school activities covered.

A loyalty discount takes 15 per cent off Year 7 fees for pupils who joined at the start of Year 4, and discounts are listed for siblings, alumni, HM Armed Forces, the UK Diplomatic Service, Licensed Trade families and employees. Fees can be paid by bank transfer or monthly direct debit through School Fee Plan, subject to status and terms.

Sixth form entry at 16+

Sixth Form places are open to applicants subject to space, and the school applies the same Quest assessment, Senior Team interview, school reports and formal reference that it uses at other entry points. The pages read do not publish GCSE grade requirements, so families should ask the Admissions Department for subject-specific grades.

The Sixth Form offers a wide range of A Levels and some BTECs, including some subjects not taken at GCSE, and the Extended Project Qualification is open to all Year 12 students. Scholarships in any discipline are available at Year 12, with Oxbridge and medical pathway criteria on separate pages. International students can join a one-year Pre-A Level Programme that focuses on English language acquisition.

Where pupils join from

The school has its own Infant and Junior School on the same 26-acre campus, taking children from age 4 through Reception to Year 6, and its Senior School then admits pupils from Year 7. The pages read name no partner or feeder schools, and they do not describe a separate procedure for Junior School pupils moving up.

Staying on carries a financial incentive, because a loyalty discount reduces Year 7 fees for pupils who joined at the start of Year 4. The Year 3 and Year 5 scholarship page adds that scholars receive enrichment, mentoring and preparation for next steps, which may include the Senior School or, for some, grammar school entry at Year 7.

How to prepare

Preparation for this school centres on the four Quest sections: Maths, English, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. Because the test is adaptive and lasts about an hour, regular practice in each of the four areas, with questions that increase in difficulty, suits the format better than long single-subject sessions.

The interview with a Senior Team member rewards a child who can talk about their current school, their interests and what they hope to do next, and a visit, tour or Taster Day beforehand tends to make the setting familiar. Families can also ask the current school for reports and a reference in good time, since the school requests them in the autumn term before entry. Scholarship candidates should check the separate assessment details with the Admissions Office, since formats are not published.

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Preparing for the LVS Ascot 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the LVS Ascot 11+ usually come to us a year or so before the assessment, though shorter runs work where the foundations are already sound. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors build each programme around the format the school actually uses, whether a written paper, an online pre-test, an interview or a combination of them.

More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, so the preparation is led by people who know how selective schools assess. 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.