Princethorpe College 11+ Admissions: Entrance Exam, Registration and Fees

Entry to Princethorpe College at 11+ means registering in advance, sitting the school's entrance assessment in the November before entry, and reaching its qualifying standard alongside satisfactory references from the child's current school. Most Year 7 places are filled through this single assessment day, which combines an online reasoning test with separate English and maths papers.

Princethorpe is a Catholic, co-educational independent day school for ages 11 to 18 in Rugby, Warwickshire, and it says it welcomes children of all faiths and backgrounds. Pupils join from its own Foundation preparatory schools, Crackley Hall and The Crescent, as well as from a wide range of other state and independent primary schools in the surrounding area.

How entry works at 11+

The main route into the school is Year 7 entry, assessed through a single entrance examination day. There is no rolling admissions process. A smaller number of places also come up in Years 8, 9 and 10 for pupils joining after the main round, and the Sixth Form takes external applicants separately.

The school draws candidates from its own Foundation prep schools, Crackley Hall and The Crescent, alongside many other maintained and independent primary schools in the wider area around Rugby. It does not publish a fixed catchment area or a published admission number for Year 7. Places are allocated purely on examination performance and references, with geography playing no part.

How the 11+ assessment is structured

Candidates sit a 50-minute online assessment set by Durham University's Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), covering verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning. Alongside this, they sit separate English and maths papers, each lasting roughly 45 minutes to an hour; the English paper includes a comprehension exercise and extended writing, while the maths paper tests problem-solving and arithmetic.

There is no interview for Year 7 candidates; the school reserves interviews for those entering Years 8, 9 and 10. References from the child's current primary school are also taken into account alongside examination performance. Access arrangements are available for candidates with special educational needs where supporting documentation is provided in advance.

• Online CEM assessment: verbal, non-verbal and numerical reasoning
• English paper: comprehension and extended writing
• Maths paper: problem-solving and arithmetic
• No interview at 11+; references from the current school considered

The registration and admissions process, step by step

Families register online ahead of the assessment day, which allows the school time to request a reference from the child's current school before results are issued. Registration also covers any scholarship or bursary application a family wishes to make, since these follow the same deadline as standard entry.

After the assessment, the school posts results by first-class post. Families who are offered a place then confirm acceptance by paying a deposit, which is refunded after the pupil's final term at the school. The school notes that registrations received after the published deadline are still considered on an individual basis and are not automatically refused.

• Register online, including any scholarship or bursary application
• Sit the entrance assessment on the published date
• Receive results by post
• Confirm acceptance with a deposit by the published deadline

Scholarships and bursaries

The school offers a range of merit-based scholarships at 11+, including Academic, Art, and Performing Arts awards covering Choral, Drama, Music, Musical Theatre and Dance, plus Sports and All-Rounder scholarships for candidates with strength across several areas. All candidates sitting the entrance examination are automatically considered for an academic scholarship; other scholarships require a separate application, portfolio, audition or trial, and most require two referee letters. Awards give a discount on tuition fees, typically a smaller percentage reduction, with a stated maximum reduction available in specific circumstances.

Means-tested bursaries are available to external candidates at any entry point, regardless of religion or current school, and are assessed mainly on household income and net assets; awards can cover a substantial proportion of tuition fees plus other educational costs. A separate means-tested Thomas More Scholarship exists for Catholic children moving from Catholic state primary schools, requiring supporting letters from a parish priest and current headteacher.

Fees and what they cover

The school charges a single day-fee rate per term across all year groups, published on its fees page for the relevant academic year alongside a non-returnable registration fee and a refundable deposit taken on acceptance of a place. Princethorpe does not offer boarding.

Sibling discounts apply for families with more than one child at the school, and optional costs such as individual learning support sessions or after-school care beyond the standard day are charged separately. Current figures are published on the school's own fees page and are not fixed in any prospectus, so families should check the latest version before budgeting.

How to prepare for the assessment

Because the reasoning element is an online CEM-style test administered on screen, the school's own guidance (echoing CEM's advice) recommends children build general independent problem-solving skills and basic keyboard familiarity, without drilling a fixed set of question types, since no official practice papers are issued for this component.

For the English and maths papers, useful preparation looks like the normal work of Year 6: comprehension of unseen texts, extended writing under time pressure, and arithmetic and problem-solving practised at a steady pace, without last-minute cramming close to the assessment date. Keeping the current school informed matters too, since its reference forms part of the overall picture alongside exam performance.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared

Preparing for the Princethorpe College 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Princethorpe College 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, 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.