Registration for Prior Park College 11+ closes in 49 days, on 23 November 2026. A free consultation now leaves time to plan the preparation before the assessment.
Book a free consultationKey Facts
| School type | Independent co-educational Catholic day and boarding school, ages 11 to 18 |
|---|---|
| Location | Bath, Somerset |
| Entry points | 11+ (Year 7), 13+ (Year 9), 16+ (Year 12) |
| Assessment | On-screen maths and non-verbal reasoning test, creative writing paper, leadership and teamwork activity, interview and a report from the current school |
| Test provider | School's own papers, with the on-screen maths and reasoning test delivered via an online assessment platform |
| Registration deadline | 23 November 2026 (11+ application closing date) |
| Assessment date | 15 January 2027 (11+ entrance exams); Special Talent and Academic Scholarship assessments in the week commencing 30 November 2026 |
Figures correct at the time of writing — always confirm current fees and deadlines with the school directly.
Entry to Prior Park College at 11+ turns on an on-screen maths and reasoning test, a creative writing paper, a team-based leadership activity, an interview and a report from the child's current school, with the Headmaster making the final decision on a place. Registration closes in the autumn before entry, the assessment day itself follows later in the same cycle, and the school publishes exact dates on its admissions page each year.
Prior Park is a co-educational day and boarding school in Bath for pupils aged 11 to 18, with further entry points at 13+ and 16+ alongside the main Year 7 round. Places are not guaranteed by any catchment area or sibling link; academic ability, the school reference and the assessment outcome sit at the centre of every decision.
How the 11+ assessment works
Entry to Year 7 runs through three linked exercises: there is no single written exam.
Small groups also tackle active challenges in the Sports Centre alongside Sixth Form mentors, while parents attend a reception held at the same time, and lunch is provided on the day with dietary requirements flagged in advance.
- On-screen test, about 45 minutes: maths and non-verbal reasoning, pitched at minimum National Curriculum expectations
- Creative writing paper, about 50 minutes: grammar, structure and imagination in English, again at minimum National Curriculum level
- Leadership and teamwork activity: small-group problem-solving supervised by Sixth Form mentors
Interview, school report and how places are decided
Every candidate meets the Headmaster or a member of the Senior Leadership Team for an interview the school describes as a chance to get to know the child, alongside a reference requested from their current school. The Headmaster weighs the assessment outcome, the interview and the school reference together when deciding on an offer, and individual marks or grades are not disclosed to families.
Where applications exceed the places available, published admission criteria come into play, covering academic ability and school reference, cognitive abilities, attitudinal interviews, extra-curricular talents, siblings already at another Prior Park school, and prior attendance at the Paragon junior school, among other factors; these are listed alphabetically, and the order carries no weighting.
Registering and the admissions timeline
Families move through a fixed sequence from registration to acceptance.
- Submit a registration form and pay the non-refundable registration fee before the published closing date
- Sit the entrance assessment; scholarship candidates sit additional papers or attend an assessment day in the same window
- Current school provides a reference report
- Attend an interview with the Headmaster or a senior leader
- Headmaster confirms the decision in writing
- Accepted families return an acceptance form with a deposit by the advertised deadline
Scholarships at 11+
Prior Park offers an Academic Scholarship alongside Special Talent awards in art, drama, design technology, music and sport, plus a Joint Heads Award reserved for selected Year 6 pupils at the Paragon. Academic candidates sit a fifty-minute paper that needs no prior preparation and attend an informal interview about their interests, while Special Talent applicants are shortlisted for an assessment day at the college.
A first scholarship carries a fee reduction, except for music scholars, who instead receive two complimentary lessons a week; any further award held is honorary only. A child can hold an Academic Scholarship together with one Special Talent award, though not two Special Talent awards at the same time, and all scholarship candidates must still meet the normal academic entry requirements.
Bursaries and other fee support
Means-tested bursaries sit alongside scholarships and are awarded under the school's Means Tested Bursary Policy, either to support an existing family in difficulty or to open a place to a child whose parents could not otherwise meet the fees. Applying requires registration with the college, a completed bursary application and supporting financial evidence, submitted before an offer of a place is made, and some applications are referred to an external assessor for independent review.
Awards run for twelve months at a time and are reviewed annually against the family's circumstances, with levels of support able to change if income changes. A bursary can be added to a scholarship award. Forces families in receipt of the Continuity of Education Allowance qualify for a dedicated bursary, and a sibling discount applies where two or more children attend Prior Park schools together.
How to prepare for the assessment
Prior Park's own admissions policy states that no preparation is needed and every candidate starts on an equal footing, since the assessment is designed around identifying potential.
Children can still settle their nerves by trying the school's online familiarisation tool, which mirrors the format of the on-screen maths and reasoning test before assessment day itself. Reading and writing for pleasure supports the creative writing paper more directly than last-minute drilling, and a calm run-up on the day tends to help a child perform at their natural level. For the teamwork activity, ordinary experience of group games or team sports gives most children a comfortable feel for cooperating under a time limit.
Related guides
Preparing for the Prior Park College 11+ with Taylor Tuition
Preparation for the Prior Park College 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 in Bristol and Bath and further afield work with us online, 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.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a pass mark for the 11+ entrance test?
- Prior Park does not publish a fixed pass mark. The admissions policy states that no preparation is needed and every candidate starts on an equal footing, because the assessment is designed around identifying potential, and marks or grades are not shared with families.
- Do we need to prepare our child for the entrance exam?
- The school's own guidance says no preparation is needed and all candidates start on equal footing. Even so, Prior Park provides an online familiarisation tool so children can see the on-screen test format before assessment day, which can ease nerves without requiring formal revision.
- Can a child sit a scholarship assessment as well as the standard 11+ test?
- Yes. Scholarship candidates still need to meet the normal academic entry requirements and sit the standard entrance assessment, alongside a separate scholarship paper or assessment day depending on the category. A child may hold an Academic Scholarship together with one Special Talent award, though not two Special Talent awards at once.
- Can a bursary be combined with a scholarship?
- Yes, a means-tested bursary can be added to a scholarship award. Bursary applications go through the Finance Department, require supporting financial evidence, and must be submitted before a place is offered; awards are then reviewed every twelve months against the family's circumstances.
- What happens if my child isn't offered a place straight away?
- Unsuccessful candidates can be held on a waiting list until the closing date for acceptances published in the school's literature. A later offer from that list depends on a fresh assessment when a place becomes free, since the list does not carry a fixed ranking.
Enquire about 11+ preparation
Start your enquiryHow Taylor Tuition can help
Expert, one-to-one support from specialist tutors.
Editorial Notice
We use automated research tools to help collate and maintain information across our website. While each post is reviewed before publication, some details may be incomplete or inaccurate.
Free 11+ familiarisation pack
English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with mark schemes.
Taylor Tuition
Educational Consultancy
Contributing expert insights on education, exam preparation, and effective learning strategies to help students reach their full potential.