Rugby School 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Assessment Day, Scholarships and Fees

To get into Rugby School, a child registers and then sits an assessment at 13+ (Year 9), the main entry point, or at 16+ (Year 12), which takes 50 to 60 new students. At 13+ the assessment is a set of online Quest tests in English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, taken alongside group activities and an interview; at 16+ it is written papers, online reasoning assessments and an interview.

Families can start the 13+ process in Year 6, and boarding candidates can instead complete everything in Year 7. Scholarships and means-tested bursaries sit alongside both entry points, and the fees page publishes per-term figures for day and boarding.

Entry points and places

Rugby admits mainly at 13+ into Year 9, which the school calls F block, and at 16+ into Year 12, known as LXX. Both entry points offer day and boarding places, and the 16+ page states that 50 to 60 new students join each year. The pages read do not publish a number of places at 13+.

Occasional places arise at 14+, and families wanting one contact the Senior Admissions Officer directly. Candidates outside the standard years can use the date-of-birth tool on the admissions page, which shows the matching year and entry point, and the Admissions team handles non-standard entry.

How the 13+ assessment works

The 13+ assessment is a half-day of online Quest tests, group activities, a handwritten questionnaire and an interview. The Quest tests cover English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, last around 70 minutes in total, and include practice questions.

In the group activities, assessors look for collaboration, leadership, initiative, flexibility and willingness to compromise. On the Year 6 Assessment Day, day candidates attend in the morning and boarding candidates in the afternoon, with timings subject to change.

• Quest tests: English, maths, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning
• Collaborative group activities
• Handwritten questionnaire on interests, achievements, aspirations and experiences
• Interview with a member of staff

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Admissions at Rugby follow five steps: visit, register, assess, receive an offer and join. Families visit on an Open Day or a personal tour, and the school holds around ten open events a year for its 13+ and 16+ entry points. Registering confirms interest and gives access to the timeline and House guidance.

Day candidates are assessed in the autumn term of Year 6. Boarding candidates are assessed in the autumn term of Year 6 or the spring term of Year 7, and successful boarding candidates return in Year 7 for House interviews. Once a place is accepted, joining information on House allocation, uniform and induction arrives before the September start. The pages read do not publish a 13+ registration deadline or a deposit.

• Visit an Open Day or arrange a tour
• Register through the school's online portal
• Attend the assessment day
• Receive the offer
• Accept the place and receive joining information

Interviews and references at 13+

Every 13+ candidate is interviewed, and the interview draws on a questionnaire the candidate writes by hand on the day. It lasts 10 to 15 minutes with a member of staff and starts from the candidate's interests, achievements, aspirations and experiences.

Boarding candidates meet a senior member of staff in Year 6 or Year 7 and a Housemaster or Housemistress in Year 7. The school bases offers on the day's judgements, the reference from the candidate's current school, Quest performance and the interview, so the reference carries weight alongside the tests.

Scholarships and bursaries

Rugby offers scholarships in academic, art, computing, design and technology, performing arts, music and sport at 13+, and in the same areas at 16+ apart from a separate design and technology heading. Scholarships carry no fee remission themselves, but a successful candidate can be supported by a means-tested bursary of up to 100% of day or boarding fees, available to UK residents.

At 13+ the scholarship assessments take place in the autumn and spring terms of Year 8, and academic candidates must meet the age limit set out on the scholarships page. The art assessment includes an interview, portfolio and drawing tasks; music expects ability on a principal instrument, normally around Grade 5 or 6; performing arts uses an audition, interview and short written exercise. Families register first and the bursary form is then sent to them, to be returned by the scholarship deadline.

The Foundation Award funds day places for children living within 20 miles of the school, and the Arnold Foundation Award funds boarding places for children likely to thrive as boarders. Families hoping for either are asked to delay applying until the Year 8 assessments.

Fees and what they include

Rugby publishes termly fees for day and boarding students on its fees page, and both figures include VAT; the amounts are in the key facts above. A full fee information document is linked from that page.

The fees page itself does not list inclusions, extras, a deposit or notice terms, so families can ask the Admissions team for those details. Military families contribute a minimum of 10% of boarding fees under the Continuity of Education Allowance.

How 16+ entry works

Sixth form entry is by registration, written papers, online reasoning assessments and one interview. Boarding and day applications open when the candidate is in Year 11, and registered candidates are invited to an assessment day in the autumn term. The papers are in English, maths and one subject of the candidate's choice, alongside online verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

The school awards places on academic merit and co-curricular potential and makes offers in December of Year 11. Subject specimen papers and mark schemes, from Biology to Sports Science, are published on the school's 16+ assessment information page. The pages read do not state GCSE grade requirements.

Where pupils join from

Rugby is a 13 to 18 school, so pupils arrive from a range of prep and junior schools, and the Year 6 route lets families apply while the child is still at the current school. The school asks that school for a reference.

The school's website lists the Rugby Group schools, including Bilton Grange, Aysgarth, Old Buckenham Hall and Beaudesert Park, although it does not describe them as feeders.

How to prepare

The school's own advice on preparing for the Year 6 Assessment Day is 'Ideally, nothing', so calm familiarity with the format is the useful aim. Working through the practice questions that come with the Quest tests in English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning shows a child what the screen and question types look like.

Practising short group tasks, where a child listens, offers ideas and is willing to compromise, matches what assessors look for. Thinking in advance about interests and achievements helps with the handwritten questionnaire that guides the interview. For 16+, working through the specimen papers and mark schemes in the chosen subject, English and maths is the most direct preparation.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared
• Warwick School (11+)
• Princethorpe College (11+)
• King's High School (11+)
• Arnold Lodge School (11+)
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained
• Boarding schools in the UK

Preparing for the Rugby School 13+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Rugby School 13+ 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 13+ 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 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 13+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact.

Read more about our 13+ Common Entrance tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.