Scarborough College 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Interview, Scholarships and Fees

How do you get into Scarborough College? The school describes itself as non-selective, so entry at Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+), Year 10 (14+) and Sixth Form (16+) rests on an online application, two years of school reports, a form of ID and an interview with the Headmaster or another senior leader, with an assessment test added where the school requires one. A place is offered after a successful interview, subject to any scholarship or entrance papers.

No external test provider is named on the school's pages and no Year 7 registration deadline is published, so families confirm timings with the registrars. The Prep School takes children from Reception, and the Scarborough Scholar days add a separate assessment for scholarship applicants in Years 7 to 9 and in the Sixth Form.

Entry points and places

The school admits pupils at Reception in the Prep School, at Year 7, Year 9 and Year 10 in the Senior School, and at Sixth Form, with places offered throughout subject to availability. The Senior School page names Year 7 as the usual start with Year 9 and Year 10 as other entry points, and the FAQs add that entry is possible in any year group during the school year if space allows.

No form of entry or number of places is published for any year group. International students can join for a one-year GCSE programme in Year 11, described as a Pre-IB year, and GCSE entry depends on the subjects a pupil studies and on availability. Boarding starts in Year 7, and the Prep School has no boarding.

• Reception to Year 6: Prep School, with Year 3 onwards forming the Junior School
• Year 7: usual start in the Senior School, and the first boarding year
• Year 9 and Year 10: further Senior School entry points, the latter at the start of GCSE courses
• Sixth Form: IB Diploma Programme entry

How the 11+ assessment works

Entry to Year 7 combines an interview with the Headmaster or a member of the Senior Leadership Team and, where required, an assessment test, because the school is non-selective and publishes no fixed entrance examination. The FAQs say admission may include an assessment test, and the admissions page says an offer follows a successful interview, subject to satisfactory completion of any scholarship or entrance papers.

No test provider, paper length, subjects or question types are published, so the format of any test is confirmed with the registrars. For pupils whose first language is not English, the school may set an English assessment, an interview with the Head of EAL, or both, and it may also assess suitability for GCSEs.

Scholarship applicants entering Year 7 take the Scarborough Scholar assessment day, which includes a means-tested assessment and follows the autumn Open Day. They provide two years of school reports, a letter of recommendation from their Head Teacher and evidence of academic achievement.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration is made through the school's OpenApply online portal, where a parent or agent signs in and completes the UK Student Day, UK Student Boarding or International Student application form. A registration fee applies and is non-refundable.

Applications can be made well in advance, although the school advises a visit closer to the entry point. No registration deadline for Year 7 entry is published; the Sixth Form scholarship has its own deadline in the autumn term. One registrar covers Pre-School, Prep and Years 7 and 8, and a second covers the Senior School from Year 9, both reached at registrar@scarboroughcollege.co.uk.

• Step 1, visit: attend an Open Event or arrange a personal visit on a school day, or hold an online chat with a registrar; a taster day may follow
• Step 2, application: submit the online application with school reports, a form of ID and any other relevant documents
• Step 3, interview: once the application is complete, parent and child are invited to meet the Headmaster
• Step 4, offer and acceptance: a place is offered after a successful interview, subject to any scholarship or entrance papers, and an acceptance fee is paid on taking the place

Interviews and references

Every applicant is invited, with a parent, to an interview with the Headmaster or another senior leader once the application is complete. Online interviews are possible for families who cannot travel, although the school prefers to meet in person.

The school reports submitted with the application act as the academic reference, and two years of reports are required. A letter of recommendation from the Head Teacher is asked for only from Scarborough Scholar applicants, and sport or performing arts applicants add evidence such as awards, certificates or a coach's reference.

Scholarships and bursaries

The school offers Academic, All-Rounder, Performing Arts and Sports scholarships, open to any student who meets the entry requirements and would benefit from the school. The Scarborough Scholar day is held each year in the autumn term for children from Scarborough and neighbouring communities entering Years 7, 8 or 9, and the Sixth Form version is for Year 11 UK students seeking a day place.

Sixth Form applicants complete the Sixth Form application form on OpenApply and then a supplemental Scarborough Scholar form, with a separate scholarship day after the Sixth Form open evening. The Alderson and Peggy-Baily Scholarships are named for pupils moving from Year 11 into the Sixth Form.

Bursaries are means-tested, open to new applicants and current pupils, and can reduce tuition fees by up to 100 per cent depending on financial, compassionate or other circumstances. They are subject to availability and may be reviewed annually. Forces families receive a 10 per cent discount, siblings receive 10 per cent for each younger child, and CEA is accepted.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published as a fee sheet on the School Fees page, giving per-annum and per-term tuition for each year group from Reception to Sixth Form, with separate day, UK weekly boarding, UK full boarding and overseas full boarding rates. Pre-School is charged by session, and all fees include VAT.

Tuition fees include lunch, medical cover, access to the College Counsellor, textbooks and stationery, games provision and travel, a College Chromebook, and wraparound care for all pupils during term time. Boarding fees add accommodation, food, laundry, Wi-Fi, a weekend activity programme for full boarders and transfers to and from Manchester on set travel days.

Examination fees, tiered learning support charges and some extra-curricular items are not included. Fees can be paid by credit card, bank transfer or Flywire, and in three or ten Direct Debit instalments.

What are the Sixth Form entry requirements?

Sixth Form entry is non-selective but carries some admissions criteria, which the admissions page refers to the Admissions Policy and does not list; no GCSE grades are stated on the pages read. Applicants follow the same sequence of online application, school reports and Headmaster interview, with a Sixth Form open evening in the autumn term.

The school offers only the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, in which students typically take one subject from each of six groups alongside Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service. Some students take BTEC Sport alongside two Higher Level IB subjects.

Where pupils join from

The school runs its own Pre-School, called Little Owls, and a Prep School from Reception to Year 6, with Reception to Year 2 forming the Infants and Year 3 onwards the Junior School. Prep pupils use the Senior School's facilities and have daily games lessons from the Senior School coaching team, though no formal transition process into Year 7 is published.

No feeder or partner schools are named, and no catchment area is stated. Bus services run to and from Bridlington, Driffield, Kirkbymoorside, Malton and Whitby, and the Scarborough Scholar days are aimed at Scarborough and neighbouring communities.

How to prepare

Preparation centres on the application pack and the interview, since the school is non-selective and names no fixed entrance papers. Collecting two years of school reports, a form of ID and, for scholarships, the Head Teacher's letter and evidence of achievement keeps the application complete, which is the point at which the interview invitation follows.

A visit, online chat or taster day before applying gives a child something concrete to talk about with the Headmaster, and children often settle best when they can describe their own interests and favourite subjects. Applicants for sport or performing arts scholarships can gather certificates, awards or a coach's reference in advance.

Because any assessment test is set where required, asking the registrars what, if anything, will be sat is the most reliable way to match preparation to the format. Pupils whose first language is not English may be assessed in English, so practising reading and speaking in English is useful.

Related guides

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• Ashville College (11+)
• Queen Ethelburga's College (11+)
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• The 7+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained
• Boarding schools in the UK

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Families preparing for the Scarborough 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.

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