Sheffield High School 11+ and 16+ Admissions: Entrance Exam, Bursaries and Fees

How do you get into Sheffield High School? Girls join mainly at Reception, Year 7 and Year 12, and the Year 7 route centres on an entrance examination in Maths and English held in January before the September intake, with formal offers following within two weeks. Applications go through an online admissions portal, and in-year places in other year groups depend on a taster day and assessment.

Sheffield High belongs to the Girls' Day School Trust, so bursaries are administered through the GDST, whilst sixth form entry combines GCSE grade requirements with a scholarship exam and a taster day.

Entry points and places

Sheffield High takes girls at Reception, Year 7 and Year 12 as its main entry points, and it also welcomes applications for other year groups throughout the school year. The Infant and Junior School covers ages 4 to 11, the Senior School ages 11 to 16 and the Sixth Form ages 16 to 18. The school does not publish the number of places at any entry point.

In-year entry runs from Year 1 to Year 6 and from Year 8 to Year 10, subject to available places. Each applicant spends a day in a class with girls of the same age and is assessed in English, Mathematics and Reading for the infant and junior years, or in English and Mathematics for Years 8 to 10. Offers follow successful assessment.

How the Year 7 entrance exam works

The Year 7 entrance examination consists of Maths and English papers based on the National Curriculum, sat in January before the September intake. Girls have lunch at the school and meet other Year 6 pupils during the day, so the session combines the papers with time in the building. The school does not publish paper lengths, question types or a test provider.

Families who cannot attend the January date, or who apply later, can ask for flexible testing. The school states that girls do not need to prepare for the papers, and formal offers are made within two weeks of the examination.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration for Year 7 is completed through the online admissions portal, and the school advises applying in the Autumn Term of Year 6, ahead of the January examination. A registration fee is payable on application, and families who want a scholarship or bursary tick the relevant box on the same form, with those applications closing in early December.

The Infant and Junior School sets no deadline and accepts applications all year round. Sixth form applications are made in the Autumn Term of Year 11, and in-year applicants register on the portal before an informal assessment and a taster day.

• Visit an Open Event, held in spring and autumn, or book a personal tour with the Registrar
• Register online and pay the registration fee
• Sit the assessment, with flexible testing available for late applicants
• Receive a formal offer
• Return the acceptance documents and pay the deposit, which is refunded when the girl leaves the school

Interviews, references and visits

Interviews at Sheffield High take the form of one-to-one meetings on tours, and a panel interview for sixth form academic scholarship applicants. The Head, Alex Wilson, meets visiting families for Senior School tours, the Head of Infant and Junior School, Miss Emily Green, does so for junior tours, and sixth form tours include a meeting with the Head or the Director of Sixth Form, Chris Spick. Virtual Open Events also include interviews with leadership, pupils and parents.

A recent school report is requested from sixth form applicants where available, and no reference requirement is published for Year 7. Taster days run at each stage, including a Ready Steady Senior School Adventure Day for Year 6 and a Sixth Form Taster Day for Year 11.

Scholarships and bursaries

Year 7 scholarships are offered in Academic, Music and Sport, awarded on merit whatever the family's means, whilst bursaries are means-tested and the two can be combined where there is financial need. Academic awards rest on the entrance examinations, and Music and Sport awards on auditions. Interested families tick the relevant box on the registration form and information is then sent to them.

At Year 12 the school offers Honorary Subject Scholarships in every A Level subject, Academic Scholarships that involve an aptitude test and panel interview, and Rutland Scholarships awarded at the Head's discretion. Applications close in early December and late ones are not accepted.

Bursaries are open to girls entering Year 7 or joining the Sixth Form directly, usually go to those in the top 30% of entrance exam performance, and range from 30% of fees up to the full published fees. Family income and resources are assessed on the GDST online bursary platform, with login details issued once the registration form arrives. A family that accepts a full-fee place generally cannot apply later unless its finances change significantly and unexpectedly.

Fees and what they include

Fees at Sheffield High are charged per term by year group, with one rate for Reception to Year 2, another for Year 3 to Year 6 and a single rate for Year 7 to Year 13; the figures sit in the fees field and on the school's fees page. Lunch is compulsory and charged separately from Reception to Year 7.

Tuition covers the regular curriculum, physical education, many lunchtime and after-school activities, stationery, textbooks, scientific materials and careers testing. Public examinations, some standardised tests, optional Music and Speech and Drama, instrumental and voice tuition and some trips are charged separately.

Fees are paid directly to the GDST by Direct Debit, termly or monthly. A 20% sibling discount applies to the third and any later child at the school at the same time, applied to the youngest child, and the registration fee and deposit are payable on application and acceptance.

Where pupils join from

The school's own Infant and Junior School takes girls from Reception to Year 6, and the Senior School page describes the Year 7 intake as girls moving from Year 6. No named feeder or partner schools are published, and the junior page does not set out how its pupils move up, although it links to a Preparing for Senior School page.

Families travelling in can use the school's bus routes, which serve areas including Dronfield, Chesterfield, Worksop, Hathersage, Barlborough and Bakewell. The pages read give no catchment area.

Sixth form entry requirements

Sixth form entry at Year 12 requires at least 7 GCSEs including English and Mathematics at grade 4 or above, with grade 6 or above in chosen A Level subjects and grade 7 or above for any A Level Maths or Science subject. The Sixth Form Options booklet lists the full A Level options and subject requirements.

Applicants are invited to a Sixth Form Scholarship Exam and a Taster Day that includes meeting Heads of Department for the subjects they want to study. Open Events run in November, and formal offers are made in February subject to final GCSE results. Later applicants can arrange visits and assessments individually through the year.

• At least 7 GCSEs including English and Mathematics at grade 4 or above
• Grade 6 or above in chosen A Level subjects
• Grade 7 or above in any A Level Maths or Science subject

How to prepare

Preparation for Year 7 entry centres on secure Year 5 and Year 6 Maths and English from the National Curriculum, since those are the two papers sat in January. The school states that girls do not need to prepare, so steady classroom work and regular reading tend to be the most useful groundwork, and the Ready Steady Senior School Adventure Day gives Year 6 girls a familiar first look at the building.

The day also includes lunch and time with other Year 6 pupils, so girls usually benefit from knowing the routine in advance. Families who cannot attend in January can ask the Registrar about flexible testing.

For the sixth form, preparation means checking the Sixth Form Options booklet against predicted grades in each chosen subject, and readying for the aptitude test and panel interview if applying for an Academic Scholarship. Music and Sport scholarship candidates at Year 7 can expect auditions and may wish to prepare repertoire or sport evidence accordingly.

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• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• The 7+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained

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