Sherfield School 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Taster Days, CAT4 and Fees

Sherfield School admissions run on a rolling basis, with the main intakes at Reception, Year 3, Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12, and for the senior entry points the assessment is a taster day that includes a CAT4 cognitive ability test from Year 5 upwards. There is no single closing date, although Year 7 tends to be fully subscribed by the end of the autumn term before entry.

The school is an independent day and boarding school in Hampshire taking children from 3 months to 18 years. The 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ routes, the registration steps, scholarships, fees and the practical points families can prepare for are all set out below.

Entry points and places

The main entry points are Reception, Year 3, Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12, which correspond to 4+, 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+, and the school also welcomes applications throughout the year for other year groups where space allows.

Year 7 is the intake with the most room, because the school goes from two classes to four at that point. The pages read do not publish a number of places for any year group, so the admissions team is the source for current availability.

• Reception (4+)
• Year 3 (7+)
• Year 7 (11+)
• Year 9 (13+)
• Year 12 (16+)

How the 11+ assessment works

Entry to Year 7 is assessed through a taster school day that includes a CAT4 cognitive ability test, which the school says needs no preparation.

The taster day for Year 3 and above runs from 8.30am to 4.15pm, and the CAT4 is part of it from Year 5 upwards. Some children are invited on a separate morning to sit the test instead. Where a child has already sat the CAT4 at their current school, Sherfield may ask for those results.

If a child finds it hard to settle, the school may arrange an additional taster, either soon afterwards or later in the spring term.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration begins with an enquiry form or a phone call to the admissions team, which then guides families through the remaining steps, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Because Year 7 tends to fill by the end of the autumn term before entry, the school advises starting the process the summer before at the latest. A registration form is returned with a non-refundable registration fee.

• Enquire by form or telephone
• Return the registration form and registration fee
• Attend the taster day, including the CAT4 test from Year 5 upwards
• Receive a written offer of a place
• Return the acceptance form, the deposit and a medical declaration form; non-UK residents also pay one term's fees

Interviews and references

The pages read do not say that Year 7 applicants are interviewed, and the taster day with the CAT4 is the assessment they describe.

Sixth form and international routes are described as including a virtual interview with a member of the senior leadership team. Sixth form applicants also provide school reports and references where applicable, and international applicants supply translated copies of reports from their current school.

How 16+ entry works

Sixth form entry depends on predicted GCSE grades, school reports and references, and a taster in classes that include the applicant's preferred courses, during which a CAT4 test is sat.

For the three A-Level programme, students normally need grades 9 to 5 in five GCSE subjects, including English Language or Literature and Mathematics, plus the entry criteria for each chosen subject. Other routes list grades 9 to 4 in four or five subjects, again including English and Mathematics. Further Mathematics requires at least grade 7 in GCSE Mathematics, with grade 8 ideal.

Scholarships and bursaries

Sherfield offers academic, sixth form, sports and arts scholarships from Year 7 upwards, and the fees page lists Academic, Creative, Performing Arts and Sporting Scholarships.

The school states that these scholarships are honorary and carry no monetary value or discount, and that it does not offer bursaries. The pages read do not describe scholarship papers, auditions or trials, so families interested in an award should ask the admissions team what is involved. Scholarship and open events are held in March, May and October.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published on the school's fees page as downloadable fee structures, with separate early years fees and a non-refundable registration fee that is higher for applicants needing a Child Student visa.

The acceptance deposit differs for day pupils and boarders. Sibling remission applies when all the children are in the school at the same time, at 10 percent for the second child and 15 percent for the third, and it is not combined with other awards. An interest-free monthly scheme splits each term's fees into three equal instalments paid in the first three months of that term.

Where pupils join from

Pupils join from the school's own early years and prep sections and from other schools, since it accepts children from 3 months to 18 years and has a Senior Prep.

The move into Year 7 coincides with the growth from two classes to four, which creates places for external applicants. The pages read name no feeder or partner schools. Applicants from overseas follow a separate international route, with a Maths test and an English test for those whose first language is not English.

How to prepare

Preparation for the taster day is mostly practical, because the school describes the CAT4 as a test that needs no preparation.

Families can check whether their child has already sat the CAT4 at their current school, since Sherfield may ask for those results. A rested child who has seen the school at an open morning, and who knows the day runs from 8.30am to 4.15pm, tends to settle more easily. For sixth form, the useful work is securing the GCSE grades listed for the chosen programme and the subject criteria for each A-Level.

Related guides

• Best private schools in Hampshire
• Independent school fees compared
• Churcher's College (11+)
• Winchester College (11+)
• Bedales School (13+)
• Lord Wandsworth 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

Preparing for the Sherfield School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Sherfield School 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.

Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.