St Catherine's School, Bramley 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: ISEB Tests, Exams and Fees

To get into St Catherine's School, Bramley, a girl registers online and sits an assessment in the autumn term for entry the following September, with the main entry points at 11+ (Year 7), 13+ (Year 9) and 16+ (Sixth Form). The 11+ assessment is the online ISEB Common Pre-Tests, taken in the first term of Year 6 and made up of English, Mathematics, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning.

External 11+ candidates are also invited to an Experience and Interview Day, whilst 13+ and Sixth Form candidates sit the school's own entrance papers followed by an interview. Fees, scholarships and the means-tested Bright Futures bursaries are covered below, together with the steps that fit each stage.

Entry points and places

The school admits girls at 11+ into Year 7, at 13+ into Year 9 and at 16+ into the Sixth Form, and places occasionally arise in other year groups, although the senior admissions page gives no details for those. Admission at each point is by assessment in the autumn term for entry the following September. The school does not publish a number of places for any year group.

Younger girls join through the Prep School and Pre-School routes. Pre-School takes girls from the term in which they turn three through a Stay and Play session, Reception through a Discovery and Assessment visit, and Years 1 to 6 through the same visit, with dates arranged by the Head of Prep Admissions.

• 11+: Year 7, online ISEB Common Pre-Tests
• 13+: Year 9, English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning, then interview
• 16+: Sixth Form, subject tests, a general test and interview
• Prep School: Discovery and Assessment visit, with Year 3 named as a bursary entry point

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment is the ISEB Common Pre-Tests, sat online in the first term of Year 6, and the school has moved to this provider from its own papers. Candidates take four tests: English for 40 minutes, Mathematics for 40 minutes, Non-Verbal Reasoning for 30 minutes and Verbal Reasoning for 25 minutes.

Most girls sit the tests at their current school on a date chosen in October or November. Where the current school cannot invigilate, the tests can be taken at St Catherine's on a set day in November, and all tests must be completed by a deadline at the end of that month. The school's published dates apply to a single entry round, so families check the admissions page for the round that matches their daughter.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration is online through the school's application system, and a girl is considered once the registration form is returned with a non-refundable registration fee. The usual sequence runs in five steps, and each entry point has its own closing date published on the senior admissions page.

• Register your interest and visit at an Open Morning or private tour
• Complete the online registration form and pay the registration fee
• Sit the assessment for your daughter's entry point
• Receive an offer, with scholarship awards made alongside entrance results
• Return the Acceptance Form with the acceptance deposit

Interviews and references

External 11+ candidates are invited to an Experience and Interview Day in the first half of the Year 6 autumn term, held before the ISEB tests are sat at the school. The senior admissions page gives no further detail on the format of that day, so families ask the admissions office what to expect.

At 13+ candidates are invited to interview after the assessments, and at 16+ successful candidates are interviewed in person or online by subject teachers and senior staff. For the Sixth Form a confidential report from the previous Headteacher is always requested, covering academic performance and potential, learning difficulties, how to manage any disability, and curricular and extra-curricular interests. Prep applicants also have a confidential report requested from the current Headteacher.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships at 11+ are awarded for talent and potential in academics, art, drama, music and sport, and are offered alongside entrance results. Girls may apply for more than one, with any fee reduction applying to the first. Drama and music, sport and art scholarship assessments take place on separate days in November, and music scholarship applications are due in October with auditions in early November.

Sixth Form scholarships are open to external applicants and to internal girls moving up from Year 11, and may be honorary or carry a 5% fee reduction. No pupil may hold more than 5% in scholarship or award discounts. A New Entrant Art, Textiles and Music award is available at the Head's discretion for external Sixth Form applicants taking those A Levels.

Means-tested Bright Futures bursaries apply at Year 3, Year 7 and Sixth Form entry and can cover up to 75% of fees. They follow a confidential means test with the Chief Financial Officer, a decision by the Bursary Awards Committee, and require the candidate to pass the entrance exam, a parent to attend an Open Morning and a home visit. Applications by Autumn Half Term receive priority.

Fees and what they include

Fees are charged per term and published on the school's fees page, which gives separate figures for Pre-School, three Pre-Prep years, the Prep School, the Senior School and senior boarding. A compulsory lunch charge is listed alongside the day fees, and boarders pay a boarding and tuition fee plus lunch. Flexible boarding is also offered, either by the night or as a set stay of one or two nights a week.

Included in the fees are residential curriculum visits for the senior years, such as Activities Week, and day curriculum visits for Pre-Prep. Music, tennis, dancing, chess, Speech and Drama, Mandarin Club, extra tuition, external examinations and boarders' medical costs are charged as extras.

A non-refundable registration fee is paid on application, with a higher amount for overseas students. The acceptance deposit differs for day pupils, UK boarders and overseas boarders, and is credited to the final account. One full term's written notice is required to withdraw.

Where pupils join from

The school runs its own Pre-School and Prep School, covering Reception to Year 6, on the same Bramley site as the Senior School. The Prep School page does not describe automatic progression to the Senior School, so Prep families ask the Head of Prep Admissions how their daughter's move up is handled.

External 11+ candidates sit the ISEB Common Pre-Tests at their current school when it can invigilate. The school names no feeder or partner schools on the pages it publishes, and no catchment area is specified. A transport guide is available on the admissions section of the website for families planning how to get to Bramley.

How the 13+ and 16+ assessments work

The 13+ assessment is a single Entrance Exam Day with papers in English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning, followed by an interview for invited candidates. The senior admissions page names no test provider or paper lengths for 13+, and registration closes in the early autumn before the exam day.

The 16+ assessment is held on a single Assessment Day. Applicants nominate their likely A Level subjects at registration, sit three subject-specific tests of about 30 minutes each, and take an online general test lasting 90 minutes that indicates academic potential. The school asks for at least six GCSEs at Grade 6 or above, including Maths and English, with Grade 7 preferable in A Level subjects. Day and boarding girls are both admitted.

How to prepare

Preparation for 11+ follows the four ISEB components, so a girl benefits from timed practice in English, Mathematics, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning at the lengths of 40, 40, 30 and 25 minutes. Because the tests are online and usually sat at the current school, practising on screen helps her to feel settled. Reasoning papers are the shortest, so brief and regular practice tends to suit them.

For the Experience and Interview Day, 13+ and 16+ interviews, a girl can rehearse talking about her interests and, at 16+, about the subjects she has nominated for A Level. Sixth Form candidates revise the subject content of those choices for the 30-minute tests. Scholarship applicants prepare their art portfolio, drama piece, music audition or sport profile for the separate assessment day, and families can ask the admissions office about specifics.

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• 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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