St Joseph's College, Ipswich 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Assessment, Scholarships and Fees

Admission to St Joseph's College, Ipswich admissions runs through a registration form, a non-refundable registration fee, copies of the child's last two school reports and an entrance assessment, with a taster day offered once the application and assessment are complete. The main entry point is 11+ into Year 7 of the Senior School, alongside a two-hour Mathematics and English assessment for children joining the Prep School from Year 3, scholarship entry at Year 9 and sixth-form entry at Lower Sixth.

The school publishes the stages of its process but not the paper format, number of places or a closing date for the senior entry points, so the admissions office on 01473 694576 is the place to confirm those details before planning.

Entry points and places

St Joseph's takes children into the Nursery at age 2, the Prep School from Reception to Year 6, the Senior School from age 11 to 16 and the Sixth Form from 16 to 19, and the Senior School is entered mainly at Year 7. Boarding is available alongside day places.

The school's pages do not publish a number of places or forms of entry for any year group. Mid-year entry is possible, and the admissions page asks families to make contact as soon as possible to discuss the options.

• Year 3 (7+): two-hour assessment in Mathematics and English
• Year 7 (11+): registration and entrance assessment
• Year 9 (13+): listed as a scholarship entry point
• Lower Sixth (16+): GCSE grades and a conversation with Admissions

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment at St Joseph's is an entrance assessment taken after registration, and the school's pages do not describe its papers, subjects, length or who sets it.

What the pages do establish is the sequence around it. Scholarship candidates sit the entrance assessment and an interview with the Principal or Deputy Principal, then a scholarship assessment in their chosen field. Applicants who want the exact format are directed to the admissions team, who also arrange the taster day that follows the assessment.

11+ tutors

Hannah

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationCommon Entrance PreparationCreative WritingCritical Thinking

I am a UK-qualified teacher with 15+ years across private and state schools in the UK and abroad, and hold a BSc from LSE and a PGCE with QTS. I teach English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, 11+ and Common Entrance preparation. My approach is personalised, confidence-building and rigorous.

Enquire about this tutor

Sochima

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationBiologyChemistryComputer Science

I'm a qualified teacher in a London classroom every day, with a BSc in Computer Science from Brunel and a PGCE with QTS. I teach Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science to A-Level, plus 11+ preparation, through project-based work that suits SEND learners well.

Enquire about this tutor

Robert

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationBiologyChemistryEconomics

I am a qualified teacher with over twenty years' experience in the UK, Gulf and New Zealand, holding an MA in History and PGCE. I teach English, History, Geography and French from KS2 to A-Level and IB, preparing 11+/13+ candidates. My approach is student-led, focused and diagnostic.

Enquire about this tutor

See all tutors

Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration at St Joseph's starts with the registration form that matches the child's route, since separate forms exist for Nursery, Day, Boarding (UK) and Boarding (Non-UK). The form goes in with a non-refundable registration fee, which differs for Nursery and for all other groups, and with copies of the last two school reports, which Nursery applicants do not need.

The school publishes no closing date, offer stage or deposit on the pages read. Below are the stages it does describe.

• Complete the registration form and pay the registration fee
• Send the last two school reports
• Sit the entrance assessment
• Attend a taster day, which the school tailors to appropriate sets and subjects
• Receive the outcome from the admissions team

Interviews and references

Interviews at St Joseph's are described for scholarship candidates, who meet the Principal or Deputy Principal as part of the entrance stage, and no interview is described for other applicants. The two most recent school reports are the written evidence every non-Nursery applicant supplies at registration.

Scholarship applicants also submit a completed application form with all required references, after reading the scholarship brochure. Individual tours and taster days are booked through the admissions team, and families can ask for learning support to be discussed, which the school handles by putting Admissions in touch with its Learning Support team.

Scholarships and bursaries

St Joseph's offers scholarships in Academic, Visual Arts (Fine Art, Photography, Textiles), Performing Arts (Music, Dance, Drama), Technology (Engineering, Food Technology, Computer Science, Media) and Sport, at entry to Year 7, Year 9 and Lower Sixth. Registration and payment of the fee come first, and the scholarship box on the registration form is ticked at that point.

A separate Rising Star scholarship is aimed at students with strong potential in academics, visual arts or performing arts who join in Years 7 to 10 or Year 12, and it uses its own entrance and scholarship assessment.

Means-tested bursaries are assessed on the family's financial circumstances and are requested on the same registration form. The pages give no maximum share of fees and no values, so Admissions is the contact for both.

Fees and what they include

Fees at St Joseph's are published as downloadable schedules on the school's fees page, one covering day and boarding fees and one covering the Nursery, each labelled with its academic year. The figures sit inside those documents, so the key facts table gives the fee year and the page to open.

The registration fee is paid at the start of the process and the admissions page describes it as covering the assessment fee. School minibuses carry additional charges, and a complimentary shuttle runs to and from the train station.

Where pupils join from

Pupils join St Joseph's from its own Nursery and Prep School on the same Ipswich site, and from other schools through the same registration route. Year 6 at the Prep School leads into the Senior School.

Incoming Year 7 pupils can attend a transition day with the current Year 6 before accepting a place, and the Senior School runs transition days in June. The pages read do not describe a guaranteed route from Prep to Senior and name no partner or feeder schools.

Sixth form entry requirements

Sixth form entry at St Joseph's depends on GCSE grades, with four grade 6 GCSEs including English and Maths for A-level study and five grade 4s including English and Maths for BTEC or CTEC study. Sciences and Mathematics A-levels ask for at least a grade 6 in the subject.

The school calls itself non-academically selective and describes no entrance paper or interview for the Sixth Form. Students can combine A-levels with vocational qualifications, and the Sixth Form Options booklet lists the subjects. Scholarship candidates at Lower Sixth follow the scholarship route described above.

How to prepare

Preparation for St Joseph's tends to start with the one published paper, the two-hour Mathematics and English assessment at Prep School entry, where steady reading, written answers and routine arithmetic cover the ground. For Year 7, no format is published, so confirming the papers with Admissions before choosing materials avoids practising the wrong thing.

Scholarship candidates can prepare for the interview with the Principal or Deputy Principal by talking through their chosen field, whether art, music, drama, technology or sport, and by gathering the references the application asks for. A taster day after the assessment gives children a calm first look at the sets and subjects.

Related guides

• Best private schools in Suffolk
• Independent school fees compared
• Ipswich School (11+)
• Culford School (11+)
• Finborough School (11+)
• Woodbridge School (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 St Joseph's College, Ipswich 11+ with Taylor Tuition

The St Joseph's College, Ipswich 11+ rewards steady preparation over a year or so, with the last term given to timed practice and interview confidence. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors match the programme to the school's assessment format and to where the child is starting from.

Because the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, and more than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status, families get a tutor who understands what the assessors are looking for. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in the East of England and further afield work with us online, 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.