St Mary's School Ascot 11+ Admissions: Entrance Exam and Fees Guide

Getting into St Mary's School Ascot at 11+ means sitting the school's own entrance assessment, held in the Lent term of the year of entry, together with an interview and a report from the child's current school. Around forty girls join Year 7 each year, the school's main entry point, out of a total intake of about sixty-five pupils across 11+, 13+ and sixth-form entry.

Registration is not tied to a single fixed date, though the school recommends applying at least two years ahead of the intended entry year to secure a place on the candidate list. Results follow within about three weeks of the assessment day, and the admissions office, led by the Director of Admissions, handles registration, entrance-day arrangements and enquiries about scholarships or bursaries.

How entry works at 11+

Eleven-plus entry into Year 7 is the school's main intake, with around forty places offered each year. Girls join alongside a smaller thirteen-plus entry into Year 9 and a sixth-form intake at sixteen, together making up an annual cohort of roughly sixty-five new pupils across all three entry points. St Mary's is a full boarding school with a limited number of day places, so most eleven-plus entrants join as boarders from the outset, though day places exist for families living close by. Places are offered on the basis of the entrance assessment, an interview and a report from the girl's current school.

How the 11+ assessment works

The eleven-plus assessment is the school's own, consisting of three papers: English, Mathematics and a general paper. The general paper draws on graded spelling, non-verbal puzzles and listening skills. Candidates spend a day at the school that includes an interview with the headmistress or a senior member of staff, lunch with current Year 7 girls, and a tour, alongside a report supplied by the child's current school. The school does not issue past papers and does not recommend additional exam tutoring beforehand; results are normally notified within three weeks of the assessment day.

• English paper
• Mathematics paper
• General paper: graded spelling, non-verbal puzzles, listening skills
• Interview with the headmistress or a senior member of staff
• Report from the current school

How registration and the admissions process run

Admission at eleven-plus follows a set sequence: registration with the admissions office, the assessment day itself, notification of results, and formal acceptance of the offered place. Registration can happen well ahead of the entry year, and the school recommends doing so at least two years in advance to secure a place on the candidate list. The assessment takes place in the Lent term of the year of entry. Once results are confirmed, normally within three weeks, families accept the place by paying the acceptance fee; registration and acceptance fees apply, and further guidance is available from the Director of Admissions.

• Register with the admissions office
• Sit the assessment in the Lent term of entry year
• Receive results, normally within three weeks
• Accept the place and pay the acceptance fee

Scholarships available at 11+

St Mary's offers five scholarship categories at eleven-plus: academic, all-rounder, art, music and sport, each worth five per cent of fees. Every entrance candidate is automatically considered for the academic award, assessed through the same English, Mathematics and general paper. The all-rounder scholarship recognises academic potential alongside ability in two co-curricular areas such as art, drama, music or sport, judged on the entrance papers and the current head teacher's reference. Art, music and sport scholarships need separate applications: a portfolio and written exam for art, an audition and interview for music, which also carries up to three individual music lessons weekly, and practical tests and an interview for sport.

• Academic: 5% of fees, all entrance candidates automatically considered
• All-rounder: 5% of fees, academic potential plus two co-curricular strengths
• Art: 5% of fees, portfolio, written exam and interview
• Music: 5% of fees plus up to three lessons weekly, audition and interview
• Sport: 5% of fees, practical tests and interview

Bursaries and fee assistance

Means-tested bursaries are available annually to families who meet the school's financial eligibility criteria, though limited funds mean not every eligible application succeeds. Applying involves completing a Confidential Statement of Financial Circumstances in Support of an Application for School Fee Assistance, submitted by the published deadline ahead of the intended year of entry. A bursary offer depends on the child also gaining a place through the standard entrance assessment, so families apply for both the place and the financial assistance in parallel. Further detail on eligibility and the application form is available from the admissions office.

How to prepare for the assessment

Preparation for the assessment sits close to ordinary primary-school work, since the papers test English, mathematics and general reasoning skills built up over time. Practising full sentences, paragraphing and comprehension of unseen fiction and non-fiction passages supports the English paper, while the mathematics paper covers number, geometry, algebra and statistics at an age-appropriate level. The general paper draws on graded spelling, non-verbal puzzles and listening skills, so short, varied practice across these areas tends to help. The school does not issue past papers and does not recommend additional exam tutoring, so families typically look to the child's current school for guidance on strengths and areas to develop.

Related guides

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Preparing for the St Mary's School Ascot 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the St Mary's School Ascot 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, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.

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