Talbot Heath School 7+, 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: CAT Tests, Scholarships and Fees

Admission to Talbot Heath School for girls at 11+ depends on digital CAT (Cognitive Ability Tests) sat on site in the autumn term of Year 6, read alongside a Headteacher's report from the current school, with a tour and a meeting with the Headteacher for every candidate. The school admits 40 girls a year into Year 7, and further entry points exist at 7+ and 8+ through two taster days, at 13+ for a number of Year 9 places, and at 16+ for the Sixth Form.

The process is written down in the school's whole-school admissions policy, which describes the school as academically selective and says its aim is to identify potential. Those steps follow that policy and the admissions, application and fees pages, with the points where each entry differs.

Entry points and places

The main entry point is Year 7 at 11+, where the school admits 40 pupils a year, and the policy names 13+ (Year 9) as the other usual point of entry to the Senior School, where a number of places are offered. Occasional places at other ages can arise, and the Head of Admissions handles those enquiries.

Below Year 7, the Junior School generally admits up to 20 pupils per year group, and applications for Reception to Year 6 can be made throughout the year, subject to availability and waiting lists. The Sixth Form generally admits up to 45 pupils into Lower Sixth.

• Kindergarten and Reception: informal session, no formal assessment for Nursery or Kindergarten
• Years 1 to 6: taster days with assessment
• Year 7 (11+): digital CAT in the autumn term of Year 6
• Year 9 (13+): entrance exam and minimum academic standard
• Lower Sixth (16+): GCSE grades, reference and possible papers

How the 11+ assessment works

External candidates for Year 7 sit CAT assessments, which are national, age-standardised cognitive ability tests in verbal, quantitative, non-verbal and spatial reasoning, administered digitally on site under test conditions in the autumn term of Year 6. The school states that the tests cannot be revised for.

The result is read in conjunction with a current Headteacher's report that includes information and data on all subjects, and together they contribute to the decision on an offer. Academic ability, the school report or reference, extra-curricular interests, siblings at the school and class size also appear in the school's published admissions criteria, with weighting that may vary.

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How 7+ and 8+ entry to the Junior School works

Girls wishing to enter Years 3 to 6 are invited to two taster days, spending the time in class with their peer group, and are given digital CAT as part of the visit. Parents first visit the department and meet the Head of Junior School or a member of the Junior leadership team, then complete a registration form and pay a non-refundable registration fee.

If a girl is already at a school, a Headteacher's report is always requested from it. Entry to Year 1 uses a single taster day with informal assessment in reading, writing and maths, and Year 2 candidates take digital CAT over two-day tasters.

Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration happens by submitting the online application form, which registers the girl as a prospective pupil and carries a non-refundable application fee, and the policy asks for applications by a date set each year in the autumn term before the year of entry. Junior School registration can be made at any time, and prompt registration is recommended.

The sequence runs in order: a visit or tour, registration with the form and fee, taster day or assessment, the school's decision, a written offer from the Headteacher, then an Acceptance Form and an acceptance deposit. Assessment dates, the date results are posted and the closing date for acceptances are published on the website each year, and Senior School waiting-list places are offered after that closing date.

• Visit or tour with the Head of Admissions
• Online registration with passport, birth certificate and any specialist reports
• Taster day or entrance test
• Written offer from the Headteacher
• Acceptance Form and deposit

How 13+ and in-year entry works

Entry at 13+ into Year 9 follows the Senior School route, where external candidates sit an entrance exam and must reach the school's minimum academic standard before an offer is made. The Senior School application form accepts entry into Years 7, 8, 9 or 10, and the school does not publish a separate 13+ paper format.

Candidates joining in-year sit the entrance test at the start of their taster day, and overnight or weekend stays can be arranged for prospective boarders. Girls who are already in the Junior School are offered a Year 7 place if they have shown a positive attitude to learning, evidence of progress in English, maths and science, and the school motto 'Honour before Honours'.

Sixth form entry at 16+

An offer of a Sixth Form place is conditional on at least five subjects at grade 6 or above at GCSE (or the international equivalent), with at least a grade 6 in each subject a girl wishes to study at A level. The school points families to its Sixth Form options booklet for the most up-to-date requirements.

A report and reference from the current school is always requested, and a candidate may be required to sit entrance papers in the subjects she proposes to study. The application form asks for up to five proposed A level subjects, current GCSE subjects and, for overseas applicants, public examinations taken. Sixth Form tours are led by a current pupil and include time with the Headteacher.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships are open to girls entering Years 7 to 13 and are offered in academic subjects, music, art, drama, sport and as all-rounder awards at 11+, 13+ and 16+, alongside Tennis Academy and Swimming Academy places. External and Junior School candidates who apply for academic scholarships and achieve high marks in their entrance examinations are invited back to sit extension papers, and the Fiona Marshall Academic Scholarship is by invitation for the top 20% of the cohort.

Bursaries are described as generous and are available for entry at 11+ and above, and the Sixth Form Mary Broad Bursary is means-tested fee support. The maximum share of fees is not published, so enquiries go to the Head of Admissions, who can also supply the Awarding of Scholarships and Bursaries Framework.

Fees and what they include

Day fees are charged per term and include VAT, with a single published rate for Years 7 and 9, a slightly higher rate for Years 10 to 13, and boarding offered as full, weekly or flexi places. Fees are subject to annual revision, and the current figures are listed in the fees fields of this guide and on the school's fees page.

Extras such as public examination entries, LAMDA and instrumental lessons, Swimming Academy squads, the Tennis Academy and some senior clubs are charged separately. A deposit is payable on acceptance, set at different levels for Junior, Senior and boarding places, and sibling discounts apply while sisters attend at the same time.

How to prepare

For the 11+, the school says the CAT tests cannot be revised for and that no specific preparation for the entrance tests is needed, so the most useful steps are practical ones: confirm the on-site sitting in the autumn term of Year 6, tell Admissions about any specific learning needs before testing, and ask the current school to complete the Headteacher's report covering every subject.

For the Junior School, a girl who has seen the two taster days described in advance usually arrives at ease with a day in class. For the Sixth Form, the clearest preparation is checking predicted GCSE grades against the grade 6 thresholds and the options booklet, and asking about entrance papers in proposed subjects. Once entrance results are known, it is worth asking about extension papers for scholarships.

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Preparing for the Talbot Heath School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Talbot Heath School 11+ tends to go best when it starts early and stays steady, and most families who work with us begin between twelve and eighteen months out. Our tutors, who have prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, plan the work backwards from the school's own assessment format and registration deadline.

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