The Gregg School 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment, Bursaries and Fees

The Gregg School admissions for Year 7 (11+) begin with an online application form and a registration fee, followed by an Entrance Assessment sat at school: four ISEB multiple-choice tests on school laptops (Maths, Reading, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning) and a handwritten creative writing task. The school describes itself as non-selective, so the assessment places pupils in teaching groups and sits alongside the report and reference from the current school.

Other entry points are the Prep (Reception to Year 6, at any time of year) and in-year places in Years 7 to 10 where a year group has space. Fees are published for every year group, and means-tested bursaries are available.

Entry points and places

Pupils join at Reception in the Prep, at Year 7 for the senior school, and in-year into Years 7 to 10 where a year group has space. The Prep also takes children into Years 1 to 6 at any stage and at any time of year.

The admissions pages do not publish a number of places or forms of entry for any year group. Families who want to know about availability in a particular year are asked to contact the registrar, whose address is on the admissions page.

• Prep: Reception from age four (the September before a child turns five), and Years 1 to 6 at any time
• Senior: Year 7 entry, with applications accepted from Year 5 onwards
• In-year: Years 7 to 10, subject to availability

How the 11+ assessment works

The Year 7 Entrance Assessment has five parts, sat at school in small groups with break-out sessions. Maths, Reading, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are multiple-choice tests from ISEB taken on school laptops, and the fifth part is handwritten creative writing.

The school says the assessment identifies strengths and helps place pupils in appropriate teaching groups. The pages do not state a length for the sitting or a pass mark for Year 7, and the school describes itself as non-selective, with entry based on reports, assessments and getting to know each child.

• Maths (ISEB, multiple choice, school laptop)
• Reading (ISEB, multiple choice, school laptop)
• Verbal Reasoning (ISEB, multiple choice, school laptop)
• Non-Verbal Reasoning (ISEB, multiple choice, school laptop)
• Handwritten creative writing

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration for Year 7 is an online Application Form submitted with a registration fee, which covers the Entrance Assessment arranged with the registrar. Applications can be made from Year 5 onwards, and the school says its Entrance Assessments take place throughout the academic year, so there is no single closing date on the page.

The steps run in this order: submit the form, arrange the assessment with the registrar, sit it at school, then wait while the school considers the results alongside the report and reference. Results are usually posted to families within two weeks, and places are filled when the signed contract is received, so successful applicants are urged to accept promptly.

• Visit an Open Event or arrange a private tour, and meet the head teachers
• Submit the online Application Form with the registration fee
• Arrange and sit the Entrance Assessment
• Receive the result, usually within two weeks
• Return the signed contract to secure the place

Interviews, reports and references

Year 7 applicants do not have an interview, and the pupil's report and the reference from their current or previous school are considered before a formal offer is made. The admissions page also invites prospective students to an Activity Morning or taster session.

The Year 6 Activities Morning offers sessions in subjects including Computing, Maths, Science, PE, Art, Music, Geography, Drama, Foreign Languages, Religion and Ethics, History, and Food and Nutrition. Every prospective family is welcome to meet the head teachers, who like to explain how the school works.

In-year entry to Years 7 to 10

In-year entry into Years 7 to 10 follows eight steps: an enquiry form, a school visit, the Application Form with the assessment fee, a recent school report, a reference requested from the current school, the Entrance Assessment, a meeting with the Headteacher and Head of Year, and two Taster Days.

The assessment has no pass mark, although the school only accepts children judged able to access the GCSE curriculum. Offers depend on availability, assessment results, staff and student feedback from tours, meetings and taster days, and the report and reference. The Headteacher decides, and a successful family signs a contract and pays a deposit.

• The reference covers skills and abilities, attendance, behaviour, disciplinaries, student support, hobbies and personal qualities
• Any need for student support must be declared before applying, and the application cannot proceed if provision for that year group is full
• Pupils joining from Year 8 onwards generally continue the one modern foreign language they already study, unless proficient in two

Scholarships and bursaries

The fees and bursaries page lists means-tested bursaries and does not mention scholarships. Bursaries are awarded each year, covering up to 50 per cent of school fees, with transport, meals and trips charged separately.

To apply, families tick the bursary box on the online application form, after which the bursary team sends a Bursary Application Form asking for full details of income and expenditure. Questions go to the Bursar, whose address is on the fees page.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published per term and per year for each year group, with senior fees set in two bands (Years 7 and 8, then Years 9 to 11) and inclusive of VAT. They are payable termly, annually in advance or monthly, and the Governors review them each September.

Fees include textbooks, stationery and most co-curricular activities. External examination entry fees, individual learning support, EAL Hub lessons, off-site or residential visits, school transport, private music lessons and school lunches cost extra. Discounts of 5 per cent apply to a second child and alumni, 10 per cent to a third and subsequent child and to serving armed forces members.

Where pupils join from

The Gregg Prep, on the same site, takes children from Reception to Year 6, and the admissions page lets families register interest in the Prep, the senior school or both. Reception children join the September before they turn five, and older children can join at any time.

For Years 1 to 6 the route is registration, the application form, the latest school report, a Trial Day with the prospective class, class teacher feedback and a meeting with the Headteacher. The admissions pages do not name other feeder or partner schools.

How to prepare

The school emails a walk-through with examples to parents the week before the Year 7 Entrance Assessment, so children can practise the software and the answer format. Short practice on a laptop with multiple-choice questions in maths, reading, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning matches the four ISEB components.

The fifth part is handwritten, so regular timed writing by hand, planning a short piece and checking it, covers the creative writing task. Because the assessment places pupils in teaching groups and has no stated pass mark, calm, steady practice and a relaxed visit to an Open Event or Activity Morning tend to suit the process.

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Preparing for the Gregg School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Gregg 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.