Thorpe Hall School 11+ Admissions: Entrance Assessment, Grammar Plus and Fees

Thorpe Hall School admissions for Year 7 run through a visit, registration, the THS Entrance Assessment in literacy and numeracy, an offer and then a signed contract with a deposit, with an extra written examination for the selective Grammar Plus stream. The assessment is the school's own, taken in the summer term of Year 5, well ahead of the September in which the child would start.

Thorpe Hall is a co-educational independent day school in Southend-on-Sea taking pupils from Nursery to Year 11, so the only senior entry points are Year 7 and the later in-year routes into Years 8 to 10. Pupils from its own Preparatory School move up automatically, and there is no sixth form.

Entry points and places

The main entry point is Year 7, which is age 11, and the school also accepts applications for any other year group at any time, subject to places being available. Most Preparatory pupils join in Reception, and the Senior School covers Years 7 to 11 only.

Years 8 to 10 can be joined in September or part-way through the year, although the school states that it enrols no new students after the October half term of Year 10 or at any point in Year 11. The number of Year 7 places is not published; the selective Grammar Plus stream is limited to 18 students per year.

• Year 7: September entry, with in-year entry possible if spaces exist
• Years 8 to 10: September or in-year, subject to availability
• Grammar Plus: selective Year 7 stream, separate application
• No sixth form, so no 16+ entry

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment is the THS Entrance Assessment, a literacy (English) and numeracy (maths) test set by the school itself, so families prepare for the school's own papers. Children are invited to sit it in the summer term of Year 5.

The school describes its purpose as confirming that an education there is appropriate and that it can meet each child's needs. The published key-dates sheet gives a Saturday morning slot of two and a half hours. Preparatory pupils do not sit it. The pages read give no question types, so the admissions office is the place to ask for format details.

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How Grammar Plus selection works

Grammar Plus is the school's selective stream with an annual intake at 11+, and entry is by written examination in English, maths and General Studies. Every candidate must first have completed the THS Entrance Assessment and registered, because a Grammar Plus application cannot be processed until then.

The Grammar Plus application form is separate, with its own deadline, and the examination is held on a Saturday in the September before Year 7, taking about three and a half hours. Results are released in October and a deadline for accepting follows in November. The school says past papers are not available and that all candidates are judged equally on merit.

Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration for Year 7 is a form plus a registration fee, and an application is only registered once the school has received both. The fee can be paid by BACS, credit card or debit card. Places are allocated first come, first served, with later applicants joining a waiting list, and priority goes to children of staff, siblings of current pupils and siblings of former pupils.

The school recommends arranging a visit when a child starts Year 5. The published sequence for September entry is below.

• Step 1: visit the school through the Admissions Secretary
• Step 2: submit the registration form and pay the registration fee
• Step 3: sit the THS Entrance Assessment in the summer term of Year 5
• Step 4: receive an offer, subject to the admissions criteria, with offers made by late June; the school encourages early acceptance
• Step 5: sign the contract and pay the deposit to secure the place
• Grammar Plus adds an application, the September exam, results in October and a deadline to accept in November

Interviews and references

The current admissions guide for Year 7 lists no interview and no reference, although the school's admissions policy states that Senior School entry requires an interview with the Headteacher and a copy of the child's latest school report. Families are best placed asking the Admissions Secretary which applies to their child.

For Years 8 to 10 the guide describes a minimum of two taster days, free of charge with lunch included, alongside the entrance assessment. In-year Year 7 entry follows the same pattern with taster days, and the school aims for a gender balance when making offers.

Scholarships and bursaries

The admissions pages read do not describe any scholarship categories, so families interested in awards need to ask the school directly. The school's terms and conditions state that fees are reduced to take account of any scholarship or bursary awarded.

The admissions policy says hardship bursaries are considered for current parents, who must provide proof of their income and assets. Support varies with need and can extend to 100 per cent remission of fees in cases of proven need. Bursaries are offered for twelve months at a time, and families supply updated information for each year their child attends.

Fees and what they include

Senior School fees are a single per-term rate for Years 7 to 11, with VAT added at 20 per cent, and the figure sits on the school's fees page. Included in the fee is an allocated annual selection of curriculum-based trips; lunch, early morning and after-school care, and non-curriculum trips or residentials cost extra, and exam fees are invoiced in Year 11.

A 15 per cent sibling discount applies to the third and any later child when three or more children from one family attend at the same time. Fees can be paid termly, in twelve monthly direct debits, or in advance for up to seven years at the current rate, and a returnable deposit per child secures the place.

Where pupils join from

Pupils in Year 6 at the school's own Preparatory School are automatically allocated a Year 7 place and neither register nor sit the entrance assessment. Children in the Nursery are likewise allocated a Reception place, though they still complete the admission documents.

No partner or feeder schools are named on the pages read. External applicants for the Preparatory School may join in Reception after a Stay and Play session in the summer term, or in other year groups after two taster days with the class of entry.

How to prepare

Preparation for the THS Entrance Assessment centres on the two papers the school names, literacy and numeracy, and the summer term of Year 5 is the point to work towards. Regular reading, written answers in full sentences and secure number work usually cover what a general English and maths assessment draws on, and a visit beforehand helps a child know the building.

For Grammar Plus, the school says past papers are unavailable, so practice tends to rest on wide reading and problem-solving that supports the General Studies paper alongside English and maths. Keeping the Saturday morning sessions calm and familiar, with a rested child, tends to help most.

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