Tormead School 7+, 11+ and 16+ Admissions: ISEB Pre-Test, Dates and Fees

Getting into Tormead School in Guildford starts with online registration after a visit, followed by an assessment that differs at each stage: English, maths and reasoning papers at 7+, the online ISEB Common Pre-Test and an interview at 11+, and an interview with Sixth Form staff and subject heads at 16+. The school describes itself as academically selective and oversubscribed every year.

The main entry points are 4+, 7+, 11+ and 16+, with places in other year groups opening occasionally, and pupils from Tormead Prep, which sits across the road, do not sit the 11+ assessment. Each stage, the registration sequence, scholarships, bursaries and what fees cover are set out in the sections below.

Entry points and places

Tormead takes girls at four main entry points, which are 4+ into Reception, 7+ into Year 3, 11+ into Year 7 and 16+ into the Sixth Form, and the school states that places occasionally arise in other year groups. The pages do not publish a number of places for each entry point, so the Admissions Team is the route for that detail.

The 7+ assessment is a school-day session in English, maths and verbal and non-verbal reasoning, taken in the first half of the spring term, with an informal interview with a teacher. All Year 3 candidates also join a 25-minute small-group academic scholarship interview on the same day, which focuses on critical thinking.

Entry into Years 4, 5 and 6 (8+, 9+ and 10+) follows the same format as Year 3. Occasional places at 12+, 13+ and 14+ are assessed through hour-long papers in English and maths, followed by an entrance interview.

• 4+ (Reception): an hour-long informal group assessment in a classroom in the autumn term
• 7+ to 10+ (Years 3 to 6): a school-day assessment in early January
• 11+ (Year 7): the online ISEB Common Pre-Test, then an interview
• 12+ to 14+: English and maths papers, then an interview
• 16+ (Sixth Form): application form, interview and GCSE requirements

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment is the ISEB Common Pre-Test, sat online in late November or early December, followed by an interview in early January. Tormead is an ISEB invigilation centre, and a candidate can instead sit the test at their current school if that school is also a centre.

Results are shared with every senior school the candidate applies to, so the test is taken once. Before the tests, registered candidates are invited to an optional Activity Morning and Sport Afternoon in November. The school weighs the test results, the interview and the reference from the current school together when making decisions.

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 is online through the school's application portal and follows a visit to the school, with a non-refundable registration fee paid when the form is completed and signed by a parent or carer. Registration closes in the autumn term before the September of entry, and the Sixth Form deadline falls earlier in that term than the Prep and Senior deadline.

Late and in-year applications are accepted subject to places, and a successful late candidate may be placed on a waiting list depending on the year group. The registration fee covers one academic year, so a reapplication in a later year needs a new fee.

• Visit the school at an open morning or by arrangement with Admissions
• Complete the online Registration Form and pay the fee
• The school requests a confidential report or reference from the current school
• Sit the assessment and attend the interview
• Receive an offer, with 11+ offers sent in the third week of January
• Accept by paying the acceptance deposit and signing the acceptance form before the published deadline

Interviews and references

Every entry point from Reception to Sixth Form includes some form of interview, and each is accompanied by a confidential report from the current school. At 7+ and in Key Stage 2 the report covers academic and other achievements, and at 11+ the school asks for a reference covering academic achievements and interests.

At 11+ the interview takes place in early January, after the ISEB test. On the assessment day, the 7+ stage is an informal conversation with a teacher. Where a child has an Educational or Occupational Psychologist report, parents are asked to disclose it during the application so the Head of Learning Support can confirm arrangements before the assessment.

How 16+ entry works

Sixth Form entry at 16+ begins with an application form listing preferred A Level subjects, followed by interviews with Sixth Form staff and subject heads in the autumn term. Conditional offers are made in early December, before GCSEs are sat.

Candidates are expected to have at least eight GCSE passes, with at least seven at Grade 7 or above, and Grade 7 or above in each subject they plan to study at A Level. Scholarship candidates sit papers and attend scholarship interviews, and the school requests a confidential report from the current school.

Scholarships and bursaries

Tormead offers academic, art, drama, music and sport scholarships, each worth up to 10% of tuition fees, held for the whole of a girl's time at the school and reviewed annually. Every 11+ candidate is considered automatically for the academic scholarship with no separate papers, whereas art, drama, music and sport awards need a separate application using details sent to registered candidates.

Academic scholarships are also offered at 7+, and at 16+ scholarship candidates sit papers and attend interviews. Means-tested entrance bursaries are for girls who have passed the entrance examination and been offered a place, and can reach up to 100% of tuition fees. Hardship bursaries support existing pupils whose family circumstances change. Bursary deadlines fall in the autumn term, and late applications are not considered.

Fees and what they include

Tormead charges termly tuition fees that rise by year group, with Reception lowest and Years 7 to 13 on a single band, and the current amounts are on the fees page of the school's website. Tuition covers books, stationery and equipment.

Examination fees, optional lessons, special coaching, educational visits and certain items that become the girl's property are extra, as are school lunches and the coach service. An acceptance deposit is held until the pupil leaves and then credited to the final account, and a third or later daughter attending at the same time is charged two-thirds of tuition.

Where pupils join from

Year 7 places go to two groups: Tormead Prep pupils, who move across the road and do not sit an 11+ assessment, and external candidates who sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test. Prep progress is tracked through testing in Pre-Prep and Prep, and Year 5 includes a programme of taster lessons and events before a Move Up Day in the term before Year 7.

Rydes Hill Prep and Nursery School, a separate school for ages 3 to 7, is linked from the admissions pages. Girls come from towns and villages across Surrey, the school is a short walk from London Road Station, and a coach service runs from various locations.

How to prepare

Preparation for the 11+ centres on the online ISEB Common Pre-Test, so practising on screen and working through timed questions in a quiet setting helps a child meet the format calmly. Because the school's own papers follow National Curriculum expectations and past papers are not released, steady classwork in English and maths is the most relevant groundwork.

For the interview, talking about books, hobbies and interests with an adult is useful practice, and the optional Activity Morning and Sport Afternoon gives a first look at the school. At 7+ the scholarship interview focuses on critical thinking, so explaining reasoning aloud is worth practising.

Related guides

• Best private schools in Surrey
• Independent school fees compared
• Reigate Grammar School (11+)
• Royal Grammar School Guildford (11+)
• Claremont Fan Court School (11+)
• Epsom College (11+)
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• The 7+ entrance exam explained
• The 8+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained

Preparing for the Tormead School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Tormead 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.

The tutors we match to 11+ preparation are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools. 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.