Tranby School (formerly Hull Collegiate) 11+ Admissions Guide

Getting into Tranby School (formerly Hull Collegiate) at 11+ means a child sitting the school's own entrance assessment in January before the September start, reaching an acceptable standard in each subject tested, and being backed by a report from their current school. There is no catchment area or local authority allocation process to navigate, since Tranby is an independent school; the deciding factors are the assessment result, the school report and, where a candidate falls just short, an informal interview at the Head's discretion.

Registration can happen at any point after birth, though the school recommends applying at least a full calendar year ahead of the desired start so families receive every piece of communication for that admissions cycle. Once a place is offered, securing it means paying a deposit and returning a signed Form of Acceptance, with scholarships and means-tested Assisted Places available to families who want to explore financial support alongside the standard fees.

How entry works at Tranby

Entry into Year 7 depends on passing the school's entrance assessment, since Tranby is an independent school with no catchment area or local authority allocation stage. Anyone wishing to join from Year 4 onwards, including at the main 11+ point, is required to sit an entrance assessment and to reach an acceptable standard in each part of it.

Beyond the main Year 7 intake, the school also takes pupils at Year 9 and into the Sixth Form, with scholarships published for all three of these entry points. A child's current school is asked to provide a report as part of the process, giving the admissions team a wider picture than the assessment result alone.

How the 11+ assessment works

The entrance assessment for Year 7 entry is sat in January, ahead of the September start, with a separate February sitting for those seeking a place in the Prep School. Candidates need to reach an acceptable standard in each subject area tested for the assessment to count in their favour.

Where a child's results fall only slightly below that standard, the Head has discretion to still offer a place, usually after an informal interview with the family. This is described on the school's own pages as an informal exception granted at the Head's discretion, so it should not be relied upon as a fallback route to a place.

Registration and the admissions process, step by step

Families can register a child for Tranby at any point after birth, though the school asks for registration at least a full calendar year before the intended start date so the family is included in all the communications for that admissions cycle. Registration is completed on the school's own form, submitted to the Registrar along with the non-refundable registration fee.

Parents are also asked at registration to flag any disability or additional need, providing any relevant assessment from an educational psychologist so the school can plan support ahead of the entrance assessment stage.

Once a place is offered on the strength of the assessment and school report, families secure it by paying a refundable deposit and returning a signed Form of Acceptance, which sets out the contractual and financial terms. Every parent or guardian with legal responsibility for the child needs to sign these documents, and the school is clear that a child cannot start until this step is complete.

• Register with the Registrar, submitting the registration form and fee
• Flag any additional needs and provide relevant professional assessments
• Sit the entrance assessment in January, with a school report considered alongside it
• Accept any offer by paying the deposit and signing the Form of Acceptance

What Tranby's fees cover

Fees from Reception upwards are published to include lunch, stationery and the cost of most books, with the main exception of examination texts. Public examination costs, practical subject materials and school trips can be charged as extras, with parental agreement sought first for the latter two.

A separate lunch charge applies on top of the termly fee, and individual music lessons are charged per lesson, outside the standard fee. Families weighing up the overall cost of a Year 7 place are better placed asking the Registrar for the current fee schedule than relying on any figure that predates the entry year in question.

Scholarships and bursaries at Tranby

Academic and music scholarships are available from Year 7 entry, judged on performance in the entrance examinations and, for music, an audition alongside it. Honorary scholarships recognise achievement in music, sport or academic work and can be awarded at the end of Year 7 or Year 9, or on entry to the Sixth Form, as well as at the point of joining.

Families facing financial constraints, whether alongside academic selection or independently of it, can apply for an Assisted Place at Year 7, Year 9 or Sixth Form entry. Support is judged on a sliding scale against parental income and assets, can cover up to the large majority of fees, and is reassessed each year throughout a child's time at the school.

Emergency bursaries sit alongside these longer-term awards, aimed at families hit by unemployment or unexpected hardship, typically while a pupil is preparing for public examinations. All three routes, scholarships, Assisted Places and emergency bursaries, are handled through the Registrar, with no separate bursary office.

How to prepare for Tranby's entrance assessment

Since the assessment covers each subject area to an acceptable standard without ranking candidates against a fixed quota, steady preparation across the core subjects tends to matter more than last-minute cramming for any one paper. Building familiarity with sitting a timed assessment calmly, and with the general style of school entrance testing, usually helps more than focusing narrowly on guessed content.

Because a current school report feeds into the decision alongside the assessment, keeping communication open with a child's existing teachers, and making sure that report reflects a rounded picture of the child, is worth as much attention as the test itself. Families whose child falls only just short of the required standard can also ask about the informal interview route; the assessment result alone need not be treated as final.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared

Preparing for the Tranby School (formerly Hull Collegiate) 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Tranby School (formerly Hull Collegiate) 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, 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.