Truro High School for Girls 11+ and 16+ Admissions: Entrance Day, Scholarships and Fees

How you get into Truro High School for Girls depends on the year group: the main entry point is Year 7 (11+), where girls sit the Senior School Entrance Day assessments, with further entry possible in Years 8 to 10 and into the Sixth Form at 16+. Every girl who sits the Year 7 Entrance Day is automatically considered for an Academic Scholarship, and other scholarships are assessed separately.

Families register through the school's online enquiry form and deal with the Registrar, who also arranges tours and taster days. The school publishes the Year 7 dates and its registration deadline, but it does not publish the paper format or the number of Year 7 places, so those are worth confirming directly.

Entry points and places

Entry into the senior part of the school is possible at Year 7 (11+), at any stage from Year 7 to Year 10, and into the Sixth Form at Year 12 (16+), whilst entry at Year 11 is rarely possible. The school also has a Prep School from Reception to Prep 6, which feeds the Senior School.

The pages read do not state the number of places or forms of entry at any year group, so the Registrar is the person to ask about availability in a particular year.

• Year 7 (11+): main entry point, through the Senior School Entrance Day
• Years 8 to 10: entry at any stage, assessed through Mathematics and Literacy papers
• Year 12 (16+): Sixth Form papers plus set GCSE grades
• Year 11: rarely possible

How the Year 7 entrance assessment works

Year 7 entry runs through the Senior School Entrance Day, held on a Saturday in January, with scholarship assessments for music, sport, art, drama and dance on the Monday that follows. The school's admissions page for international applicants lists Mathematics and Literacy papers for entry to Years 7 to 10, and the school sets these papers itself.

The Entrance Day page does not publish the length of the papers, the question types or an external test provider, so none of those should be assumed. Every girl who sits the Entrance Day assessments is automatically considered as a potential Academic Scholar, which means no separate application is needed for that award.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration starts with the online enquiry form, which asks for the parent's name, email and telephone number, the daughter's name and her current school. For Year 7 the school sets a registration deadline in the autumn term before entry, and the same deadline covers telling the school whether your daughter will attend the Entrance Day.

The admissions page for international applicants sets out the later steps, and the same sequence tends to apply to day families once a place is offered. A registration fee is payable, and the Headmistress meets the applicant. Where an offer follows, it arrives verbally, then families receive two copies of a Form of Acceptance and a contract, and one signed copy goes back with the deposit to secure the place. A joining pack follows with medical, uniform and term date forms.

• Complete the online enquiry form
• Register by the published deadline
• Sit the Entrance Day assessments
• Receive a verbal offer
• Return the signed Form of Acceptance with the deposit
• Complete the joining pack

Entry into Years 8 to 10 and interviews

Girls can join at any stage from Year 7 to Year 10, and applicants in those years sit Mathematics and Literacy papers. Scholarships in academic, music, sport, art and drama are available for Year 9 entry and occasionally for Years 8 and 10, according to the school's international admissions page.

That page also states that the Headmistress interviews each applicant to learn about her interests, so families should expect a conversation as part of the process. The pages read do not describe a group activity or say whether a reference from the current school is required; the Registrar can confirm both when you enquire.

How 16+ Sixth Form entry works

Sixth Form entry generally requires 7 GCSE passes at grade 5 or above (or equivalent), with at least a grade 6 in each subject the applicant wants to study at A Level. Applicants sit entrance papers in Mathematics and Literacy, plus a third paper in a subject they intend to take at A Level.

Sixth Form scholarships are assessed in November of Year 11 through exam papers, with auditions or assessments where the award is in a performing or practical area. The Sixth Form pages also describe a subject fair, and families who are not yet parents at the school can register their interest through the form on that page.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships are offered in academic, music, sport, art and drama (dance is also mentioned), awarded on entry to Year 7 and Year 12, and the international admissions page adds Year 9 and occasionally Years 8 and 10. Year 7 scholarships are in name only, whilst a Year 12 scholarship gives a 10% remission against tuition fees. They are not available for entry to the Prep School, and they cannot be used against boarding fees.

Means-tested bursaries support girls who have been offered a place but whose families cannot meet full fees, and they can also help current families whose circumstances have changed. They cover tuition only: up to 20% for Prep 3 to 6, up to 50% for Years 7 to 13, and up to 100% where circumstances warrant it. A scholarship can be topped up with a bursary, ordinarily to a total of 50% of tuition.

Applicants complete a Bursary Application Form through an online portal, available from the Bursar. The Bursar assesses it using Independent Schools' Bursars' Association guidelines and recommends an amount to the Awards Committee. Forces families can receive a 10% discount on full-boarding and tuition fees, and the Isles of Scilly Award offers Sixth Form boarders up to 50% remission on tuition and boarding after the Sixth Form Numeracy and Literacy papers and a means-tested form.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published termly on the school's fees page, with separate bands for Reception, Pre-Prep, Prep and Senior (Years 7 to 13), and the Senior band also covers the Sixth Form. The figures appear before VAT, the VAT amount and the total including VAT, and you will find the current amounts in the fees field above.

Day fees include textbooks and a homework club, and the admissions FAQ adds free wrap-around care from early morning until 6pm, a lunch and most clubs. Lunch is listed as a compulsory charge, ballet and sailing cost extra, and trips such as skiing and language exchanges are optional and charged separately. Daughters of former pupils receive a 5% discount, as do younger siblings. Fees are due by the first day of term, and a registration fee and deposit apply.

Where pupils join from

Many girls move up from the school's own Prep School, which runs from Reception to Prep 6, and Prep 6 pupils moving into the Senior School are eligible for scholarships. The pages read do not say whether internal pupils sit the Entrance Day assessments, so Prep families should ask the Registrar.

External applicants come from other schools, and the enquiry form asks for the daughter's current school. The school runs daily buses on routes from Winnards Perch, St Blazey, Helston and Newquay (via St Agnes), and a shuttle to Truro Railway Station. The pages do not publish a catchment area, and no named partner schools are listed.

How to prepare

Preparation follows the format the school names: Mathematics and Literacy papers for Years 7 to 10, and an additional A Level subject paper at 16+. For Year 7, practising written maths and literacy at the standard of the current school year, and confirming the format with the Registrar, covers what has been published.

The Headmistress interview is best met by a girl who can talk about her interests, so reading widely and discussing clubs and activities at home helps. For music, sport, art, drama or dance scholarships, the Monday assessments call for a prepared piece or portfolio, and the school's expectation is that candidates perform competently in the entrance examinations too. Sixth Form applicants tend to benefit from revising the subject they plan to study, since the third paper is set in it.

Related guides

• Independent school fees compared
• Truro School (11+)
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained
• Boarding schools in the UK

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