Westbrook Hay 11+ to 14+ Admissions: Quest Assessment, Scholarships and Fees

Westbrook Hay admissions run through online registration and, for entry to Years 7 to 10, a day-long assessment that includes the Quest academic assessment and a meeting with the Headmaster. Nursery and Reception entry follows a taster session instead, and the school describes places in its other year groups as limited.

The school takes boys and girls from 3 to 16 and offers no sixth form on the pages it publishes, so the main routes for families arriving from other schools are Year 7 and the later senior years. Registration, the assessment day, scholarships and fees are each set out below in the order a family meets them.

Entry points and places

The school admits children at nursery, Reception and Years 7 to 10, with limited places in other year groups. Nursery places for 3-year-olds are limited, and children aged 2 who turn 3 the following year may also find some availability.

Year 3 is reached mainly by progression, since children move from the Pre-Prep into the Prep. The school publishes no figure for places or forms of entry at any age, so the admissions office is the place to ask about availability in a particular year group.

• Nursery and Reception: taster session
• Year 3 (7+): progression from the Pre-Prep, with limited external places
• Years 7 to 10 (11+ to 14+): assessment day with the Quest assessment and a meeting with the Headmaster

How the 11+ assessment works

Entry to Year 7 involves a day at the school that combines lessons and activities with the Quest academic assessment and a meeting with the Headmaster. Each applicant has an allocated guide for the day, and the same format applies to applicants for Years 8, 9 and 10.

The school does not publish the subjects, length or question types within Quest, and its pages do not name a test provider. Parents receive feedback after the day, and offers are expected shortly afterwards. The school says the day lets staff assess a child in context.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration is completed online and a child is added to the list only once the registration form, the non-refundable registration fee and a copy of the latest school report have all arrived. Someone with parental responsibility must complete the form.

The school publishes no closing date for registration, so families are best placed to register early and confirm availability with the admissions office. Registration does not guarantee a place; it means the child will be considered.

• Visit at an Open Morning or arrange an individual visit, which can include meeting the Headmaster
• Complete the online registration form
• Return the form, the fee and the latest school report
• Attend the assessment day for Years 7 to 10, or the taster session for nursery and Reception
• Receive feedback and, where successful, an offer
• Accept the place, at which point the school's terms and conditions bind parents

Interviews and references

There is no separate interview in the published process, although the assessment day for Years 7 to 10 includes a meeting with the Headmaster. Parents can also meet the Headmaster during a visit or by appointment before registering.

Applicants for Years 7 to 10 send their most recent school report with the registration form. The school may also request references and fee information from a child's current school, and families moving schools are advised to seek their current school's advice first.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships are offered in academic, sport, art, music, drama and performing arts, together with a Headmaster's All-Rounder Award for children who show talent across several areas. They apply to entry in Years 7 and 9, are open to internal and external candidates, and bring fee remission capped at 10 percent.

Families apply through a Scholarship Enquiry Form. The application closes in December, with assessments in the week that follows the turn of the calendar year, so the scholarship route runs ahead of the main assessment day.

Means-tested bursaries exist for families who would otherwise be unable to take up a place for financial reasons. The school does not publish a maximum share of fees, and families complete registration before asking about financial assistance through the enquiry form.

Fees and what they include

Fees are set per term by year group, and the published amounts for each stage from nursery to Year 11 sit on the school's fees page. They cover all tuition, books, lunches, some after-school activities, after-school care and non-residential school trips.

Extras include breakfast, supper, musical instrument tuition and additional learning support, the last two taught by visiting staff. Younger siblings receive a 10 percent discount, and fees are payable on the first day of term. The fees page also lists a refundable deposit payable on completion of Year 6 or Year 8.

Where pupils join from

Most younger pupils come through the school's own Pre-Prep, which runs from nursery to Year 2 and leads into the Prep in Years 3 to 6. Children progress from the Pre-Prep to join the Prep in Year 3.

Pupils in Years 5 and 6 are taught by subject, and the Prep aims to prepare each child for the most appropriate academic step into the senior section, which runs to GCSEs. The school names no external feeder or partner schools, and children arriving from other schools attend the day-long visit used to assess them.

How to prepare

Preparation for the Year 7 assessment day centres on the Quest assessment, whose content the school does not publish, so asking the admissions office what the day involves is a sensible first step. Familiar classroom habits such as reading carefully, working steadily and showing methods in maths and English tend to serve a child well in any academic assessment.

Because the day also includes lessons, activities and a meeting with the Headmaster, practising how to talk about interests and school life helps a child feel at ease. For scholarships, the category chosen in the Scholarship Enquiry Form shapes what to practise, whether that is an instrument, a sport, art or drama.

Sending the latest school report promptly with the registration form keeps the file complete, and a visit beforehand lets a child meet the setting before the assessment day.

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Preparing for the Westbrook Hay 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Westbrook Hay 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.