Dulwich College

Entry points and who can apply

Dulwich College takes boys at several points. For families thinking about 10+, 11+ and 13+, these are the routes for September 2027.

• 10+ (Year 6, Junior School). For boys born between 1 September 2016 and 31 August 2017. There are approximately 5 places. This route has its own two-stage assessment, described below, and is not the 11+ test.
• 11+ (Year 7). For boys born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016. This is the main entry point, with 90 places. Around 90 boys join from other schools each year, alongside boys moving up from the Junior School, making a year group of around 150.
• 13+ (Year 9), sitting in Year 8. For boys born between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014. There are 30 places for September 2027.
• Year 9 deferred entry, sitting in Year 6. Boys at UK 13+ prep schools can sit in Year 6 for a Year 9 place in September 2029, staying at their prep school until the end of Year 8. Registration for this route closed on Friday 2 October 2026. A boy cannot apply for both Year 7 and deferred entry.

You register online through the school's admissions portal. The registration fee is £200 and is non-refundable. If your son receives the Pupil Premium, there is no fee; you upload a letter from his school and the admissions team completes the registration with you. Registration for 10+, 11+ and 13+ closes at midday on Monday 2 November 2026. Boys sitting the tests overseas use a separate form, with a £440 fee and an earlier deadline of Friday 2 October 2026.

If your son needs access arrangements (for example extra time, supervised breaks or a word processor), you must say so when you register and send the supporting evidence the school lists. Any changes must reach the Registrars no later than 10 days before the entrance examination.

The assessment: what your son will sit

At 11+, the entrance examinations take place at the school on Friday 4 December 2026. There are two parts, and the whole session lasts about three hours including breaks. Maths and English questions cover Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum.

Part 1: online tests (105 minutes)

Most questions are multiple choice, with only a few needing a typed word or number. A clock on screen shows how long is left in each section. If your son has extra time, it is added to the clock automatically.

The school provides paper and pencils for working out, so he doesn't need a pencil case. Dictionaries, calculators and mobile devices are not allowed. If the network fails on the day, boys sit paper versions of the maths and English tests instead.

Part 2: creative writing (20 minutes)

This is handwritten, or typed if appropriate. He has 5 minutes to plan and 15 minutes to write. The school publishes a specimen paper on its Year 7 page.

What this means in practice

• The sections are short. Four of the six last 10 to 20 minutes, so pacing is worth practising.
• Adaptive sections reward care. In maths and both reasoning sections he can't go back, so he should check each answer before moving on.
• The writing task is brief. He has 5 minutes to plan and 15 minutes to write, so it helps to practise finishing a piece in that time.
• The expected level. The school's bursaries page says that, as a guide, boys applying for Year 7 should be working at Greater Depth in English and maths at primary school.

10+ and 13+ are assessed differently

At 10+, Stage 1 is on Saturday 28 November 2026: adaptive digital assessments in maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, done in small groups on desktop computers with a mouse, plus a short written maths paper and a short piece of writing in response to a picture. The day includes outdoor play, a snack and rest breaks. Boys who show promise return in January for a one-to-one session with a member of staff (maths, reading aloud and a conversation) and group activities. The school holds an information evening for these assessments on Wednesday 18 November 2026.

At 13+, boys in Year 8 sit written papers in English and maths and online reasoning tests on Saturday 9 January 2027. The school's 13+ maths syllabus describes a 1½ hour paper with calculators allowed, covering Key Stages 1 and 2 and most of Key Stage 3. Its English specimen paper lasts 1 hour 25 minutes: a prose comprehension and a short descriptive paragraph. The school doesn't publish the length of the reasoning tests.

Interview and the decision

At 11+, boys who show promise in the tests are invited to an interview in January. For 2027 entry, the school says it will invite 180 boys, with interviews between Wednesday 20 and Wednesday 27 January 2027. It describes the interview as friendly, a chance for your son to show more of his academic strengths and the interests he might bring to school life. The school doesn't publish how long the interview lasts.

The offer of a place is based on three things:

• his performance in the entrance examinations
• the interview
• a reference from the Head of his current school, which typically covers academic ability, attitude and behaviour, involvement in school life, and talents and interests

Results are posted on Thursday 11 February and emailed on Friday 12 February 2027. You must accept by midday on Wednesday 3 March 2027.

At 13+, 40 boys are invited to interview on Tuesday 19 January 2027, results come on the same February dates, and the acceptance deadline is midday on Friday 26 February 2027. At 10+, the January second stage takes the place of an interview; results come on Friday 12 February 2027, with replies due by midday on Friday 26 February 2027.

Help with fees: bursaries and scholarships

Fees for 2026–27 are £10,662 a term for day boys in Years 3 to 8, including lunch, and £10,706 a term for Years 9 to 13, not including lunch. When you accept a day place, you pay a deposit of £2,500. The school keeps it until your son leaves, then refunds it less anything owed.

Bursaries are means-tested and can cover up to 100% of tuition fees. Most are awarded at 11+, and the school also offers them at 13+. They are not available for entry to the Junior School, so not at 10+. Boys on a full bursary also receive help with lunches, school coach travel, uniform, a trial of music lessons and public exam fees.

The school lists guide criteria rather than a fixed cut-off. These include a combined gross household income of less than £110,000, both parents working or looking for work, owning only one home with a mortgage or renting, savings or discretionary spending under £10,000, and living within about 50 minutes' travel of the College. To apply, tick the bursary box when you register. The admissions team then sends a bursary form at the beginning of November, to complete by the end of November. An independent assessor will either visit you at home or meet you online. Awards are made with the offer of a place and reviewed every summer. Families with a bursary also pay a deposit on acceptance; it depends on the size of the award and is as little as £200 on a full bursary.

At 11+, every boy who sits the tests is automatically considered for an academic scholarship. For music, tick the option on the registration form; for sport, submit an application form when you register. Music auditions are on Saturday 9 January 2027 and sport scholarship days on Monday 18 or Tuesday 19 January 2027. Scholarships are not means-tested. Academic and music scholarships are worth up to one third of tuition fees; sport scholarships are typically worth 10%. A scholarship can be combined with a bursary, up to 100% of fees.

How to prepare

The Year 7 page focuses on the format rather than on preparation advice. It also links to practice material, so start there.

1. Try the familiarisation test together. The school links to a free online familiarisation test from its Year 7 page. It shows the style of questions, not the content, so use it to get used to the screen and the timers.
2. Secure Key Stage 2 maths and English. The tests cover the Key Stage 2 curriculum. Work on fluency and accuracy with the core topics, without a calculator.
3. Practise short timed sections. Sections of 10 to 30 minutes reward steady pacing. Practise each type on its own clock.
4. Build the habit of checking before moving on. In the adaptive sections there is no going back, so encourage him to read each question fully and check his answer first.
5. Write to 20 minutes. Use the school's specimen creative writing task: 5 minutes planning, 15 minutes writing. Read the result back together.
6. Read widely and talk about it. The English and creative comprehension sections both test reading, and talking about books is good practice for explaining his ideas.

For 10+, the Junior School says there is no need for extensive preparation. It recommends regular reading and talking about stories, secure numeracy with your son explaining his thinking, and only short, light practice of reasoning questions.

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