Sevenoaks School

Entry points and who can apply

Sevenoaks is co-educational and takes most new pupils at 11+ and 13+.

• 11+ (Year 7). The school admits about 80 children each year, all as day pupils; there is no boarding in the Lower School. Your child should be 11 on 1 September of the year of entry. If your child is up to three months outside that, email Admissions before applying.
• 13+ Early Decision (Year 9). You register by 21 September at the start of Year 6, and your child sits the assessments in Year 6. This route is only for children who will stay at their current school for Years 7 and 8.
• 13+ Later Decision (Year 9). You register by 1 November in Year 7, and your child is assessed later in Year 7. The school says "a substantial number of places will be held open" for this route. About 100 pupils join at Year 9 in total, around 60 of them as boarders.
• Occasional places. The school very occasionally takes pupils into Year 8 or Year 10 from a waiting list. Email the Registrar with a recent school report to join it.

You apply online and pay a registration fee of £260 for a day place (£450 for a boarding place at 13+). For September 2027 entry at 11+, registration closed on Monday 21 September 2026. Late applicants can email the Registrar about a waiting list. For September 2028 entry at 11+, the deadline is Tuesday 21 September 2027. The school's pages give two registration deadlines (15 and 21 September); check with the admissions team. Registration for Later Decision entry in September 2028 closes on Sunday 1 November 2026.

The assessment: what your child will sit at 11+

Stage 1: the pre-test (autumn of Year 6)

Your child takes the ISEB online pre-test by 27 November if their current school offers it. Sevenoaks does not hold ISEB tests itself, so your child sits it at their own school or at another registered ISEB test centre. If their school does not offer the ISEB but your child has taken the Kent Test or another grammar school test, you can submit that score instead. Otherwise, the school will discuss options with you at the confirmation stage.

The school also reviews your child's report, reference and interests at this stage, and invites most candidates to the second stage.

Stage 2: assessment day at Sevenoaks (Tuesday 5 January 2027)

The admissions pages do not give paper lengths. The paper timings below come from the front covers of the school's most recent published past papers (January 2024), so check the details the school sends you.

The school publishes a maths topic list. It covers number, simple algebra (formulae and substitution), shape and statistics, with a mix of skills-based and problem-solving questions.

What this means in practice

• The pre-test is not at Sevenoaks. Its deadline is Friday 27 November 2026.
• Working counts in maths. The paper says marks may be given for correct working even if the final answer is wrong.
• English is one hour for two tasks. The paper suggests about 35 minutes for Section A and 25 for Section B.
• Access arrangements are handled at confirmation. The admissions policy says the school makes adjustments on receipt of a report from an educational psychologist, or equivalent.
• Saturday school is compulsory. The admissions policy asks parents to be aware of this.

References, results and the decision

The school does not describe an interview at 11+. It decides using the written papers, the group discussion and a confidential reference from your child's current school, which it requests once you have returned the confirmation forms.

Offers, including scholarships, go out by email on Friday 12 February 2027. A Post-Offer Taster Day follows on Saturday 27 February 2027. To accept, you pay a £2,000 deposit for a day place (£5,000 for boarding at 13+) and return an Acceptance Form by the date in early March given in the offer letter.

Some children go on a reserve list, which the school treats as a pool rather than a ranking. Places may come up in early March, once grammar school places are announced.

Early Decision candidates sit the same papers on the same day as 11+ candidates. Offers come in February of Year 6 and depend on your child staying at their current school. The final acceptance deadline is January of Year 7.

Later Decision candidates take the ISEB pre-test in the autumn of Year 7; a Year 6 result can be used instead. The second stage (English and maths papers and a 40-minute group discussion) is on Tuesday 13 April 2027 at Sevenoaks for September 2028 entry, or at an international testing day. Results are due in May 2027 and acceptances in mid-June.

Help with fees: bursaries and scholarships

For 2026/27, day fees for the Lower and Middle School are £12,514 a term including VAT, and Middle School boarding fees are £20,472 a term. The school says fees include lunch on every school day, including Saturdays.

All fee discounts at Sevenoaks come through means-tested bursaries, which the school also calls financial assistance. They are for day pupils joining in Year 7, Year 9 or Year 12, and range from 5% to 100% of fees.

The school's guide for 2025–26 is based on combined household income:

• up to £68,000: likely to be considered for a free place
• up to £130,000: considered for some help with fees
• up to £190,000: may be considered for a small amount in certain circumstances

Other criteria include living within about 45 minutes of the school, limits on property equity and savings, and both parents working unless unable to. You apply at the confirmation stage. An independent assessor visits or interviews you online, and the school aims to give you the outcome before the assessments. The registration fee is refunded in proportion to any award, and waived for families on means-tested state benefits.

Scholarships carry no fee discount, although music scholars receive free tuition on one instrument. At 11+, academic scholarships are based on the entrance papers, the group discussion and the school reference. For a music scholarship (about Grade 4 to 5 at 11+), you apply at confirmation. The deadline for September 2027 entry is Friday 13 November 2026. At 13+, academic, music, art, drama and sport scholarships are assessed during Year 8.

How to prepare

1. Settle the pre-test early. Ask your child's school whether it offers the ISEB. If not, a Kent Test or other grammar school test score can be used; otherwise, email the Registrar.
2. Use the school's own past papers. Sevenoaks publishes maths and English papers from several recent years, a maths mark scheme and the topic list. Early Decision candidates sit the same papers.
3. Work through the topic list, showing every step. There is no calculator and marks can come from working, so practise setting it out clearly.
4. Practise the English hour. Five minutes' reading, then about 35 minutes on the extract and 25 on the writing. The paper asks for full sentences and careful spelling and punctuation.
5. Get used to talking ideas through. The school does not publish what it looks for in the group discussion. It says its staff "aim to make it an enjoyable day", and its Director of Admissions says the school looks for children who are "bright and eager to be involved in the wider, co-curricular life of the school, and – most importantly – who are kind."

Akiru makes prep packs one school at a time. Join the waitlist on this page and we'll email you when there's a Sevenoaks School pack.