Independent schools (also known as private schools) often require students to sit entrance exams (admissions tests) as part of the admissions process. Each school can choose their own admissions process, meaning that there is a lot of variety in exam papers and formats. Once you have done your school research and submitted your applications, it is important to prepare for any entrance exams.
The entrance exam season for independent school admissions is quite long. The earliest exam dates can be late September or early October, and the latest stretch into January! However, most schools hold their main entrance exams in November, ten months before your child would start at the school in September.
For information about exam dates and the papers your child will be required to sit, you should visit the school’s website and contact their admissions team. Whilst some schools have past papers and specifications on their website, others will only send them to parents upon request.
What will the exams include?
Entrance exams vary depending on the school and your child’s age. Here are examples of the types of assessments that schools may require for different age groups:
Year 7 Entry (11+)
Commonly required:
- English (including literary analysis and extended writing tasks)
- Maths
- Verbal reasoning paper
- Non-verbal reasoning paper
Sometimes required:
- General knowledge paper (this may include some science, history, geography, or even critical thinking skills)
- English language paper (for international students, or students whose first language is not English)
Note: Independent school 11+ entrance exams are slightly different to the 11+ exams for state grammar schools. Read our article on the similarities and differences between the two here.
Year 9 Entry (13+)
Commonly required:
- English
- Maths
- Verbal and non-verbal reasoning / Cognitive reasoning
Sometimes required:
- Science
- Religious Studies
- History
- Geography
- Modern Foreign Language (e.g. French, German, Spanish)
- Ancient Language (e.g. Latin or Ancient Greek)
- English language paper (for international students, or students whose first language is not English)
Year 13 Entry (16+)
Very commonly required:
- Assessments for subjects to be taken at A level
Sometimes required:
- English
- Maths
- Science
- English language paper (for international students, or students whose first language is not English)
Does my child need to sit an exam for every school?
The short answer to this is to carefully check the entry requirements for all the schools you have applied to. The school will have provided information about entrance exam arrangements so you can determine how many different exams your child will need to take.
Some schools group together and use the same entrance exams, for example the ISEB Common Entrance which has both an 11+ and 13+ level. If you have applied to several schools that require the ISEB Common Entrance, your child only needs to sit the exam once and their results are shared with the schools you have applied to. The London 11 Plus Consortium is another group of independent girls’ schools which all use the same admissions tests.
Seven Springs Education & Independent School Admissions
Navigating independent school admissions tests can be confusing, and they can be tricky for your child to prepare for. Our 11+ and 13+ online tuition courses are designed to teach students everything they need for entrance exams, as well as coaching them in exam strategies to help them reach their full potential. Contact us today to find out how we can support your independent school journey.
私立學校入學試快速指南
Independent schools（又稱private schools，指私立學校）通常要求學生參加入學試（admissions tests）作為招生流程的一部分。因為每所學校都可以選擇自己的招生流程，所以這意味著考試試卷和模式可以有很多的變化。一旦你已經完成對不同學校的資料搜集並提交入學申請後，接下來重要的便是著手準備你孩子的入學試。
私立學校招生的入學考試季時間相當長。最早的考試日期可能是九月末或十月初，最晚的考試日期可以到一月份喔！ 然而，大多數學校都會在11月舉行入學考試，比你孩子9月入學的時間還要再早十個月。
有關考試日期和你孩子需要考核的試卷資訊，你應該查看該學校的網站並聯繫他們的招生部門。雖然有些學校在其網站上會列有歷年試卷和考試規範，但有些學校只會在家長主動要求的情況下，才會發送相關資料給家長。
考試內容包括甚麼？
入學考試的內容會根據學校和你孩子的年齡而有所不同。 以下是學校對於不同年齡層可能要求的評估的類型例子：
7 年級入學 (11+)
一般要求：
- 英語（包括文學分析和拓展寫作考核）
- 數學
- Verbal reasoning paper（文字推理論文）
- Non-verbal reasoning paper（非文字推理論文）
有時需要考核：
- 常識論文（可能包括一些科學、歷史、地理，甚至批判性思考技能）
- 英國語言論文（English language paper）（適用於國際學生或第一語言不是英語的學生）
注意：私立學校（Independent school） 11+ 入學考試與公立文法學校（State Grammar schools）的 11+ 入學考試略有不同。 請閱讀我們關於兩者之間異同的文章。
9年級入學（13+）
一般要求：
- 英語
- 數學
- 文字和非文字推理/認知推理（Verbal and non-verbal reasoning / Cognitive reasoning）
有時需要：
- 科學
- 宗教研究
- 歷史
- 地理
- 現代外語（例如法語、德語、西班牙語）
- 古代語言（例如拉丁語或古希臘語）
- 英國語言論文（English language paper）（適用於國際學生或第一語言不是英語的學生）
13 年級入學 (16+)
常見的要求：
- A level 科目評估
有時需要：
- 英語
- 數學
- 科學
- 英國語言論文（English language paper）（適用於國際學生或第一語言不是英語的學生）
我的孩子需要參加每所學校的考試嗎？
簡單回答這個問題：你應該仔細檢查你申請的所有學校的入學要求。學校會提供有關入學考試安排的資訊，以便你確認你的孩子需要參加多少次不同的考試。
部分學校會組合在一起並使用相同的入學考試，例如「 ISEB統一入學試」（ISEB Common Entrance），既有11+級別也有13+級別。 假如你申請了多所需要通過「 ISEB統一入學試」入學的學校，你的孩子只需參加一次考試，那麼該次成績就會通用於你申請的那些學校。「London 11 Plus Consortium」便是另一組私立女子學校的聯盟，它們都使用相同的入學試。
Seven Springs Education與私立學校招生
鑒於你可能會對私立學校入學試內容感到迷惘，你的孩子準備時也可能會遇到困難。因此，我們的 11+ 和 13+ 線上補習課程旨在教導學生應對入學試所需的一切技巧，並指導他們考試策略，幫助他們充分發揮潛力。請即聯絡我們，以了解我們如何協助你的私立學校入學旅程。