Your Admissions Journey

We are committed to ensuring our young people are given the opportunity to have a complete, happy and successful career at Bancroft's, leaving as confident, well-educated and competent adults, ready for the challenges ahead. We promote our school values of curiosity, integrity, kindness, balance, courage and excellence: the human qualities necessary to flourish within a community.

We are an academic school and entrance to the School is subject to written tests and an interview. We are looking for candidates who, as part of a co-educational environment, will contribute to and take advantage of the range of opportunities our co-educational environment offers; we receive many more applications than we have places. Some candidates may be placed on a waiting list following the examinations and interview and may be offered places if vacancies arise.

Our pupils come from a diverse mix of backgrounds and we greatly value our multi-ethnic and multi-faith community, believing it to be an ideal nurturing ground for our society, developing understanding and respect for individuality and for those around us.

The School applies the entrance criteria to all potential pupils regardless of any disability, race, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Where we are made aware of individual circumstances we will make reasonable adjustments where necessary in order not to put a pupil at a disadvantage compared to their peers.

The School asks parents and carers to inform us at the time of application, of any disability, specific learning need or any other issue which may be relevant to their application. In assessing candidates, the School may take advice and require assessments that are deemed necessary, but will be sensitive to any requests for confidentiality. The School welcomes applications from pupils with special educational needs, SEND, or other needs and has an experienced SEND department that provides learning support for all pupils who require it.

There are two main ages of entry to Bancroft’s: at 7+ (into Year 3) and at 11+ (into Year 7); in addition, we admit smaller numbers at 16+ (into Year 12).

Places may occasionally become available in other year groups.

7+ (into Year 3). Entrance is by our own competitive test, held in January of the year of entry. Candidates will be invited into the Preparatory School on two separate occasions. We are in a fortunate position to recruit about 60 pupils at this age, from a very wide range of independent and state schools.

Entry at 7+

11+ (into Year 7). We recruit approximately a further 60 pupils at this age, from a very wide range of independent and state schools. Entrance is by our own competitive exam, held in January of the year of entry, which involves a computer-based reasoning test and papers in English and Maths. Following the exam, selected children are invited for interview.

ENTRY AT 11+

16+ (into Year 12). We recruit about 25 pupils at this age, from a wide range of independent and state schools. Entrance is by our own competitive exam, held in November of the year before entry i.e. at the beginning of Year 11; candidates select their papers from a list of subjects Bancroft’s offers at A Level and that they feel they will perform best in; they should choose the two main subjects they are intending to pursue at A Level. We also offer a Thinking Skills paper, testing problem solving and other thinking skills. Places are awarded conditionally, and candidates are usually expected to achieve a minimum level of achievement at GCSE (usually 5 or more subjects at Grade 8 or 9).

ENTRY AT 16+

Parents and carers of applicants are informed by an agreed date of the outcome of the application. No specific marks (raw or percentage) or grades will be given. The papers themselves are not released. Examination scripts are exempt from Section 7 of the Data Protection Act. The entrance test results are final and there is no appeal process.

The School awards Academic Awards at 11+ and 16+ as part of the entrance process. There is no remission of fees attached to any Award, but academic recognition with a small honorarium. Music, Sports, Art, Drama and Community Awards are available to pupils once they have joined the school.

The School also offers a number of Assisted Places; these are designed to support pupils of high ability whose parents /carers provide evidence that they might not otherwise be able to afford the full school fees. Bancroft’s has a long tradition of taking pupils from a variety of backgrounds, and participated in the Direct Grant and the Assisted Places Schemes. The School now continues that tradition by offering a number of Assisted Places. The places are awarded on the results of the entrance examinations at 7+, 11+ and 16+ with school reports and interviews playing an important part. The value of an award depends on a number of factors; please see the School’s Assisted Places policy.

Registration Terms and Conditions

For Bancroft’s Preparatory School enquiries, please contact:

020 8506 6774

For all Bancroft’s Senior School enquiries, please contact:

The Admissions Team:

020 8506 6761

Where Next

Admissions

Visit Us

Contact Us