FAQ Admissions

There are two main ages of entry to Bancroft’s at 7+ (into Year 3) and at 11+ (into Year 7) There is a smaller entry at 16+ (into the Sixth Form). Some years we run admissions tests for 13+ entry (into Year 9) but this will depend on the number of pupils in our Year 8.

No. There is no need to register for the entrance exams more than a year ahead.

We hold a series of Open Events in the summer and autumn terms, click here for details.

7+ (into Year 3). Entrance is by our own competitive tests, held in January of the year of entry. Candidates will be invited into the Preparatory School on two separate occasions and no special preparation is needed. We have approximately 66 places available at 7+ and children join from a very wide range of independent and state schools.

11+ (into Year 7). About 60 pupils join Bancroft’s into Year 7 from a very wide range of independent and state schools. In addition the majority of our Year 6 Prep pupils will transfer to the senior school. Entrance is by our own competitive tests, held in January of the year of entry. Once the tests are completed we offer places on the basis of :

• Test results
• Interview performance
• Information from the 11+ IAPS or Common Transfer Form

16+ (into the Sixth Form). We recruit about 20 pupils at this age, from a wide range of independent and state schools. Entrance is by our own competitive exam, held in November before the year of entry, i.e., at the beginning of Year 11; candidates select their papers from a list based on the subjects they propose to study at A Level (click here for link). Once the tests are completed we offer places on the basis of :

• Examination test results
• Interviews
• Information from the Reference Request Forms

We are looking for pupils who are likely to achieve a significant number of 8 or 9 grades at GCSE with a minimum of five 8 or 9 grades, and at least an 8 in the subjects they wish to study at A Level. An offer of a place at 16+ is conditional on achieving five 8 or 9 grades at GCSE. We may also offer fee paying places on the basis of GCSE results in August.

The  7+ and 11+ tests take place in early January in the year of entry.

The 16+ tests are held in early November of the year before entry when candidates are in Year 11.

Bancroft’s offers a number of Assisted Places (Bursaries) to bright children whose parental income would otherwise prevent them from taking up a place. At 7+ we offer up to two Assisted Places. Assisted Places are also available for children joining us at 11+ and 16+.

Children who are offered an Assisted Place must also fulfil the minimum entry requirements and Assisted Places are offered following a review of parental income. Candidates who only apply for an Assisted Place will not be considered for a fee-paying place, even if their performance in the assessment tests was good enough to have earned them a place in the School.

Assisted Places

Yes, you can register your child to sit entrance examinations for more than one school, but you will only be able to accept a place at one.

Bancroft’s welcomes pupils who are enthusiastic, intelligent, curious, and who will make the most of school life and Bancroft’s excellent facilities.

We welcome applications from pupils at any school, whether they are at a state school or an independent school in the UK.

There are a few schools that send us a number of pupils each year, but we do not give preferential treatment to pupils from any particular schools.

Our advice to parents when choosing a primary or prep school with a view to their child coming on to Bancroft’s afterwards, is to look for one that offers a wide range of activities outside the classroom, as well as good academic and pastoral support.

Click on the links below for further information about entrance procedures.

• 7+ (into Year 3)
• 11+ (into Year 7)
• 16+ (into the Sixth Form)

Possibly if they have completed Years 1-6 successfully and are intellectually and emotionally ready for senior school in terms of maturity.

Bancroft’s Prep School takes children from the age of 7 up to 11; they then transfer to the Senior School. Bancroft’s Senior School takes children from the age of 11 through to 18.  All candidates must be registered by 1 December of the year prior to entry to Bancroft’s. The online registration forms are published in the spring of the year before entry.

We hold a series of Open Days throughout the year for prospective 7+ and 11+ candidates; the dates are advertised on the school website and we suggest that you attend one, with your child, in the nine months before the child would sit the entrance exam.

Open Days

Interested and interesting children. We are looking for pupils who will contribute significantly to school life and make the most of the many and varied opportunities offered to them by Bancroft’s.

Offer letters for 7+ and 11+ are emailed and posted in the February following the entrance tests.

Offer letters for 16+ are emailed and posted in the December following the entrance exam.

Approximately 450 – 500.

We no longer offer Scholarships with fee remission. However, we do offer a range of Awards to recognise the talents and abilities of our pupils.

Academic Awards at 11+ are based on a child’s performance in our entrance tests and interview.

Music Awards are given at 11+ during a pupil’s first Spring Term at Bancroft’s.

Music Awards at 16+ are initially based upon a music assessment and interview.

Sport, Art, Drama and Community Awards are awarded internally to pupils already studying at Bancroft’s.

AWARDS AT BANCROFT’S

No.

Please register online through the website. Registration forms can be found in the Admissions section of our website.

We don’t encourage long periods of intensive coaching for our entrance tests; we have found that this boosts a child artificially and without the prop of tutoring they may have difficulty maintaining the required standard when they get here. It can be helpful if a child has some practice in sitting assessments/tests under timed conditions.

Rather than tutoring, please encourage your child to read widely and develop their natural curiosity.

7+ Entrance is by our own competitive tests, held in January of the year of entry. Candidates will be invited into the Preparatory School for testing on two separate occasions. A sample 7+ maths paper is available from the link below:

Entry at 7+

Sample 11+ papers in English and maths are available here.  We do not have sample reasonsing papers. Plase note that following the change in our testing format, sample papers from before 2020 may no longer be relevant .

16+ Applicants for entry at 16+ will sit two one-hour exams, from a choice of the following subject areas, which the candidate is studying for GCSEs:

• Art
• Biology
• Chemistry
• English Literature
• French
• Geography
• German
• History
• Latin
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Religious Studies
• Spanish

Applicants nominate the two subjects in which they would like to be examined by indicating their choices on the application form. Specific revision will not be required and the questions will be appropriate to all GCSE exam boards and syllabus. In addition, they sit a 90 minute problem solving and critical thinking paper. Please note that candidates wanting to take Mathematics A Level must sit the mathematics entrance paper.

Currently, no. We believe that this might inhibit after school activities for many pupils. We have very good public transport links. We encourage parents to subscribe to our car sharing app “Home Run” to facilitate car sharing. We do offer a minibus shuttle from Loughton Station for pupils travelling by London Underground to Loughton Station. This service is aimed primarily at pupils in the senior school.

In a wheelchair?

• We would try and accommodate a physically disabled child, we have a lift and ramps. Unfortunately as Bancroft’s School is a listed building there would be some constraints and inaccessible areas.

With a medical condition?

• We would try and accommodate a pupil with a medical condition, dependent upon the medical condition and whether it was something our School Nurse could assist with.

Bancroft’s School is committed to equal treatment for all regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, learning difficulty or social background. We are an academically selective school and we believe that the educational experience can only be enriched if children are exposed to as wide a range of cultural experiences as possible whilst they are developing.

OUR AIM IS TO BE INCLUSIVE.

Spanish, German, Russian and French. Pupils in the Thirds (Year 7) select two languages from a choice of French, Spanish and German. Russian can be started in the Removes (Year 8). We encourage all pupils to take a GCSE in one modern foreign language.

Pupils may take an additional GCSE in their family language.

In the Prep School classes are a maximum of 22 children.

We aim to have a maximum of 24 per class in the Thirds and Removes (Years 7 and 8), then class sizes reduce, sometimes considerably, depending upon GCSE and A Level options.

Prior to GCSE only in maths. At GSCE children are also banded in sciences and English.

80.2% of all GCSEs in 2022 were awarded the top grades of 9 or 8; 93.5% achieved either grades 9/8/7 with 99.9% graded as a 5 or better. Eighteen pupils from a cohort of 129 received ten grade 9s. 

In 2022, Bancroft’s pupils achieved

• 45.1% exams graded at A*
• 93% exams graded A* – B
• Twenty three pupils in a cohort of 102 received 3 or more A*s 

99% of our Sixth Formers progress to higher education, the majority to leading universities (Russell Group), medical schools and art colleges. 10% of a year group will typically go on to study at Oxford or Cambridge; around 10% of a year group will progress to study medicine (including dentistry and vet science).  Popular destinations for leavers include Cambridge, Nottingham, Durham, Exeter, Bath, Birmingham, King’s College London, University College London, Warwick, Edinburgh, Loughborough and Leeds. We have also seen an increase in the number of Sixth Formers looking at Degree Apprenticeships.