13+ and Common Entrance
Independent senior-school entry at 13+ — the ISEB pre-test, Common Entrance, scholarships and interviews — for parents choosing a school and a route for a child now in prep or Year 6–8.
13+ Entry Explained: How the Pre-Test, Common Entrance and School Exams Fit Together
The 13+ route into UK independent senior schools runs on three layers — a pre-test in Year 6 or 7, a conditional offer, and exams in Year 8 — and almost every online explanation muddles them. This is the whole landscape in one piece.
The ISEB Common Pre-Test: Format, the Four Sections, and What 'Adaptive' Actually Means
The ISEB Common Pre-Test is online, adaptive, sat once, and shared across senior schools — and the word 'adaptive' causes more needless parental worry than anything else in 13+ entry. Here is what the test is, section by section, and what adaptivity means for the child sitting it.
Common Entrance at 13+: The Subjects, the Papers, and How the Marking Actually Works
Common Entrance is a full suite of subject exams — English, maths and science at the core, humanities and languages beyond — written centrally by ISEB but marked by the receiving senior school. Here is what the papers consist of and how a 'pass' is actually decided.
Why Some Senior Schools Dropped Common Entrance — and What They Use Instead
Common Entrance served the 13+ system for over a century, and then a run of senior schools stopped requiring it. The move was not a fad: the pre-test had quietly taken over CE's selecting job years earlier. Here is the dynamic — and what to check for your own school.
The 13+ Timeline: From Registration to the First Day of Year 9
The 13+ route runs for four or five years — registration in Years 4–5, pre-test in Year 6 or 7, offer, then the long quiet stretch to Year 8 exams and Year 9 entry. Here is the whole calendar, stage by stage, with what actually matters at each point.
13+ Scholarships: Academic, Music, Sport and Art — What They Actually Involve
A parent's guide to 13+ scholarships at UK independent senior schools — what each kind assesses, what an award is really worth, and how to decide whether to put a child through the extra papers.
Prep School vs State Primary: The Two Roads to 13+ Entry
Prep schools exist to deliver children to senior schools at 13; state schools don't. An honest look at the structural gap between the two routes, and what a state-sector family can actually do to close it.
13+ Maths: What the Syllabus Assumes, and Where Children Actually Lose Marks
CE maths at 13+ is essentially well-taught KS3 maths under time pressure. What the syllabus covers, the gaps that show up again and again in Year 8 candidates, and how to close them without drilling the joy out of the subject.
13+ English: Comprehension and Composition in Practice
CE English at 13+ rests on two skills — reading a passage closely and writing well to time. What the papers ask, how they are marked, where Year 8 candidates lose marks, and how to practise both halves without deadening either.
13+ Science: How the Three Sciences Work at Common Entrance
CE science examines biology, chemistry and physics on broadly KS3 ground. How the papers are structured, what each science asks of a Year 8 child, the misconceptions that cost marks, and how to prepare all three without triple the work.
Latin, French and the 13+ Language Papers: Who Actually Takes What
Latin is the paper that worries families most — especially those arriving from a state primary. Here is who actually takes it, what the French paper looks like, and what happens if your child has never studied either.
Boarding at 13: The Academic and Pastoral Reality
What actually changes when a child boards at 13 — the pace of the classroom, the shape of the first term, homesickness that arrives on schedule, and how to judge whether your child is ready. A clear-eyed guide for families weighing 13+ boarding entry.
Senior School Interview Day: What They Actually Assess
Senior school interviews are not oral exams and they cannot usefully be coached — schools are watching how a child thinks aloud, what they are curious about, and whether they would thrive. What the day involves, what interviewers look for, and why over-rehearsal backfires.
The Year 7 Dip: When 13+ Preparation Goes Quiet
Somewhere in Year 7, many children on the 13+ road simply run out of steam — the pre-test is behind them, Common Entrance is over a year away, and the point of it all has gone hazy. Why the dip happens, why it is normal, and what actually helps a tired eleven-year-old.
Choosing Between 11+ and 13+ Entry: The Decision, Even-Handedly
One child, two possible entry points. Neither route is better in general — the right one depends on your child, your local options, and what your target schools actually offer. A framework for the decision, without a thumb on the scale.