Junior School Admissions

Exeter Junior School – Ages 7 – 11

Entry to Exeter Junior School is possible into all year groups where there are places available, with the largest intake being at Years 3 and 5. We will consider entry in January and April, as well as in September.

If you would like to consider a place at Exeter Junior School for your child, the first thing to do is to come and visit us. We would be delighted to give you a tour of the school and you can apply for a place by completing the online registration form.

Exeter Junior School is academically selective with entrance assessments taking place in late January/early February. Late assessments can be arranged on an individual basis.

During the assessment pupils will be given an opportunity to demonstrate literacy and numeracy skills as appropriate for their age.

ENGLISH

The English tests will assess the child’s skills in all the key aspects of literacy: reading, comprehension, writing, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and handwriting. The writing test comprises a planning/introductory session with the teacher before writing. The introduction may take the form of verbal, visual or concrete stimulus which is fully discussed with the pupils before they start. A good standard of presentation, punctuation, and content of writing is encouraged rather than the quantity.

Pupils will sit an online English reading test which will comprise a range of age-appropriate English exercises and reading skills. There will also be a short spelling test.

For Year 3 and Year 4 entry, the pupil will also read a passage from an age-appropriate text to the teacher.

MATHEMATICS

The maths assessment takes the form of two papers: a general maths paper covering a range of topics. Pupils are encouraged to show their working. There is also a timed mental maths paper, assessing accuracy and speed across a variety of mathematical concepts including number work. The questions are read out and repeated by the teacher. Children sitting the 7+ and 8+ (Years 3 and 4 entry) have the maths paper read aloud by the teacher.

Children sitting the 10+ (Year 6 entry) are allowed to use a calculator for the first part of the maths test so it would be useful to familiarise children with calculators beforehand.

Children joining Years 5 and 6 may also need to sit the 11+ entry assessment for progression to Exeter School. Pupils who are assessed remotely will have an online interview with the Head or Deputy Head. Where assessment has been completed remotely, we reserve the right to withdraw the place if a pupil’s academic performance is less than expected upon entry to the school.

We will also request a reference from your current school. We would then formally offer a place and the return of the acceptance form and acceptance deposit completes the entry procedure.

You may, of course, enter your child for future years, but we would not normally complete the paperwork until the year preceding admission. Most children transfer to Exeter School for Year 7, subject to a satisfactory final report from the Head.

For information on scholarships for Year 7 click here.

For information on bursaries click here.

Open Events

Register for an Exeter Junior School place

To register for a place at Exeter Junior School you will need to complete the registration form for each child you would like to register. The nonrefundable registration fee is £150.

This form takes around 20 minutes to complete. When completing the personal details for parents please include the details of both parents. Ahead of starting, have ready a digital photograph of your child as this will need to be uploaded as part of the form.

Registering for voice trials with Exeter Cathedral?

If your child will enter Years 2-5 and you are interested in registering for the chorister programme, you will need to register your interest with Exeter Cathedral as well as Exeter School. Here’s the link to the Voice Trial sign up form

Click here to register for the chorister programme

The deadline for applications is Friday 16 January. The Cathedral will be auditioning all “external” candidates on Saturday 24 January.

For those currently enrolled at Exeter School, an extended deadline for application has been offered in light of the chorister programme being transferred to Exeter School. The deadline for chorister trial applicants who are already enrolled at Exeter School is now 5pm on Tuesday 20 January with a proposed separate audition day of Tuesday 27 January.

Admission year calculator