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A FRIENDLY SCHOOL IN A BREATHTAKING SETTING THAT’S GROWN IN SIZE AND POPULARITY. IT OFFERS A MYRIAD OF OPPORTUNITIES AND A FIRST-CLASS EDUCATION WHILE ALLOWING CHILDREN TO HAVE FUN, BE THEMSELVES AND FULFIL THEIR POTENTIAL, BE IT ACADEMIC, SPORTING OR CREATIVE.
-Good Schools Guide, 2024
“ THIS SCHOOL IS BOOMING THANKS TO ITS REPUTATION FOR INCLUSIVITY AND CELEBRATING CHILDREN FOR WHAT THEY ENJOY AND EXCEL AT.
-Talk Education, 2024
We are delighted that you are considering Claremont for your child. Head of admissions, Mrs Claire Williams and our friendly admissions team are available on 01347 437 794 or via admissions@claremont.surrey.sch.uk to guide you through our application process for admissions into the senior school.
Our process for admissions into Year 7 at Claremont is as follows:
All prospective families are warmly invited to visit the school in the spring or summer term of Year 5 or the autumn term of Year 6.
To apply for Year 7, 2026 we require a completed application form supported by a recent school report and a £150 non-refundable registration fee to be submitted by Tuesday 4 November 2025 .
Any scholarship applications or requests for reasonable adjustments, such as laptops or extra time, will also need to be submitted by this date with supporting documents.
Our entrance assessments will be held on Saturday 29 November 2025 . Applicants are invited into the school for either the morning or the afternoon. All the papers are designed to reveal the potential of the individual candidate.
Applicants may also be invited for a short interview with a senior member of staff. Applicants will be invited to talk about their interests, school activities, approach to studies and their character qualities.
Successful applicants will be offered a place in late January 2026. All acceptances and deposits will need to be confirmed by early March.
We understand that choosing the right school for your child is a significant decision and you are encouraged to ask as many questions as you wish. In the meantime, these Frequently Asked Questions may provide the answers to some of your questions.
How selective is Claremont?
Whilst we remain a gently selective school, we do advise that applicants in Year 6 will need to be comfortably meeting national expectations in English and maths in order to keep up with the pace of our curriculum in the senior school.
How many places do you offer to external applicants?
Our main entry point into our senior school is in Year 7, where we offer in the region of 70 external places.
What papers will my child sit on the assessment day?
There will be written papers in English (both comprehension and writing), mathematics and non-verbal reasoning.
Does my child need to prepare for the assessments?
All the papers are designed to reveal the potential of the individual candidate and are age-appropriate curriculum-based assessments. There is no need for excessive revision or to engage tutors in the lead up to the assessments as we would rather have a true reflection of a candidate’s attainment.
Do all applicants progress to the interview stage?
At Claremont, we value depth of character alongside academic attainment. Following the assessment day, we endeavour to take forward the majority of students to the interview stage but, with regret, we cannot progress all applicants.
How do I apply for access arrangements?
We can arrange reasonable adjustments such as laptop or additional time. All requests will need to be supported by appropriate evidence by Tuesday 4 November as follows:
• A report from an educational psychologist, specialist assessor or equivalent medical practitioner (produced within two years of the entrance exam)
• Email confirmation from the current school to the admissions office that the arrangements requested are the candidate’s normal way of working
Do you offer scholarships and bursaries?
Yes, we welcome scholarship and bursary applications and the following pages detail further information.
The curriculum and our teaching and learning is specifically designed to not just prepare students for successful examination results, but to prepare them to be successful professionals and global citizens.
We achieve this through offering a real diversity and breadth of subjects on offer, building a curriculum as much as possible around the strengths and interests of the individual learner, whilst ensuring that all students have a strong core foundation of skills and understanding.
We focus on cultivating essential skills that foster effective and independent learning, such as metacognition (the ability to self-evaluate) and problemsolving. These skills are embedded in our teaching, delivered through engaging and challenging tasks, content, and concepts.
Our curriculum is supported by a wealth of enrichment opportunities and qualifications that develop and deepen academic passions and expands the horizons of our pupils.
The Joyce Grenfell academic enrichment programme offers our pupils a range of extra timetabled qualifications in the sixth form, with wider enrichment experiences throughout each term. It has been designed to foster independent, creative thinking and intellectual curiosity alongside research and extended writing skills.
The sixth form programme falls within our core academic curriculum and allows students to gain additional qualifications outside of their A level subject choices and extra points towards their overall UCAS score.
On offer is the highly respected Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) alongside a range of other qualifications such as TEFL, LAMDA, Maths GCSE resit, Russian for beginners, STEM Gold crest award, CISI financial services award, sports coaching qualifications and the English Speaking Board: Advanced Certificate in Spoken English.
At GCSE, the programme also includes the Higher Project Qualification which is seen as excellent preparation for A Level and university study. We also provide higher education support, with an emphasis on preparing students for high-level university applications, as well as applications for Law, Engineering, Medical Sciences, Oxbridge and the United States.
In addition, the wider Joyce Grenfell enrichment programme coordinates a series of internal and external academic competitions including TED talks and podcasts, Inspire guest lectures, Aspire tutorial programme, workshops, trips and a myriad of other opportunities for students throughout every year group.
As part of our enrichment programme, our Inspire lectures provide the opportunity for our pupils to hear the unique perspective of trailblazers and thought leaders, drawn from far ranging disciplines and careers. Our guest speakers all have remarkable stories and career journeys to share to expand the horizons and aspirations of our pupils. Example speakers include a triple Paralympian, a director of forensic psychology and a professor of technology and AI.
The Claremont Aspire programme is a new initiative designed to spark your child’s intellectual curiosity and equip them with critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Open to all interested students from Years 7-10, the programme offers lunchtime group tutorial sessions on a wide range of engaging topics outside the regular curriculum, such as Law, current affairs, computer science, classics and psychology.
Our wide ranging and diversive programme of co-curricular activities enables pupils to discover their passions, explore new perspectives and make friends along the way. There is always something for everyone and, whenever our pupils feel there is a new opportunity, we always love adding to the list.
We are in the final stages of developing a masterplan for the next few decades to elevate our facilities and provide our pupils with a more enriching learning experience. Meanwhile we have ensured our resources have been carefully apportioned to initiatives that will benefit the whole school community in the short term, including:
We are thrilled with our new music teaching and performance spaces located in the historic coach houses of Stable Court. The architectural features of these buildings have been carefully restored and adapted to provide a contemporary, bright and airy home for music at Claremont.
Refurbishment of the Joyce Grenfell centre theatre will commence later this year, including enhanced lighting and rigging alongside new cascade bench seating to increase the theatre’s capacity and to create a quality venue which matched our productions. Refurbishments will also provide the opportunity extend both the sixth form centre and dining hall.
Claremont is a school blessed with 13 sports pitched, two sports halls and a fitness suite on site. With the benefit of having purchased the neighbouring property, we are working up options for a new all-weather sports facilities including a covered swimming pool. .
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WITH SUCH EXTENSIVE GROUNDS THERE ARE FOOTBALL, RUGBY AND LACROSSE PITCHES GALORE, PLUS TENNIS COURTS, NETBALL COURTS, CRICKET FIELD, ATHLETICS FACILITIES, SWIMMING POOL AND A SPORTS HALL AND GYM.
- Good Schools Guide, 2024