ADMISSIONS E N T R Y AT 13+
O U N D L E S C H O O L A D M I S S I O N S - E N T R Y A T 13+
STEP 1
STEP 2
Visit Oundle
Registration
Three to four years prior to entry
Three to four years prior to entry (Years 5 - 6)
We welcome visits up to five years ahead of entry, with the ideal timeframe being three to four years prior. We offer a variety of initial visit options, including an interactive website tour. Once you have explored Oundle virtually, an individual visit is essential for gaining a genuine and authentic insight into the School. We offer both Open Days and individual visits, both of which are hosted by the Registrar and include a visit to a House, time with pupils and lunch. Open Days usually take place on a Saturday and include an individual tour with pupils as well as the opportunity to speak to a variety of key staff over lunch. We strongly advise all families to visit us in person ahead of registering, but we also seek to facilitate virtual options for suitable applicants joining from overseas. If you are joining from a UK feeder school, we recommend talking to your current Head for an endorsement of Oundle as a good fit for your child.
We welcome registration up to five years ahead of entry, with the ideal timeframe being during Year 5. We highly advise registration by the start of Year 6. Registration, along with a non-refundable payment of £250, guarantees you consideration of a place at Oundle. For boarders, a House preference may be stated at this time but there is no requirement to do so. The Registrar will always help advise on House choice but it is worth considering that House lists often fill up two to three years in advance. For overseas applicants or those from other UK schools, registrations are accepted following either a successful UKISET report or provision of other suitable academic information, including a detailed school report.
OUR APPROACH We believe in an admissions process that is based on mutual trust and partnership with our prospective families. While the majority of our candidates join us from a UK feeder school, we are proud to welcome talented individuals from all over the world. Our step by step 13+ entry guide is designed to offer clarity across each stage of the admissions process, with the Admissions team ready to support individual applications at all times.
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Late Registrations
Bursary Support
These are accepted depending on availability of places; we seek always to be honest and fair in this regard.
We believe that for well-suited children, financial circumstances should not limit access to an Oundle education. Registration is the time to indicate whether bursary support may be required.
The Admissions team helps guide families enquiring at different stages and should be the first port of call.
Decisions regarding bursary assistance are made approximately two years ahead of entry and confidentiality is assured every step of the way.
O U N D L E S C H O O L A D M I S S I O N S - E N T R Y A T 13+
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
Request for Testimonial Report
Offer of a place
Consolidation of Entry Route
Place reconfirmation
November of Year 6
February to March of Year 6 (later for applicants outside the UK Feeder School route)
Year 7. Scholarships in Year 8
October of Year 8
For those joining us from a UK feeder school, we request a testimonial report from the Head of each candidate’s feeder school. It is subject to this report that we offer a place at Oundle; we do not pre-test.
We offer most formal places early in the Spring term of Year 6, based upon a satisfactory feeder school testimonial.
This step does not apply to those joining us from overseas or from other UK schools not used to completing feeder school testimonials. It is also adapted for late application candidates from UK feeder schools who apply having joined their feeder school at the start of Year 7 or later.
1. A firm offer, whereby we expect your child to confirm their place with ease in the Year 8 Common Entrance or Oundle Entrance examinations.
There are two types of offer:
2. An offer subject to continued progress and the sitting of our Practice Common Entrance papers early in the Autumn Term of Year 8. Should we be unable to offer your child a place, we liaise closely with you and your child’s feeder school Head.
Place Acceptance We ask that all places are accepted by a specific date in March when both the Acceptance Fee and Deposit are payable. Bursary applicants pay a pro-rata rate. If you require bursary support but have not yet explored the option with us, now is the time to do so.
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What about late applications? Late applicants will always be considered on a case-by-case basis, but no guarantees can be made with regards to availability of places. Candidates who joined their feeder school at the start of Year 7 or later are expected to gain the endorsement of their school. Offers made are usually subject to continued progress and the sitting of our Practice Common Entrance papers early in the Autumn Term of Year 8.
What if my school is overseas or doesn't offer Common Entrance? For children from schools that are either overseas or that don’t offer Common Entrance, we gather as much information as we can on proven ability, including cognitive scores, in order to offer a place. These offers will usually be made later than February of Year 6 and candidates will generally sit the Oundle Entrance Examination in Janaury of Year 8; the Admissions team will advise accordingly.
Once you have accepted a place, there are no more formal Admissions stages ahead of reconfirming your place in October of Year 8. This is the time to consolidate your child’s trajectory at his or her current school and to enjoy the many opportunities that these final two years bring.
Keeping in Touch If your offer is subject to continued progress, you can expect us to touch base with both you and your UK feeder school during Year 7; our aim is always to give you as much reassurance as possible and to ensure that Oundle is the best fit for your child.
Scholarships Scholarships are awarded during the Autumn and Spring Terms of Year 8. Application deadlines range from October for Sport to January for all other disciplines. Assessments take place at Oundle at the following times: •
November (Sport)
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January (Academic and Music)
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March (Art; Design, Engineering and Technology; Drama and the Oundle Scholarship).
Applications should be made through your child’s feeder school. Candidates from overseas wishing to apply for a Scholarship should liaise with the Admissions Office early in the Autumn of Year 8, the final year before joining Oundle at 13+.
We ask you to reconfirm your acceptance of a place at Oundle as your first choice of school. Now is the time to let us know if anything has changed for your family. In our years of experience, accuracy of place offers and House lists are best achieved if we work in honest partnership with our prospective families.
O U N D L E S C H O O L A D M I S S I O N S - E N T R Y A T 13+
STEP 7
STEP 8
STEP 9
STEP 10
Practice Common Entrance Examination
Oundle Entrance or Common Entrance Examinations
New Joiners Event
Final Joining Stage
June of Year 8
Summer of Year 8
November of Year 8 This is sat by candidates in receipt of an offer subject to continued progress and success in this examination. We liaise closely with you and your child’s feeder school over the results. Candidates holding firm offers do not need to sit these papers.
January of Year 8 (Oundle Entrance Examinations) June of Year 8 (Common Entrance Examinations)
Oundle Entrance Examination If your child’s current school does not offer Common Entrance, or is located outside the UK, your child will sit Oundle Entrance papers, set and marked by Oundle staff, in January of Year 8. Successful candidates will have their place offers confirmed as soon as possible following the examinations.
Common Entrance Examination This is usually sat in UK feeder schools at the beginning of June, with papers marked by Oundle staff. Places are confirmed within two weeks.
Once places have been confirmed, we host an event to welcome all our new pupils to Oundle ahead of September. This is an opportunity for the cohort to come together socially, to meet their Housemaster or Housemistress and to experience a small taste of life at Oundle. Pupils will gather in House and Scholarship groups across the academic and non-academic disciplines and start to build the friendships that will be so much a part of their lives for the next five years and beyond.
This is the final and phased stage of Admissions, whereby we ask you to complete a range of forms and give you all the information you need to start your child’s journey at Oundle. Certain aspects of this joining stage are commenced well in advance of the final place confirmation in order to facilitate September planning; the Admissions team remains your point of contact throughout. Following completion of the joining instructions, you can expect to receive a formal welcome letter from the Head, followed by House and School handbooks over the summer. Your child’s Housemaster or Housemistress will also be in touch to welcome you to Oundle and to outline the induction programme which takes place at the start of term for all new pupils.
For boarders, confirmation of a place through either examination also includes final House confirmation.
THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE Mr Jonny Hammond-Chambers (Registrar) Tel: 01832 277125 admissions@oundleschool.org.uk
www.oundleschool.org.uk