Admissions Procedure & FAQs - Year 9 (13+) Entry Prep Schools. The King's School, Canterbury

YEAR 9 (13+) ENTRY

PREP SCHOOLS

WELCOME

I am delighted to welcome you to The King’s School, Canterbury.

King’s provides an exceptional education in an historic and beautiful environment that rests upon the simultaneous pursuit of academic and co-curricular excellence. Underpinning everything the School does is the provision of highly successful pastoral care of all boarding and day pupils. Pupils are therefore supported by a strong community that provides the context for the development of everyone’s academic and co-curricular passions and abilities in forwardthinking and innovative ways. Sporting, musical and artistic opportunities abound for every pupil alongside the academic stimulus that enables King’s pupils to achieve notable successes during their time here and in their chosen paths beyond school life.

This booklet provides initial information and answers to important questions to assist you with the admissions process. The King’s Admissions team are here to support you, therefore please don’t hesitate to contact us and we very much look forward to being of assistance to you. You will be assured of a very warm welcome by all at King’s!

Edward Gibson Director of Admissions

VISITING THE SCHOOL

Individual visits include a tour of the school with a current pupil and a meeting with the Director of Admissions. Open Days are held on a Saturday morning in October, followed by another in May. Dates and other details are published on the website in advance.

Please contact the Admissions Office to make appointments. admissions@kings-school.co.uk | +44(0)1227 595727

REGISTRATION

It is necessary to register a prospective pupil for entry at an early stage in the admissions process in order to confirm your interest in a place. This can be done at any age and once a pupil is registered, parents will receive regular updates keeping them informed about the school. The registration fee is currently £200.

You can register here - Register Age at Year 9 entry Candidates must be under 14 years of age on 1st September of year of entry. Please use the table below to check the correct year based on the pupil’s date of birth.

Pupil’s Date of Birth 1 September 2011 - 31st August 2012 1st September 2012 - 31st August 2013 1st September 2013 - 31st August 2014 1st September 2014 - 31st August 2015 1st September 2015 - 31st August 2016 st

Year of Entry to King’s 2025 Year 9 Entry 2026 Year 9 Entry 2027 Year 9 Entry 2028 Year 9 Entry 2029 Year 9 Entry

For pupils in Year 6 or 7

Offers are made on the basis of an informal interview with the Director of Admissions, the Head of Admissions or a senior member of the school, a formal reference from a pupil’s current school and performance in the ISEB Common Pre-Test.

HM Reference Requests These references are requested from the Head of the pupil’s current school, during the Autumn/ Lent Term of Year 6/Year 7, or immediately after registration for later applicants.

Offers to applicants Offers will be conditional on end of Year 8 assessments/Common Entrance, and will be made on receipt of a positive reference from the pupil’s Prep school and on the pupil’s performance in the ISEB Pre-Test. Offers will be subject to satisfactory academic and behavioural progress during Years 6-8 at the pupil’s Prep school. Offers will be made during the Lent Term of Year 6, for those applying in Year 6, and Lent Term of Year 7 for those applying in Year 7.

Confirmation of a Place A place is confirmed through the payment of a deposit following the offer of a place.

EXAMINATIONS & OFFER OF A PLACE

For pupils in Year8

Offers are made on the basis of an informal interview with the Director of Admissions, the Head of Admissions or a senior member of the school, a formal reference from a pupil’s current school and performance in the ISEB Common Pre-Test. If pupils have only recently joined the Prep School from abroad or have not sat the ISEB Pre-Test, they will need to follow the 13+ Non-Prep School/ International route.

HM Reference Requests These references are requested from the Head of the pupil’s current school immediately after registration.

Offers to applicants Offers will be conditional on end of Year 8 assessments/ Common Entrance, and will be made on receipt of a positive reference from the pupil’s Prep school and on the pupil’s performance in the ISEB Pre-Test.

Confirmation of a Place A place is confirmed through the payment of a deposit following the offer of a place.

ALLOCATION OF A HOUSE

Houses will be allocated to pupils, in order to balance the intake into each House in terms of pupils’ talents and backgrounds. You will be informed of the House allocation at the latest by the summer term preceding the term of entry to King’s.

However, we understand that some families have a close connection to King’s, so we will invite all applicants who have accepted a place, to complete a House Preference form, where they can inform us of their 1st, 2nd or 3rd choice of House allocation. Of course, we cannot guarantee that this will be the House they are allocated to, but we will endeavour to accommodate where possible.

You can find out more information about the Houses here - The Houses

SCHOLARSHIPS & EXHIBITIONS

A full range of scholarships are available with exams taking place during the year before entry, when the pupil is in Year 8, Bursaries are also available by individual application.

Year 9 Scholarships are awarded in the following seven categories: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Academic Scholarships (King’s Scholars) and Exhibitions Music Scholarships and Exhibitions Art Scholarships and Exhibitions Sports Scholarships and Awards Design & Technology Scholarships Drama Scholarships Dance Scholarships

Full details, including key dates for application are available here - Scholarships & Bursaries Our Bursary policy is available to read here - Policies

Are you still accepting applicants for Yr 9/ 13+ 2025 entry?

Yes. Please register via the Admissions page of The King’s School, Canterbury website.

What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test?

This is a series of tests set by ISEB (Independent Schools Examination Board).

They are age-standardised and designed to assess a pupil’s attainment and potential. They consist of multiple-choice tests in mathematics, English, verbal and non-reasoning and are generally sat at the pupil’s Prep school. Should you need guidance, please contact the Admissions Team.Full details for parents can be found on the ISEB website.

When and where is the ISEB Common Pre-Test sat?

This would generally be during the Autumn Term of Year 6 at the pupil’s Prep school.

Will the introduction of the ISEB Common Pre-Test alter King’s philosophy on admissions?

No. King’s will continue to view admissions broadly and to take into account other factors in addition to exam scores, such as individual character, and ability to contribute to co-curricular activities. ISEB Pre-Test results will provide a further indicator of attainment and potential.

The Prep school’s reference will continue to be of paramount importance.

Can I sit the ISEB abroad?

Unfortunately, we can only accept ISEB results for those applicants who are at UK-based Prep Schools. If your child is not at a UK-based Prep School, please follow our Non-Prep School route – please click here for more information

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What happens regarding references and the ISEB Pre-Test in the case of late entries?

Assuming a place is still available, a reference will be requested from a pupil’s Prep school as soon as parents have expressed a firm interest and a registration has been made. The ISEB Pre-Test can be sat at any time in Year 6 and also in Year 7. For an entry later than that a pupil would need to sit the King’s Entry Exam (KEE).

What happens once the applicant’s reference has been received by King’s?

What do we have to pay?

Payment of a £2000 Acceptance Deposit secures the applicant’s place and is due according to the terms of the offer that has been made. Once a place has been accepted, the deposit becomes non-refundable unless the applicant is withdrawn from our entry list on academic or conduct grounds.

What deposit will I need to pay to confirm my acceptance of a place at King’s?

All parents will be asked to pay £2,000 acceptance deposit to ensure their child’s place at King’s. The deposit is only refundable on academic grounds. All non-UK-based parents will be asked to pay an additional deposit of two term’s fees.

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