Chigwell School: a parents' guide to Year 7 entry

Chigwell School is an independent school for boys and girls aged 4 to 18 in Chigwell, Essex. The school occupies a 100-acre site on protected Green Belt land, surrounded by Epping Forest and with views towards the City of London skyline. Boarding is available for students aged 16 to 18.

The school’s motto, translated as “Either I shall find a way or make one”, defines the approach to learning. Pupils are encouraged to go beyond the syllabus and grade-based results to develop a lifelong love of learning. There is a variety of opportunities for curriculum enrichment both inside and outside the classroom, including clubs and societies, competitions, educational visits and visiting speakers, and pupils from Year 8 onwards are encouraged to take on a position of responsibility to develop their confidence and leadership skills.

Academic results are consistently strong at Chigwell School. In 2021, 73% of A level grades were A*/A and 90% of GCSE grades were A*/A/9/8/7. The vast majority of leavers go on to Russell Group universities in the UK, with UCL, Nottingham and Birmingham proving the most popular choices in 2021, while some gain places at prestigious universities and colleges overseas.

Key information for Chigwell School

• Headmaster: Mr Damian King

• Address: Chigwell School, High Road, Chigwell, Essex, IG7 6QF

• County: Essex

• Admissions contact: Mrs Janet Long – [email protected]

• Age range and gender: 4–18, co-educational

• Number of pupils: 1,041

• Open day date: Saturday 1st October 2022 and Saturday 15th October 2022

• Overview of selection procedure: entrance exam, interview and school report

• Registration opens: currently open for 2023 entry – apply online

• Registration closes: Friday 25th November 2022 at 10am (but early registration, preferably by 31st October, is encouraged)

• Assessment date: Saturday 14th January 2023

• Scholarship assessment date: 16th–26th January 2023

Chigwell School fees and financial assistance

The current school fees at Chigwell School are £6,945 per term. Fees include the cost of all tuition, meals (lunch and afternoon tea), text books, games, societies, and most clubs.

Chigwell School offers means-tested financial assistance (bursaries) to pupils whose families cannot afford the full fees. The support can be awarded in a discount of up to 100% on tuition fees, depending on the applicant’s financial circumstances.

Academic and music scholarships are also available to talented pupils in these disciplines at 11 plus entry.

Chigwell School term dates

The term dates at Chigwell School for 2022–23 are:

• Autumn term (Michaelmas): 7th September – 16th December 2022

• Half term: 22nd October – 6th November 2022

• Spring term (Lent): 10th January – 29th March 2023

• Half term: 11th–19th February 2023

• Summer term (Trinity): 19th April – 12th July 2023

• Half term: 27th May – 4th June 2023

Admissions process for Year 7 entry to Chigwell School

If you would like to register your child for entry to Year 7 at Chigwell School in 2023, you will need to complete the online registration form and pay the non-refundable registration fee of £100 before 10am on Friday 25th November 2022. Note that Chigwell School advises registration by 31st October, as details of the entrance exam and interview dates are sent out at this time.

All candidates are invited to an interview. Interviews begin during the week beginning Monday 3rd October 2022, the week beginning Monday 7th November 2022, and again in the week of Monday 9th January 2023. Interviews take 30 minutes and are split into two parts; in the first part, parents have the opportunity to meet a senior member of staff and discuss the possibility of their child’s education at Chigwell School, including outlining their child’s strengths and interests. In the second half, candidates are interviewed separately.

All children are then invited to the 11 plus entrance exam at Chigwell School on Saturday 14th January 2023. Candidates who perform particularly well in this might be called for a scholarship interview and assessment on either Wednesday 25th or Thursday 26th January 2023, where they will take part in arts and science based activities in small groups and have individual interviews with senior members of staff.

Children who have applied for a music scholarship will undergo a separate music scholarship audition. These are held during the week of Monday 16th January 2023. Parents are advised that 11 plus music scholarship candidates should be performing to at least Grade 4 on their first instrument and Grade 2 in their second instrument (or singing, if a second instrument is not offered).

The admissions team will email and post the outcome of your child’s application on Thursday 16th February 2023. If your child has been successful in securing a place at Chigwell School and you would like to accept the place, you will need to confirm by 10am on Monday 6th March 2023.

Chigwell School 11 plus exam

All applicants for 11 plus entry to Chigwell School in 2023 will take the school’s own entrance exam on Saturday 14th January 2023. Children will take two written papers:

• English: 1 hour and 15 minutes allowed. The test is split into three sections: technical (10 minutes), reading comprehension (30 minutes) and writing (30 minutes). Children are assessed on their knowledge, understanding and application of the Key Stage 2 national curriculum for English, which includes SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar), vocabulary, comprehension and creative writing.

• Maths: 1 hour and 15 minutes allowed. Candidates are assessed on their knowledge, understanding and application of the Key Stage 2 national curriculum for maths. Calculators are not allowed.

Chigwell School past papers are available online. You may also find the following 11 plus exam guides helpful:

• How to develop your child’s reading comprehension exam skills

• Creative writing in the 11 plus

• 11 plus maths: everything you need to know

Free 11 plus worksheets

How to help your child prepare for the selection process at Chigwell School

Build foundational knowledge

The 11 plus exam at Chigwell School assesses children’s knowledge of English and maths at Key Stage 2. Your child can consolidate everything they know with Atom Nucleus, with over 90,000 interactive teacher-created questions, downloadable help sheets and tutorial videos that span the national curriculum.

Preparation is key

Familiarisation with the question formats and known styles ahead of the exam is essential to help your child build exam confidence. An exam preparation subscription with Atom Nucleus enables your child to access quality, unlimited practice material with full score breakdowns to help your child feel confident by the time the exam day comes around.

Your child can try Atom’s Year 6 foundation tests in English and maths to get a feel for exam-style questions and see what sort of content they will likely be tested on in the Chigwell School 11 plus exam.

Access to immediate support

When working through challenging topics, your child will need immediate clarity with any misconceptions so that they feel truly secure in every topic. Atom Nucleus includes video tutorials, help sheets and examples with every question to help your child build confidence and competence across all the areas assessed.

Engage with their progress

Celebrate your child’s improvement in areas of challenge together. An accurate and ongoing assessment of their areas of strength and development is helpful.

As an Atom subscriber, you’ll have a parent dashboard which offers data-driven insights into your child’s progress. You can use this effectively to help your child set targets, see a detailed breakdown of their progress by subtopic and set custom practices to target those they find most challenging.

Get started with Atom Learning

It’s our mission to help your child feel prepared and confident before the exam day. Begin your free 5-day free trial of Nucleus today to help your child succeed.

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