Frensham Heights 11 plus guide

Are you thinking about applying to Frensham Heights for 11+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance exam.

Key information for Frensham Heights

• School type: co-educational independent day and boarding school
• Location: Rowledge, near Farnham, Surrey
• Admissions contact: admissions@frensham.org
• 11+ exam: Quest Admissions
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries
• Scholarships: Honorary Scholarships in academic, music, art, dance, drama and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Saturday 31st October 2026: registration deadline
• Saturday 28th November 2026: interview day
• Saturday 16th January 2027: entrance day (assessments)
• Monday 1st March 2027: deadline for accepting offers

How to apply to Frensham Heights

Frensham Heights is selective, though its approach to selection is a little different to many other schools. Rather than focusing purely on exam results, the school aims to identify children with genuine curiosity and a well-rounded range of interests who will contribute to school life.

You must register your child for Year 7 entry via the school website. Registration takes around 15 minutes and there is a non-refundable £250 registration fee. Registration for 2027 entry closes at the end of October 2026.

Children are then invited to an interview day in November, followed by an entrance day in January, when your child is in Year 6.

What will my child be tested on?

Quest 11+ admissions tests are designed to explore how your child thinks - not just what they know.

Taken online, Quest tests consist of adaptive questions that get more or less challenging depending on how your child is performing and non-adaptive questions. The test is completed under timed conditions and will consist of 2 parts, with each school choosing how to set their test.

• Part 1 tests some or all of the following subjects: English, Maths, Verbal reasoning, Non-verbal reasoning
• Part 2 consists of puzzles and problem-solving and creative comprehension.
• Some schools may incorporate other tests or stages in their admissions process, such as written English and maths papers, a creative writing task, and/or an interview. Check your target school’s website for more information.

How are places decided?

Children are invited to an interview day in November, where they take part in informal interviews and team-building activities. This gives the school a chance to get to know your child beyond their academic results.

Entrance assessments take place on a single day in January, described above.

Places are based on:

• performance in the entrance assessments
• the interview day
• a reference from your child's current school and their two most recent school reports

Offers are usually sent within one to two weeks of the entrance day. If you're offered a guaranteed place, you'll need to accept it by the first Monday in March, along with a deposit to secure your child's place.

Financial information

Frensham Heights is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school website for a full breakdown of fees per year group and for boarding students.

Financial assistance

When exploring independent schools for your child, scholarships and bursaries are worth considering. They can ease the pressure of school fees and open doors to opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded for a child's talent or achievement. While many schools focus on academic excellence, some offer awards in music, sport, drama, art, or other specialist areas.

Scholarships often come with a small fee reduction and acknowledge your child's talents, motivating them and boosting their confidence. Some schools automatically consider all applicants, while others may request an additional application, assessment or audition.

Visit Frensham Heights's website to see what scholarships are available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Your guide to independent school scholarships.

Bursaries

Bursaries are means-tested awards (based on a family's financial situation) designed to make independent education more accessible. Depending on your circumstances, a bursary could cover part or all of the school fees and sometimes extras like uniforms, lunches or school trips.

Families provide financial information to qualify, and awards are reassessed each year. For many families, bursaries make an excellent education possible that might otherwise seem out of reach.

Visit Frensham Heights's website to find out what bursaries are available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Bursaries: a parents' guide

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

Applying to senior school can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

One of the hardest parts of exam preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way, little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build smart exam technique

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As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom's mock tests are exact replicas of real entrance exams, including Quest Admissions. They're also unlimited, so your child can take the same test repeatedly and see new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

Atom's mock tests are automatically marked. You'll see your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in preparation for entrance exams.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10 to 15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will:

• broaden their vocabulary
• improve comprehension and inference
• build confidence in tackling unseen texts

And just as importantly, it can help them enjoy reading, not just see it as exam preparation.

Looking for inspiration? Atom's reading and writing starter kit has suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3 to 6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through exam preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction, not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.