Radley College 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Radley College for 13+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance exam.

Key information for Radley College

• School type: boys' independent school (full boarding only)
• Location: Radley, Oxfordshire
• Admissions contact: admissions@radley.org.uk
• 13+ exam: ISEB Common Pre-Test, followed by a Radley Assessment Day
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries, of up to 115% of fees
• Scholarships: academic, art, drama, innovation, music and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

• End of June, Year 5 (open entry applicants and overseas students) or end of May, Year 5 (Radley List): registration closes
• October/November, Year 6: ISEB Common Pre-Test taken
• Spring term, Year 6: interviews and Assessment Day
• March, Year 6: offers of places
• Michaelmas and Lent Terms, Year 8: scholarship assessments
• End of Year 8: additional assessment exams, to determine set placement
• Check the school's website to confirm exact dates for 2027 entry

How to apply to Radley College

Radley College is selective. This means your son will need to complete an entrance assessment to be eligible for a place.

Radley recommends visiting the school during the summer term of Year 4 or Year 5, with open days running throughout the year. Registration closes at the end of May (Radley List) or end of June (open entry and overseas applicants) in Year 5.

What will my child be tested on?

Radley's 13+ process is based on the ISEB Common Pre-Test, followed by a Radley Assessment Day.

Stage 1: ISEB Common Pre-Test

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online, adaptive assessment, meaning the questions get harder or easier depending on how your son is performing. It's taken at his current school, usually in the autumn term of Year 6. It assesses:

• Maths
• English
• Verbal reasoning
• Non-verbal reasoning

Stage 2: Assessment Day

Boys who perform well in the ISEB Common Pre-Test are shortlisted for a Radley Assessment Day, held in the spring term of Year 6 in groups of around 30 applicants. The day includes a short written exercise, an interview with a senior member of staff, a tour of school houses, and lunch and other activities.

Additional assessment (end of Year 8)

Boys sit further assessment exams at the end of Year 8, used to determine which academic sets they join rather than to confirm their place.

How are places decided?

Places at Radley are based on:

• your son's performance in the ISEB Common Pre-Test
• his performance at the Assessment Day, including the written exercise and interview

Offers of places are made in March of Year 6.

Financial information

Radley College is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school's fees page for a full breakdown of fees for boarding pupils.

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. At Radley, Scholarships and Exhibitions are available in academic, art, drama, innovation, music and sport, assessed in the Michaelmas and Lent Terms of Year 8. These are honorary and don't carry fee remission on their own, but scholarship candidates requiring financial support are encouraged to apply for means-tested funding through The Warden's Award, which can range from 10% to 100% of fees.

Visit Radley's scholarships page to see the scholarships 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. At Radley, means-tested offers can be worth up to 115% of fees, with an online portal used to submit financial information for the Bursar to review.

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 Radley's funding page to find out what's available and how to apply.

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

Financial support for independent school fees is more available than most families realise.

This free guide is an honest look at how scholarships and bursaries work in practice: what they cover, how the timeline unfolds from Year 4 to Year 6 and how to approach admissions with confidence.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

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

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. They're also unlimited — 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 10–15 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.

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.