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Are you considering Woldingham School for your daughter? We've collated everything you need to know about applying for a place in Year 7. Find out key dates, learn what’s covered on the entrance exam, and get tips and resources to help your child prepare.
About Woldingham School
Woldingham School is a private day and boarding school for girls aged 11–18 in Surrey. The school is one of the oldest girls’ schools in the UK and the first to become part of the Sacred Heart Network, which has Catholic schools in more than 30 countries across the globe.
Pupils at Woldingham School live and learn on a 700-acre site in the Surrey countryside, only 25 minutes by train from Clapham Junction in London. Students have access to first-rate facilities for academic and extracurricular activities, including extensive outdoor courts and pitches, an indoor tennis dome and swimming pool, a 600-seater auditorium, science laboratories and art studios. Boarders live with others their age in buildings that are designed to be a home-from-home.
Teaching and learning at Woldingham is centred around the school’s WOLD model (Willingness, Opportunities, Learning and Determination). Pupils have an extensive range of subjects to choose from (27 for A levels) and a wide range of academic enrichment opportunities, including extra qualifications in areas such as mathematics, financial studies and sports leadership.
Address: Woldingham School, Marden Park, Woldingham, Surrey, CR3 7YA
School type: private boarding, girls aged 11–18
Headteacher: James Whitehead
Number of pupils: 600+
Fees per term: £7,720–£8,455 (day), £11,390–£14,110 (boarding)
National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 140
A level results: 82.7% A*–B
GCSE results: 78.3% 9–7
Key info for 11+ admissions
Admissions contact: [email protected], 01883 654206
Registration deadline: 29th September 2023
Assessment date: 30th October 2023
Assessment type: ISEB Common Pre-Test, interview, and school reference
Open days: Saturday 23rd September 2023 – book here
Woldingham School fees and financial assistance
The current day fees at Woldingham School for pupils in Years 7 and 8 are £7,720 per term. Boarding ranges from £11,390 per term (5 nights per week) to £12,975 per term (7 nights per week). The fees are higher for pupils in Years 9 and above.
Financial assistance at Woldingham School
Woldingham School is able to offer means-tested financial support (known as bursaries) to eligible pupils applying for day places, and to girls applying from local state schools. Bursaries can cover up to 100% of the day fees, and some support is dedicated to girls who apply from local state schools.
Find out more about bursaries at Woldingham School.
Woldingham School scholarships
Woldingham School offers a range of scholarships at 11 plus entry. These typically provide a reduction of 5–20% of day fees each year, and are not means-tested. Instead, candidates are assessed through tests or observations, interviews and references.
11 plus candidates can apply for academic, art, drama, music, performing arts, and sport scholarships. The deadline to apply is 13th October 2023. Final auditions will take place during the week commencing 15th January 2024.
Woldingham School term dates
The term dates at Woldingham School for 2023–24 are:
Term starts: Wednesday 6th September 2023
Long weekend: Friday 15th – Sunday 17th September 2023
Half term: Friday 13th – Sunday 29th October 2023
Long weekend: Friday 17th – Sunday 19th November 2023
Term ends: Wednesday 13th December 2023
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Woldingham School 11 plus admissions process
11 plus entry (Year 7) is one of the key points of entry to Woldingham School. There is also an option to apply at 11 plus and defer entry to start at 13 plus.
Approximately half of students board at Woldingham School, with full, weekly, and flexi-boarding (one or two nights a week) available for all students. Boarders at 11 plus join Marden house – catering specifically for Years 7 and 8 – sharing rooms in groups of up to four.
1. Visit Woldingham
If you’re considering Woldingham School for your daughter, it’s a good idea to visit the school first. Seeing the site in-person will help give you a sense of what it can offer and to identify whether your daughter will thrive at the school.
There are plenty of opportunities to visit Woldingham. Saturday open mornings are held twice a year and include a presentation from the headteacher, a tour from current students and the opportunity to meet teaching staff. Information mornings take place during the school day and consist of a tour of the school and a short Q&A session with the head and school leadership team. Personal visits can also be arranged with the admissions team.
2. 11 plus registration
The admissions process begins when you register your daughter with the school. 11 plus registration for entry in 2024 will close on 29th September 2023.
To register your daughter, you will need to complete the online registration form and pay a non-refundable registration fee of £150. The admissions team will then be in touch with more details on the next steps.
3. Entrance assessment
Your daughter will be invited to the Woldingham School 11 plus entrance assessment on 30th October 2023. This will consist of a short interview with a senior member of staff and the ISEB Common Pre-Test. If your daughter’s current school is able to facilitate the ISEB Common Pre-Test, she may take it at her current school instead.
We’ve included more information about the ISEB Common Pre-Test below
Did you know? Atom Learning powers the 12 plus assessment at Woldingham School. Children applying for occasional places at 12 plus take a bespoke online adaptive test with questions assessing English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
4. Offers
Woldingham School will email you with the outcome of your daughter’s application on 4th December 2023. If your daughter is offered a place in Year 7, you will have until midday on 4th March 2024 to complete the acceptance form.
You will need to pay a deposit to secure your daughter’s place. This costs £1,000 for day pupils, or £2,000 for girls offered a boarding place. The acceptance deposit for students applying for a boarding place from overseas is £11,000.
The ISEB Common Pre-Test
All girls applying for Year 7 entry to Woldingham School take the ISEB Common Pre-Test. This is an online test which is completely adaptive, meaning the questions become easier or more challenging depending on how your child is performing. Children will answer questions in four subjects:
English: covering comprehension and spelling, punctuation and grammar
Maths: questions cover Key Stage 2 national curriculum taught up to the end of Year 5. The main topics are number, measurement, data, algebra and geometry
Verbal reasoning: tests logic and problem-solving with written information
Non-verbal reasoning: tests your child’s ability to understand and analyse visual information
How is the ISEB Common Pre-Test marked?
Each child will be given a Standardised Age Score (SAS), which is calculated based on the number of correct and incorrect answers, the level of difficulty in each question and their date of birth in years and months (to prevent younger children from being disadvantaged). Your child's ISEB Common Pre-Test score will be sent directly to Woldingham School.
We recommend that your daughter aims for a standardised age score of 110 or above when preparing for 11 plus entry to Woldingham School.
Guide to the ISEB Test
Read our comprehensive guide to the ISEB Common Pre-Test and get tips and hints to help your child prepare.
Top tips to prepare for entry to Woldingham School
Your daughter will be assessed on her knowledge of content both on and beyond the Key Stage 2 curriculum for entry to Woldingham School. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the selection process.
It can be tempting to jump straight into practice papers to prepare for school exams. However, this is not an effective way to learn and can cause children to feel demotivated.
Your child should have a good understanding of the content they’ve been taught in Year 5 before testing their knowledge with practice papers. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when recapping content is key, as our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. Experts recommend study sessions should last no longer than 30 minutes for children aged 10–11.
Your tailored ISEB preparation programme
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Personalised support for you
We understand how important this next step is for them, and for you. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions you may have about applying to Woldingham School.
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