A very warm welcome to Oundle School Admissions. Our role is to support you on your admissions journey and give you an insight into Oundle and the people who shape it. We aim always to present Oundle openly and with integrity in order to help our prospective pupils and their families find the right School in which to realise their children’s potential
Our experienced team includes Jonny Hammond-Chambers, our Registrar, who has been at Oundle for over fifteen years and has run both an academic department and a boys’ boarding House throughout this time and Sarah Johnson, our Assistant Registrar, who has worked in the music department for over twenty years and has been Housemistress of a girls’ House for the last nine years.
The department is led by Anthony Burrows, Deputy Head Admissions, who is directly responsible for bursary enquiries and all formal assessments for entry to Oundle. Anthony has been at Oundle for more than twenty years, with over ten years spent running two separate boarding Houses and five years as a day Housemaster.
They are supported by a brilliant team who are your first point of contact for booking visits and general Admissions enquiries and who are committed to supporting your admissions journey.
Joining Oundle
The first step of the Oundle admissions journey is to consider the entry point for your child. Pupils normally join Oundle at either 11+, 13+ or 16+ as a day or a boarding pupil. Occasionally entry is possible into other year groups, including boarding places at 12+ and 14+. There are slightly different timings and examination requirements for each entry point, so please do make contact with the Admissions Office who will guide you in the right direction. Do peruse the Admissions pages for all the many ways in which to engage with us or, if you want to jump directly to your chosen entry point, explore the links below to find out more.
Joining Oundle at 11+ opens a window to the extensive opportunities and facilities offered by a large boarding school, with the added appeal of being part of a thriving market town in the heart of glorious countryside, within easy reach of London and under an hour from Cambridge.
Our First Form (11+)
Each year, over fifty pupils join Oundle at 11+ as either boarders or day children, moving seamlessly through to a senior House at 13+. Our focus through these two crucial years is to develop intellectual curiosity, shape academic potential and establish positive habits for lifelong learning, all while nurturing growth in independence and self-organisation. Boarders enter The Berrystead, our junior boarding House, and day pupils enter Scott House, located adjacent to The Berrystead. Both Houses share beautiful and extensive grounds and facilities, while also benefitting from their own dedicated spaces. Working alongside each House team is our Head of Lower Years, who ensures that pupils benefit from a continuity of learning as they join at 11+ and move into Third Form.
11+ Entry Guide
We appreciate that every admissions journey will be slightly different, but the summary below details the key steps for those looking to join Oundle at 11+ in September . A small number of 12+ boarding places are also normally available each year. Our Admissions team would be happy to discuss your options and explain the entry process for joining Oundle in our Second Form.
Visit Oundle
Our tailored 11+ Open Days take place in September and June. The next date will be Saturday 15 June. To reserve your place, or to arrange an individual visi
Registration
If you are interested in registering your child for 11+ entry in, we encourage you to do so at your earliest convenience. Registration forms are available on request from the Admissions Office and a £250 non-refundable registration fee is also required at this stage.
For those applying outside of the UK, it would be advantageous for all applicants from overseas to provide us with a UKiset report prior to registration. UKiset is an adaptive cognitive test measuring underlying ability and language proficiency.
Assessments
Assessments will take place on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 January .
Children sitting the 11+ Entrance Examination take papers in Mathematics, English, Science and a Cognitive Ability Test. Those sitting the papers at Oundle have an informal interview, and prospective boarders enjoy an overnight stay in our junior boarding House.
All overseas applicants follow the same entrance procedure and sit the same entrance papers as UK candidates. Those not taking the examination at Oundle School should arrange to sit them at a British Council Office.
Scholarships & Bursaries
Academic and Music Scholarships are available at this level of entry.
Families requiring financial assistance are encouraged to enquire about our means-tested bursaries as early in the process as possible.
It is often said that Oundelians are intellectually curious, energetic, resourceful: that they are able young people who love school and value friendship. However beyond sharing certain characteristics such as being good-hearted, open-minded and serious about making the most of themselves and their opportunities, it is virtually impossible to define an average Oundelian.
Joining Oundle at 13+
Pupils join Oundle in Third Form (Year 9) from a wide range of schools in both the independent and maintained sector – coming together with day and boarding pupils who joined Oundle at 11+ or 12+.
Boarders join one of our thirteen senior boarding Houses while day pupils join Laxton, our senior day House. It is an exciting time when all pupils, whether new to Oundle or continuing their journey, embark on a new phase of their education – with a wealth of different opportunities to explore and new friendships to forge.
A small number of 14+ boarding places are normally available each year. Our Admissions team would be happy to discuss your options and explain the entry process for joining Oundle in our Fourth Form.
We appreciate that each family’s admissions journey will be slightly different, but the summary below details the key steps for those joining Oundle at 13+. More detailed information, along with answers to common questions, can be found in our 13+ Admissions Step by Step Guide.
Visit Oundle
Three to four years prior to entry (Years 5 – 6)
We welcome families to visit Oundle in person by attending an Open Day or individual visit. You will get to meet the Registrar and other key members of staff, explore the School and spend time with pupils.
Families requiring financial assistance are encouraged to enquire about our means-tested bursaries as early in the process as possible.
Registration
Three to four years prior to entry (Years 5 – 6)
By registering you are guaranteed consideration of a place at Oundle and we will keep you up-to-date with the latest information and news from Oundle. A non-refundable administration fee of £250 is required at this stage.
For those applying outside of the UK, it would be advantageous for all applicants from overseas to provide us with a UKiset report prior to registration. UKiset is an adaptive cognitive test measuring underlying ability and language proficiency.
Early Offers
Year 6
For those joining Oundle through Common Entrance or via a UK school, most formal places are offered from the Spring Term of Year 6 onwards, following a satisfactory school report and reference. Pupils will then confirm their places in Year 8 through entrance exams.
Entrance Examinations
January or June of Year 8
For most pupils joining Oundle at 13+ from a UK school, entrance is through Common Entrance, sat in June of Year 8.
For those at a UK School which does not offer Common Entrance, candidates will sit the Oundle Entrance, our own entrance tests, in January of Year 8. This consists of an informal interview alongside a Cognitive Ability Test and papers in Mathematics, English, Science and normally a Modern Foreign Language.
All overseas applicants will also sit the Oundle Entrance in January of Year 8, sitting the same entrance papers as UK candidates. We ask all candidates not taking examinations at Oundle School to sit them at a British Council Office.
Joining Oundle
September of Year 9 (Third Form)
We look forward to welcoming new joiners in September of Year 9 (Third Form). In the Summer Term, prior to joining, we host a Third Form Gathering so that pupils can get to know their new cohort and have some fun. A welcome pack of information, including a House Handbook and a School Guide, is sent to all families as the excitement builds for this new chapter of life.
We greatly value a strong intake of external candidates into our Sixth Form and are looking for young people who will rise to the challenge of leaving their legacy at a new school.
Oundle at 16+
Sixth Form is a time when School life changes for all our pupils, with increased choice, independence and responsibility, so we find pupils joining us at this stage settle quickly and bring valuable new perspectives and experiences.
All Sixth Formers are part of a vertical House structure and are therefore the senior year groups in each House. This contributes significantly to the sense of family in each House and offers leadership opportunities in both the community of the House and Oundle as a whole.
We are looking for ambitious young people who want to immerse themselves in our School community and who have an appetite to make the most of the opportunities available. Good academic ability is assumed but to benefit most from Oundle, those who join us at 16+ will have open, curious minds and a deep-seated love of learning.
A Guide for 16+ Entry
We appreciate that every admissions journey will be slightly different, but the summary below details the key steps for those joining Oundle at 16+.
Please note the application deadline for 16+ entry in September has now passed. Occasionally, places do open up throughout the year so please do contact Admissions in the first instance if you would like to enquire about entry.
Visit Oundle
Our tailored 16+ Open Days take place in September and June each year. The next date will be Saturday 15 June. To reserve your place, or to arrange an individual visit
Registration
The minimum entry requirement is three subjects at Grade 6 and three at Grade 7, or equivalent, at GCSE (including Mathematics and English). It is highly desirable to have a Grade 7, 8 or 9 in the subjects to be taken at Sixth Form and, in practice, most successful candidates will have an 8 or 9 or equivalent in most subjects.
Interested candidates should register by the deadline for the specific year of entry. To register please complete a registration form (available on request from the Admissions Office), at which time a non-refundable registration fee of £250 is also payable.
For those applying outside of the UK, it would be advantageous for all applicants from overseas to provide us with a UKiset report prior to registration. UKiset is an adaptive cognitive test measuring underlying ability and language proficiency
Shortlisting
Once registered candidates are contacted in September / October prior to entry with further details of the shortlisting process. Candidates are required to complete an online application, which includes an indication of their expected GCSE grades and achievements to dates (including extra/co-curricular) along with a short hand written passage outlining why they wish to come to Oundle and a most recent school report.
Candidates are shortlisted based on this information and, those that are successful, will be invited to sit assessments. These usually take place the November prior to entry.
Assessments
An assessment weekend for shortlisted candidates takes place in the November before entry.
The weekend allows candidates to immerse themselves in Oundle life and includes an interview and assessment papers in either three of their chosen subjects for Sixth Form study or a general paper and two subject papers. Boarding candidates will stay overnight.
All overseas applicants follow the same entrance procedure and sit the same entrance papers as UK candidates. We ask all candidates not taking examinations at Oundle School to sit them at a British Council Office.
Scholarships and Bursaries
Academic, Art, Music, Sport and Design Engineering Technology Scholarships are available at this level of entry. All registered candidates will be asked to indicate whether they wish to apply for a 16+ Scholarship as part of the short listing process.
Families requiring financial assistance are encouraged to enquire about our means-tested bursaries as early in the process as possible.
Offer & Acceptance of Place
Offers are made, following assessments, in early December prior to entry. Upon acceptance of a place an acceptance fee and deposit are payable.
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