Pupils join Cranleigh not just from our Prep School but from a wide variety of other prep and primary schools across London and the Home Counties, creating a lively House-based community of young people who are drawn together by their inherent love of life and by getting involved in everything Cranleigh has to offer.
Our ethos is one of full participation for each pupil’s individual journey with us and we pride ourselves on offering a breathtaking range of opportunities in co-curricular activities to complement and enhance academic life. We provide a place for every child to discover their talent and discover themselves.
We realise that moving to boarding is a big decision for families and may be a significant change from prep school life. The majority of Cranleighans are extremely busy during the first six days of the week, but most choose to be with their families after Saturday matches, returning on Sunday evening or Monday morning.
We recognise that choosing a senior school can feel like a daunting task. Fortunately, our friendly and experienced admissions team is here to offer support and guidance through every step of the admissions process. We encourage prospective families to watch our videos and then arrange a visit to Cranleigh School.
Visit Us
We love welcoming prospective families to Cranleigh. We have open events for children wanting to start their Cranleigh journey at our Prep School in Year 7 and then move up to Cranleigh School in Year 9. These are held throughout the year but also see families for personal visits at any time. During your tour, we’ll show you our facilities at Cranleigh Prep School, including boarding houses, and introduce you to our friendly pupils and staff.
Register
After a successful visit, parents should register their child on the online portal and pay the £200 fee. We recommend that families register as early as possible, ideally in Year 4 or 5.
Registration for 11+ entry for September will open at the beginning of the Autumn Term.
Holistic Review
We are not a ruthlessly selective school, but we want to ensure that Cranleigh will be a good match for your son or daughter. We ask all registered applicants to sit an ISEB Pre-Test at their current school between October and November of Year 6. This gives us an idea of academic attainment. We invite all applicants to an assessment day in November of Year 6, which will include an interview with a senior member of staff, a discussion group, a creative writing paper and fun team building activities.
Offer
After we have reviewed performance in the ISEB Pre-Test, Holistic Assessment Day and received a positive recommendation from your child’s current school, we may make an unconditional offer. This is a 7 year offer of entry to Year 7 at Cranleigh Prep School, with an expectation that your child will move up to Cranleigh School in Year 9. We are in the fortunate position of receiving more applications than we have places, so we make offers to those we feel will thrive academically and make a positive contribution to the wider Cranleigh community.
Late Applications
We make the majority of our offers by December of Year 6. For those we feel unable to make an offer straight away, we operate a waiting list system. We are open and transparent about our waiting lists and keep parents and schools informed of movement. We are happy to accept late applications, subject to the length of the waiting list at that time.
Excellence Awards
We reward excellence with Scholarships and Exhibitions. To be successful in gaining an award, candidates should demonstrate an exceptional level of performance and great potential.
Years 7 and 8
All pupils will join the Prep School for 2 years during which time there will be numerous linked events with the Senior School, getting them ready to join in Year 9
All pupils in our Prep school will take end of year exams. The results will be shared with the Senior school. This is used for setting purposes. The Prep school will decide on the type of examination.
Visit Us
If you do not already know Cranleigh, we strongly recommend an initial visit during one of our Welcome Mornings. These take place on Saturday mornings throughout the academic year. Advance booking via our Admissions Office is essential.
Welcome Mornings provide a number of families with an informal opportunity to hear about future plans for the School, to meet the Headmaster and House staff, and to enjoy a tour of the School with a current pupil.
Individual or small group visits may also be arranged during the week.
Registering
If you wish to be considered for a place at Cranleigh, a registration form and non-refundable registration fee of £200 should be submitted via the Admissions Portal.
Early registration is recommended, ideally in Years 4 or 5.
Registration for 13+ entry for September will open at the beginning of the Autumn Term.
Holistic Review
Registered applicants will need to sit the ISEB test at their prep school, arranged by their current Head. The ISEB test takes place between October and mid-November of Year 6. Applicants from schools that do not offer the ISEB test can sit the test at Cranleigh Prep School, in arrangement with the Admissions Team.
Applicants will then be invited to an assessment day during January of Year 6. Each part of our assessment is equally important and offers will only be made once we have reviewed the results of the ISEB test in conjunction with the feedback from the Holistic Assessment Day.
The assessment is a holistic review of the candidate’s interests and abilities. It consists of an informal interview with a senior member of staff, a discussion group, an English creative writing paper and fun team building activities. A reference is required from the candidate’s current school.
The interview will provide candidates with an opportunity to discuss their passions and what motivates them; interests and talents outside the classroom will be highly valued.
Following the Holistic Review, and receipt of a positive recommendation from the candidate’s current Head, an unconditional offer may be made.
Cranleigh is in the fortunate position of receiving many more applications each year than we have places available. Admissions decisions therefore take into account a variety of factors. We need to be confident that a pupil will thrive academically but we also consider what wider contribution he or she will make to the Cranleigh community, particularly those individuals who will make the most of the available opportunities.
Waiting Lists
The majority of offers are made during the Lent term of Year 6. We operate a waiting list and keep parents, guardians and schools informed of movement and if a place becomes available. Late applications are accepted subject to the length of the waiting list.
Excellence Awards (scholarships and Exhibitions)
Cranleigh offers a range of academic and other scholarships and awards. To gain an award or scholarship, candidates must demonstrate both excellence in their chosen field and exceptional promise. Applications should be received by the advertised closing date in Year 8 and be supported by their current school.
Examination
The majority of offers are made during the Lent term of Year 6.
All candidates who have been offered a 13+ place will usually take a set of exams in Year 8, usually at their own school and we ask for the results for setting purposes.
Welcome Mornings
Pupils looking to join the Sixth Form at Cranleigh School are warmly invited to join a Sixth Form Welcome Morning, the dates of which can be found in the Key Dates below. Please contact Admissions to book a place by email (admissions@cranleigh.org), phone (+44 01483 276377)
Initial Enquiry
A limited number of places are available to pupils who are aiming to achieve strong results in their GCSE examinations. Entry is competitive and successful candidates are likely to be predicted mostly grades 9-7 at GCSE or IGCSE.
These Sixth Form guides should answer some of your preliminary questions.
We love welcoming prospective students and their families to Cranleigh, so we encourage you to get in touch and book a personal visit. During your tour, we’ll show you our facilities, including boarding houses, and introduce you to staff and our current Sixth Form students.
Registering
Candidates must be over 15 and under 17 years of age on the 1st of September in their year of entry to the School.
If you wish to be considered for a place at Cranleigh, please register online via our Admissions Portal.
Registration for 16+ entry for September will open at the beginning of September .
Holistic Review
We are not a ruthlessly selective school, but we want to ensure that Cranleigh will be a good match for all candidates. In the majority of cases, we’ll be looking for predicted grades of 7-9 in their GCSEs, but we are also looking for candidates who will throw themselves into the co-curricular life of the school. Our holistic review takes place in the November of Year 11 and allows us to get to know the ‘whole’ candidate.
Excellence Awards (scholarships and Exhibitions)
We reward excellence with Scholarships and Exhibitions. To be successful in gaining an award, candidates should demonstrate an exceptional level of performance and potential. We offer Academic, Art, Music and Eric Abbott (Sport) awards. Please let us know that you intend to apply for an Excellence Award when you register.
Offer and Acceptance
We make offers in January of Year 11. We are in the fortunate position of receiving more applications than we have places, so we make offers to those we feel will thrive academically and make a positive contribution to the wider Cranleigh community. Unfortunately, this will mean some miss out, but we are happy to provide individual feedback to all applicants.
On receipt of an offer, confirmation of acceptance must be received by the date given in the Key Dates above.
Places are confirmed subject to candidates achieving the required standard at GCSE.
Get in Touch
We are happy to receive applications for entry to Cranleigh School outside the traditional age groups of 13+ and 16+.Please email or telephone The Admissions Team in the first instance so that we can assist you with your enquiry.admissions@cranleigh.org 01483 276377
A Traditional British Boarding School that Welcomes the World!
We have a long history of welcoming international applications and currently host students from many parts of the world, including Dubai, China, Hong Kong, Kenya, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Switzerland. We also have an award-winning portfolio of international schools.
Cranleigh offers international students the opportunity to be part of a modern British boarding school family – enjoying the benefits of a truly beautiful rural English space, alongside proximity to the entertainment and cultural opportunities offered by London.
We are a boarding school in every aspect of our day to day life, where our international students are immersed in British education and social culture.
Cranleigh is committed to creating and maintaining a community that is both diverse and equal. Our international boarders live, study and relax alongside their British counterparts gaining both language skills and a unique cultural perspective of English life. At weekends international students have the opportunity to take part in a varied programme of events and activities including cultural events in London such as gallery and museum visits (for example: Tate Modern, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum), historical outings (Buckingham Palace, the Cabinet War Rooms, Westminster Abbey) and of course, the wonderful entertainments which London provides access to (the Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet, the West End, Royal Festival Hall.)
We also encourage our international students to share aspects of their unique culture with fellow students, recognising the opportunity this provides for their British counterparts. In this way, our students all learn from each other, gaining a wider global perspective on life.
Our international students always receive English language support in small, mixed-nationality groups where required.
Guardians and Visa Requirements
All boarders, including students aged 18 and over, whose parents are either permanently or temporarily overseas, must have a guardian in this country with whom we can make contact should an emergency arise.
This guardian should be a member of the family (but not a student) or a member of a guardianship agency belonging to AEGIS. In routine matters and decisions about hospital treatment, the Housemaster/mistress and then the Headmaster will normally stand in loco parentis.
If your child is offered a boarding place at Cranleigh School and requires a visa to study in the UK, we may be able to sponsor your child. We ask that, prior to submitting the visa application, you pay the first year’s fees in full to assist a smooth process. Our admissions team will guide you through the visa application procedure and provide you with support for any visa enquiries. We do not charge a visa administration fee for this service.
We take our duties as sponsors for educational visas very seriously. Recent changes to the expectations of sponsors by UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI) require us to be aware of the immigration status of every one of our students, whether day or boarding and regardless of nationality. You may be required to upload a copy of your child’s passport information page, and visa/biometric information if relevant. This enables us to comply fully with our responsibilities as a visa sponsor. The information you provide will be stored and processed confidentially and securely and the school will process personal data about you and your child in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the School’s Data Protection Notice which is available
What Is the Deadline for Overseas Applications?
The deadlines listed on this website apply to both UK and international applicants. Applications from overseas are not treated any differently to those from the UK.
How Good Does My Child’s Written and Oral English Need to Be?
All subjects are taught in English at Cranleigh School, meaning pupils must have a high level of fluency in English, both written and spoken. All international applicants must therefore complete a UKiset test as part of their application to the school. This can be arranged independently, or through your agent. UKiset is a well established assessment tool used by many British schools to help measure academic potential and English language skills. The results compare candidates against British students of the same age and can be sent to up to five schools as part of your application process.
How Many Places for Overseas Students Are There Each Year?
We do not have specific limits on the number of overseas students that we admit year on year, although we do try to ensure that a balance of nationalities is maintained to ensure a truly international experience for any child attending Cranleigh.
Further Information and The Application Process
We welcome agents/parents to contact us prior to registration to arrange an informal discussion regarding applications to Cranleigh. We are happy to discuss the English language requirements and the application process in more detail with you and of course to arrange a private tour of the school at a time to suit you – please contact our admissions team via email in the first instance on admissions@cranleigh.org We look forward to hearing from you!
How Do I Apply?
Please view our 13+ and 16+ application process (links below) for submission dates as these are the same for international applicants. We are always happy to consider late applications where places allow.
Twitter