St Edward's Oxford

How to Apply

St Edward’s accepts approximately 150 pupils at 13+ into the Shell (Year 9); about 20 at 14+ into the Fourth Form (Year 10) to begin the two year IGCSE/GCSE and Pathways and Perspectives programme; and some 65 at 16+ into the Lower Sixth (Year 12) to begin the two year A Level or IB Diploma programme.

Entry to all year groups is via academic entry exams and all pupils must be registered in order to sit the admissions tests. For all year groups, the assessments is in two parts. Pupils whose test results and reference indicate that they are suited to our demanding academic curriculum and our rich co-curricular offering will be invited to the second stage for interview.

Years 9 (13+) Entry

St Edward’s welcomes:

• Approximately 155 pupils into the Shell Year (Y9), aged 13
• Children are asked to sit the ISEB Pre-Test in the Autumn of Year 6. A smaller group may choose to defer until Year 7.
• Children who have not sat the ISEB in Years 6 or 7 will follow the Year 8, 13+ assessment process and take an online Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) in the November of Year 8.

Pupils applying from overseas whose first language is not English can submit a UKISET test before registration.

For details of Scholarships, Awards (Years 9 and 12 only) and Bursaries,

How to apply for entry in to Year 9 (13+): the Shell Year

In Year 4 or 5

Visit the School. We recommend the best time to do so is when your child is 8 or 9 years old. There are a number of ways in which to do so:

• Smaller Open Mornings are held most Saturdays during term time
• Main Open Mornings are held annually in May
• An individual visit can also be arranged

After your visit, if you think St Edward’s might be the right School for your child, we suggest you register. Pupils must be registered to sit exams and have visited the School. Only registered pupils will be considered for a place.

October or November of Year 6

• Children intending to join St Edward’s are asked to sit the ISEB Pre-Test in October or November of Year 6.

January or February of Year 6

• Interview and activity day for those progressing to the second stage of the admissions process.

March of Year 6

• Subject to the successful completion of the assessment process, unconditional places are offered in the first week of March and are secured by paying a deposit.
• The £2,000 acceptance deposit is payable to confirm a place; £1,200 is refunded on final account. It is also refunded if your child does not meet the required standard in the exams or is removed on medical grounds.

November of Year 8

• Children who have not taken the ISEB Common Pre-Test sit an online adaptive test and St Edward’s own entrance papers in English and Mathematics, after which those progressing to the second stage attend an interview. Places for pupils who take this route are offered in early December and are secured by paying a deposit.
• The £2,000 acceptance deposit is payable to confirm a place; £1,200 is refunded on final account. It is also refunded if your child does not meet the required standard in the exams or is removed on medical grounds.

Scholarships and Awards

St. Edward’s offers a range of Scholarships and Awards to support the School’s ethos of encouraging participation and excellence across all areas of School life.
13+ covering Art, Dance, Drama and Design Technology
16+ covering Art, Dance and Drama

June of Year 8

• Children from prep schools sit Common Entrance or complete the Prep School Baccalaureate
• All places are confirmed and joining papers are distributed

Year 10 (14+) Entry

St Edward’s welcomes:
Approximately 10 pupils into the Fourth Form (Y10) to begin the Middle School Program IGCSE and GCSE courses. These children are assessed in the November of the year prior to entry.

November of Year 9

• Candidates sit an online adaptive test in the November prior to entry, after which those progressing to the second stage sit papers in English and Mathematics and attend an interview. Pupils must be registered to sit these exams.
• Places are offered in early December and are secured by paying a deposit.

Sixth Form

Sixth Form Entry
St Edward’s welcomes approximately 65 pupils into the Lower Sixth (Y12) each year to begin A Level courses or the IB Diploma. The deadline for applications for entry has now passed. The deadline for entry will be in October .

Pupils for whom English is not their first language, that have taken the Cambridge English Test / IELTS or equivalent, are asked to submit their test results to us together with a recent school report. This will assist us in gauging their level of English before they submit a formal application to attend the School.

How to apply for a place in the Sixth Form:

Prior to November the year before entry

• Attend our Sixth Form Open Morning.
• For pupils wishing to apply for entry , the main Open Event will take place in September .

November prior to entry

• Candidates sit an online adaptive test on Tuesday 24th October , after which those progressing to the second stage sit three subject papers and attend an interview on either Monday 6th or Tuesday 7th November .
• Pupils must be registered and have completed the Sixth Form Application Form to sit exams.
• Candidates who attain strong scores in the general entrance examinations can be considered for an Academic Scholarship or Exhibition if they highlight this aspiration on their application form.
• Sixth Form candidates are expected to achieve strong GCSE grades across the board. As a minimum, pupils should gain a 7 or above at GCSE in the subjects (or relevant subjects) they hope to study at A Level or at Higher Level within the IB. Particularly at A Level, that requirement moves up to an 8 for either Maths or any of the three traditional Sciences.

December prior to entry

• Places are offered on 1st December; parents are given one week to accept.
• Parents are asked to pay the £2,000 acceptance deposit (an additional deposit is required where one or both parents are resident outside the United Kingdom); £1,200 is repayable on final account.

International Admissions

St Edward’s believes in educating its pupils in an internationally conscientious environment, where an understanding and celebration of different cultures is the norm. We therefore welcome applications from international pupils at Years 9, 10 and 12.

Worldwide educational provision varies enormously from country to country, so we ask all prospective pupils to take a cognitive abilities test for screening purposes. This test measures ability over four areas: Non-Verbal, Verbal, Quantitative and Spatial Reasoning. Those who are successful will be invited to attend formal entrance tests and an interview.

Pupils for whom English is not their first language, that have taken the Cambridge English Test / IELTS or equivalent, are asked to submit their test results to us together with a recent school report. This will assist us in gauging their level of English before they submit a formal application to attend the School.

Shell (Year 9)
Candidates can be registered at any stage but no later than 12th October. The 13+ cognitive abilities test will be held online in early November. The formal Entrance Examinations will be held at the School in November ; candidates are expected to come to St Edward’s for these examinations so that we can interview them and generally get to know them. Those who are successful will then be offered unconditional places and parents will be asked to pay a deposit to secure the place.

Fourth Form (Year 10)
Candidates must be registered by 12th October . The 14+ online assessment will be held in early November. Entrance examinations will be held at the School in November. We expect candidates to come to St Edward’s for these examinations so that we can interview them and generally get to know them. Those who are successful will then be offered unconditional places and parents will be asked to pay a deposit to secure the place.

Sixth Form (Year 12)
The closing date for Sixth Form applications for entry has now passed. The closing day for Sixth Form applications for entry will be in October, by which time all applicants must also be registered.

The 16+ online assessment will be held in late October. Formal Entrance examinations will be held at the School in the week commencing Monday 6th November– all candidates are expected to attend for assessment and interviews.

Applicants from mainland China should contact our official representative UK Boarding Schools Admissions Service:

Tel: +86 (0)21 31651368
Address: Floor 3, BLDG 5, No.258, West Fuxing Road, Shanghai, 200031, China
Email: admin@ukboardingschools.org.uk