What is meant by Common Entrance?

Spratton Hall SchoolMore than 160 independent senior schools in the United Kingdom use the Common Entrance examination as the basis for entry, although some schools prefer to use their own examination. Normally, boys sit Common Entrance at 13 and girls at 11. One advantage of the Common Entrance exam is that if a child has been registered with more than one school, as long as each of those schools uses Common Entrance, he or she is spared the anxiety of sitting a separate exam for each school.

The exam papers are set by the Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB) but they are marked by the senior schools at which the candidates have been registered. The schools decide on their marking schemes and entry standards; there is no national standard for passing Common Entrance. The dates for sitting the exam are set by the Board.

Independent preparatory schools will usually make arrangements for their pupils to sit Common Entrance, but it may also be undertaken by boys and girls who have previously attended state maintained schools. Overseas students are also allowed to sit the exam as individual candidates. In either of these cases, parents should contact the ISEB to make the necessary arrangements. If a pupil has not been registered with an independent senior school they will not be eligible to sit the Common Entrance examination.

The 11+ examination is taken in the autumn or spring term and is intended for pupils from all primary schools; papers are set in English, Mathematics and Science.

Most children who sit for Common Entrance at 13+ have studied at independent prep schools. At this stage there is a much wider set of topics: in addition to English, Mathematics and Science, students may offer French, German, Geography, Greek, History, Latin, Religious Studies and Spanish. To know more about the required subjects and the standards required, parents should ask the senior school at which they have registered their child. The 13+ exam is taken during the autumn, spring or summer term.

The Common Entrance exam is not used to decide whether a child will be awarded a scholarship or 'exhibition'; these are awarded on a competitive basis and the school will run its own exam to determine which pupils will qualify.