Admission to the College is based on the following criteria:
1. Interview with a Deputy Headteacher
All prospective students and their families are invited to meet with a Deputy Headteacher. This meeting allows us to understand each boy as an individual and provides an opportunity to learn more about the College. It also facilitates a deeper discussion about life and learning at the College. During this meeting, we will discuss the Entrance Exam in more detail, and you will have the opportunity to discuss the admissions journey or the College in general.
2. Reference from Current School
We will request a confidential reference from the Headteacher of your current school before making an offer.
3. Entrance Examination Result
The Entrance Examination is held at Salesian College in early January of the year of entry when boys are in Year 6. The test currently consists of multiple-choice papers in Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning, English, and a written task.
The usual academic entry profile at the College ranges from good average to very able in terms of academic performance. The three multiple-choice papers are all standardised, taking into account the exact age of the student when they sit the entrance examination.
We are often asked whether a student should have tuition specifically for the Entrance Examination. Whist some students do receive weekly support outside of their current school, if a student is able and performing well at his current school, additional tuition should not be necessary. However, many students are not familiar with the multiple-choice format of the Entrance Examination, so revision packs of multiple-choice questions can be useful in preparation. We will show you how to access these when you visit us.
For boys who are abroad, we can arrange for the test to be taken at their current school. It is not the policy of the College to issue past papers; however, all prospective pupils will meet with one of the Deputy Headteachers to discuss the examination in detail.
Any student entitled to additional time will be accommodated and will take their papers in the Library under close supervision by the Learning Support Team and the Library Team.
Offer letters are sent out before the end of January following the exam earlier in the month. The deadline for acceptance of offers is usually in early March.
