Ampleforth College 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Ampleforth College for 13+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance exam.

Key information for Ampleforth College

• School type: co-educational independent Catholic boarding school (day places also available)
• Location: North Yorkshire
• Admissions contact: check the school's website for current admissions contact details
• 13+ exam: Ampleforth's own entrance assessment (Maths, English and Non-Verbal Reasoning), and/or Common Entrance for pupils from Common Entrance–teaching prep schools
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries — check the school's website to confirm current provision
• Scholarships: Development Awards in academic, dance, drama, music and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

Ampleforth structures its 13+ timeline around your child's school year rather than fixed calendar dates for every route:

• Beginning of Year 6 (recommended): registration, ahead of the formal assessment process
• January, Year 6 (or Year 7): Ampleforth assessment day, for pupils not sitting Common Entrance
• June, Year 8: Common Entrance, for pupils joining from a Common Entrance–teaching prep school
• From Autumn Term, Year 7 onwards: most places offered, though some can be offered as early as Year 6
• Check the school's website to confirm exact dates for 2027 entry

How to apply to Ampleforth College

Ampleforth College is selective. This means your child will need to complete an entrance assessment to be eligible for a place.

Registration must take place before the formal assessment process begins. Ampleforth recommends registering by the beginning of Year 6, alongside a non-refundable registration fee of £100. At the same time, you'll be asked to send copies of your child's school reports. The school also welcomes later applicants, so it's worth contacting Admissions directly to check availability.

What will my child be tested on?

All 13+ candidates attend an Ampleforth Assessment Day, involving Ampleforth's own entrance test, an interview, and activities. Pupils from a Common Entrance–teaching prep school also sit Common Entrance afterwards, as a further, confirming step.

Ampleforth assessment

The Ampleforth Assessment Day takes place over the course of a day at the College, in January of Year 6 or Year 7 (or November for those applying in Year 8). It's a computer-based assessment set by CEM (Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring) in:

• Maths
• English
• Non-verbal reasoning

No special preparation is required for this test.

Common Entrance

For pupils from a UK prep school that teaches towards it, Common Entrance is an additional step, sat in June of Year 8, after the Ampleforth Assessment Day. An offer is conditional on achieving an average score of 50% across the papers your child sits.

This isn't a fresh assessment used to decide new offers, it's a condition attached to the offer your child already holds from the January Assessment Day. Ampleforth expects pupils taking Common Entrance to keep working towards that 50% average, in the same way it expects pupils not taking Common Entrance to keep making good progress at their current school. Once confirmed, you'll complete a confirmation form, pay a confirmation deposit (refunded at the end of your child's time at Ampleforth), and choose a House.

Common Entrance itself is set nationally by ISEB rather than by Ampleforth. It typically includes three compulsory papers, English, Maths and Science, plus optional papers chosen from subjects like Geography, History, Latin, a modern language, or Religious Studies. The specific combination a pupil sits is usually decided by their own prep school.

Interview and activities

All candidates have an interview with the Registrar, and enjoy an afternoon of activities with potential future classmates, as part of the Ampleforth Assessment Day described above.

How are places decided?

Places at Ampleforth are based on:

• your child's performance in the Ampleforth assessment and/or Common Entrance
• their interview with the Registrar
• satisfactory school reports and a Head's reference

Following assessment, and conditional upon Common Entrance for those taking it, most places are offered from the Autumn Term of Year 7 onwards, though some can be offered as early as Year 6.

Financial information

Ampleforth College is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school's admissions pages for a full breakdown of fees for day and boarding pupils.

Financial assistance

When exploring independent schools for your child, scholarships and bursaries are worth considering. They can ease the pressure of school fees and open doors to opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded for a child's talent or achievement. At Ampleforth, these are known as Development Awards, available in academic, dance, drama, music and sport.

Visit Ampleforth College's website to see the scholarships available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Your guide to independent school scholarships.

Bursaries

Bursaries are means-tested awards (based on a family's financial situation) designed to make independent education more accessible. Depending on your circumstances, a bursary could cover part or all of the school fees and sometimes extras like uniforms, lunches or school trips.

Families provide financial information to qualify, and awards are reassessed each year. For many families, bursaries make an excellent education possible that might otherwise seem out of reach.

Visit Ampleforth College's website to find out what bursaries are available and how to apply.

For more information, read: Bursaries: a parents' guide.

Financial support for independent school fees is more available than most families realise.

This free guide is an honest look at how scholarships and bursaries work in practice: what they cover, how the timeline unfolds from Year 4 to Year 6 and how to approach admissions with confidence.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

One of the hardest parts of exam preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build smart exam technique

As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom's mock tests are exact replicas of real entrance exams. They're also unlimited — your child can take the same test repeatedly and see new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

Atom's mock tests are automatically marked. You'll see your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in preparation for entrance exams.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will:

• broaden their vocabulary
• improve comprehension and inference
• build confidence in tackling unseen texts

And just as importantly, it can help them enjoy reading — not just see it as exam preparation.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through exam preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.