Bryanston School 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Bryanston School 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 Bryanston School

• School type: co-educational independent school (day and boarding)
• Location: Blandford Forum, Dorset
• Admissions contact: admissions@bryanston.co.uk
• 13+ exam: the CAT4, set by GL Assessment
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries, administered through a third-party organisation
• Scholarships: Year 9 scholarships, ranging from honorary up to a maximum of 10% of fees

Important dates for 2027 entry

Bryanston doesn't publish fixed calendar dates for Year 9 entry — the admissions process is structured around your child's school year rather than specific dates:

• Year 5 (recommended): first visit and registration, ahead of the admissions process starting in Year 6
• Year 6: CAT4 test taken (either at your child's current school or arranged by Bryanston) and Imagine Day assessment
• Autumn Term, Year 8: scholarship application deadline
• Spring Term, Year 8: scholarship assessments
• Check the school's website to confirm exact dates for 2027 entry

How to apply to Bryanston School

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

Registration is completed online, where you can upload school reports and pay the registration fee. Bryanston encourages families to register when their child is in Year 5, as the admissions process itself begins in Year 6 for Year 9 entry.

What will my child be tested on?

Bryanston's 13+ assessment has three parts: the CAT4, Imagine Day, and a school reference.

CAT4

All registered pupils sit a GL Assessment CAT4 test. If your child has already sat the CAT4 at their current school, Bryanston will use those results, there isn't a separate Entrance Exam day. If not, the school will arrange for your child to sit the test at Bryanston, or make appropriate arrangements if you're based overseas.

Imagine Day

Imagine Day is a group assessment day where children take part in activities designed to assess communication, creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

School reference

A reference from your child's current school also forms part of the process, alongside their performance in the CAT4 and at Imagine Day.

How are places decided?

Places at Bryanston are based on:

• your child's performance in the CAT4 test
• their performance at Imagine Day
• a reference from their current school

Decisions are made by the Admissions team in consultation with the Head, Director of Admissions, Head of Tutors, Houseparents and academic staff.

Financial information

Bryanston School is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school's fees page 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 Bryanston, Year 9 scholarship awards range in value from honorary up to a maximum of 10% of fees. The scholarship entry deadline is in the Autumn Term of Year 8, with assessments taking place the following Spring Term.

Visit Bryanston School's Year 9 scholarships page 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. At Bryanston, bursaries are all means-tested and administered through a third-party organisation, and can be applied for alongside a scholarship or on their own.

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 Bryanston School's bursaries page to find out what's 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.