Cheltenham College 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Cheltenham 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 Cheltenham College

• School type: co-educational independent school (day and boarding)
• Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
• Admissions contact: check the school's website for current admissions contact details
• 13+ exam: the ISEB Common Entrance examinations, or Cheltenham's own College Entrance or Scholarship papers
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries, available at all entry levels
• Scholarships: academic, art, drama, music and sport, available for Year 7, Year 8 and Year 12 entry

Important dates for 2027 entry

Cheltenham College doesn't publish fixed calendar dates for a specific entry year on its admissions policy — timings are set relative to your child's school year:

• Year 6, around 32 months before entry: College Entrance Day, for pupils seeking early assessment and peace of mind about a Year 9 place
• Within around two weeks of Entrance Day: outcome communicated, alongside a House allocation
• June, Year 8: Common Entrance examinations, for pupils confirmed via the CE route
• From November, Year 8: College Entrance Exam papers, for pupils confirmed via the College Entrance route
• Check the school's website to confirm exact dates for 2027 entry

How to apply to Cheltenham College

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

Parents can register their child for entry at any time by completing the online Registration Form, alongside a non-refundable registration fee. To give families earlier peace of mind, Cheltenham offers an early assessment of pupils during Year 6, around 32 months ahead of entry, via a College Entrance Day.

What will my child be tested on?

Entry into Year 9 at Cheltenham is via one of three routes: the ISEB Common Entrance examinations, Cheltenham's own College Entrance papers, or Scholarship papers.

College Entrance Day

Pupils attend a College Entrance Day in Year 6. This includes English and Maths tests, alongside a number of discussions and activities designed to assess attitude, participation, collaboration, knowledge and expression. Suitability for the full breadth of the College curriculum, both academic and co-curricular, is assessed holistically rather than through test scores alone.

Common Entrance (Year 8)

For pupils confirmed via the CE route, offers made after the College Entrance Day are subject to successful completion of Common Entrance examinations in June of Year 8.

College Entrance Exam papers

Alternatively, some pupils confirm their place via Cheltenham's own College Entrance Exam papers, sat from November of Year 8.

International applicants

Pupils whose native language isn't English are required to provide a full UKiset report with their registration, or sit the OPT exam alongside the College's EAL paper and CAT4. All applicants also have an interview with a member of academic staff.

How are places decided?

Places at Cheltenham are based on:

• your child's performance at the College Entrance Day, including the English and Maths tests, discussions and activities
• a satisfactory reference from their current school
• successful completion of Common Entrance or College Entrance Exam papers in Year 8

Satisfactory reports in combination with a satisfactory school reference form the basis for College to make place offers, together with a House allocation, usually within around two weeks of Entrance Day.

Financial information

Cheltenham College 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 Cheltenham, scholarships are available in academic, art, drama, music and sport, for entry at Year 7, Year 8 and Year 12.

Visit Cheltenham 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. At Cheltenham, bursaries are available at all entry levels and aren't dependent on the award of a scholarship — where a pupil is offered an academic or other award, its value is considered alongside any bursary, based on the family's financial background.

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 Cheltenham 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.