Duke of Kent School 11+ guide

Are you thinking about applying to Duke of Kent School for 11+ entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance exam.

Key information for Duke of Kent School

• School type: co-educational independent day school
• Location: Ewhurst, Surrey
• Admissions contact: office@dokschool.org
• 11+ exam: CAT4 and interview
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries
• Scholarships: academic, all-rounder, art, performing arts, music, computer science and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Thursday 5th November 2026: assessment day (CAT4 test and interview)

How to apply to Duke of Kent School

Duke of Kent School is selective. This means that your child will need to sit an entrance assessment and attend an interview to be eligible for a place.

You must register your child for Year 7 entry via the school's registration portal. A non-refundable registration fee is payable, and acceptance of the registration form and fee does not guarantee a place.

The main assessment day for September 2027 Year 7 entry takes place in November 2026, and further assessment dates run throughout the academic year should space remain available. Priority is given to siblings of children already at the school, followed by pupils in order of application.

What will my child be tested on?

Children applying for 11+ entry to Duke of Kent School sit CAT4, an online cognitive abilities test, alongside an interview.

CAT4

CAT4 is a non-adaptive computer-based test designed to measure a child's natural reasoning ability rather than taught knowledge, giving the school a rounded view of their potential. Children applying for Year 7 entry typically sit the level aimed at 11 year olds. The test takes a little over an hour to complete, across three timed sections:

• Non-verbal reasoning (around 20 minutes): questions cover figure classification and figure matrices.
• Verbal and quantitative reasoning (around 26 minutes): questions cover verbal classification, verbal analogies and number analogies.
• Quantitative and spatial reasoning (around 26 minutes): questions cover number series, figure analysis and figure recognition.

Interview

Children are also invited for an interview with a member of school staff. This gives them the opportunity to talk about their interests, strengths and enthusiasm for school life beyond the exam itself.

How are places decided?

Places at Duke of Kent School are decided on a combination of a child's performance in the CAT4 assessment and their interview. Assessment days run on a rolling basis throughout the academic year, so families registering later in the cycle may still be considered if space is available.

Financial information

Duke of Kent School is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school's fees page for a full breakdown of fees per year group.

Scholarships

Scholarships are awarded for a child's talent or achievement. While many schools focus on academic excellence, some offer awards in music, sport, drama, art, or other specialist areas.

Scholarships often come with a small fee reduction and acknowledge your child's talents, motivating them and boosting their confidence. Some schools automatically consider all applicants, while others may request an additional application, assessment or audition.

Visit Duke of Kent School'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 Duke of Kent School's website to find out what bursaries are available and how to apply.

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

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

Applying to senior school can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

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.

Looking for inspiration? Atom's reading and writing starter kit has suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

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.