Hurstpierpoint College 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Hurstpierpoint 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 Hurstpierpoint College

• School type: co-educational independent school (day and weekly boarding)
• Location: Hurstpierpoint, Hassocks, West Sussex
• Admissions contact: admissions@hppc.co.uk
• 13+ exam: ISEB Common Pre-Test, followed by an Experience Day
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries — under the school's current policy, every successful scholarship applicant can also apply for a means-tested bursary
• Scholarships: academic, all-rounder, art, drama, music and sport (no longer carry an automatic fee remission — see Financial information below)

Important dates

The school registers pupils around three years ahead of entry, and the current open cycle is for 2028 entry. If you're specifically looking at 2027 entry, contact Admissions directly to ask about late applications. For the 2028 cycle:

• Recommended: at least three years before your child would join: registration, alongside a non-refundable fee
• Year 6: ISEB Common Pre-Test taken online
• January/February, Year 6: Experience Day at Hurstpierpoint
• End of January/early February, Year 8: scholarship assessment days
• Late February, Year 8: closing date for Academic Scholarships
• Check the school's website to confirm exact dates for your child's entry year

How to apply to Hurstpierpoint College

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

The school recommends registering your child at least three years before you'd like them to join. Registration is via an online form, alongside a non-refundable registration fee.

What will my child be tested on?

Hurstpierpoint's 13+ process is based on the ISEB Common Pre-Test, followed by an Experience Day.

ISEB Common Pre-Test

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online, adaptive assessment, meaning the questions get harder or easier depending on how your child is performing. It's taken during Year 6. It assesses:

• Maths
• English
• Verbal reasoning
• Non-verbal reasoning

Experience Day

Held in January or February of Year 6, the Experience Day includes a variety of physical, cerebral and creative activities, alongside informal interviews, giving the school a fuller picture of your child beyond their test results.

School reference

Your child's academic progress and extra-curricular activities are also discussed with their current school as part of the process.

How are places decided?

Places at Hurstpierpoint are based on:

• your child's performance in the ISEB Common Pre-Test
• their performance at the Experience Day, including the activities and informal interviews
• information gathered from their current school on academic progress and extra-curricular activities

Financial information

Hurstpierpoint College is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school's website 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 Hurstpierpoint, awards are available in academic, all-rounder, art, drama, music and sport. Under the school's current approach, scholarships no longer carry an automatic fee remission on their own — instead, every successful scholarship applicant can apply for a means-tested bursary, and scholars follow a dedicated Pathway programme to develop their skills and talents further.

Visit Hurstpierpoint's scholarships and bursaries 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 Hurstpierpoint, this widened approach means a broader and more diverse range of pupils can access a bursary, whether or not they hold a scholarship.

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 Hurstpierpoint's scholarships and 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.