Millfield School 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Millfield 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 Millfield School

• School type: co-educational independent school (day and boarding)
• Location: Street, Somerset
• Admissions contact: admissions@millfieldschool.com, 01458 442296
• 13+ exam: Millfield's own English, Maths and reasoning tests, plus Common Entrance for pupils from a Common Entrance–teaching prep school (used for setting rather than as a strict entry threshold)
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries, including for scholarship holders
• Scholarships: academic, art, music, drama and sport

Important dates for 2027 entry

Millfield sets its 13+ process relative to your child's school year rather than a single fixed calendar date:

• 18–24 months before entry (recommended): registration, via a completed registration form and fee
• Following registration: Millfield requests a reference from your child's current school, then arranges interview and assessment dates
• Early January, Year 8: closing date for scholarship applications
• June, Year 8: Common Entrance, for pupils from a Common Entrance–teaching prep school
• Check the school's website to confirm exact dates for 2027 entry

How to apply to Millfield School

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

13+ is Millfield's largest annual intake, with around 200 Year 9 places available (plus around 40 in Year 10). The school recommends registering 18 to 24 months before your child's intended entry date. Scholarship candidates should register earlier still, as scholarship assessment dates run on their own timeline with a closing date in early January of Year 8.

What will my child be tested on?

Millfield takes a holistic view of each candidate rather than working to a single pass mark, weighing together the reasoning test result, interview, current school reference, and any scholarship assessment.

Entrance tests

Registered candidates sit Millfield's own tests in English, Maths and reasoning. The reasoning component is computer-based, covering verbal and non-verbal reasoning and takes just under an hour.

Interview

Following the entrance tests, your child will have an entrance interview with a senior member of staff. This is designed as a genuine conversation rather than a formal examination, giving Millfield a chance to understand your child's interests, ambitions, character and learning style.

Common Entrance

Pupils at prep schools that teach the traditional Common Entrance syllabus are expected to sit Common Entrance in Year 8. At Millfield, results are used primarily for setting purposes in Year 9, rather than as an absolute threshold for entry — a mixed CE performance won't automatically cost a place already secured through the entrance test and interview stage.

How are places decided?

Places at Millfield are based on:

• your child's performance in the entrance tests (English, Maths and reasoning)
• their entrance interview
• a reference from their current school
• for prep school candidates, Common Entrance results (used for setting, not as a strict threshold)

Financial information

Millfield 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 Millfield, awards are available across five categories at 13+ entry: academic, art, music, drama and sport. Academic candidates are invited to a three-day residential assessment as part of the process.

Visit Millfield 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. At Millfield, bursaries take the form of a fee reduction, of up to 100% in exceptional cases, and are considered for parents of children who have been awarded a scholarship but may not otherwise be able to consider the school for financial reasons.

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 Millfield School'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.