Radnor House Sevenoaks 11+ guide
Are you thinking about applying to Radnor House Sevenoaks for Year 7 entry? Find out everything you need to know about the admissions process and how to prepare for the entrance assessment.
Key information for Radnor House Sevenoaks
- School type: co-educational independent day school
- Location: Sundridge, Sevenoaks, Kent
- Admissions contact: enquiries@radnor-sevenoaks.org
- 11+ exam: CAT4 and English writing test (school-set)
- Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries of up to 50% of tuition fees
- Scholarships: academic, art, drama, music, and sport
Important dates for 2027 entry
- Friday 9th October 2026: closing date for Year 7 registrations
- Friday 16th October 2026: closing date for Year 7 scholarship applications
- Saturday 7th November 2026: Year 7 Entrance Assessment Day
- w/c Monday 2nd November 2026: Year 7 scholarship assessments (sport, music, drama, and art)
- Friday 27th November 2026: Year 7 offers issued
- Friday 11th December 2026: closing date for Year 7 bursary applications
- Saturday 6th February 2027: Year 7 Offer Holder Discovery Morning
- Thursday 25th February 2027: Year 7 Offer Holder Parent Information Evening
How to apply to Radnor House Sevenoaks
Radnor House Sevenoaks is selective. This means that your child will need to take an entrance assessment to be eligible for a place.
You must register your child for Year 7 entry via the school website. The school recommends registering early due to limited availability. A non-refundable registration fee of £100 applies.
The entrance assessment takes place on a Saturday in November when your child is in Year 6. It includes a CAT4 cognitive ability test and a school-set English writing test, followed by a short interview.
Offers are issued in late November. If your child is offered a place, a completed acceptance form and a £1,500 deposit (refundable on leaving) will be required to secure it.
What will my child be tested on?
The Radnor House Sevenoaks Year 7 entrance assessment combines academic testing, a written English paper, and an interview. The assessment takes place on a single day in November.
Academic testing (CAT4)
The first part of the assessment is the CAT4 (Cognitive Abilities Test), which is taken on a computer. It evaluates a range of cognitive skills, including:
- Vocabulary: understanding and use of language
- Mathematics: numerical reasoning and problem-solving
- Non-verbal reasoning: identifying patterns and relationships using shapes and figures
- Perceptual speed and accuracy: processing information quickly and correctly
English writing test
The second part is a 30-minute school-set writing test. This assesses your child's ability to write meaningfully and fluently in prose. Children who need extra time for the exam should indicate this on their application.
Interview
Your child will also take part in a short interview, lasting approximately 10 minutes. This gives the school a chance to find out more about your child's interests inside and outside school. It includes a brief reading passage, and a discussion about how your child embodies the school's values of excellence, respect, courage, and perseverance.
How are places decided?
The academic component — the CAT4 and the English writing test — makes up 50% of the final admissions decision. The interview and a reference from your child's current school together account for the remaining 50%.
Offers are issued on Friday 27th November 2026. If your child receives an offer, they will be invited to a Year 7 Offer Holder Discovery Morning in February, where they can explore the school and meet staff and students. A Parent Information Evening follows in late February.
To accept a place, you will need to return a completed acceptance form and pay a £1,500 refundable deposit.
Is your child ready for the CAT4?
See where they stand in minutes. Atom’s free CAT4 baseline test gives you an instant breakdown of their strengths and gaps. Know exactly what to focus on next and start preparing with direction, not uncertainty.

Financial information
Radnor House Sevenoaks is a fee-paying school. Take a look at the school website for a full breakdown of fees per year group.
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. 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 your target school's website to see what scholarships are 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 your target 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 assessment 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 assessments.
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.
Make CAT4 preparation clear and manageable.

Not sure what to expect from the CAT4? Whether your child is taking it for school entry or as a streaming or baseline test, the format can feel unfamiliar. Atom breaks the process down into simple steps, showing you exactly what they need to practise and how they’re progressing.
- Follow personalised weekly exam plans that show them what to work on next.
- Practise with replica CAT4 mock tests that generate new questions every time, so they build reasoning skills.
- Track progress, see their strengths and gaps, and find out how they compare to others of the same age.
Start your free trial and help your child feel confident and prepared for the CAT4.
