Sherborne School 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Sherborne 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 Sherborne School

• School type: boys' independent school (day and boarding)
• Location: Sherborne, Dorset
• Admissions contact: check the school's website for current admissions contact details
• 13+ exam: ISEB Common Pre-Test, plus an assessment day at the school
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries — check the school's website to confirm current provision
• Scholarships: a range of scholarships and non means-tested awards, normally carrying up to 10% remission of day or boarding fees

Important dates for 2027 entry

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

• End of Year 5 (recommended): registration, ahead of Year 6 testing
• Autumn term, Year 6 or Year 7: ISEB Common Pre-Test taken, depending on which is advised by your son's current school
• January, same academic year as the Pre-Test: Assessment Day at Sherborne
• February half term: offers of places released
• March: deadline to accept offers
• Check the school's website to confirm dates for 2027 entry

How to apply to Sherborne School

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

Sherborne is happy to receive registrations at any time, though the school recommends registering by the end of Year 5 for Year 6 testing. Your son will then be invited to sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test in the autumn term, followed by an Assessment Day in January of the same academic year.

What will my child be tested on?

Sherborne's 13+ assessment is based on the ISEB Common Pre-Test, an Assessment Day at the school, and a confidential reference.

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 son is performing. It's taken at his current school in the autumn term of Year 6 or Year 7. It assesses:

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

Assessment Day

In January of the same academic year, boys attend an Assessment Day at Sherborne. This includes an interview with a senior member of academic staff, a piece of creative writing, and a group task.

School reference

A confidential reference from your son's current school is also requested as part of the process.

How are places decided?

Places at Sherborne are based on:

• your son's performance in the ISEB Common Pre-Test
• his performance at the Assessment Day, including the interview, creative writing task and group task
• a confidential reference from his current school

Results and offers of places are sent out by February half term, to be accepted by the deadline in March.

Financial information

Sherborne School is a fee paying school. Take a look at the school's admissions pages 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 Sherborne, scholarships and other non means-tested awards normally carry a maximum of 10% remission of day or boarding fees, excluding extras. In some cases, boys are offered an honorary award without a financial reward attached.

Visit Sherborne 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 Sherborne 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.

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.