Wellington College 13+ entry guide

Are you thinking about applying to Wellington 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 Wellington College

• School type: co-educational independent school (day and boarding)
• Location: Crowthorne, Berkshire
• Admissions contact: admissions@wellingtoncollege.org.uk
• 13+ exam: ISEB Common Pre-Test, followed by an independent entrance assessment day
• Financial assistance: means-tested bursaries, including the Prince Albert Foundation scholarship programme
• Scholarships: academic and music at 13+ (with additional provision for orphans of military personnel); sport, art, dance and drama scholarships available only after joining

Important dates for 2027 entry

• 30 June, Year 5: registration closes
• October/November, Year 6: Stage 1 entrance exam (ISEB Common Pre-Test)
• January/February, Year 6: Stage 2 assessment day and interviews
• March, Year 6: offers of places
• Check the school's website to confirm exact dates for 2027 entry

How to apply to Wellington College

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

Wellington runs five types of open day throughout the year, including Master's Receptions with the school's headmaster. Registration closes on 30 June in Year 5.

What will my child be tested on?

Wellington's 13+ process is based on the ISEB Common Pre-Test, followed by an assessment day.

Stage 1: 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 usually taken in the autumn term of Year 6. It assesses:

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

Stage 2: Assessment day

Following the Pre-Test results, children are invited to Wellington's assessment day in January or February of Year 6. This consists of a series of collaborative lessons and problem-solving activities, alongside an interview with a senior member of staff and a group activity.

How are places decided?

• your child's performance in the ISEB Common Pre-Test
• their performance at the assessment day, including collaborative lessons, problem-solving activities and the interview
• a headteacher's reference

Financial information

Wellington 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 Wellington, a small number of Academic Scholarships are offered before entry via an examination and interview process during Year 8, though most of the school's academic accolades are awarded at the end of Third Form (Year 9), with no separate application needed. Music Awards, including Choral Scholarships, are decided through audition and interview at the end of January of Year 8. Sport, art, dance and drama scholarships aren't offered until after a pupil has joined the school.

Visit Wellington's scholarships 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. Wellington's Prince Albert Foundation offers 10-12 fully funded scholarships each year, aimed at widening participation for families who wouldn't normally consider or be able to access independent education.

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 Wellington's 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 built to match the format, timing and question styles 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.