How to get into Highgate School at 7+
July 13th, 2018Last updated: August 8th, 2024
Are you hoping for your child to win one of the places at Highgate at 7+? Read on! This blog tells you everything you need to know about the application process: from registration to exams and the interview.
Introduction
Highgate School is a co-educational day school for children between 3 – 18 years old. It operates as 3 schools in one; the pre-prep (3-7) , the Junior School (7-11) and the Senior School (11-18). The main entry points for the school are at 3+, 7+, 11+ and 16+ from both state and independent schools. At entry at 7+, there are around 70 places available to join the 40 children at the pre-prep.
A very popular co-educational school, competition for places at all entry points can be fierce. Given that the school is a 4-18 institution, the 7 plus entry point is becoming more popular with parents. One reason is that it avoids the more traditional but wider gulf between prep/primary school and senior schools at 11 plus and allows for continuity of education with no further tests or exams to be taken.
Before you apply
Highgate School holds tours for prospective parents. These are held in term time for an hour and a half. The tour consists of a talk by the Headteacher and a tour of the school. Booking in advance is required. To book a place on the open day, prospective parents will need to contact the office either by phone 020 8340 9193 or email jsoffice@highgateschool.org.uk . When emailing, parents are asked to include the following information regarding their child: Name of Child, Year of Entry into the School, Current School and a contact telephone number.
There is no guarantee of a place for siblings of existing pupils. The school states that all children are assessed on their individual merit. The Director of Admissions writes to all siblings of current pupils applying for places to explain the assessment policy with regard to siblings.
At the time of writing (updated: August 2024), Highgate School were charging £8,095 per term for students in the Junior School. This works out at £24,285 per year. This fee includes lunch.
Application
Students can apply for entry at Highgate School by completing the application form.
There is an application fee of £150. The school encourages applications to be received by the time the child finishes Year 1. For entry in September 2025, all applications need to be sent in by Wednesday 6th November 2024 at 12:00.
Once parents have submitted an application form, there is an opportunity to attend an open morning on a Saturday in September. (For 2025 entry applicants, this will be Saturday September 28th 2024). You will be able to meet current staff and pupils and participate in different activities.
Assessment(s)
The selection process for Highgate School is by written tests and interview.
The first stage is the written tests on an assessment morning. For entry into September 2025, the assessment day is Tuesday 3rd December 2024. On this day, all students will sit an exam in English, Maths and Reasoning. Each paper will last approximately 40 minutes.
The English Paper consists of a reading comprehension and a creative writing task. In the reading comprehension, children are asked to read and extract relevant information from a passage of text. In the creative writing section, the school state that the story is expected to have a beginning, middle and end and is to include descriptive language. As well as this, spelling and punctuation will be taken into consideration. The Criteria for Entry includes a list of Maths criteria covered in the paper.
A report from the current Headteacher will also be requested.
Helpfully, the school provides two example papers for both English and Maths, which correspond with the expected level of year 2 children.
After the assessment day, selection for the second interview stage of the selection process is made on the basis of 3 criteria: their performance in the written tests and the report from the current schools headteacher. The school also state that factors affecting learning maturity like age, gender etc are taken into consideration.
Interviews take place in January 2025. The majority of children will be interviewed in groups and given a group task to do. The aim of the group task is to see how the children work collaboratively, how they listen communicate and how they problem solve. Highgate School state they are looking for teachability, interpersonal skills and intellectual curiosity and behaviour at this stage.
No scholarships are available for 7+ and bursaries are not common at 7+ level although there is a bursary policy on the website.
Results
After the interview stage, offers will be made to successful candidates. Offers will be posted out first class shortly after the interviews. At the time of writing, this date is still to be confirmed, as most independent schools will coordinate the offer letter date together. The deadline to accept an offer will be by early February 2025. At this point, there is a £4,000 deposit is paid when accepting a place.
The school state that they might be able to give some feedback on the assessments, detailed feedback on a child’s individual performance is not able to be provided.The school have a reserve list however only take a couple of students from it each year. It is open for a year.
Destination schools
The Junior School works closely with the Senior School. The Headteacher of the Junior School confirms passage to the Senior school subject to appropriate academic performance and behaviour.
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