How to get into Kings College Wimbledon at 7+

Introduction

King’s College School Wimbledon is an independent day school in Wimbledon for boys from 7-18 years old and girls aged 16-18. It is a school of over 1300 pupils. It is academically selective and was voted the ‘Top boys’ or co-ed school in London 2022’ by The Sunday Times. 

The admission points for King’s College School Wimbledon are 7+, 8+, 9+, 10+, 11+, 13+ and 16+. At 7+, the school admits 54 boys into Year 3. The school does not offer a sibling policy.

Before you apply

King’s College School Wimbledon offers open mornings for both the Junior School and for the whole school. At the time of writing, the next whole school open morning will be Saturday 14th September 2024. You can register here:

https://www.kcs.org.uk/admissions/whole-school-open-morning

During the morning, there will be an opportunity to be taken on a tour around the school by a current pupil as well as an opportunity to see some school-based activities. For entry at 7+, there is an open morning for the Junior School in the Summer term.

As well as this, the headteacher will take groups of prospective parents on tours on a normal school morning. To arrange this, please contact the school office.

The fees for 7+ (as of August 2024) are £7,940 per term per term which works out to £23,820 per year. The school does not offer bursaries at 7 plus.

Registration

Prior to being eligible to sit the 7+ exam, parents of prospective pupils at King’s College School Wimbledon must do two things. Firstly, they must register their interest via the registration of interest form and pay the registration fee of £150. Parents are encouraged to register their interest a year before entry.

At the time of writing, for children wanting to join the school in September 2025, the registration of interest form must be completed by Friday 20th September 2024.

Assessment(s)

In late September the school will request written reports from the applicant’s current head teacher, focused on their career at the school to date and their character. The applicants will also be invited to assessments in the second week of October. For 2025 entrants, these are currently scheduled for Saturday October 12th 2024.

This exam contains an English, Maths, reasoning and listening test. Examination Notes contained in the Junior School Prospectus contain further information on this.

In the listening test, all candidates will hear a 25 minute recording played through speakers and then have a short listening exercise as well as an activity based on the instructions in the reading.

In the English test, there are 2 sections within the 45 minutes. The first part contains a comprehension test and the second part is a piece of writing where marks are given for good spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing as well as use of adventurous vocabulary. The reasoning test contains verbal and non verbal reasoning questions. The Maths test is comprised of questions based on the Year 2 National Curriculum with some extension questions to challenge able boys.

One sample specimen paper for English and Maths is available on the school website.

https://www.kcs.org.uk/admissions/7plus-and-8plus

Approximately ten days later the entrants are notified as to whether they were successful or unsuccessful in their written exams. For those who passed, they will be invited to an activity morning and given an interview date.

The activity session are assessed on their performance in a range of activities to assess their personalities and abilities. The school is effectively looking to ensure the entrants would fit well into the school environment.

Families will be informed in late November on the outcome of the above assessments. For applicants intending to start in September 2025, the deadline for accepting the offer of a place is currently Friday 28th January 2025.

Results

Based on the results gathered from the selection process, the Headteacher will award places. Upon accepting the place, an acceptance deposit of £2000 will need to be paid, which will be returned when the child leaves the school. There is not a waiting list. Unsuccessful candidates are invited to apply to the school in the subsequent year.

Destination schools

Boys are expected to stay at King’s College School Wimbledon until they reach 18. All boys in the sixth form are required to complete university entrance applications. At the time of writing, over half of the 2024 A-Level cohort achieved A* grades in at least two subjects. 

Related schools