Dorothy Lepkowska

Thursday

Dorothy Lepkowska

Entrance tests repay close examination

It is usually not enough merely to be able to afford to send a child to an independent school. Many fee-paying senior schools operate a form of selection, and admit pupils only upon the successful completion of the Common Entrance Examination, or an equivalent. The exam is particularly popular among boarding schools, and is intended to test whether the child has the right level of ability to do well there. It can be taken for entry at ages 11, 12 and 13 years. Girls’ senior schools tend to admit pupils from 11, while boys will transfer to secondary schooling from 13. In most cases, a child will also be subject to an interview before gaining entry.

Dorothy Lepkowska

What to look for in an independent school

Independent schooling is an expensive business with fees typically ranging from about £10,000 a year for a day school to more than £25,000 per annum for boarding. Multiply that over the 11 years of a pupil’s compulsory schooling, add the number of children in your family, and tot up all the extras — such as school uniforms, trips, music lessons and tennis coaching — and it may turn your hair grey. But how can parents make the right decision about where to send their child? To some degree, of course, that depends on what they are looking for. Parents who have a child with special needs may, for example, be looking for a school that specialises in dyslexia, or one with very small class sizes where they can receive the attention they need.