Sunday Times Independent Secondary School of the Year 2010-11
Please note that lists are closed for candidates seeking 11+ or 13+ entry in 2012.
Applications
Applications should be made at least 18 months prior to proposed entry for 11+ and two years before entry for 13+ as lists may be closed and no further registrations accepted whenever a sufficient number of applications for any particular year have been received.
Parents may register their daughter by completing a registration form and returning it, with the (non-returnable) registration fee. Registration means that a girl will be invited to come for an interview in the year preceding her proposed entry. The interview is an essential part of the application process and at both 11+ and 13+ level it is integrated into a morning or afternoon of group activities with other applicants in the same age group.
Assessment and Interview Days
Registered candidates are required to spend half a day at Wycombe Abbey in the September or October before their proposed year of entry. During this time they have an individual interview with the Headmistress or a senior member of staff and take part in group activities with different departments. They also have a short tour of the School with current pupils. Any musical girl is given the chance to show her skill on her instrument. The interview session is an essential part of the entry procedure; it is designed to allow the candidate to have a really good look at the School and to allow staff to meet the candidate. No preparation is needed for these sessions.
The academic ability of the girl is assessed through a short formal test, group activities and the reference provided by the candidate's current Headteacher, while her general personality and ability to cope with a busy boarding environment will be assessed at interview and during group activities. Each girl's performance on the day will be considered by the Headmistress and the Director of Admissions, who will make a decision as to whether to offer a place. All offers are conditional upon success in the Common Entrance exams, the pass mark for which may be subject to change from year to year.
Please note that all candidates should have a good command of written and spoken English.
Entrance Examinations
Candidates in age groups 11+ and 13+ enter the School through the Common Entrance Examination organised by the Independent Schools Examinations Board.
Candidates attending preparatory schools registered with the ISEB will be entered for the examination by those schools. Those at other schools, whether in the United Kingdom or abroad, should enter their daughter directly with ISEB, from whom past papers, copies of the syllabus and exact examination dates may be obtained.
To visit the ISEB site click here.
Candidates sit the Common Entrance Examination at their current school, not at Wycombe Abbey.
11+ candidates take Common Entrance Examinations in January in English, Mathematics and Science .
13+ candidates take Common Entrance Examinations in English, Mathematics, Science, French, History, Geography and Religious Studies in either January (candidates from overseas or in UK senior schools) or June (candidates in UK preparatory schools).
13+ candidates may also seek entry via the Scholarship examinations held at Wycombe Abbey in late January/early February. Candidates may be offered a place on the basis of their performance in the Scholarship examinations even if they do not win an award.
Wycombe Abbey will also request a report directly from the Head of her current school for every candidate. We shall make all the arrangements for this request and there is no necessity for parents to send other reports or Curriculum Vitae for their daughters.
Results are usually posted within two weeks of the candidate sitting the entrance papers. Places must be accepted and a deposit paid by the due date.
