The deadline to apply is 15 October when your child is in Year 9.  To apply, complete the online registration form and send in your £100 fee. By completing the online registration, you have automatically entered your child into the Entrance Exams. You can download a Registration Form if you prefer.

Once we have received notification of your registration and fee, we will send you an acknowledgement detailing what happens next, including draft times for the entrance assessments. 

We are changing the way we do entrance assessments for Year 7 and above. We have contacted anyone who has registered or enquired for a place and we will be telling local feeder schools.  

The entrance procedure is comprised of three main elements: tests, interviews and confidential report from the Head Teacher of the current school.

TESTS TO BE TAKEN IN YEAR 9

Guidance for prospective parents and current teachers

2020 Entrance Examinations

The examinations are scheduled to take place in November (dates to be confirmed). Once you have registered, we will allocate you with an exam date and time. We will send more detailed information and confirmation of timings nearer the date, but the day is likely to run as follows:

Coaching for these tests is not encouraged.  

Interviews

Interviews will take place in January (dates to be confirmed) and will be by invitation only. There will be an hour of group activities where your child will be asked to take part in various task followed by a one-on-one interview to find out more about your child. Questions include things like what they enjoy at school, their hobbies and interests and also some questions to see how they think about things. Interviews for candidates residing overseas can be conducted via FaceTime or Skype.

School Report

In the Autumn term, we will request a school report from your child's current school. This school reference and report are an integral part of our assessment for each candidate as they help us get to know your child a little better and to build the wider picture of their academic and non-academic abilities and interests. We may also contact your child’s current Head for more information.

In accordance with HMC Guidelines, Freemen’s will not be able to reach a decision on an application for entry until we have received this report.

Please also be aware that for children attending maintained schools, parents may be charged a fee for this report by their child’s school.

Sitting Overseas

If applicants can sit the papers at Freemen’s, we will invite them to join us for the regular entrance exams in November. Otherwise, we can either arrange for candidates to sit entrance exams at their current school, at their agents’ office, if appropriate, or at a local British Council Office.  If the exams are being taken overseas they will need to take place in November. Interviews can be arranged via Skype or FaceTime. Please make it clear on the Exam Confirmation Form or Registration Form that you intend to sit overseas.

English 14+ (Total 35 marks)  

Comprehension: You will be asked to read two extracts which are each approximately 300 words long and answer multiple choice questions about them. (22 marks)  
 
Punctuation: You will be given a short paragraph without any punctuation and be asked to correct it with the appropriate punctuation marks. We will be using Capital Letters, Full Stops, Commas, Apostrophes and Question Marks. (6 marks)  
 
Word Meaning: Many words in English have similar meanings. You will be asked to identify several more words than the 11+ exam from a list that mean or do the same thing. (7 marks)  
 

Mathematics 14+ (Total 316 marks)  

Number: Decimals (add, subtract, multiply and divide), Fractions (add, subtract, multiply and divide (including mixed numbers), Lowest common multiples, Highest common factors, Prime factors, Percentages, Converting between fractions and decimals, Standard form.  
 
Algebra: Collecting like terms, Expanding algebraic brackets, Factorising, Substitution of variables, Solving linear equations, Linear graphs (gradient, y-intercept and line equations).  
 
Shape: Perimeter, Area and Surface Area, Volume, Polygons (interior/exterior angles, sum  of interior angles etc.)  

General Knowledge 14+ (Total 60 marks)  

Questions will be on subjects that an interested, outward-looking student of this age from anywhere in the world could be expected to know about and answer confidently. Subjects covered in this section are History, Geography, Science, Current Affairs and Sport. The questions will cover topics from around the world and will not be based purely on the United Kingdom.  
 

There will also be a short written exercise.

 

Decision letters will usually be sent by post the first week of February. In 2020, decision letters will be sent by 1st February 2020. 

You will receive one of the following decisions:

• an unconditional offer 
• a conditional offer 
• a place on the waiting list (if your child is offered a place on the waiting list, we will make it clear what this means)
• a decline (you will be asked if you would like to be considered for a future year. E.g. Year 12)

Feedback

We regret, given the large number of applicants, that we are unable to give feedback on examination results. 

Once we have sent your offer, you will have until the first week of March to make your decision.

When you accept your place, we will ask for a £1,000 deposit from day pupils or a term's fees for boarders: £500 (day) and £1000 (Boarders) will be held until the final account is due. The remaining will be offset against the first term’s fees. We will then send you links to the New Starter Pack, usually in May or June.This has all the information you need before starting with us. 

In June, we will invite all new starters for a taster day, so that they can meet the rest of their class and their teacher. That evening, we also invite all new parents in for a welcome evening and a chance to meet the Head of Year, the class teachers, current parents and the new parents joining that year.

Then you will be ready to start in September. Over the summer, parents usually set up activities and bonding events for you to meet and our parents' association: the Freemen's School Association (FSA) hold a welcome coffee morning on the first day of school once you have dropped your child off.