Assessment dates
Assessment dates for entry in September 2025.
11+ entry
All pupils who would like to join Oakham School at 11+ will sit entrance assessments and have an interview with a Lower School Housemaster/Housemistress or the Head of Lower School.
11+ assessments take place at Oakham School each year in January. They consist of an online CAT4 reasoning test and written papers in English/EAL and Maths. We don’t issue past papers, so there is nothing in particular that you or your child need to revise to prepare for the day, however, you may wish to help your child familiarise themselves with the online component so they know what to expect. There are lots of CAT4 test sample questions online for free or practice booklets for reasoning that can be bought from bookshops.
We will also request a confidential reference from the Headteacher of your child’s current school, which is taken into account.
11+ candidates who achieve particularly well in the assessments will be invited to attend a separate 11+ Academic Scholarship assessment day. Candidates who have applied for an 11+ Music Scholarship will be invited to attend a separate Scholarship audition on a different day.
We are able to consider assessing for entry into the School at any stage of the year, provided that we have places available. However, we are unable to award scholarships or bursaries outside of the stated timeframe.
13+ Pre-test entry
Applicants who register early for 13+ (Form 3/Year 9) entry will sit our pre-test and have an interview during the first or second term of Year 7.
Our pre-test assessments are conducted online and consist of Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, English, and Maths sections, plus a short piece of creative writing. Candidates have an interview with a Housemaster/Housemistress or the Head of Middle School. We will also request references and reports from the candidate’s current school.
Pupils can familiarise themselves with the online assessments via this link. Please note that the 11+ version of the familiarisation test is for current Year 6 pupils and the 12+ version is for current Year 7 pupils.
Offers made after the pre-test are conditional on the candidate’s performance in the Common Entrance Exam at the end of Year 8 (an average 55% pass mark). If the candidate’s school does not do the Common Entrance exam, he/she will need to achieve a similar performance in the Oakham entrance assessments in the January of Year 8.
Candidates who have applied for Academic, Art, Design Technology, Drama, Music, Sport and All-Rounder Scholarships will be invited to attend a separate scholarship assessment day for each subject applied for.
Read the Scholarships and Bursaries booklet Read the GCSE Choices booklet
13+/14+ entry
All pupils who would like to join Oakham School at 13+ and 14+ will sit entrance assessments and have an interview with a Middle School Housemaster/Housemistress or the Head of Middle School.
13+ and 14+ assessments are held in January each year at Oakham School. They consist of an online CAT4 reasoning test and written papers in English/EAL and Maths. We don’t issue past papers, so there is nothing that you or your child need to revise to prepare for the day, however, you may wish to help your child familiarise themselves with the online component so they know what to expect. There are lots of CAT4 test sample questions online for free or practice booklets for reasoning that can be bought from bookshops.
13+ candidates who achieve particularly well in the assessments will be invited to attend a separate Academic Scholarship assessment day.
13+ candidates who have applied for Art, Design Technology, Drama, Music, Sport and All-Rounder Scholarships will be invited to attend a separate scholarship assessment day for each subject applied for.
We will also request a confidential reference from the Headteacher of your child’s current school, which is taken into account.
We are able to consider assessing for entry into the School at any stage of the year, provided that we have places available. However, we are unable to award scholarships or bursaries outside of the stated timeframe.
Read the Scholarships and Bursaries booklet Read the GCSE Choices booklet
16+ Sixth Form entry
Oakham School offers children the choice of studying A-levels and BTECs or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma during the Sixth Form.
For 16+ entry, all candidates are required to sit an online CAT4 reasoning test and have an interview. In addition, those candidates for whom English isn’t their first language sit a written EAL paper. There is nothing in particular that your child needs to revise to prepare for the day, however, you may wish to help your child familiarise themselves with the online component so they know what to expect. There are lots of CAT4 test sample questions online for free or practice booklets for reasoning that can be bought from bookshops.
We will also require a copy of each pupil’s latest school report and a personal statement (approximately one side of A4 paper in length). Additionally, we will request a confidential reference from the Headteacher of your child’s school, which should include their predicted grades at GCSE/IGCSE or equivalent.
As a condition of entry, all candidates need to achieve a minimum of four 6/B grades and three 4/C grades in their final GCSE/IGCSE examinations. Admission onto individual courses is also subject to specific entry requirements, details of which can be found in the Upper School Choices Booklet.
Candidates who have applied for Academic, Art, Design Technology, Drama, Music, and Sport Scholarships will be invited to attend a separate scholarship assessment day for each subject applied for.
Read the Scholarships and Bursaries booklet Read the Upper School Choices booklet
