Admissions Process

The first step in our admissions process, and the best way to really get to know us is to come for a visit.

Our open events give you the chance to meet our pupils and staff and to take a look around our beautiful site and exceptional facilities. We’ll answer your questions and we hope to give you an insight into what makes St John’s such a special place to be.

We warmly encourage you to register for an event, and look forward to welcoming you to St John’s soon.

Find out more 

Closing date: 1 November of Year 6

We welcome applications for Lower Third (Year 7) 2024 entry and beyond.

A registration form and non-refundable registration fee (£200 or £300 for overseas applications) should be submitted by 1 November of Year 6.  A reference will be requested from your child’s current school, and they will be invited to attend an assessment in the following January.

We offer scholarships to candidates who demonstrate leadership, excellence in their specified field and also possess the potential to further develop in their time at St John’s. Scholarship criteria and dates are detailed on the Scholarship pages. Scholarship applications, together with the relevant fee(s), should also be received by the closing date of 1 November in Year 6.

Autumn Term of Year 6

The opportunity to get to know your child and understand more about their interests and aspirations is a central part of the assessment process at St John’s.

We believe pupils perform at their best when they feel most comfortable and relaxed. Following positive feedback from families during our most recent assessment process, we will continue with remote online interviews this year.

During Autumn Term, we invite all registered candidates to an informal remote interview where they will have the opportunity to meet with a friendly member of our teaching staff from the comfort of their own home.

January of Year 6 – Wednesday 3 January to Friday 5 January 2024

Our assessment consists of a mathematics paper, an English paper and an online abilities assessment. The online abilities assessment measures verbal, numerical and non-verbal ability. Based on a satisfactory report from your child’s current school and results of the St John’s assessment, offers of places are made in the February of Year 6.

Places must be accepted by a specific date early in March when both the Acceptance Deposit and Fee Deposit, as set out in the fees information, are payable. Upon accepting a place at St John’s, parents are agreeing not to accept or hold a place at another senior school.

Please note that we do not provide practice materials for the abilities assessment.

The first step in our admissions process, and the best way to really get to know us is to come for a visit.

Our open events give you the chance to meet our pupils and staff and to take a look around our beautiful site and exceptional facilities. We’ll answer your questions and we hope to give you an insight into what makes St John’s such a special place to be.

We warmly encourage you to register for an event, and look forward to welcoming you to St John’s soon.

Find out more 

Closing date: 1 November of Year 6

We welcome applications for Fourth Form (Year 9) 2026 entry and beyond.

To be considered for a place, a registration form and non-refundable registration fee (£200 or £300 for overseas applications) should be submitted to the School by 1 November of Year 6.

A reference will then be requested from your child’s current school, and they will be invited to attend a pre-assessment in the following January.

Autumn Term of Year 6

The opportunity to get to know your child and understand more about their interests and aspirations is a central part of the assessment process at St John’s.

We believe that pupils perform at their best when they feel most comfortable and relaxed. Following positive feedback from families during our most recent assessment process, we will continue with remote online interviews this year.

During the Autumn Term, we will invite all registered candidates to an informal remote interview where they will have the opportunity to meet with a friendly member of our teaching staff from the comfort of their own home.

January of Year 6 – Wednesday 3 January and Friday 5 January 2024

Our assessment consists of a mathematics paper, an English paper and an online abilities assessment. The online abilities assessment measures verbal, numerical and non-verbal ability. Interests outside the classroom (and outside of school) are valued. Based on a satisfactory report from a candidate’s current school and results of the St John’s assessment, offers of places are made in the February of Year 6.

Places must be accepted by a specific date in March when both the Acceptance Deposit and Fee Deposit, as set out in the Fees section, are payable. Upon accepting a place at St John’s, parents are agreeing not to accept or hold a place at another senior school.

Closing date: 15 December of Year 8

St John’s offers scholarships to candidates who demonstrate leadership, excellence in their field and the potential to develop further in their time at St John’s. Criteria and dates of scholarship assessments are detailed on the Scholarship pages. Scholarship applications should be received, together with the appropriate fee(s), by the closing date of 15 December in Year 8. External candidates applying for a Fourth Form Scholarship must be in receipt of an accepted place to join the Fourth Form the following September.

March of Year 8

Academic scholarship assessments and other scholarship assessments, such as art, design & engineering, drama, music and sport take place in the February of when candidates are in Year 8.

End of Spring Term of Year 8

In Spring Term of Year 8, we will request a reference from your child’s current school asking for confirmation of continued progress and engagement during Years 7 and 8.

The first step in our admissions process, and the best way to really get to know us is to come for a visit.

Our open events give you the chance to meet our pupils and staff and to take a look around our beautiful site and exceptional facilities. We’ll answer your questions and we hope to give you an insight into what makes St John’s such a special place to be.

We recommend that families who are interested in joining St John’s for the Sixth Form, come along to both a whole-school open event and the Sixth Form specific event if possible.

Find out more 

Each September, we warmly welcome new pupils to our vibrant Sixth Form community. We seek individuals who excel academically, are well-rounded and will actively contribute to our diverse community in areas beyond the classroom.

External candidates looking to join us at Sixth Form are expected to achieve a grade average of at least 6.0 across their GCSEs in addition to meeting the specific grade requirements for their chosen A level courses. Details of the A levels currently offered and the grade expectations for each course can be found in our A level options booklet on the curriculum page.

To facilitate the transition to A level, the best guide and advice would be to achieve at least a grade 7 at GCSE in the subjects to be studied (or in GCSEs closely related to any A level options not studied at GCSE). The exception to this is mathematics and further mathematics which require a grade 8.

Most candidates for A level at St John’s will achieve at least a grade 6 at GCSE in English language and mathematics; this recognises the literacy and numeracy skills required to access study at this level and which underpin subjects across the A level curriculum.

However, St John’s very much focuses on an individualised options process, and should we offer a place, we will work to agree on a subject combination that is most suitable.

Closing date: 15 October of Year 11

To be considered for a place in the Sixth Form at St John’s, registration and payment of £200 registration fee (or £300 for overseas applications) should be made by 15 October of Year 11.

By the same date, we would also like you to submit a short CV (which should include predicted GCSE grades, Year 10 internal examination results and a summary of personal interests) by 15 October of Year 11.

A reference and predicted grades will be requested from each candidate’s current school.

We offer scholarships to candidates who demonstrate leadership, excellence in their specified field and also possess the potential to further develop in their time at St John’s. Scholarship criteria and dates are detailed on the Scholarship pages. Scholarship applications, together with the relevant fee(s), should also be received by the closing date of 15 October in Year 11

Tuesday 7 November 2023

Sixth Form entrance assessments are held in November of Year 11. External candidates looking to join us in the Lower Sixth in September 2024 will be invited to St John’s on Tuesday 7 November.

During their time with us, candidates will have two interviews and sit an online abilities assessment (covering verbal, non-verbal and numerical reasoning). There is no need to prepare for this assessment; it is similar in format to abilities assessments candidates may have sat during their school career to date.

One of the interviews will be with a member of the Sixth Form pastoral team and the other with a head of department in a subject to be taken at A level. We will ask all registered candidates to nominate a subject choice for interview in advance of the assessments.

Conditional places will be offered in early December and will be made on the basis of performance in our entrance assessment, interviews, predicted grades and reference from a candidate’s current school.

When making offers, we may also take into account the composition of the year group to ensure a well-rounded representation of gender, co-curricular skills and abilities throughout the Sixth Form.

The acceptance deadline for places is in mid-December of Year 11 and on acceptance of the place offered, an Acceptance Deposit and Fee Deposit, as set out in the Fees section, are payable.

August prior to joining Sixth Form

Places are confirmed by St John’s on receipt of GCSE results in August, providing the entry requirements have been met. We will always work with pupils on an individual basis to agree the most suitable A level pathway based on their GCSE results.