The majority of children will join Willow Lodge at 4 years of age in the Reception Class. There will sometimes be available places in other year groups throughout the year.

For entry into Reception in September 2025, the play-based assessment will take place on Friday, January 17, 2025. The assessment takes approximately one hour and will involve a number of activities designed to assess your child’s potential in a relaxed environment.

Limited spaces remain for our Reception (infants) play-based assessment (January 17) and applications will close when all spaces have been allocated. If you wish to be placed on a waiting list for the assessment day, please email the Admissions Manager: admissions@kingschester.co.uk

If you would like to apply for any year group in Willow Lodge, please register online here or, for more information on spaces, call our Admissions Manager Erica Sears on 01244 689553 or email admissions@kingschester.co.uk.

How to apply

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Apply Online

Parents can fill in a registration form and pay the application fee online. This should be completed no later than one week before the assessment.

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Assessment

Assessments are held each year in January and children should be over four and under seven by the following 1st of September. The assessment is an informal session, lasting approximately one hour.

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Place Offered

After a reference from your child’s current preschool/nursery is received, you will be sent a letter from the Head of School offering your child a place.

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Place Accepted

To secure your place we ask that the acceptance form and deposit are returned as soon as possible to the school.

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Getting Started

Once everything is in place we will send you a pack containing all the information for starting at Willow Lodge. Both you and your child will be invited to visit the school for a number of events designed to make the transition as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Apply Now

The majority of children join the Junior School at 7 years of age in Year 3. However, we can accept children into any year group with a space at any stage in the academic year. Please call 01244 689553 to check for spaces. 

Junior School assessments take place throughout the year and your child will be invited into the Junior School for an age-appropriate test and to be observed in the classroom. 

Our assessments for Junior School are conducted online, with the assistance of a teacher, in verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and English. In addition, your child will sit a short, hand-written English assessment. 

How to apply

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Apply Online

Parents can fill in a registration form and pay the application fee online. This should be completed no later than one week before the assessment.

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Assessment

Assessments are held throughout the year. Your child will be invited to the school to take a test and to be observed in the classroom. 

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Place Offered

After a reference from your child’s current school is received, you will be sent a letter from the Head of School offering your child a place at King’s Juniors.

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Place Accepted

To secure your place we ask that the acceptance form and deposit are returned as soon as possible to the school.

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Getting Started

Once everything is in place we will send you a pack containing all the information for starting at King’s Juniors. Both you and your child will be invited to visit the school for a number of events designed to make the transition as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Apply Now

Your child must be over 11 and under 12 years of age on 1 September following the examination, and most children will join in Removes (Year 7). There will sometimes be available places in other year groups throughout the year.

For entry into Removes (Year 7) in September 2025, the Entrance Exam will take place on Friday, January 17, 2025. 

Candidates will complete an online assessment of their skills in English Comprehension, Maths and Non-verbal Reasoning. They will also complete two further online exercises in Creative Comprehension and Puzzles & Problems. 

The English Comprehension and Maths questions and the English writing assessment will be based on the English National Curriculum within Key Stage 2, whilst the other exercises are designed to give pupils the opportunity to demonstrate their innate ability and creative thinking.

The online entrance test is provided by Quest Assessments. Parents may find this FAQ document useful and we recommend that candidates familiarise themselves with the format of the assessment here. The practice papers below are intended to give an idea of the level of the assessment.

The online test is followed by a 30-minute written English paper. This will take the form of the writing section of our practice papers (below), not the reading section..

Candidates then take part in a short interview with a member of Senior School academic team.

Practice papers:

• Mathematics – paper 1 with Answer sheet
• Mathematics – paper 2 with Answer sheet
• English 1 Question Paper
• Reading passages 1
• English 2 Question paper
• Reading passages 2
• English 3 Question paper
• Reading passages 3
• Photo passages 3
• English 4 Question paper
• Reading passages 4
• Photo passages 4

As part of the admissions process, a reference will be requested from your child’s current school

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Apply Online

Parents can fill in a registration form and pay the application fee online. This should be completed no later than one week before the assessment.

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Assessment

Admissions to the Senior School is by examination held each January. Your child must be over 11 and under 12 years of age on September 1 following the examination. Full details of the examination, including past papers, are available on our website.

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Place Offered

After a reference from your child’s school is received, you will be sent a letter from the Head of School offering your child a place.

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Place Accepted

To secure your place we ask that the acceptance form and deposit are returned as soon as possible to the school.

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Getting Started

Once everything is in place we will send you a pack containing all the information for starting at King’s Seniors. Both you and your child will be invited to visit the school for a number of events designed to make the transition as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Apply Now

Admission to the Sixth Form is by interview and a minimum entry requirement of 7 GCSEs are required, four of which need to be grade 7 (A) and three at grade 6 (B) or above.

Students are required to have a minimum of grade 4 (C) in both GCSE Maths and English Language.

Grade 7 (A) GCSEs are required in the four subjects that will be studied at A Level.

Grade 8 (A*) Maths is required to study Maths and Further Maths. Grade 9 is recommended for Further Maths.

For Biology, Chemistry and Physics, we prefer a grade 8 (A*) in the student’s chosen science(s).

For Chemistry, Biology and Physics, students must have a grade 7 (A) in Maths. 

Students are able to join Sixth Form from our Senior School or from any other school. Students are required to submit their subject choices for A Level when they register for entry. A reference and predicted grades will also be requested before a decision is made to offer a place.

For entry into Lower Sixth in 2025, prospective students will be invited for an interview on Friday, January 24, 20245 The interview will cover the subjects the student is applying for, as well as offering the opportunity to discuss extra-curricular and career ambitions. For all students, progression from Lower Sixth to Upper Sixth is dependent on reaching an expected level of achievement.

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Apply Online

Check the entry requirements for your preferred A Level subject courses via our online Admissions Booklet

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Assessment

Once you complete an online Registration Form, the school will contact you to request more details including your most recent reports.

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Interview Day

Prospective students are invited to Sixth Form Interview Day. The interviews focus primarily on your proposed A Level choices, as well as being an opportunity to discuss your extra-curricular interests and career ambitions.

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Place Accepted

Once a reference and predicted grades have been received from your current school, the Headmaster will write to successful candidates to offer them a place.

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Getting Started

Once everything is in place we will send you a pack containing all the information for starting at King’s Sixth Form. You will be invited to visit the school for a number of events designed to make the transition as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Apply Now