High Street, Tonbridge,
Kent, TN9 1JP
There are modified entrance procedures at 13+ and 14+ for boys who:
Such boys will sit Tonbridge Entrance papers in Mathematics and English only. Exams will be held either at Tonbridge (for UK applicants) or at British Councils around the world, or at the Academic Asia offices in Hong Kong in November of the year preceding entry. It is the responsibility of the applicant to let the Admissions Secretary know in plenty of time where he is intending to sit the exam. More information about the exam syllabuses is outlined below. If an applicant feels that, for whatever reason, there are areas of the syllabus which he will not have covered by the date of the exam, it is important to get in touch with us before the exam is taken. The lists are now closed for 2012 entry.
This exam will be set using the ISEB (Independent Schools Examination Board) Common Entrance syllabuses for Maths Level 3 (formerly called papers 2 and 4). This is a non-calculator paper.
The syllabus for this course can be found on the ISEB webpage at http://www.iseb.co.uk/. ALL topics listed on the Maths syllabus page of the ISEB website may be included in the Tonbridge exam paper.
Past ISEB papers can be obtained from the ISEB. These will give some indication as to the level of our Tonbridge exam.
Please note that an alternative paper is available for those who consider they are not in a position to sit an exam based upon this syllabus. This paper is designed to be easier in nature, and will carry a lighter weighting than the regular paper above. However, it is strongly advised that you do not attempt our regular paper if you have covered little of the course. You are better off doing well in an easier paper, than very poorly in a more difficult one. The easier paper is based on the ISEB syllabus for Maths Level 2 (formerly called papers 1 and 3) and includes all topics on the Maths syllabus page of the ISEB website EXCEPT those marked with an E. This paper is also a non-calculator paper.
This exam will be set using the ISEB (Independent Schools Examination Board) Common Entrance syllabuses for Maths Level 3 (formerly called papers 2 and 4), plus some additional topics.
The basic syllabus for this course can be found on the ISEB webpage at http://www.iseb.co.uk/ (with all topics on the Maths syllabus page included) but the syllabus will also include:
AB with A, B in coordinates, and some calculations leaving roots in answers.a(bx+c), (ax+by)(cx+dy), (ax+by)2.x on both sides, fractional coefficients (as hard as (2x-3)/6+(x+2)/3=5/2). Related equations, e.g. 400/x = 8, 4x2 = 49.f(x) notation. Good drawing techniques. Include y = ax+b, y = ax2+bx+c, easy cubics, y = k/xy = mx+c (from equation to line and from line to equation); recognising parallel lines from their gradients.Candidates will be provided with a short extract of non-fiction writing (usually autobiography, travel writing a political speech or quality journalism) and be asked a series of questions. Candidates will be expected to use evidence from the text (including quotation) to support their answer. As well as basic comprehension skills candidates might find it helpful to have studied in advance:
Candidates will be provided with a short poem followed by four or five questions which test their language and comprehension skills. Rather than looking for hidden meanings, candidates will be rewarded for writing clearly about what they see in the poem. As well as basic literary criticism skills candidates might find it helpful to have studied in advance:
Candidates will be given a number of titles and asked to write on them in the form of a short-story, description or argumentative piece. Marks are awarded in this section for clarity and lucidity of written expression, originality (pre-prepared work will be penalised) and imaginative range.
From 2011 entry onwards, scholarships will become more accessible to November CE entrants. Boys who perform to an exceptional standard in these papers, thereby not only winning a place but also convincing the school of their scholarship potential, will be invited back to sit scholarship papers in Maths, English and Science alongside other potential scholars in early May. We would strongly encourage overseas boys to come to the UK to sit these papers, but alternative arrangements may also be made on a case by case basis as they arise.
Potential scholars via this route will be competing with the rest of the scholarship field, and up to two of these awards may be available each year, depending on the suitability of the boys sitting the exam.