Year 9 (13+) Entry
The main entry point to Tonbridge is in Year 9 when around 150 boys join the school, of which approximately 85 are boarders and 65 are day boys. Boys entering at this stage are usually aged between 13.0 and 13.11 on 1st September of the year of entry. These age-limits are not inflexible, and slightly younger or older candidates may be accepted at the Headmaster’s discretion.
Most applications for Year 9 entry are made when boys are in between Year 5 and Year 6, but our arrangements are sufficiently flexible to consider those who apply later. Whilst most boys will join us from a UK preparatory school, we welcome applications from primary schools or from overseas.
Applications for entry in September 2024 are now CLOSED.
- The admissions process for those wishing to apply to join in 2024
- The admissions process for those wishing to apply to join in 2025
- The Admissions Process for those wishing to apply to join in 2026
The admissions process for those wishing to apply to join in 2024
Registrations for September 2024 are no longer being accepted.
Registrations received from 1 May 2022 will now be processed as Late Entry Applications.
- Initial Visit
Candidates registering after May 2022 (Year 6) are invited to apply for entry through the Headmaster's list. An initial visit to Tonbridge is encouraged, by attending one of our Open Mornings.
- Registration
If you would like to register your son as a late entry candidate, please complete the online Tonbridge Registration Form by 1 May 2023 when our lists will close. There is a non-refundable registration fee of £250.
- Initial Assessment
UK candidates will be invited to complete the ISEB Common Pre-test by 15 May 2023 and to submit their son's latest school report. Those candidates with a sufficiently strong profile will be invited to sit our late applicants’ examination in November of Year 8 (some 10 months prior to proposed arrival at Tonbridge).
Candidates studying overseas (in countries other than Hong Kong and Mainland China) will be invited to complete a UKiset Assessment which must accompany the application, along with their son's latest school report, by the deadline of 1 July 2023. The test can be taken at centres across the world; details can be found on their website : www.ukiset.com. Please name Tonbridge as the school you would like the results to be sent. Those candidates with a sufficiently strong profile will be invited to sit our late applicants’ examination in November of Year 8 (some 10 months prior to proposed arrival at Tonbridge).
- Late Applicants’ Exams and Interviews
Exams for late applicants will be set by Tonbridge in Mathematics and English only, to be taken on 4 November 2023; it should be noted that these exams are highly competitive with only the strongest candidates receiving offers of places. Specimen papers can be viewed on our exam papers page. Papers can be taken either at Tonbridge or at a British Council office around the world or possibly at another approved international location. Candidates living or studying in the UK will be interviewed at Tonbridge on the day of the exams; candidates living overseas, who are able to attend interviews in Hong Kong or Shanghai, will be invited to do so in advance of the exams; other international candidates will be interviewed via Skype.
- Applications from boys at a school in Hong Kong or Mainland China
Late Applicant candidates applying from Hong Kong or Mainland China are asked to contact our representatives there.
Hong Kong applicants should contact Ms Battie Fung, Academic Asia, 14/F, China Taiping Tower Phase II, 8 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel：+852 2833 0919 | Fax：+852 2834 5398 | www.academic-asia.com | Email: battie@academic-asia.comMainland China applicants should contact Ms Sophie Smith, BE Education, 9/F, Yueda 889 Center, 1111 Changshou Road, Shanghai, 200042, China
Tel: +862133607080 ext.8112 | www.be.co | Email : sophie.smith@be.co- Offers of Unconditional Places
UNCONDITIONAL OFFERS will be issued to the best performing late applicants on 1 December (nine months prior to arrival at Tonbridge). Parents accept the UNCONDITIONAL OFFER by returning the Final Entry Form and paying an admission fee of £2,000. Applicants living overseas will also be required to pay the first term’s fees in advance.
The admissions process for those wishing to apply to join in 2025
- Initial Visit
Many families will be keen to visit Tonbridge before embarking upon the admissions procedure. We are always pleased to welcome them at one of our termly Open Mornings.
- Registration
If you would like to register your son as a late entry candidate, please complete the online Tonbridge Registration Form by 1 May 2024 when our lists will close. There is a non-refundable registration fee of £250.
- Late Applicants’ Exams and Interviews
Exams for late applicants will be set by Tonbridge in Mathematics and English only, to be taken in November 2024; it should be noted that these exams are highly competitive with only the strongest candidates receiving offers of places. Specimen papers can be viewed on our exam papers page. Papers can be taken either at Tonbridge or at a British Council office around the world or possibly at another approved international location. Candidates living or studying in the UK will be interviewed at Tonbridge on the day of the exams, whilst candidates living overseas will be invited to a virtual interview.
Applications from boys at a school in Hong Kong or Mainland China
Late Applicant candidates applying from Hong Kong or Mainland China are asked to contact our representatives there.
Hong Kong applicants should contact Ms Battie Fung, Academic Asia, 14/F, China Taiping Tower Phase II, 8 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel：+852 2833 0919 | Fax：+852 2834 5398 | www.academic-asia.com | Email: battie@academic-asia.com
Mainland China applicants should contact Ms Sophie Smith, BE Education, 9/F, Yueda 889 Center, 1111 Changshou Road, Shanghai, 200042, China
Tel: +862133607080 ext.8112 | www.be.co | Email : sophie.smith@be.co
- Offers of Unconditional Places
UNCONDITIONAL OFFERS will be issued to the best performing late applicants on 1 December (nine months prior to arrival at Tonbridge). Parents accept the UNCONDITIONAL OFFER by returning the Final Entry Form and paying an admission fee of £2,000. Applicants living overseas will also be required to pay the first term’s fees in advance.
UK and overseas candidates will be invited to complete the ISEB Common Pre-test by Monday 1 May 2024 and to submit their son's latest school report. Those candidates with a sufficiently strong profile will be invited to sit our late applicants’ examination in November of Year 8 (some 10 months prior to proposed arrival at Tonbridge).
- Scholarships
Any candidate who is in receipt of an UNCONDITIONAL OFFER may choose to sit our Academic and Non-Academic Scholarships which take place in Year 8. For more information, visit our Scholarships and Bursaries page.
The Admissions Process for those wishing to apply to join in 2026
- Initial Visit
Many families will be keen to visit Tonbridge before embarking upon the admissions procedure. We are always pleased to welcome them at one of our termly Open Mornings. Parents often come on an initial visit when their son is in year 4 or 5 - three or four years before their son’s date of entry.
- Registration
Registration is the formal first stage of the admissions process, and shows that parents are interested in a place for their son at Tonbridge. To register, please complete the online Tonbridge Registration Form. There is a non-refundable registration fee of £250. Parents are advised to register their son by the end of Year 5, since the majority of offers are made in January of Year 6, after candidates have attended an assessment afternoon in the Autumn Term of Year 6. Those wishing to be in the first round of offers in January of Year 6, must have registered their son by the deadline of Monday 18 September 2023 (please note that this date is for standard entry and not JFS which closes on the 29 September 2023). The latest date on which registrations are accepted, for candidates wishing to follow the standard entrance route described below, is Monday 15 April 2024 when a boy is in Year 6. Please note, this date is subject to those boys having sat the ISEB Pre-Test.
- Applications from boys at a school in Hong Kong or Mainland China
Candidates applying from Hong Kong or Mainland China are asked to contact our representatives there.
Hong Kong applicants should contact Ms Battie Fung, Academic Asia, 14/F, China Taiping Tower Phase II, 8 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel：+852 2833 0919 | Fax：+852 2834 5398 | www.academic-asia.com Email: battie@academic-asia.com
Mainland China applicants should contact Ms Sophie Smith, BE Education, 9/F, Yueda 889 Center, 1111 Changshou Road, Shanghai, 200042, China
Tel: +862133607080 ext.8112 | www.be.co | Email : sophie.smith@be.co
- ISEB Pre-Test and Assessment Afternoon
Candidates who are registered with us three years or more prior to proposed entry are invited to sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test and to visit Tonbridge for an assessment afternoon. If registered before Monday 18 September 2023, Assessments will take place in the Autumn Term of Year 6. Those registering after Monday 18 September 2023, but before Monday 15 April 2024 will be invited to an Assessment Afternoon in the Lent or Summer Term of Year 6.
Those attending Assessment Afternoons in the Autumn Term will need to sit their ISEB Pre-Test between Monday 2 October and Friday 1 December 2023. Those attending later Assessment Afternoons will need to have sat their ISEB Pre-Test by Monday 8 April 2024.
- Offers
All boys who have completed their assessment in the Autumn Term of Year 6 should expect to receive their offer towards the end of January.
Those candidates with the strongest profile will receive an UNCONDITIONAL OFFER of a place at Tonbridge in Year 9, usually dependent only upon them continuing at their current school through to the end of Year 8 (where that school continues to Year 8) and a satisfactory final report from their school. Other candidates who present a sufficiently strong profile will receive a PROVISIONAL OFFER of a place, inviting them to take part in a further competitive assessment which they will complete at Tonbridge during Spring of Year 7. Such candidates will therefore have the opportunity to win a confirmed, UNCONDITIONAL OFFER during the Spring of Year 7, when they will be invited to complete a mathematics paper and a writing paper at Tonbridge, as well as carrying out a short interview. Specimen papers and a syllabus for the mathematics paper of the Year 7 Entrance Exam for those holding provisional offers can be viewed on our exam papers page. We will also request an updated report from a boy's current school.
- Acceptance of Unconditional and Provisional Places and Opening of House Lists
Parents accept their son's UNCONDITIONAL OFFER by completing the Final Entry Form and paying a non-refundable admission fee of £2,000. Families accepting an unconditional offer, who have made a firm decision as to whether their son will be a boarder or a day boy, also have the opportunity to express a preference for a particular boarding or day house when returning the Final Entry Form. Where no preference is expressed, boys are allocated to houses by the Headmaster in consultation with the Director of Admissions. Further details of the house allocation process can be found here.
Parents accepting a PROVISIONAL OFFER do so by returning an Acceptance Form which is issued with the offer and at this stage, no payment is required.
- Scholarships
Any candidate who is in receipt of an UNCONDITIONAL OFFER may choose to sit our Academic and Non-Academic Scholarships which take place in Year 8. For more information, visit our Scholarships and Bursaries page.
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