Entry at Pre-test

We would be delighted to welcome you and your child at a visit to the Senior School in the months prior to application.  Joining us at an Open Afternoon or our Open Day will give you an opportunity to hear from the Master, Helen Pike, and meet our Heads of Departments.  The Master’s talk includes a pupil panel and we very much welcome questions from pupils as well their parents.

You will find information about our full list of open events on our Open Events page.

Book a visit

To register please complete the online registration form. You will be required to upload an electronic copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport and make an online payment of the registration fee (£180 (inclusive VAT) for UK applicants; £300 (inclusive VAT) for applicants living overseas). There is no need to register a very long time in advance, but do please bear the 31st October deadline in mind.

In the weeks leading up to our tests, we will contact you to ask more information about your child’s hobbies and interests so we can start to build a more rounded picture of them. We will also ask for a reference from their current school at this stage. The registration form will ask you if your child has any medical conditions or specific learning difficulties that the school should be made aware of, so that access arrangements may be put in place if applicable.

Apply Online

In our entrance procedure, we look carefully for potential, and not simply at current attainment. We also take into consideration the school reference as well as your child’s wider interests and any other relevant information.

The admissions process is in two stages.  Firstly, all registered candidates are invited in to MCS for a test day on a Saturday in early-mid January.  Selected candidates are then invited back for the second stage which is a 30-minute interview with one of our teachers. Key dates for the coming year are shown below.

How the test day works

Our entrance examinations involve a combination of online tests and a written paper:

Dictionaries or calculators are not permitted in any of the papers.

There are breaks between the papers, and an activities session after lunch where candidates are encouraged to relax and have fun; this is not part of the selection process.

How to prepare for the tests

The assessments will test the knowledge and skills highlighted in the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum.  Pupils will develop these skills as part of their school education so they will not need any special tuition or intensive practice. However, we do recommend looking at the following example questions in advance of the tests, so that your child knows what to expect on the day:

• Familiarisation for the online tests
• Example Creative Writing paper

If your child has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, or if you are on Universal Credit, you may be eligible for free access to additional practice materials once they are registered as an applicant with us. In these circumstances, our registration fee will also be waived.

We have partnered with Atom Learning to provide all pupil premium eligible candidates who are registered with MCS with a free Atom Home account through the Atom Learning Pupil Premium Support Programme.  This gives them access to 11+ and KS2 practice questions, learning resources, mock tests and practice papers.

Apply for Pupil Premium Support here

Applicants are invited back for interview on the basis of their performance in the entry tests. We ask them to bring something with them that they would like to talk about, for example a souvenir, a small object or photo. The interviewer will also ask about hobbies and extra-curricular activities, as we are keen to hear about what the candidates are really excited about and love doing.

They will then be given some time to look carefully at a short passage of text or a poem, and will then be asked to read it aloud and to answer questions about it. The discussion may cover matters such as style, tone, structure and the intention of the author. We are particularly interested in applicants’ ability to empathise with the texts, recognise subtle meanings and investigate linguistic connections and themes explored in the passages. Occasionally they may also be given a few short Maths questions.

The interview lasts about 30 minutes and we aim to make the candidates feel as much at ease as possible so they enjoy the experience.

At the beginning of February, we will let you know if your child has been offered a place for Year 9 and you will need to confirm that you wish to accept the place by returning the correct forms and pay a deposit by the agreed acceptance date. The deposit is currently £1,500 for candidates living in the UK and will be adjusted for those who have been awarded a bursary. For candidates who live overseas, the deposit is £2,500.

Important joining information is sent out in May (when pupils are in Year 8) and we hold an induction morning in June for parents and new pupils. There will be a further induction day in September just before the beginning of term to help pupils settle in and start making new friends.

Maths: The Maths online test is based on the National Curriculum up to and including Year 5. It assesses your child’s ability to recall what they have been taught and apply this knowledge to solve problems. We want to stretch able candidates, which is why the Maths test is adaptive (see the question below for more information about this).

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning: These sections are designed to test your child’s academic potential, by assessing your child’s ability to solve problems with written or visual information. These tests are also adaptive (see below).

English: The English online test is based on the National Curriculum up to and including Year 5. It assesses your child’s ability to recall what they have been taught and apply this knowledge The English online test includes a piece of fiction written solely for our use.  There is no extended writing required in this test, instead candidates are asked a series of questions based on comprehension of the passage and the correct use of standard English in context. This test is non-adaptive.

Puzzles and Problem Solving: This section encourages your child to think deeply about a scenario and apply mathematical techniques to solve a problem.  It asks candidates to use words and numbers and mathematical techniques to solve multi-step problems. This test is non-adaptive.

Creative Comprehension: The questions in this section assess your child’s ability to read and analyse a series of written sources and graphs that are centred around a theme. This test is non-adaptive.

Adaptive
The Maths, tests (in Session 1) are adaptive, which means that the questions get easier or harder depending on the answers given. This ensures that each question is at the right level of difficulty for each student. It also means that candidates can’t go back to a previous question once they’ve submitted an answer.

Non-Adaptive
The English, tests (in Session 2) are non-adaptive, which means that all students will see the same questions, although some will progress further through the questions than others. In these tests, candidates can go back and forward through the questions and can change their answers if they need to.

Most questions are multiple choice – candidates may sometimes need to type a letter or a number, but will not need to type large amounts of text, so will not be at a disadvantage if they are not fast at typing. The Creative writing paper will be hand-written (except for candidates who use a computer at school as their usual way of working).

Yes, we will give candidates paper and pens to use during the online tests to help them with working out.

In this written paper, candidates are given a paragraph of text or an image and are asked to write a piece of fiction inspired by it. We look at spelling, punctuation and handwriting, as well as at applicants’ ability to write lucidly and effectively, with creativity and flair.

No. We will provide pens, pencils and paper as well as snacks and drinks. Dictionaries, calculators or other devices are not allowed. However, if candidates wish to bring a bottle of water with them, they are very welcome to do so, but please make sure the bottle is clearly named.

The online assessments last for 115 mins, split into 2 parts and the written paper is 45 mins.  However, there are breaks and activities built in to the day so you should expect your  child to be with us for several hours.  Timings will be confirmed as we approach the test day.

During the online tests there will be a clock on the screen showing how long the candidate has left for each section. If a candidate is eligible for extra time, this will automatically be added to the clock. In the Creative Writing paper, there will be a clock on the wall and the invigilator will also let the candidates know how much time they have left.

No – applicants will take their tests in small groups in classrooms. They will be looked after by a group leader and our prefects throughout the day.

We are keen to assess applicants on how they apply the knowledge they already have, so they do not need any special tuition or intensive practice. However, we do recommend looking at these familiarisation questions with your child in advance of the tests, so that they know what types of questions to expect on the day.

Beyond that, the assessments test the knowledge of the Year 5 Maths Curriculum, and candidates will need to be able to answer questions on an extended piece of fiction.  These are skills which your child will be developing at their current school so there is no requirement for intensive practice or tuition. For further familiarisation, parents may also like to look at other online practice materials with their child.

Online assessments are increasingly common within education and we believe that the varied format of these new online tests, together with the written English paper, interview and reference, will give us a better opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of each candidate’s ability and potential.  This more comprehensive suite of tests will help us see beyond testing cognitive ability alone and to more fully see a child’s potential in creative and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and problem-solving.

The online tests are provided by a company called Quest Assessments, which is highly experienced in delivering educational assessments, and the questions are developed in collaboration with our Head of Maths and Head of English.  The assessments designed for MCS are entirely bespoke.

If you are unable to travel here for your child to take the tests, please contact us to let us know. We will then be in touch to ask you to make arrangements for them to take the tests under exam conditions at a local test centre.

Candidates with access arrangements will be asked in indicate their entitlement at the point of registration.  We will work with families to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made for each test.