St Dunstan’s College Senior School: Entry Procedure for 11 Plus (11+)/Year 7
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Table of Contents
Introduction
St Dunstan’s College is a co-educational independent school in Catford. It comprises a Nursery, Junior School, Senior School and Sixth Form. The school aims for pupils to develop into resilient, confident and compassionate young adults with the skills they need to succeed in every area of their lives. If this aligns with the goals you have for your child, read on to learn more.
If your child starts St Dunstan’s College in Year 7, they can expect to be welcomed by a warm, supportive, diverse community. They can also expect to be encouraged to be a proactive, curious learner, prepared to take risks.
Your child’s academic education will be excellent at St Dunstan’s College. In Year 7, they will study a wide range of subjects, including English, maths, classics, art, engineering, drama & dance and philosophy & ethics. The breadth of the curriculum will enable them to find out where their interests lie before choosing their GCSE subjects.
The co-curricular programme will allow your child to enhance their existing talents and discover talents they didn’t even know they had, leading to opportunities for personal growth. In addition to the many clubs they can join, they will also go on an exciting Adventure Week in Year 7. On this residential trip, they will make firm friends, have fun and try new things.
Rest assured that your child will be well looked after at St Dunstan’s Senior School; first-class pastoral care is a priority. Your child will get to know their form tutor well, who will offer appropriate guidance when necessary. Additionally, the school has a Wellness Centre where your child can access support or find a quiet space.
We will provide details about the admissions process so you know how to apply for a place in Year 7.
St Dunstan’s College Senior School: Contact Details and Year 7 (11+) Entry Admissions Process
School Details for St Dunstan’s College
Address: Stanstead Road, London, SE6 4TY
County: Greater London
Admissions info: [email protected] or 020 8516 7226
School type: Independent day school for boys and girls aged 3-18
Whole College Open Day: Michaelmas (Autumn) term
Assessment dates: December of Year 6 (Stage 1) and January of Year 6 (Stages 2 and 3)
Entrance assessments: Online English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning assessment (Stage 1); a taught lesson, English assessment and maths assessment (Stage 2); and an interview (Stage 3)
Admissions Process for 11 Plus Entry to St Dunstan’s College Senior School
We recommend starting the admissions process by visiting St Dunstan’s College with your child. This will allow you to see if the school is a good fit for your family. You will get to listen to a talk by the Head, tour the grounds and meet staff and pupils. There is a main Open Day in the Michaelmas term and smaller events throughout the year.
If you decide St Dunstan’s College is the right school for your child, you should fill out the registration form before the deadline in November of Year 6. You will need to pay the £185 registration fee (unless your child receives Pupil Premium funding).
Once registered, St Dunstan’s will request your child’s most recent school report.
The next step is for your child to complete assessments. The assessment process has three stages, and only successful candidates will progress from one stage to the next.
Stage 1
In December of Year 6, your child will sit an online English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning assessment. They will be invited to Stage 2 if they perform well in this assessment.
Stage 2
If your child progresses to Stage 2, they will join a lesson at St Dunstan’s in January of Year 6 so their approach to learning can be assessed. They will also complete a written English paper (consisting of a comprehension and writing task) and a maths paper. Candidates who impress at this stage will be invited in for an interview.
Stage 3
The interviews are the final stage. Do keep in mind that if your child is invited to an interview, it does not guarantee they will be offered a place. More candidates will be interviewed than there are places available.
You will find out in February whether your child has secured a place. You must accept the offer by the deadline at the beginning of March and pay a £2,000 deposit.
St Dunstan’s: Scholarships and Bursaries for Year 7 Entry
Scholarships for Year 7 Entry
Academic, art, drama, music and sports scholarships are available for Year 7 entry. Typically, being awarded a scholarship or a combination of scholarships results in a 35% reduction in school fees.
There is no need to apply for an academic scholarship because all candidates sitting the entrance assessments will automatically be considered for one. If you are applying for any of the other scholarships, you should indicate this on the registration form.
Bursaries for Year 7 Entry
Bursaries are available for Year 7 entry. They are means-tested awards designed to enable pupils whose parents cannot afford the fees to attend St Dunstan’s. They are awarded to bright children who demonstrate that they will make the most of all the school has to offer.
Bursaries are typically worth between 10% and 100% of the school and lunch fees. If your household income exceeds £75k, you will not be eligible for a bursary. Other factors are also considered, such as assets and your number of dependents. You will have to provide supporting documentation if you apply for a bursary.
Please indicate on the registration form if you wish to apply for a bursary. Unfortunately, only a limited number will be available, so not everyone eligible will be awarded one.
For more detailed information about the admissions process, scholarships and bursaries, please see the school’s admissions policy.
St Dunstan’s College Senior School: Stage 1 AAT Online Assessment
The Stage 1 online entrance exam is the Adaptive Admissions Test (AAT), produced by GL Assessment. The test comprises the following sections:
- English: The English assessment will have a comprehension that assesses your child’s ability to understand a given passage. They may need to, amongst other things, extract information from the text, make inferences and deduce the meaning of words from the context.
There will also be questions testing the standard of your child’s spelling, punctuation and grammar.
- Maths: The maths assessment will cover the topics your child has been taught at school, including numbers, measurement, geometry and statistics.
- Verbal reasoning: The verbal reasoning assessment will evaluate your child’s ability to reason using words.
- Non-verbal reasoning: The non-verbal reasoning questions will determine how well your child can reason using visual information.
Do not worry if your child is one of the younger candidates taking the AAT online test; the scores are age-standardised, meaning scores are slightly adjusted based on a candidate’s age.
Your child needs to prepare for St Dunstan’s competitive online entrance exam, as this will help them perform to the best of their ability. Please review our top preparation tips to help your child succeed and be invited to St Dunstan’s for stage 2.
Top Tips for Preparing for St Dunstan’s Year 7 Online AAT Entrance Assessment
The following top tips will help your child prepare for the online admissions test at the selective St Dunstan’s College.
Keep study sessions short. Research has shown that children aged 10 and 11 can focus effectively for 20-30 minutes. This means having short study sessions regularly is better than long ones now and then.
Remind your child to concentrate at school. The English and maths sections of the online assessment will cover what your child has learned at school, so it is important that they work hard at school.
Encourage your child to read widely. Reading widely is essential for several reasons. It will, for example, expand your child’s vocabulary and help develop their critical thinking skills.
Devote time to verbal and non-verbal reasoning. These are outside the national curriculum, so your child may need to familiarise themselves with the types of questions that will be asked in these sections. It is essential that they practise answering the kinds of questions that will come up.
Praise your child. Feeling good about the process and how they are doing will help your child stay positive and motivated. Celebrate every success they have, no matter how small. They should feel proud of the effort they are putting in.
Use practice tests. Using practice tests will familiarise your child with what to expect in the online assessment, enabling your child to feel calm and confident on the day. They will know the types of questions they will be asked, the speed at which they need to work and the test format. Additionally, they will be used to navigating an online test, and their practice will mean they can answer questions quickly and accurately.
We can thoroughly recommend our online AAT practice tests that closely resemble the actual AAT assessment. They have been produced after careful research by experts. There will be no surprises on the day that might affect your child’s performance if they have worked through our practice tests.
St Dunstan’s College Senior School: Year 7 (11+) Entry, Online AAT Assessment Resources
These full mock tests are designed to provide your child with highly accurate practice for the Adaptive Admissions Test. Each practice test covers Verbal reasoning, Non-Verbal reasoning, English and Mathematics, replicating the sections, timings and question types used in the actual exam.
Each test contains unique content, but they are all pitched at the same difficulty level as the AAT. This means you can easily benchmark your child’s progress as they work through the practice tests, quickly identifying their strengths and weaknesses.
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If you have any questions about our Year 7 entry practice materials or need guidance, feel free to reach out to us! We’re here to help your child succeed in St Dunstan’s 11+ online entrance assessment.
The information in this post was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware that there may be future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you need clarification on anything. School contact details are provided within the post.
Please note that Pretest Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers of the St Dunstan’s online assessment or any other test publisher.
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