11 Plus Exams Forum

NEW FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS
Starting in September 2009 Eton is offering a new annual scholarship by examination and interview for one or two boys who have been educated in the maintained (state) sector for at least years 6, 7 and 8 of their schooling up to age 13. It is aimed in particular at boys who would not be able to attend Eton without very substantial financial assistance (in certain cases, full assistance may be given), and who are not in a position to prepare easily for the King’s Scholarship. The intellectual standard expected will be very high and comparable with the KS, but the emphasis in the New Foundation Scholarship will be even more fully on potential rather than knowledge.

The examinations are based on the National Curriculum and will involve compulsory papers in English, Maths, and Science. Candidates may offer an optional fourth subject of their choice (among History, Geography, Religious Studies, French, German, Spanish, Latin). A general reasoning test will also be set, and candidates will have subject-specific and general interviews. The aim is to identify potential academic high-flyers, ideally with other talents to be developed in sport or in the arts, and with the personality to adapt successfully to the life of a boarding community.

Sample papers will not be available.

Eligibility: applicants will normally be in year 8, the school year in which their 13th birthday falls. A boy who will be 14 before September 1st is too old to enter.

Further information and application details are available from the Access Adviser (f.moultrie@etoncollege.org.uk). Applications should be received by mid-December. The examination will take place over a two-day period in late January, with accommodation provided for the boys in school boarding houses. Results will be made known and places offered in mid-February for entry the following September.

JUNIOR SCHOLARSHIPS
Junior Scholarships are awarded to boys of high academic promise who would benefit from the opportunity of attending Eton, and who could contribute to the academic and general life of the School. Applicants must be attending a maintained (state) school in the UK and must have attended such a school for at least the last three years. Two Junior Scholarships are normally awarded each year.

The Junior Scholarship Examination is held at Eton in January or February. Candidates must be over 10 and under 11 on 1st September of the calendar year of the examination. Such boys are usually in Year 5 in their present school at the time of the examination. Entries are accepted by the Access Adviser until three weeks before the examination: there are no other preliminary registration formalities.

Candidates sit intelligence tests and, if successful, are then invited back to sit tests in English and Mathematics. The papers are designed to test potential rather than knowledge. No special preparation is required and no past papers are available. Up to eight short-listed candidates will then be interviewed at Eton in February; their parents will also be asked to attend the interview.

Boys awarded Junior Scholarships spend two or more usually three years at a preparatory school before taking up their guaranteed places at Eton. The prep school is chosen by the parents after consultation with the Head Master of Eton: it may be a day school or a boarding school, whichever seems more suitable.

We will cover in whole or in part the fees and may assist with other educational expenses, including school uniform, both at preparatory school and at Eton itself. Parents will be asked to contribute what seems reasonable after an assessment of their financial situation.