Families interested in admission to the School are requested to register on the registration form included with the Prospectus package. A non returnable fee of £75 is payable on registration. For entry at 13+, two years before entry, the School asks parents of registered pupils to confirm that Oundle is their first choice of school and to pay an advance fee of £800, which is returnable if an applicant fails to meet the School’s entrance requirements, but otherwise only in exceptional circumstances. In the case of late applications the Advance Fee is payable on acceptance of a place.
Enquiries and Entrance Procedures for Boarders
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Entry at 11-plus
Applicants enter The Berrystead, the junior boarding House.
Entry is normally restricted to pupils from schools which do not offer education beyond year 6 (11-plus); or pupils from abroad.
Pupils transfer to a senior boarding House after two years. Entry is by written examination in January before entry in September. Applicants take one-hour papers in Mathematics, English, Science and an Abilities Test. They also have an informal interview. They normally sit these papers at Oundle and stay overnight, although, if necessary, the papers can be taken abroad.
Entry at 13-plus
Applicants normally enter by the Common Entrance Examination, but a few enter by Oundle's own entrance tests which they take in Oundle in the February preceding entry. In addition to papers in Mathematics, English, Science and French, applicants take an Abilities Test and have an informal interview. (Applicants may take these papers abroad, but it may still be necessary to ask some applicants to come to Oundle for an interview). Applicants from Preparatory Schools sit the Common Entrance examination in June before entry in September. Various academic and other scholarships and awards are available for this age group. (Further information is available here).
There are five girls’ boarding Houses and eight boys’ boarding Houses, each admitting twelve pupils a year. The Registrar can provide help with choosing an appropriate House. Houses often fill up at least three years ahead of entry.
Entry into the Sixth Form
Entry is by competition because Oundle takes in relatively few pupils at this level compared to some other schools (approximately twelve boys and five girls in a typical year). The minimum entry requirement is at least six subjects at Grade B, or better, including passes in English Language, Mathematics, a Science and a Language. In practice most successful candidates will have A or A* in most subjects. Applicants are normally invited to an assessment weekend in November.
Academic, music, art and technology scholarships are available for entry into
the Sixth Form. (Further information is available here).
Fees and variable expenses
Year 1 (Berrystead): £15,804 per annum
Year 2 (Berrystead): £18,345 per annum
Years 3 – 7: £20,691 per annum
Fees include boarding and laundry charges, tuition, games, sanatorium, gymnasium, library, lectures and entertainment (not theatre). A few variable expenses are charged on the School Account as necessary, such as clothing and books, together with certain optional extras, including music lessons.
Fees are payable in advance before the beginning of the Michaelmas, Easter and Trinity Quarters. As any delay in the payment of fees is, in effect, punitive on the great majority of parents who honour the rule, the School will make a surcharge on outstanding accounts and will add it to the next account. The School will charge 4% above Barclay's Bank base rate, calculated on a daily basis. The Governors of the School have the right to raise the fees after giving at least one Quarter's notice.