Schools / Harrow School
Harrow School
- Independent school
- Boys
- Boarding
- Ages 12–19
- Founded 1572
- 833 pupils
Harrow School is an independent boarding school for boys in Harrow on the Hill, London, founded under a royal charter granted to John Lyon in 1572. Its main point of entry is Year 9 (13+): candidates sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test in the autumn of Year 6 and then the Harrow Test in the spring, and offers are subject to Common Entrance or the Academic Scholarship examinations in Year 8.
RegionLondon
DfE URN102245
The exam
Athena holds admission-route records for Harrow School. They are shown by entry cycle below; where the provider changes between cycles, each cycle keeps its own recorded exam.
Registration deadline: register by 30 September of Year 6. Registration for these schools closes well before the entrance tests — check the school's own admissions page for the exact form and dates.
2027 entry
Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)
Confirmation: Confirmed by Common Entrance
Register by: 30 September of Year 6
13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for Harrow sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test between October and the end of November in Year 6 (register by 30 September of Year 6), followed by the Harrow Test in spring Year 6 (interview, computerised English and Maths assessment, group activity). Offers in late April/early May are subject to sitting Common Entrance or the Academic Scholarship examinations in Year 8. See the school's Independent School 13+ Entry route for the full pathway.
9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: verified · Athena independents completion research 2026-10-28
Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Confirmed by Common Entrance
Register by: 30 September of Year 6
Harrow decides 13+ places in Year 6: register by 30 September of Year 6, sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test (Oct–Nov), then the Harrow Test (interview, computerised English/Maths, group activity) in spring. Offers are subject to sitting Common Entrance or the Academic Scholarship examinations in Year 8; no CE pass percentage is published on Harrow's current pages.
Route record: verified · Athena independents completion research 2026-10-28
2028 entry
Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)
Confirmation: Confirmed by Common Entrance
Register by: 30 September of Year 6
13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for Harrow sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test between October and the end of November in Year 6 (register by 30 September of Year 6), followed by the Harrow Test in spring Year 6 (interview, computerised English and Maths assessment, group activity). Offers in late April/early May are subject to sitting Common Entrance or the Academic Scholarship examinations in Year 8. See the school's Independent School 13+ Entry route for the full pathway.
9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: verified · Athena independents completion research 2026-10-28
Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Confirmed by Common Entrance
Register by: 30 September of Year 6
Harrow decides 13+ places in Year 6: register by 30 September of Year 6, sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test (Oct–Nov), then the Harrow Test (interview, computerised English/Maths, group activity) in spring. Offers are subject to sitting Common Entrance or the Academic Scholarship examinations in Year 8; no CE pass percentage is published on Harrow's current pages.
Route record: verified · Athena independents completion research 2026-10-28
Key dates & preparation
2028 entry
Test: Stage A pre-assessment during Year 6 (some schools assess in Year 7); confirmation — Common Entrance or the school’s own process — in May/June of Year 8 (see the route description for this school’s exact model)
Results: Conditional offers follow the Stage A assessment, typically by the spring of Year 6
Offers: Places are confirmed in Year 8 once the school’s confirmation condition is met (see the route description)
When to start preparing: Start preparing in the spring term of Year 5 (the standing rule: about 18 months before the test).
General guidance: this follows the rule of thumb of starting about 18 months before the test. It is not the school's own published advice.
Source: official admissions information · checked 2026-10-28
2027 entry
Test: Stage A pre-assessment during Year 6 (some schools assess in Year 7); confirmation — Common Entrance or the school’s own process — in May/June of Year 8 (see the route description for this school’s exact model)
Results: Conditional offers follow the Stage A assessment, typically by the spring of Year 6
Offers: Places are confirmed in Year 8 once the school’s confirmation condition is met (see the route description)
When to start preparing: Start preparing in the spring term of Year 5 (the standing rule: about 18 months before the test).
General guidance: this follows the rule of thumb of starting about 18 months before the test. It is not the school's own published advice.
Source: official admissions information · checked 2026-10-28
Admissions rules
No catchment — open competition
There is no catchment area. Entry at 13+ is governed by the school’s own pre-assessment and confirmation process (see the route description); registration deadlines fall early — typically during Year 5 or Year 6 — and places at this level are heavily oversubscribed.
Read the school's admissions policy
Results & destinations
2025 results
A level: Average point score per A level entry 48.13 (average grade A-); 44.6% of A level students achieved AAB or higher
DfE performance tables
University destinations:
- 10 offers — Oxford or Cambridge — School-published: 10 boys took up places at Oxford or Cambridge in 2025 (places; two further boys held Oxbridge offers but chose Princeton and Yale).
Source: official source · checked 2026-10-28 · official source · checked 2026-10-28
2024 results
A level: Average point score per A level entry 49.12 (average grade A)
DfE performance tables
Source: official source · checked 2026-10-28
Scholarships & bursaries
Schemes recorded from the school's own published information. A scholarship is a merit award; a bursary is means-tested. Values are shown exactly as the school states them — where a scheme is honorary, its stated value says so.
13+ entry
Academic Scholarship
ScholarshipAcademic
What is assessed: Academic Scholarship examinations in Year 8, sat instead of Common Entrance as the confirmation route for boys holding conditional offers (the current paper list is not published on Harrow's official pages)
When: Year 8
What it's worth: 5% of fees
How to apply: Conditional offer holders sit either Common Entrance or the Academic Scholarship examinations in Year 8
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
Prepare for Harrow School
Create a free account, add your child, and choose this school as their target to start practising.
Get started