Schools / Rugby School
Rugby School
- Independent school
- Co-educational
- Day & boarding
- Ages 13–18
- Founded 1567
- 887 pupils
Rugby School is an independent co-educational boarding school in Rugby, Warwickshire, founded in 1567; the game of rugby football originated at the school. Its main point of entry is Year 9 (13+), assessed from Year 6 through the school's own assessment day — online English, mathematics and reasoning tests, an interview and group activities — with entry then by Rugby's own examinations or Common Entrance depending on the candidate's school.
RegionWest Midlands
DfE URN125777
The exam
Athena holds admission-route records for Rugby School. They are shown by entry cycle below; where the provider changes between cycles, each cycle keeps its own recorded exam.
2027 entry
Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Confirmed by the school's own examination
Rugby assesses from Year 6 with its own assessment day — online English, Maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests, interview and group activities (the ISEB Pre-Test is not named on its current official pages). Entry tests are Rugby's own examinations or Common Entrance depending on the candidate's school; no registration deadline or CE standard is published.
Route record: verified · Athena independents completion research 2026-10-28
2028 entry
Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Confirmed by the school's own examination
Rugby assesses from Year 6 with its own assessment day — online English, Maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests, interview and group activities (the ISEB Pre-Test is not named on its current official pages). Entry tests are Rugby's own examinations or Common Entrance depending on the candidate's school; no registration deadline or CE standard is published.
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
GCSE: 76% of GCSE grades were 9–7 (A*–A)
School-published
A level: Average point score per A level entry 46.40 (average grade A-); 36.7% of A level students achieved AAB or higher
DfE performance tables
Source: official source · checked 2026-10-28
2024 results
A level: Average point score per A level entry 46.05 (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: All candidates sit English and Maths plus an interview, with two or three further papers across Science, Humanities and Languages. Registered candidates who sit the scholarship without winning are normally admitted on the basis of their Scholarship Examination results — the exam doubles as an entrance exam.
When: 23 February (Year 8 scholarship season; assessments run across the Advent and Lent terms of Year 8)
What it's worth: No fee remission — scholarships carry no fee remission themselves
How to apply: Entry deadline 13 November 2026 for the 2027 cycle
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
Means-tested bursaries
BursaryOther
What is assessed: Means-tested fee assistance assessed separately from scholarships (no examination)
When: Applied for alongside the 13+ application
What it's worth: Up to 100% of fees
How to apply: Separate bursary application alongside registration
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
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