Schools / St Paul's School
St Paul's School
- Independent school
- Boys
- Day & boarding
- Ages 7–18
- Founded 1509
- 1,504 pupils
St Paul's School is an independent school for boys in Barnes, educating around 1,500 pupils aged 7 to 18. It is a Church of England school. Entrance is assessed through the ISEB Common Pre-Test, followed by the school's own examination papers and an interview. The school moved from the City of London to its present riverside site at Barnes in 1884.
RegionLondon
DfE URN102942
The exam
Athena holds admission-route records for St Paul's 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 16 October 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)
Stage 1: ISEB Common Pre-Tests (Year 6). Stage 2: school-set written papers in English and Mathematics, then interview. 11+ entrants join St Paul's Prep for Years 7-8; candidates cannot sit both the 11+ and 13+ processes.
9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: verified · Athena schools expansion research 2026-10-27
Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)
Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam
Register by: 16 October of Year 6
13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for the St Paul's 13+ process sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test between 1 October and 20 November of Year 6 (registration closed 16 October in the 2029 cycle), followed by St Paul's own Maths and English papers and interview in January/February; families must choose the 11+ or the 13+ process, not both. See the school's Independent School 13+ Entry route for the full pathway.
9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: unverified · Route source
Set by Individual schools / small consortia (no board)
Stage 1: ISEB Common Pre-Tests (Year 6). Stage 2: school-set written papers in English and Mathematics, then interview. 11+ entrants join St Paul's Prep for Years 7-8; candidates cannot sit both the 11+ and 13+ processes.
1038 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: verified · Athena schools expansion research 2026-10-27
Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam
Register by: 16 October of Year 6
St Paul's three-stage Year 6 process (ISEB Pre-Test, its own Maths and English papers, interview) leads to Main List offers confirmed by continued progress and a Head's reference in Year 8; Common Entrance (example: at least 70% in prescribed subjects) may be added as a condition only for boys from schools not following St Paul's prescribed curriculum. Near-miss candidates get a second chance via papers and interview in early Year 8, and the May scholarship exams replace CE for their candidates.
Route record: unverified · Route source
2028 entry
Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)
Stage 1: ISEB Common Pre-Tests (Year 6). Stage 2: school-set written papers in English and Mathematics, then interview. 11+ entrants join St Paul's Prep for Years 7-8; candidates cannot sit both the 11+ and 13+ processes.
9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: verified · Athena schools expansion research 2026-10-27
Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)
Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam
Register by: 16 October of Year 6
13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for the St Paul's 13+ process sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test between 1 October and 20 November of Year 6 (registration closed 16 October in the 2029 cycle), followed by St Paul's own Maths and English papers and interview in January/February; families must choose the 11+ or the 13+ process, not both. See the school's Independent School 13+ Entry route for the full pathway.
9489 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: unverified · Route source
Set by Individual schools / small consortia (no board)
Stage 1: ISEB Common Pre-Tests (Year 6). Stage 2: school-set written papers in English and Mathematics, then interview. 11+ entrants join St Paul's Prep for Years 7-8; candidates cannot sit both the 11+ and 13+ processes.
1038 published practice questions tagged for this exam
Route record: verified · Athena schools expansion research 2026-10-27
Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Confirmed on school reports — no confirmation exam
Register by: 16 October of Year 6
St Paul's three-stage Year 6 process (ISEB Pre-Test, its own Maths and English papers, interview) leads to Main List offers confirmed by continued progress and a Head's reference in Year 8; Common Entrance (example: at least 70% in prescribed subjects) may be added as a condition only for boys from schools not following St Paul's prescribed curriculum. Near-miss candidates get a second chance via papers and interview in early Year 8, and the May scholarship exams replace CE for their candidates.
Route record: unverified · Route source
Free lessons for this exam
Free Athena lessons that teach the skills covered by ISEB Common Pre-Tests and School-set second-stage papers (style class) practice questions on Athena. Read them without an account, then create one to practise the questions themselves.
Browse the full free lesson library →
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: 68.6% of grades at grade 9; 90.4% at grades 8/9; 97.7% at grades 9–7
School-published
A level: Average point score per A level entry 53.91 (average grade A+); 78.8% 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 54.33 (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: Eight compulsory papers — English, French, Geography, History, Latin, Maths, Science and Theology & Philosophy — plus optional Greek. Sat only by boys who already hold and have accepted a Main List place; the scholarship papers replace Common Entrance and themselves confirm the place. Around 30–35 awards.
When: May of Year 8 (2029 cycle: 5–7 May)
What it's worth: Honorary — £60 per year
How to apply: Main List place holders who have accepted their place only
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
Art Scholarship (Nahmad)
ScholarshipArt
What is assessed: Art scholarship assessment for Main List place holders
When: Year 8 scholarship season
What it's worth: £500 (Nahmad award)
How to apply: Main List place holders
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
Music Scholarship
ScholarshipMusic
What is assessed: Music scholarship assessment for Main List place holders; principal instrument expected at Grade 6 or above
When: Year 8 scholarship season
What it's worth: Includes free music tuition
How to apply: Main List place holders
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
Sports Awards
AwardSport
What is assessed: Sports awards assessed alongside the Year 8 scholarship season for Main List place holders
When: Year 8 scholarship season
What it's worth: Value not stated on the school's published pages
How to apply: Main List place holders
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
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