Schools / Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
- Independent school
- Boys
- Day & boarding
- Ages 13–18
- Founded 1553
- 797 pupils
Tonbridge School is an independent school for boys in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judde. Its main point of entry is Year 9 (13+): candidates sit the ISEB Pre-Test in Year 6, followed by an Experience Afternoon and interview, leading to unconditional offers by late January for the strongest candidates.
RegionSouth East
DfE URN118959
The exam
Athena holds admission-route records for Tonbridge 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 1 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: Unconditional offer — no confirmation exam
Register by: 1 September of Year 6
13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for Tonbridge sit the ISEB Pre-Test in Year 6 (apply by 1 September of Year 6), followed by an Experience Afternoon and interview in Michaelmas term, leading to unconditional offers by late January for the strongest candidates; a provisional route re-tests with Tonbridge's own exams in spring of Year 7. 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 ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Unconditional offer — no confirmation exam
Register by: 1 September of Year 6
Tonbridge decides in Year 6: the ISEB Pre-Test plus an Experience Afternoon and interview lead to an unconditional offer (by late January) for the strongest candidates, or a provisional route with Tonbridge's own exams in spring of Year 7. Unconditional offers carry no Common Entrance condition — boys must simply remain at their current school for Years 7–8; Year 8 scholarships require an unconditional offer first.
Route record: unverified · Route source
2028 entry
Set by ISEB (tests commissioned from GL Assessment)
Confirmation: Unconditional offer — no confirmation exam
Register by: 1 September of Year 6
13+ entry - Stage 1 (the 11+ pre-test stage, in Year 6): candidates for Tonbridge sit the ISEB Pre-Test in Year 6 (apply by 1 September of Year 6), followed by an Experience Afternoon and interview in Michaelmas term, leading to unconditional offers by late January for the strongest candidates; a provisional route re-tests with Tonbridge's own exams in spring of Year 7. 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 ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Unconditional offer — no confirmation exam
Register by: 1 September of Year 6
Tonbridge decides in Year 6: the ISEB Pre-Test plus an Experience Afternoon and interview lead to an unconditional offer (by late January) for the strongest candidates, or a provisional route with Tonbridge's own exams in spring of Year 7. Unconditional offers carry no Common Entrance condition — boys must simply remain at their current school for Years 7–8; Year 8 scholarships require an unconditional offer first.
Route record: unverified · Route source
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: 92% of grades were 9-7 (equivalent to A*/A); 48 per cent of results were awarded a 9
School-published
A level: Average point score per A level entry 49.94 (average grade A); 62.0% of A level students achieved AAB or higher
DfE performance tables
University destinations:
- 24 offers — Oxford or Cambridge — School-published: 'Tonbridge School is celebrating after 24 boys received Oxbridge offers' (offers).
- 82% of offers — Russell Group universities — School-published: 'there have been a total of 468 offers received, with 82% from Russell Group and 92% from Russell Group and Higher Tariff universities' (offers).
Source: official source · checked 2026-10-28 · official source · checked 2026-10-28
2024 results
A level: Average point score per A level entry 50.57 (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.
11+ entry
Junior Foundation Scholarship
BursaryOther
What is assessed: Means-tested scholarship awarded in Year 6 ahead of 13+ entry; up to 10 awarded per year, typically to state-primary boys (no separate examination described)
When: Awarded in Year 6
What it's worth: Value not stated on the school's published pages
How to apply: Means-tested application during the 13+ registration process in Year 6
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
13+ entry
Academic and Subject Scholarships
ScholarshipAcademic
What is assessed: Scholarship assessments sat in Year 8 by boys already holding an unconditional offer only (non-core subjects in January; Academic examinations in the early Summer Term)
When: January (non-core subjects) and early Summer Term (Academic) of Year 8
What it's worth: £2,000 one-off award for non-bursary scholars
How to apply: Only unconditional offer holders may sit the scholarship assessments
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
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