Schools / Winchester College
Winchester College
- Independent school
- Boys
- Boarding
- Ages 13–19
- Founded 1382
- 738 pupils
Winchester College is an independent boarding school for boys in Winchester, Hampshire, founded in 1382 by William of Wykeham and the oldest of England's public schools in continuous operation. Its main point of entry is Year 9 (13+): the school no longer uses the ISEB Pre-Test or Common Entrance — boys register by 1 October of Year 6 and are assessed by general ability testing, a writing assessment, references and interview, with offers in March of Year 6.
RegionSouth East
DfE URN116532
The exam
Athena holds admission-route records for Winchester College. 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 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 Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Unconditional offer — no confirmation exam
Register by: 1 October of Year 6
Winchester no longer uses the ISEB Pre-Test or Common Entrance: boys register by 1 October of Year 6 and are assessed by General Ability Testing, a writing assessment, references and interview, with offers in March of Year 6. Winchester Entrance exams in spring Year 8 do not determine entry; the Election (April, Year 8) is the scholarship route.
Route record: verified · Athena independents completion research 2026-10-28
2028 entry
Set by ISEB Common Entrance / school scholarship papers
Confirmation: Unconditional offer — no confirmation exam
Register by: 1 October of Year 6
Winchester no longer uses the ISEB Pre-Test or Common Entrance: boys register by 1 October of Year 6 and are assessed by General Ability Testing, a writing assessment, references and interview, with offers in March of Year 6. Winchester Entrance exams in spring Year 8 do not determine entry; the Election (April, Year 8) is the scholarship route.
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: Half of all grades at grade 9; 80% at grades 9–8; 93% at grades 9–7
School-published
A level: Average point score per A level entry 50.87 (average grade A); 68.2% of A level students achieved AAB or higher
DfE performance tables
University destinations:
- 39 leavers — Oxford or Cambridge — School-published: 'Pupils earned places at highly-ranked universities including Oxbridge (39) and US universities (50, with 9 going to Ivy League destinations)' (places).
- 90% of leavers — Russell Group universities — School-published: '90% of UK entrants secured places at Russell Group universities' (places).
Source: official source · checked 2026-10-28 · official source · checked 2026-10-28
2024 results
A level: Average point score per A level entry 48.55 (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
Election — Scholarships and Exhibitions
ScholarshipAcademic
What is assessed: Election examinations plus two interviews, sat instead of Winchester Entrance. Around 14 Scholarships, around 6 Exhibitions and 4 Founder's Scholarships are awarded. Scholar status only — entry itself is decided at 11+ and is not at stake in the Election.
When: Examinations 26–28 April of Year 8 (application deadline 21 January of Year 8)
What it's worth: Scholarship and Exhibition titles carry no automatic fee remission; Founder's Scholarships are worth 25% of fees and are not means-tested
How to apply: Invitation-led application; deadline 21 January of Year 8
Official scholarship information
Checked 2026-10-28
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