Hampton School Overseas Applicants: 11+ and 13+, 2026-27

Hampton School is “an academically selective day school for boys aged 11-19”, and Policy 6.1 welcomes non-British nationals “who are, or who will be, lawfully resident in the United Kingdom prior to the commencement of their studies”, adding “All non-British national applicants will therefore need to be a dependent on a parent’s visa (e.g. work).” For 11+ entry in September 2027, registration closes on Sunday 1 November 2026 and the examination is on Saturday 21 November 2026.

This page belongs to our London independent schools guide for families abroad and our 11+ from overseas hub.

Every rule below is quoted from Hampton’s own pages, read on 10 October 2026, and labelled with the entry point and entry year it serves: 11+ (Year 7) for September 2027; the 10+ Advance Place (Year 7) and the Year 7 (12+) Pre-test (Year 9) for September 2028; and the Year 6 (13+) Pre-test (Year 9) for September 2029. For the papers, results and character of the school itself, see our Hampton School 11+ guide.

What does Hampton’s Admissions Policy say about residence, visas and who a boy lives with (clauses 6.1, 14.6, 14.7)?

The Admissions Policy (“Date ratified June 2025”) sets who may apply. Its clause 6, “Applications from Non-British Nationals”, comes before the entry-point clauses “Entry at 11+” and “Entry at 13+” in the contents list. Clause 6.1 reads in full:

“The School welcomes applications from all non-British nationals who are, or who will be, lawfully resident in the United Kingdom prior to the commencement of their studies. Parents must apply to the Home Office for confirmation of an Acceptance of Studies certificate (CAS) as the School is unable to do so. Please note that the School is not licensed to sponsor student visas or able to assist with visa sponsorship. All non-British national applicants will therefore need to be a dependent on a parent’s visa (e.g. work). Questions around eligibility or visa types should be directed to the Home Office.”

Clause 14 is headed “The pre-conditions for admission”. Two of its items concern residence:

• 14.6: “The applicant has the legal right to live and study in the UK”;
• 14.7: “Following entry to the School, the applicant will reside during term time within a reasonable daily travelling distance from the School with their parents or responsible adult (or in the case of those aged 16-18 with an authorised education guardian).”

The bracket in 14.7 about an authorised education guardian is worded for “those aged 16-18”. The immigration route a family will hold and the adult a boy will live with differ by family, so both become written questions in the table near the end of this page.

Year of Entry: which Hampton sitting does a boy born between September 2014 and August 2017 sit?

Hampton’s Registration page carries a table headed “Year of entry”, keyed to date of birth and introduced with “Please check the dates listed below if you are unsure of the year of entry for your son:” The 10+, 11+ and 13+ rows follow, with each boy’s school year in 2026-27 and his September start.

For the Year 7 (12+) Pre-test (Year 9 entry, September 2028), the Admissions Process page adds that “Our Year 7 Pre-test assessments are also open to boys who have not sat before and attend a prep school that finishes at the end of Year 8.” Policy 8.2, on offers after the Year 6 Pre-test (Year 9 entry, September 2029): “Applicants who perform sufficiently well in the 13+ written assessments in Year 6 will be invited to interview. Offers of 13+ places are made in the expectation that the applicant will continue to attend their Prep School until the end of Year 8. Offers are conditional upon receipt of a final Prep School report showing that appropriate levels of effort, academic attainment and conduct have continued since the offer of a place at Hampton was made.”

For a boy born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, 11+ is for Year 7 entry in September 2027 and the Year 6 (13+) Pre-test is for Year 9 entry in September 2029. The Admissions Process page says “Please note that boys may only sit for 11+ or 13+ entry and not both.” and “Please note that it is not possible to sit for both 11+ and 13+ entry. All boys are assessed in Year 6 and offers for both the 11+ and 13+ entry points are made in the February.” The school’s FAQ: “No, boys may only sit for entry at 11+ or 13+.” Policy 7.6 and 8.3 close each route to the other after an unsuccessful result: “Applicants who are not successful in the 10+ or 11+ assessments are not eligible to sit the 13+ assessments for entry at 13+.” and “Applicants who are not successful in the 13+ assessments in Year 6 cannot be considered for 11+ entry.”

Two further clauses concern age and time abroad. Policy 4.2: “For the purposes of entry, an applicant’s age is calculated according to UK custom. The School does not rigidly apply the 1 September birthday watershed for determining the applicant's eligibility for entry, but an applicant whose birthday falls after 1 September in the academic year of entry will need to demonstrate that they are of sufficient maturity to cope with the academic and social demands of the School (at the relevant entry point).” Policy 4.3: “Occasionally, an applicant may have fallen behind in their education (e.g. due to illness or time spent living abroad). In such cases, the School may offer a place in a Year Group lower than the applicant's age would normally imply.” See our guide to which UK year group a child abroad belongs in.

For the Year 6 Pre-test (Year 9 entry, September 2029) and the Year 7 (12+) Pre-test (Year 9 entry, September 2028), see our Hampton School 13+ guide and our 13+ from overseas guide.

Which dates does Hampton give for September 2027 entry at 11+, and for the 10+ and 13+ sittings?

All dates are Hampton’s own, read on 10 October 2026 on its Admissions Process page unless a row names another page. Dates before Saturday 10 October 2026 are in the past tense. The first table serves 11+ entry to Year 7 in September 2027, for boys born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016.

The second table sets the other sittings side by side, each under the entry year it serves. Registration for the 10+ Advance Place and for new Year 7 (12+) candidates closed on Thursday 1 October 2026; the Year 6 (13+) Pre-test registration closes on Sunday 1 November 2026.

The Entrance Assessments, the Supporting Reference and the Interviews

Registration comes first: “All boys must be registered with Hampton to sit the entrance exam.” The Registration page repeats it: “In order to sit our entrance assessments, candidates must first be registered with the School.”

For 11+ (Year 7 entry, September 2027), the Admissions Process page says “Entry to the First Year is via written exam, interview and school reference. Candidates sit three papers:” English (creative writing and comprehension), Words & Reasoning and Mathematics. Policy 7.1 fixes the year: “Boys are required to sit the School's 11+ entrance assessments while they are in Year 6.” For the Year 6 Pre-test at 13+ (Year 9 entry, September 2029), Policy 8.1 says “Boys are required to sit the School's 13+ written assessments in Year 6.” For other London schools, see our guide to how first-stage tests differ across London independent schools.

For the 10+ Advance Place (deferred entry to Year 7 in September 2028), the Admissions Process page says “The 10+ exam is held at Hampton at the beginning of November in Year 5.” After registering, “Your registration will be acknowledged on receipt and further information about the entrance assessments will be sent to you approximately 6 – 8 weeks before the exam.”

The reference is requested by the school, from the boy’s current school. For 11+ (Year 7 entry, September 2027): “We shall write to your son’s current headteacher in advance of the Entrance exam to request a confidential report in support of his application.” For 13+, which the source covers for both the Year 6 Pre-test (Year 9 entry, September 2029) and the Year 7 (12+) Pre-test (Year 9 entry, September 2028): “A confidential reference is requested from candidates’ current school prior to the entrance exam.”

Interviews follow the written stage. “Candidates who demonstrate potential in the written assessments are invited for interview.” At 11+ (Year 7 entry, September 2027) and at 13+ (the Year 6 Pre-test, Year 9 entry, September 2029, and the Year 7 (12+) Pre-test, Year 9 entry, September 2028), “Candidates meet separately with two members of our teaching staff for around 30 minutes in total.” The 11+ interviews (Year 7 entry, September 2027) are on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 January 2027 (PM); the Year 6 (13+) Pre-test interviews (Year 9 entry, September 2029) are on Saturday 9 January 2027.

Access Arrangements and the EAL policy: the bilingual dictionary and the extra time

Hampton’s Access Arrangements page names English as an additional language among the grounds for exam concessions: “In line with the Equality Act 2010, exam concessions may be available for candidates with a specific learning difficulty, disability or long-term medical condition, or for candidates for whom English is an Additional Language.” It asks families to “Please let us know as early as possible in the admissions process if you are seeking special exam arrangements of any kind for your son.”

The dictionary rule, with its condition: “Candidates who have English as an Additional Language may use a bilingual translation dictionary in the written exam providing this is their ‘normal way of working’.”

The extra time depends on the conditions in one sentence: “10% additional time in addition to the bilingual translation dictionary may also be awarded if they have English as an Additional Language, has been a resident in the UK for less than two years at the time of the exam and was not educated at an International or British school (where some of the curriculum has been delivered in English), prior to their arrival in the UK.”

The page sets request dates by sitting (11+: Year 7 entry in September 2027; Year 6 13+ Pre-test: Year 9 entry in September 2029; 10+: Year 7 entry in September 2028; 12+ Pre-test: Year 9 entry in September 2028): “Requests for special arrangements in the 11+ Entrance Exam and 13+ Pre-test (Year 6) must be received by 1 November prior to the entrance examination. Requests for special arrangements in the 10+ Advance Place Examination, 12+ Pre-test and 16+ assessments must be received by 1 October prior to the entrance examination.”

The English as an Additional Language policy says “EAL applicants are subject to the same admissions procedures as other applicants.” It also says “Those with EAL needs identified on the application form or via their current school should be made known to the School in advance, particularly in relation to their performance in the English paper.” The same paragraph says “EAL applicants sit all assessments at HPP&P and all three entrance examination papers: English, Verbal Reasoning and Mathematics at Hampton School.” HPP&P is the policy’s abbreviation for Hampton Pre-Prep & Prep.

For interviews, the Access Arrangements page says “The interview process does not require extra time; however, sufficient and reasonable adjustments will be made on the day as necessary.”

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Offers & Acceptances: results, acceptance deadlines and the clocks abroad

For 11+ (Year 7 entry, September 2027): “Places are awarded mid-February and acceptances required early March.” For 13+ the two Pre-tests differ: “Year 6 Pre-test: offers are made in February and acceptances required at the beginning of January of the following year” (“January 2028” in the key-dates table, for Year 9 entry in September 2029) and “Year 7 Pre-test: offers are made in January and acceptances required within 10 days of offer” (Year 9 entry in September 2028).

Noon acceptance deadlines on Dubai, Doha, Hong Kong and Singapore clocks

The acceptance deadlines for the Year 7 (12+) Pre-test and for 11+ carry a clock time, “noon”: “Friday 29 (noon) January 2027” and “Early March 2027 Deadline for accepting places (noon)”. Each row below is read as if this is UK time.

The working. GOV.UK’s table of clock changes gives 25 October for 2026 (clocks go back) and 28 March for 2027 (clocks go forward), and “When the clocks go back, the UK is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).” The UK is therefore on GMT (UTC+0) from Sunday 25 October 2026 until the clocks go forward on Sunday 28 March 2027, so noon on Friday 29 January 2027, and noon on any day in early March 2027, is 12:00 UTC. Adding the offsets to 12:00: +4 hours = 16:00 (Dubai/UAE and Oman); +3 hours = 15:00 (Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia); +8 hours = 20:00 (Hong Kong and Singapore), each on the same calendar day. The offsets are from the IANA time zone database: Asia/Dubai, Asia/Qatar, Asia/Riyadh, Asia/Hong_Kong and Asia/Singapore, with Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait listed in its backward file as links to Dubai, Qatar and Riyadh. For lesson times rather than deadlines, see our guide to online tuition and time zones.

What should a family abroad ask Hampton’s Admissions team in writing?

Each question is about one family’s case and sits beside the Hampton sentence that prompts it. The Registration page gives the Admissions team’s details: “020 8979 9273” and “admissions@hamptonschool.org.uk”.

Families outside the UK can take the whole programme online. Book a free consultation.

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