Ampleforth College 13+ Tutoring — 2027 Entry

Ampleforth assesses for Year 9 entry twice over. Children sit the school's own computer-based assessment in Maths, English and Non-Verbal Reasoning in January of Year 6 or Year 7, and an offer to a child from a UK prep school is then "conditional upon achieving a 50% average score in Common Entrance, sat in June of Year 8". Registration costs £100 and should be done by the beginning of Year 7.

What does the Ampleforth 13+ assessment involve?

One assessment day and one condition attached to it. The school states that "All children will sit our Ampleforth entrance test in January of Year 6 and 7", that the test "takes place at Ampleforth over the course of a day", and that it "involves a computer-based CEM assessment in Maths, English and Non-Verbal Reasoning for which no specific preparation is required. Children also have an interview with our Registrar, and, after lunch, enjoy an afternoon of activities with future peers."

Note the year groups. This is not a Year 8 assessment: the school tests in January of Year 6 or Year 7, well before Common Entrance. A family that starts thinking about Year 9 entry in Year 8 has missed the main sitting, and the school makes separate provision for them — "For those who don't apply until Year 8, our Ampleforth entrance test will be held in the November of that year."

On the name: CEM is retired branding. Cambridge now sells the product as Cambridge Select Insight, described as "Suitable for 11+, 13+, late transfer and fair banding", with its 11+ and 13+ versions marketed to independent schools. Cambridge also states that it does "not provide any commercially available practice materials (including practice or past papers) nor endorse any other commercially available resources or tuition services". There is therefore no official past paper for this assessment, which sits consistently with the school saying no specific preparation is required. Our guide to CEM and GL Assessment explains where the name went.

The assessment is also not the whole decision. The school describes admission as being "through assessment and interview, and is subject to reports and a Head's reference from your child's current school". Registration comes first: "Registration must take place before the formal assessment process commences", with "a non-refundable registration fee of £100", recommended "by the beginning of Year 7", and "All applicants should be registered with us before sitting the assessments."

What is the Common Entrance condition, and what if we do not sit it?

For a child coming from a UK prep school, the offer has a number attached. "For children joining Ampleforth at 13+ from a UK prep school, an offer is also conditional upon achieving a 50% average score in Common Entrance, sat in June of Year 8." The school restates it as an expectation rather than a formality: "Children taking Common Entrance are expected to continue to work towards this as we expect them to achieve over 50%."

For everyone else there is an equivalent, and it is the sentence most guides to this school omit. "For those not taking Common Entrance, we expect them to continue to make good progress at their current school and to achieve an equivalent pass in their own Year 8 curriculum." A child at a state school or overseas is therefore not disadvantaged by having no Common Entrance to sit; the school judges progress in whatever curriculum they are following.

The practical shape of that is a two-stage gap of eighteen months or more. The assessment is sat in January of Year 6 or Year 7; the condition is discharged in June of Year 8. Between those points a child has to keep working rather than coast on an offer, and that is precisely what the school says it expects. It also means preparation splits: format and screen fluency for the January assessment, then subject depth for Common Entrance.

What are the key dates for Year 9 entry?

The school publishes separate tables for 2027 entry and for the cycles after it, and the two overlap in a way that is easy to misread. The January 2027 assessment date belongs to 2028 and 2029 entry, not to 2027 entry — children applying for September 2027 who are already in Year 8 sit in November 2026 instead.

The Basil Hume Scholarship timetable is worth reading alongside that. The school's scholarship page gives the 13+ Basil Hume Scholarship assessment as "Thurs 26 - Friday 27 November 2026" with a closing date of "Saturday 31 October 2026", and notes that it "Will include entrance assessments unless previously taken". A Year 8 applicant going for the scholarship therefore sits everything in one November window rather than twice.

Accepting a place involves a confirmation form and "a confirmation deposit", which "is refunded at the end of your child's time at Ampleforth College". Families are then asked for a House preference. The school seeks a reference from the current Head after acceptance and states that "In the unlikely event that a Head raises a concern, we reserve the right to reassess our offer."

What does a Basil Hume Scholarship actually give you?

Recognition rather than money, and the school says so plainly. "Basil Hume Scholarships are awarded ahead of students entering Year 9 and are held for three years." But from that point: "From Year 9 onwards, scholarships are honorary and bring no fee remission (although in the case of Music Scholarships, music tuition is covered)." A family expecting a discount at 13+ is expecting the wrong thing.

What it does carry is standing in a different process: scholarships "can be extremely helpful in supporting a bursary application as a strong indication of a child likely to flourish at Ampleforth". Given that the bursary deadline and the scholarship deadline are both 31 October 2026, a family intending to use one to support the other has to plan them together rather than in sequence.

The disciplines are broad — the 13+ Basil Hume Scholarship covers "Academic, Art, Dance, Drama, DT, Music & Sport". Applications carry "a fee of £50 per scholarship", non-refundable. A pupil may apply for more than one "but due to the commitment required of our scholars, it is not possible for a pupil to hold more than two awards", all awards "are won in open competition and are awarded solely on merit", and each is "subject to annual review". Scholars are also assigned "a personal Scholarship Mentor to monitor and support their progress".

What are the fees for Year 9 and above?

The step from Junior House into the College is the largest single change in cost a family meets at this school, and it happens exactly at the 13+ entry point.

Two reductions are published, and the second is much larger than it first reads. "A sibling discount of 10% will be applied to younger siblings when multiple siblings are at the College. This applies to new families joining after September 2026." And for service families: "For the children of HM Armed Forces and HM Diplomatic Service personnel who are in receipt of the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA), families will pay only the mandatory 10% of our boarding fees. No further discounts, such as sibling, will be applied." That is paying ten per cent, not saving it, and it does not stack with the sibling discount.

Bursaries run on their own dates and their own committee. For Year 9 applicants the deadline is 31 October 2026, the Randag Bursary closes earlier on 30 September 2026, and the Bursary Committee meets in December 2026. Families who need a funding answer before committing should work back from those, not from the offer.

How does Leading Tuition prepare pupils for Ampleforth 13+?

We take the school at its word that no specific preparation is required for the entrance assessment, because Cambridge publishes no practice papers for it and anyone selling one is selling something else. What we build instead is the ground the three sections stand on — mathematical reasoning past routine calculation, comprehension and written accuracy in English, and pattern and spatial work for Non-Verbal Reasoning — plus fluency at working on a screen under time, which is a distinct skill from working on paper.

The Common Entrance condition is where most of the tutoring hours belong, and it is the part with a published number: a 50% average, sat in June of Year 8. That is subject work rather than test technique, and it sits eighteen months or more after the assessment day, so the real risk is a child drifting during the gap between an offer and the condition that confirms it.

For the interview, the useful preparation is the same as it is everywhere: being able to give a reason and an example for your own interests, rather than rehearsing answers. The afternoon activity is not an assessment to prepare for at all. Families weighing the earlier entry point should read our Ampleforth 11+ guide, which covers the two-day Year 7 assessment and the Development Awards available at that stage, and our 13+ school guides cover comparable boarding schools. Book a free consultation to map the dates against where your child is now.

Every date and figure above is quoted from Ampleforth College's own pages and dated. Schools move dates: confirm current details on the school's Year 9 Entry page before you register.

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