ISEB Pre Test Abroad: Where Your Child Can Sit It in 2026-27

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4. ISEB Pre-Test abroad

The ISEB Pre-Test is an online admissions test that a child abroad sits at an approved invigilation centre, which ISEB says can include prep schools, senior schools, maintained schools, British Councils worldwide and registered governmental or educational locations. ISEB says a parent cannot add a venue. ISEB gives 1 September 2026 as the start of live testing for the 2026-27 session and late May 2027 as its end. Each senior school sets its own next stage.

Tuition is delivered online via a high-quality video platform, meaning our specialist tutors are accessible to families regardless of location. The format of the test is in our ISEB Pre-Test guide; this page covers where it is sat from abroad, what the host must provide, and what each senior school’s own page says comes next.

Where ISEB says a child abroad can sit the test

ISEB’s Common Pre-Tests Support Portal answers the question in one sentence and a list: “Children take the ISEB Common Pre-Tests at an approved invigilation centre. These can include:”

• “Prep schools”
• “Senior schools”
• “Maintained schools”
• “British Councils worldwide”
• “Registered governmental or educational locations”

1. The current school first. “In the first instance, parents/guardians are advised that their child’s current school is the best place for them to sit their tests.” ISEB’s first step for a parent is “We recommend contacting the candidate's current school to see if it would be willing to become an invigilation centre for the Pre-Tests.”
2. The senior school next. “If they cannot be accommodated at their current school, ISEB recommends that parents/guardians contact the senior schools to which they are applying to see if the tests can be sat with them or if other arrangements need to be made.”
3. An approved third-party centre last. “If the pupil can not take the tests at either their current or prospective school, then an approved independent third-party educational or governmental invigilation centre can be found.” For help, “parents and guardians can contact ISEB for help sourcing an approved non-school venue invigilation centre”.

What a family cannot do is create the centre. ISEB’s wording is “Unfortunately, a parent or guardian cannot add a venue as a new invigilation centre.” For a venue that is not a school ISEB sets a condition that involves your child’s senior schools: “All new non-school invigilation centres will need to agree to ISEB’s terms and conditions and receive written confirmation from each of the candidates’ prospective senior schools confirming their venue and staff can act as an invigilation centre for the school and candidate/s.” ISEB also says “If an invigilation centre needs to be added, then approval is quicker when the senior school makes this request than the parents or guardians.”

ISEB’s guidance for centres includes this line about where a child sits: “Please ensure that the applicants know these tests should only be accessed at the designated invigilation centre.”

The senior schools word the same options in their own pages. Harrow’s and St Paul’s pages each describe the overseas route for the pre-test, and the dates table further down carries the venue sentences of Wellington College and Wycombe Abbey:

• Harrow School, Year 9 entry: “An applicant who attends a school overseas should ask his current school to supply a suitable testing room with a computer and internet access, along with an administrator to set up and supervise the CPT. If the applicant's current school is unable to invigilate the test, his local British Council office or another educational establishment may be used as an alternative venue.”
• St Paul’s School, international applicants, 13+: “For 13+ admissions, boys currently at school overseas may sit the ISEB online pre-test at their school if it is willing to administer the test. If the school is unable to administer it, then the test should be taken at the local British Council Office.”

What a host school or venue has to provide

Hosting an external candidate is optional for a school. ISEB tells parents that the school might want to know that they “are not required to act as an invigilation centre for any external candidates”. So the most useful thing a family can hand a head or an IT lead is ISEB’s own list of what hosting involves. Its first line is about cost to the school: “Invigilating the tests is free of charge; they are taken online and only require a computer and internet access”.

The rest of the list comes from ISEB’s Invigilation Centre Guide, its system-requirements article and its scheduling article, each linked in its row:

ISEB’s guide gives the diagnostic check as two weeks ahead in one sentence and one week ahead in another. Booking the earlier date is our suggestion, not an ISEB rule.

When each school wants the pre-test, and the entry year it serves

ISEB states the 2026-27 season in its own list: “Tuesday 1st September 2026: Live testing for the 2026-27 session commences.” and “Late May 2027: Testing for the 2026-27 session ends.” ISEB also says “The tests are designed for pupils in Years 6 and 7. Some senior schools use the tests for admission into Year 7, while others use it for entry into Year 9.”

Each school picks its own year group and window, so one sitting serves different entry years. Where a page names the entry year, the last column uses the school’s label; elsewhere the label is ours, from the arithmetic of UK year groups: Year 6 in 2026-27 reaches Year 9 in September 2029, Year 7 in September 2028 and Year 8 in September 2027. Benenden’s page fits that arithmetic for Year 6: “Benenden assesses 13+ candidates three years in advance of entry, during Year 6.” The birth-date rule is in our year-group guide. Each status is as of 4 October 2026, the day the pages were read.

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After the pre-test: what each school’s page says comes next

Of the 11 schools whose pages were read on 4 October 2026 (Eton College, Harrow School, Westminster School, St Paul’s School, Wycombe Abbey, Wellington College, Marlborough College, Radley College, Tonbridge School, Charterhouse and Benenden School), the tables below sort each by what its own page says about the stage after the pre-test. The sorting is ours. Each school’s sentences sit in its own row, with the page they come from. For interviews held by video, see our video-interview guide.

Pages that place the next stage at the school

Pages that encourage a visit or describe another arrangement

Registering in the Guardian Portal, in an order that works from abroad

The order of these Guardian Portal steps follows ISEB’s own guide and support articles:

1. Register only after the portal opens. “Tuesday 9th June 2026: Guardian Portal opens for registration for the 2026-27 session. Do not register before this date.”
2. Current school. “Current school: Use the full name and address of your child’s current school, as it appears on their website.”
3. Speak to the centre before choosing it. “You should always check with the invigilation centre before selecting, especially if you are not selecting your current school.”
4. Expect a pending status. “An invigilation centre must respond and confirm that your child is taking the test with them to change the status from pending to confirmed.” Meanwhile, “Your Applicant ID will still be generated if you do not have an invigilation centre, or if it is pending.”
5. Check the booking exists. “If you select an invigilation centre in the guardian portal you will need to contact them to ensure they have booked the test for you and it is scheduled to take place before your child’s test deadline.”
6. Change the centre in the right order. “If the invigilation centre has approved the applicant already, you will need to contact the Invigilation Centre to ask them to decline your request.” On other profile details, ISEB’s article for centres says: “Once a profile has been approved, the parent or guardian is unable to make changes. Amendments need to be requested from ISEB at this point.”

Questions to put to each school in writing

• Harrow School. Its Year 9 entry page gives 30 September of Year 6 and says: “Registrations received after this date will be considered Late Applicants. Late Applicants will be competing for fewer places but follow the same application procedure.” Its FAQ answer, not labelled by entry year, says: “We do make some provision for late applications, although, as these boys are competing for fewer places, we can only assess those with strong references. Unfortunately, we cannot assess late applicants from overseas schools.” Ask Harrow in writing which route your child is on.
• St Paul’s School. Both of its pages are quoted in its row above. Ask which applies to your child’s written assessments.
• Wycombe Abbey and Radley College. Both answers above come from general FAQs not labelled by entry year. Ask each which entry year applies and what a family that cannot attend is offered.
• Hong Kong and mainland China. Harrow’s Year 9 entry page says: “Applicants from outside the UK should follow our normal Admissions procedures. However, applicants from Hong Kong or China should first register with our representatives, listed below:” Harrow lists its representatives on its Year 9 entry page. Tonbridge lists its representatives on its international applicants page, and Charterhouse names its partner on its application process page.

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