Admissions FAQs

At RGS Prep our main intake Year Groups are:

• Nursery (joining the September after your son turns 3)
• Shell/Reception (joining the September after your son turns 4)
• Year 3 (joining the September after your son turns 7)

We occasionally have space for mid-year entry or in other Year Groups. To find out what places are available please contact Mrs Hills, Admissions Manager by email to prep-admissions@rgsg.co.uk.

After you have had a look at our website and prospectus, please get in touch to visit the school. We hold Open Mornings in March and October. Click here to book.

Registrations for a place at RGS Prep should be completed online together with payment of a £100 non-refundable fee. Following registration, your son will be invited to an assessment session.

We welcome visitors at our Open Mornings in March and October. Click here. 

Please contact the Admissions team for availability of small group / individual tours during term time via email prep-admissionss@rgsg.co.uk.

You can register your child using the online form link and by paying the non-refundable registration fee of £100.

RGS Prep aims to provide a happy, purposeful environment for pupils and we try to demonstrate this on assessment days by putting candidates at their ease and making it as pleasant an experience as possible.:

Nursery (3+)

• Our Nursery Stay and Play assessments take place in the morning and last for approximately 45 minutes. It is a play-based session in small groups and is led by our highly experienced staff. Our aim is for your child to have a positive experience with us, in a warm and friendly environment. Whilst the boys are playing, parents are invited to stay for refreshments and have an opportunity to meet our Head.

Shell/Reception (5+)

• Our Shell/Reception Stay and Play assessments last 45 – 60 minutes. Children are observed playing in small groups and our Early Years Teachers engage with them in a variety of activities. Whilst the boys are playing, parents are invited to stay for refreshments and have an opportunity to meet our Head.

Year 3 (7+)

• Registered boys are invited to the Year 3 assessments; the main session takes place on a Saturday morning in November. Boys complete assessments in English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning and take part in music and sport workshops.

Ad-hoc availability

• Occasionally places become available in other Year Groups. To register your child for an occasional vacancy, please complete the online registration form and you will be contacted when a place becomes available to arrange an assessment for your child.

During the admissions process, boys are identified whose academic and other abilities appear to match the ethos and standards of RGS Prep and whose personal qualities suggest they have the potential to positively contribute to the school community and benefit from the many opportunities that are offered at RGS Prep.

Parents of children that attend RGS Prep have a wide selection of future schools to choose from when deciding where to move on to. The selection of the right school for each individual boy is discussed with Mr Freeman-Day, Head, during Year 5. At RGS Prep we ensure each individual is well prepared for their chosen secondary schools.

To view a list of destination schools of boys who have left RGS Prep. Click here.

RGS Guildford has an academic selection process for entry into Year 7. All boys must register to sit the entrance examination.

RGS Prep is proud to be the choir school for Guildford Cathedral’s boy choristers. The majority of choristers start in Year 3. RGS Prep boys are invited to audition in the Michaelmas term of Year 2, with a view to starting as a probationer chorister when they enter Year 3. Auditions are offered to boys who have accepted an offer to start in Year 3.

Our co-curriculum provision is extensive, but we are always looking to serve the boys’ evolving interests. From over 50 clubs and activities to trips, and an enriching Inspire programme, there is the opportunity for every boy to take a brave step beyond the comfort of their form room. To find out more click here.

Please find more information on RGS Prep uniform here. 

We are so proud of the education that RGS prep offers, and we want to make this an opportunity that is open to boys from all backgrounds, regardless of financial circumstances from Year 3+ (boys joining in Nursery – Year 2 are not eligible for bursaries). If you think you might be eligible for the Bursary scheme which offers assistance with fees, please indicate your interest on the online registration form. All bursary applications will need to have been completed prior to your son’s assessment at RGS Prep.

Currently RGS Prep do not offer scholarships.

The fees are payable termly in advance, or monthly by direct debit, and include the cost of most stationery and textbooks, games and school societies, but exclude a small number of items, e.g. individual music tuition is provided at an extra charge. The Governors reserve the right to review or alter fees at any time and at a term’s notice. Entry is competitive, but no parent who would like their son to come to RGS Prep should be deterred from applying for financial reasons, as it is the policy of the school to make the education offered as widely available as possible. Bursaries can be offered from Year 3. Choral educational bursaries are available for Guildford Cathedral Choristers after they have successfully completed their probationary period. Voice trials for this take place in Year 2.

Choosing the right school for your son is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. We understand that you are likely to have lots of questions and would welcome you to get in contact with our Admissions Manager or book a visit.

No. Wherever your son sits the test, the data will be processed independently by the ISEB and then shared (with all those independent senior schools using these tests to which your son is applying). It makes absolutely no difference where he sits the test and there will be absolutely no distinction made as we analyse the results. All boys will, however, come to the RGS for the interview and composition/English creative writing task.

For Primary School candidates, the online test is traditionally sat in one of the candidate’s intended senior schools who are running these tests.  For Prep School candidates, the online tests are sat in their own Prep School. If for whatever reason this is not possible, then your son is welcome to sit these at the RGS.

We will have both desktops and ultra-books with a mouse attached to each one, so the setup is comparable for all candidates.

No, the Common Pre-Tests are usually taken in Year 6 and then any offer made by the RGS in unconditional, irrespective of whether it is 11+ or 13+ entry.

Unfortunately, not. All the boys sitting the Pre-Tests have confirmed whether they are looking for a place at 11+ or 13+; therefore, all the available 13+ places will be offered alongside the 11+ places in February.

Absolutely not. The assessments are designed to test potential and follow closely what your son has been learning in Year 5. It is often felt that tutoring simply adds to the pressure. Speak to your son’s current headteacher and if he recommends that the RGS is a good fit for your son then that is the best. Through our interview and second interview process we are giving every boy every chance to show their true ability so have confidence in your son and have confidence in the system.

We traditionally have over 400 boys from over 130 different schools who sit the Entrance Examination to secure one of the 150 places available in the whole year group. Around 125 boys join us in the First Form and around another 25 two years later in the Third Form. We have no quota as we treat each boy individually on their merit. This year around 45% of our First Form joined us from State Primary with the remaining balance coming from both Prep and Independent Schools.

We are delighted to have applications for both entry points. The RGS has historically always had entry at both 11+ and 13+ and is committed to a significant 13+ entry all the time demand remains. Although there are more places available for Year 7 entry, we have more candidates applying for these and therefore there is no difference in terms of ratio of applications to places. Analysis of students as they leave the School proves that irrespective of the entry point boys are equally successful and, as importantly, have immersed themselves equally in the broader life of the School while making life-long friends.

We do not have a designated catchment area for prospective students; boys travel into the RGS from throughout Surrey and also from the borders of Berkshire, Hampshire and Sussex. The vast majority of our students take public transport and we also encourage our boys to throw themselves into the extra-curricular life of the RGS, some of which takes place after school. As such, we recommend that a travel time of approximately 30 minutes is sensible to allow boys to have a good home-school balance.