Downsend School: Entry Procedure for 11 Plus (11+)/Year 7
Bookmark this page? Pop your email into the box below to receive a link to this article so you can easily refer back to it later.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Downsend School is a co-educational independent school for children aged 6 months to 16 years. It comprises Little Downsend Ashtead (6 months to 4 years), Little Downsend Epsom (ages 2-7), Little Downsend Leatherhead (ages 2-7), the Junior School (ages 7-11) and the Senior School (ages 11-16).
Specialist teachers at Downsend Senior School deliver engaging lessons and encourage pupils to be active learners. The goal is for students to become reflective, self-aware and able to form their own opinions. Pupils’ academic progress is carefully monitored so teaching can be adapted when necessary.
Outside of the classroom, pupils get involved in a wide range of activities. The following clubs are just a handful of those on offer: Journalism Club, Zoology Club, Art Club and Origami Club. Pupils also regularly go on day trips and residential trips.
The happy and caring environment at Downsend School means that pupils thrive. Every pupil has someone they can turn to for guidance. Additionally, the emotional development of pupils is monitored so teachers can provide personalised support as and when it is required.
Downsend School: Admissions Process for 11 Plus (11+)/Year 7 Entry
As the first step of the admissions process to the Senior School, you are encouraged to contact Downsend School to have an informal conversation to help you decide if the school is a good fit for your child.
You can then arrange to visit the school on an Open Day or a Talk and Tour morning. These events will enable you to view the facilities, meet members of staff and find out more about the school’s ethos. It is also possible to arrange a personal tour.
Registering is the next step, which the school recommends you do no later than September of the year before entry. It involves completing paperwork, paying the £150 non-refundable registration fee and providing your child’s latest school report. Downsend School will also request a reference from your child’s current school.
Once your child is registered, you will be sent an email requesting you book your child onto an Assessment Day via a link. Depending on when you registered, the Assessment Day will be in November, January or March of Year 6.
The Assessment Day is a chance for the school to get to know your child and assess whether they will flourish at Downsend School, both academically and socially. Your child will take part in some fun activities, sit the online Progress Test in English (PTE), sit the online Progress Test in maths (PTM) and complete a writing task.
Offers will typically be made within two weeks of the Assessment Day. To accept an offer, you will need to fill out and submit the forms sent to you in the Offer Pack by the deadline you are given. You will also need to pay the £750 acceptance deposit, which is refunded when your child has completed their last term at Downsend School.
Downsend School: Scholarships
The following scholarships are available for Year 7 entry:
- Music
- Sport
- Drama
- Academic
- Art, Design and Technology
Music scholarships are for pupils who have a passion for music and will join at least two ensembles at Downsend School.
Sport scholarships are for pupils with a high level of sporting ability and a desire to play sport at an elite level.
Drama scholarships are for pupils who have been fully involved in every drama opportunity they have been given in Year 5 and Year 6.
Academic scholarships are for pupils who have a love of learning and excel across the curriculum.
Art, Design and Technology scholarships are for pupils who want to develop their skills in this area. Candidates need to demonstrate that they have gone beyond what has been required of them in the classroom.
For more detailed information, please click here.
Downsend School: School Details and Information About the Entrance Assessments
Senior School address: 1 Leatherhead Road, Leatherhead, KT22 8TJ
County: Surrey
Admissions info: admissions@downsend.co.uk or 01372 372311
School type: Independent school for boys and girls
Open Days: Termly
Entrance assessments for Year 7: Progress Tests in English and Maths and a written exercise
The Progress Test in English (PTE) will evaluate the standard of your child’s spelling, punctuation and grammar. It will also use fictional and non-fictional texts to check their reading comprehension.
The Progress Test in maths (PTM) will assess your child’s mathematical knowledge and competency in areas such as algebra, data handling and shapes. It will also assess your child’s mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills.
The PTE and PTM will be taken online.
The written exercise will assess the standard of your child’s writing. Your child will need to show, amongst other things, that they can use a variety of sentence structures, set their work out in paragraphs and use language effectively.
Preparing for the Downsend School 11 Plus (11+)/Year 7 Entrance Assessments
At Exam Papers Plus, we recommend that your child spends time preparing for the Year 7 entrance assessments. Doing so will help build their confidence, enabling them to approach the Assessment Day with a positive mindset, which can lead to a stronger performance.
Starting to prepare for the Assessment Day well in advance will mean your child can have regular, short study sessions and avoid any last-minute panic.
Pretest Plus, our sister company, has a Progress Practice Test designed for pupils who will be sitting Progress Tests in Year 6. Working through the Practice Test will enable your child to become familiar with what they will face in the PTE and PTM. Looking back at any mistakes they make in the Practice Test, they can work out where they went wrong using the explanations provided. This will mean they can avoid making similar mistakes on the day.
Downsend School: Practice Materials
Progress Test
We highly recommend the following exercises to prepare successfully for the Downsend School 11+ Progress Test. They will help improve your child’s English and Maths skills at the appropriate level:
Progress Practice Test – Year 6
English
For students preparing for the Downsend School 11+ English paper, we would recommend using the following practice papers to help improve writing skills:
If you’d like to have your child’s writing assessed and marked, you may be interested in our Writing Marking Service. Please click here to learn more.
Don’t forget to use the code eppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250 if you don’t buy a bundle.
If you have any questions about any of our resources, please contact us.
The information provided about Downsend School was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of possible future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.
Please note that Exam Papers Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and resources and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers of the GL Progress Tests or any other test publisher.
Bookmark this page? Pop your email into the box below to receive a link to this article so you can easily refer back to it later.
