Dean Close Preparatory School 7 Plus (7+) Entrance Exam Information – Key Details
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Dean Close School is a co-educational day and boarding school in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Founded in 1886, it is a high-performing facility whose leavers often proceed on to further education at Russell Group universities. [1]
The Prep Department boasts a broad curriculum which introduces children to a variety of disciplines, including English, mathematics, science, French, history, geography, RS, art, DT, ICT, drama, music and PE.
Its strong and varied educational provision extends beyond the limitations of the classroom, encompassing a rich selection of extracurricular clubs. Consequently, pupils have the opportunity to engage in fencing, chess, athletics, tennis, origami and gardening, among other clubs, and become fully involved in school life while building positive relationships with staff and peers. [2]
Dean Close offers state-of-the-art facilities, including a 550-seat professional theatre and a 25m indoor heated swimming pool, some of which are used by both Senior and Prep School students. The Prep Department solely has undergone numerous refurbishments and is now home to a £4.5 million education centre, two new drama studios and a cutting-edge ICT suite.
Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Exam Information
Address: Lansdown Road, Cheltenham GL51 6QS
County: Gloucestershire
Admissions info: dcpsregistrar@deanclose.org.uk or 01242 258001
School type: Independent, co-ed day and boarding school
Open days: In the Spring and Summer terms
7+ Exam date: On Taster Day
Open Events for Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Entry
Open Events at Dean Close Prep ensure that prospective families learn first-hand what it means to be a part of its vibrant community. You and your child will enjoy a guided tour of facilities and refreshments, during which you can meet up with key staff members and ask questions about the ethos and admissions process.
Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Admissions
Following the visit, you may wish to take the next step and register your child for entry. Registration forms should be submitted with a fee of £100.
Entrance assessments are completed on Taster Day, or at another mutually convenient date. If a place is offered, you will be asked to accept it with a payment of a deposit.
Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Scholarships and Bursaries
At 7+, Dean Close Prep offers an Academic Scholarship on the basis of your child’s ability, potential, attitude and work ethos. Typically, this award is valid till the end of Year 6, by which time your child will have the opportunity to apply for 11+ scholarships. More details are available on this page.
Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Exam Format
The Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) exam consists of the following assessments:
- English writing (essay)
- Cognitive Abilities Test
The English exam examines writing skills, including punctuation and grammar. Marks will be awarded for good use of imagination, creativity, form, purpose, organisation, cohesion and sentence structure.
The online Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) assesses Verbal, Non-Verbal, Spatial and Quantitative Reasoning.
Please see below for further details and recommendations on how to prepare for the Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus entrance examination.
How to Prepare for the Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Entrance Assessment
Practice tests are an effective tool for preparation for the Dean Close Prep School 7+ exam. With the help of our practice tests, designed and formatted to match the actual exams, your child will learn to deal with various 7+ exam question types quickly and confidently.
The benefits for your child are numerous: the tests provide focused practice and familiarity with a wide variety of possibilities and examples, serving as an indicator of any weaker areas that require additional work ahead of the exam. We suggest starting early with your revision so that you have plenty of time to identify subject areas that need additional work.
The majority of our 7+ resources are accompanied by detailed step-by-step video tutorials for every question. These are available for free with all purchases. It’s like having a world-class tutor explain each question to your child at no extra cost!
Our practice tests are used successfully every year by tens of thousands of students targeting schools with a competitive entrance exam. They are age-appropriate, reflecting the demands of the actual exam.
Our recommendations to help your child prepare for the Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus entrance exam can be found below.
Dean Close Prep School 7 Plus (7+) Exam Practice Papers
If you are at the very beginning of your 7+ journey, you may wish to start with our range of 6+ resources. These cover the core skills your child needs to develop but at a slightly easier level.
Our 6+ range will help your child develop confidence and a strong foundation before they progress further with the 7+ material listed below.
English Essay
We highly recommend the following packs to prepare successfully for the Dean Close Prep School 7+ English assessment. They will help improve your child’s writing skills:
Writing Skills
Writing Guide
Starting from the foundational basics, this guide works its way through all the key skills your child needs to develop to become an excellent writer within the framework of what’s expected at the 7+ level.
The Complete Illustrated Guide to 7+ Writing
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.
Get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250. Use the code eppdiscount at checkout.
Cognitive Abilities Test
The following packs will significantly boost your child’s Reasoning abilities ahead of the Dean Close Prep School 7+ Cognitive Abilities Test:
Full Practice Tests
CAT4 – Level X – Practice Test 1
CAT4 – Level X – Practice Test 2
CAT4 – Level X – Practice Test 3
CAT4 – Level X – Practice Test 4
CAT4 – Level X – Practice Test 5
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended CAT4 Full Practice resources for the Dean Close Prep School 7+ exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
CAT4 Level X Practice Tests Bundle - Save 25%
Skill Practice Tests
To boost your child’s Verbal Reasoning (Words) abilities in the lead-up to the 7+ CAT4 Level X exam, we recommend that you use the following topic exercises:
For effective Quantitative Reasoning (Numbers) practice in the lead-up to the 7+ CAT4 Level X exam, we recommend that you use the following skill exercises:
To enhance your child’s Non-Verbal Reasoning (Figures) abilities ahead of the 7+ CAT4 Level X exam, we specifically recommend the following skill exercises:
To improve your child’s understanding of Spatial Reasoning (Shapes) in preparation for the 7+ CAT4 Level X exam, we advise the use of the following topic exercises:
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended CAT4 Skill Practice resources for the Dean Close Prep School 7+ exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
CAT4 Level X Skill Practice Bundle - Save 15%
If you don’t buy a Bundle, you can use the code ppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £80 and 20% off orders over £200.
Our practice tests aim to show the sorts of questions that have been included in Dean Close Prep School 7+ past papers. The information provided about Dean Close Prep School was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.
Other entry points for Dean Close School:
Click here to learn about Year 4 entry via the 8 Plus (8+) Exam
Click here to learn about Year 7 entry via the 11 Plus (11+) Exam
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