Entry to the School is at 11+ (Year 7), 13+ (Year 9) and 16+ (Year 12/Sixth Form).

The School's Governors determine its admissions policy, while the Head Master is responsible for securing the admission of pupils. Only he has the authority to admit pupils to the School. The Head Master retains the responsibility for defining the selection criteria and making the final selection based on recommendations from senior members of the academic faculty with whom he shares interviewing and aspects of assessment and testing.

All candidates for admission are treated equally, irrespective of their, or their parents', race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, orientation, property, birth or other status. We comply with our legal and moral responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and the Equality Act, 2010).

Indicate on the registration form if your child has a disability or a specific learning difficult so that we can make reasonable adjustments to our admissions procedures to ensure that your son is not placed at a disadvantage compared to other candidates. We need to be aware of any known disability or special educational need that may affect your son’s ability to take full advantage of the education we provide. Should the situation change at any point in the process, you must update the Admissions Officer, Gregg McCann by phone or mail before accepting the offer of a place.

If you’ve got any questions, want to discuss any aspect of our policies, or read full policy documents click here or contact us via the Admissions Officer, Gregg McCann.
 

Visiting the school

You may wish to attend one of the School’s Open Mornings, held each year in September and May.  Details of these can be found on the School website alongside the opportunity to book a private tour with a senior boy on a School day.  You can also order a School Prospectus.

Registration Deadlines

Bursary Applicants

Boys must first be registered with the school and completed Bursary Forms must be received by 30th September the year before entry.

Please click here for more information on Bursaries.

Practical Scholarship Applications

A number of scholarships are available in Art, Design, Engineering & Technology, Drama, Music and Sport.

Boys must first be registered with the school and completed Subject Scholarship Application Forms must be received by 30th September the year before entry.

Please click here for more information on Scholarships.

Please note, Academic and All-Rounder Scholarships are not applied for and are awarded on the basis of performance in the Entrance Exams; there are no separate Scholarship Exams.

Fee-paying applicants

The final deadline for applications is 31st October the year before entry.

Boys are registered once you have completed the School’s Registration Form, this includes the payment of the £150 registration fee and providing a copy of your son’s birth certificate and passport.

Exam Confirmation

Towards the end of November, we will contact you to confirm you wish for your son to sit the exams and will ask you to send a recent photograph of him. Following confirmation, we will send full details regarding the exams including a Reference Form to give to your son’s current school, along with a pre-paid business reply envelope for the school to send the reference directly back to us.

Entrance Exams

The Exams are taken in December of Year 6 and consist of the following subjects:

• English (1 hour)
• Mathematics (1 hour)
• MTS General Paper (1 hour)

Interview

Successful candidates in the exams will then be called for interview at Merchant Taylors’ School in late January/early February. Interviews are one to one with a member of staff and last approximately 25 minutes. The interview will assess four areas – communication; intellectual curiosity; reasoning and extra-curricular commitment.

After the interview

In mid-February you will receive either:

• a letter making your son an offer of a place (including details of Scholarships and Bursary awards if applicable)
• an offer of a place on our waiting list

Unfortunately, others will be notified that we are unable to make an offer.

Accepting a place

To accept the place, a deposit of £1,050 is paid. £600 is set against the first term’s fees and £400 will be returned at the end of your son’s School career. £50 is a non-refundable administration fee.

Visiting the school

You may wish to attend one of the School’s Open Mornings, held each year in September and May.  Details of these can be found on the School website alongside the opportunity to book a private tour with a senior boy on a School day.  You can also order a School Prospectus online. 

Registration

Boys are registered after you have completed the School’s Registration Form together with a £150 registration fee and a copy of your son’s birth certificate and passport. The deadline for this is 30th June in Year 5.

Interview List

In July of Year 5, we will confirm that your son’s name has been placed on our Interview List. 

Interview

Your son will then be called for interview online, hosted by your son’s school, in September/October of Year 6. Interviews are one to one with a member of staff and last approximately 25 minutes. The interview will assess four areas – communication; intellectual curiosity; reasoning and extra-curricular commitment. This interview will determine whether or not your son will be invited to sit the Qualifying Examinations.

After the interview

After the interview we will send you either:

• An invitation to sit for the Qualifying Examinations. To sit the for the Examinations a payment of  £50 is required; or
• A letter informing you that we have strong doubts whether or not your son will reach our qualifying standard in the Entrance Examinations. Under these circumstances your son will not be invited to sit for the Qualifying examinations. 

If you have received an invitation to the Qualifying examinations, you will be asked to accept it by 30th November in Year 6 by paying the £50 fee.

Entrance Examinations

The main Qualifying Examinations are taken in December of Year 6.

The Entrance Examination in December consists of the following subjects:

• English (1 hour)
• Mathematics (1 hour)
• MTS General Paper (1 hour)

After the examinations

Following the examinations there are three outcomes.

In mid-February some parents will receive a letter making their son an offer of a place in Year 9, subject to remaining in the same School and maintaining good academic and disciplinary records.

Please note that the terms of the offer are such that should your son not remain in the same school MTS will stipulate that a minimum level of performance will be required in the Year 8 setting examinations. 

Others will unfortunately be told that we are not able to make an offer. 

A third group will receive an offer of a place on our waiting list.

Accepting a place

To accept the place, a preliminary deposit of £1000 is paid, £600 set against the first term’s fees and £400 to be returned at the end of your son’s School career.

Confirmation Deposit

In January of Year 7 we will ask you to confirm that Merchant Taylors’ is your first choice of school by paying a further deposit of £1,000. From the total deposit paid, £1,600 is set against the first term’s fees and £400 is returned at the end of the School career.

From this point, please note that your deposit payments will not be refunded if, after confirming acceptance, you decide to cancel the offer.

Thereafter you will be required to give the school a full term’s written notice to cancel the place (this means before the beginning of the Summer Term of Year 8) or pay a full term’s fees in lieu of notice.

Setting Examinations

In January of Year 8, ISEB Common Entrance examinations will be sat for the purpose of setting in Year 9.  Outstanding performances in these examinations may also be rewarded by Academic Scholarships additional to those awarded in the Qualifying Examinations (see below).

Please note: There is a £125 fee for taking ISEB Common Entrance.

The School writes in March to confirm the results of the examination papers, and if appropriate details of any academic awards or concerns regarding performance.

All boys who have been offered places are invited in for a subject choices day in March. There is also an induction day before the beginning of the Autumn Term.

Practical Scholarships

A number of scholarships are available in Art, Design, Engineering & Technology, Drama, Music and Sport. These should be applied for separately no later than 30th September in Year 8.

Academic and All-Rounder Scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance in the Entrance Examinations; there are no separate scholarship papers. A number of awards will also be made to outstanding performances in the Year 8 setting examinations; there are no separate scholarship papers.

Admissions Fees

Please note:

The total of the deposits will be deducted from the school fee in the following amounts:

• £1600 (first term’s bill)
• £400 (final school bill)

Some Key Questions

Can boys enter for both 11+ and 13+?

Our expectation is that boys from 13+ Prep Schools will continue to use the 13+ admissions process.  If parents should opt to apply for 11+ entry then they will not be able to apply for 13+.  Merchant Taylors’ will alert 13+ Prep Schools to any of their pupils who have applied for 11+ entry so that they can discuss options with parents.

What if 13+ candidates miss the Year 6 entrance process?

The School will allow a 13+ entry to be made in exceptional circumstances in Year 8, but an application can only be made via the Head Teacher of a feeder school. In this instance, interviews will be held in the Autumn term of Year 8 and candidates will sit the Year 8 examinations in January.

When are Scholarships and Bursaries awarded?

Year 9 awards are based on performance in the Year 6 examination and interview.  Successful candidates are informed in February of Year 6. 

What is the difference between Admissions at 11+ and 13+?

11+ admissions continues to focus on a Primary School intake with the aim of admitting approximately 70 boys in to Year 7.  13+ remains the main intake of the School, with up to 80 places available, the majority of intake being from 13+ Prep Schools. Approximately 25 boys also join from Merchant Taylors’ Prep.

The processes remain distinct, as per the table below:

At 11+, the examinations are used to select the candidates for interview prior to final selection, whilst at 13+ the examinations are used to confirm final selection. 

Visiting the School

Parents are strongly advised to visit the School prior to application. 

Open Mornings take place twice a year, in May and September – a place can be booked here.

Individual tours hosted by a Sixth Former may also be arranged, more details here.

Registration and Deposit

Applicants are normally expected to be 16 years of age by 1st September of the year of entry. 

The deadline for registration is October 7th in the year preceding entry. 

The Registration Fee is £150 and the form can be accessed here→.

On acceptance of a conditional offer, a deposit of £1050 is payable (£600 set against the first term’s tuition fees, £400 against final account, £50 non-refundable administrative fee). 

The deposit is returned should the conditions of the offer not be met.

Assessment Procedure

Assessment has three components:

1. Written assessments in four subjects intended for study at A level, sat in November of Year 11.  Candidates will be sent a choices booklet in October and asked to nominate the subjects they wish to study. The assessments will test aptitude for A level study at Merchant Taylors’.
2. A reference from the applicant’s current school.  This will be requested directly from the school and is completed on a Merchant Taylors’ form. Applicants must also supply a copy of their most recent school report.
3. There will be interviews with specialists in the subjects that they wish to study at A Level and a general interview with a senior member of staff. The interviews will test academic aptitude and questions may also focus on strengths and weakness that became evident through the examination process. These are held in early December. 

Offers and confirmation of place

Conditional Offers are made on the basis of performance in all three elements of the assessment process and parents will be informed of the outcome in December of Year 11.  Offers are confirmed on receipt of final GCSE (or equivalent) results in August.  Conditional offers will specify the grades necessary for entry to be confirmed.

We do not discriminate against children on the basis of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, disability, SEND, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, or other attributes, as stated in the Equality Act 2010.

The school is obliged to check the identity of each pupil and parents are requested to provide the original of each applicant’s birth certificate so that we can take a copy. This, along with other necessary records, will be stored securely and confidentially.

Academic Scholarships

Up to two Academic Scholarships, worth up to 50% of the fee may be awarded. Academic Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of performance at interview and in the Entrance Examinations. Award holders will be expected to keep up a good standard of academic effort and achievement.

Practical Scholarships

To register your interest in Art, DE&T, Music and Sports Scholarships, please contact the Admission Office in the first instance, who will arrange for you to have an informal meeting with the relevant Head of Department.

Bursaries

The School welcomes applications from parents whose sons would benefit from attending Merchant Taylors’ School, and who contribute strongly to the life of the community, but who require financial assistance.  Means tested bursarial support is available up to the value of 100% fees.  Parents should request an application form from the Admissions Office and return it with the necessary supporting documentation no later than 30th September in the year preceding entry. Applications will be forwarded to Bursary Administration Limited for assessment.