The Harrow Test and Interview
How many students enter Harrow each year?
Each year, 160-165 boys enter the School in Year 9 (13+) and 15-20 in Year 12 (16+). Although Year 9 and Year 12 are the main entry points, Harrow states that occasionally a place becomes available at the beginning of Year 10. Enquiries regarding this point of entry should be made to the school directly.
Can I visit Harrow before registering?
Harrow recommends that families visit the school before registering their son for entry. It is strongly recommended that these families attend an open morning. There are roughly twelve open mornings a year, which take place on Saturday mornings.
About 65 families attend each opening morning with a typical program including:
A presentation by the Head Master
A panel session led by the Director of Studies
A tour of the school
A visit to a boarding house
Opportunity to meet other masters and boys
When do I need to register for Harrow for 13+ entry?
Families interested in sending their son to Harrow must be formally registered. The fee for entry is £350 and non-refundable. The deadline for Year 9 (13+) entry is 1st May when the pupil is in Year 6 although there are several advantages to registering earlier than that, by the end of Year 5.
The schools do also permit ‘late’ applications which may come between 1st May when the pupil is in Year 6 and the 1st May of Year 7. Harrow does state, however, that only ‘outstanding’ candidates can be expected at this late stage. All applications are done via an online portal and those wishing to apply can do so only through that method.
When do I need to register for Harrow for 16+ entry?
Families wanting to send their son to Harrow for 16+ entry must do so in early September of Year 11 (Harrow website has specific dates). There is a second assessment period for those applying late which is in the first week of January in Year 11. The school advises that a boy takes part in the first round of assessments as there are only a limited number of places available. All Year 12 applications should be made via the online portal.
Harrow states that applicants can only register for Year 12 admission from the January of the preceding year. For boys looking to join the school in September 2024, the application window would end January 2023. For boys with birthdays in August/ September, although it is preferable for them to enter in line with their academic year, there is some flexibility with entry which can be determined by the registrar and the family.
What is the admissions process for 13+?
There are three stages for 13+ entry for Harrow.
Stage 1
Harrow requests references from current schools and every candidate who is registered must sit the ISEB test, (Independent Schools Examination Board) Common Pre-Test which is an age standardised and adaptive series of tests for English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning. The test is either sat at the boy’s current school, an alternative educational establishment or the British Council offices. This test is sat between October and May of Year 6. Harrow recommends that stronger candidates should try to sit this test between October and December of Year 6 if at all possible so the school can see their results earlier. That said, sitting the test later is not a disadvantage. Candidates can only take the test once per academic year.
You can find more information about the ISEB test here (link to blog).
Stage 2
The results of the ISEB Common Pre-test along with the reference are reviewed before boys are selected to go forward to Stage 2 of the assessment. Boys who do well in the ISEB Common Pre-test and have a strong reference are invited to meet a House Master between January and June of Year 6 (this is why it’s an advantage to sit the Pre-Test in the second half of the Autumn term). Boys not invited to meet a House Master during stage 2 of the application process will meet them when they sit the Harrow test.
Stage 3
All boys who pass the ISEB Common Pre-test in ‘Stage 1’ are invited to Stage 3 or the ‘Harrow test’ which involves a computerised English and Maths assessment (30 minutes each), a classroom-based group activity, and two interviews with a House Master and a Senior Master.
What is the assessment process for 16+?
Stage 1
Boys applying to study sixth form at Harrow School are asked to choose four subjects they hope to study at A-Level and on which they are happy to be assessed. A reference is requested from the current school and they’re invited to sit tests in the boys’ current strongest subjects either at Harrow or a recognised test centre.
Stage 2
Those shortlisted applicants are invited to an assessment day at Harrow where they sit further tests and have interviews with the Head Master as well as the registrars. They also attend a seminar with the Head of Subject of one of the school’s academic departments.
What is the selection criteria for Harrow?
The final judgement on which boys are awarded places and not sits with the Head Master. The House Master and Registrar play a major part in the process and advise the Head Master on the selection of boys.
For entry to Year 9 (13+) Harrow offers places conditional on sitting Common Entrance or performing well in the academic scholarship exams. There is no pass mark for Harrow as regards the Common Entrance but they do state; “we would hope a boy with a place at Harrow School would achieve at least 65% in all the papers that he was sitting. (Many boys average 70% plus)”. The Common Entrance marks dictate which divisions the boys end up in when they arrive at the school.
For those who attend schools which don’t prepare children in the Common Entrance (overseas schools, state schools) their boys are asked to sit Maths, English and Science Papers as well as French and Latin if they’re studied.
For entry to Year 12 (16+) successful boys have 8 or more GCSE passes with 7/8/9 grades and very likely they will have achieved an 8/9 in the subjects they wish to study in Sixth Form.
All prospective applicants will also be able to show the character and interpersonal skills that will allow them to succeed at Harrow. Harrow specifies that they are specifically interested in boys that demonstrate resilience and independence are interested in plenty beyond the curriculum.
What about overseas applicants?
Around 25% of the Harrow pupil body are resident overseas. Although most boys are British nationals, 41 different countries were represented in the last count according to the school report. The school doesn’t run a quota system for overseas students. The only essential thing is that students have English as their first language and if they don’t that there’s a high level of fluency so boys can enjoy and benefit from the full curriculum.
How do scholarships work at Harrow?
Harrow awards a scholarship which usually comprises 5% of the school fees, an award offered in recognition of a boy’s high performance. Harrow offers scholarships, at 13+ and 16+, in the following fields:
Academic
Music
Art
Drama
Sport
DT
Engineering
More information on bursaries and general scholarships can be found on the Harrow information document.
3-Session Interview Package
£360
We specialise in preparing children for their interviews for 11+ and 13+ entry to secondary schools. This package includes three one-hour sessions delivered live and online by a trained Oppidan mentor with reports to follow each session.