Our assessment approach is tailored to suit the age of our applicants.
Applying to join Nursery or Reception
After we receive your registration, you’ll be invited to a taster morning, during which children are assessed in their peer group before enjoying lunch in our Refectory.
Applying to join Years 1 – 6
Following your registration, a meeting with the Head of the Prep and a familiarisation day will be organised. Prep school applicants sit an age-appropriate assessment as part of this day. If your child is at school already we will ask for a copy of the latest school report.
Applying to join College (Years 7 – 11)
For College applicants, we use a computer-based assessment test provided by CEM.
The CEM test takes approximately 60 minutes* and assesses three core areas:
- Numerical ability
- Verbal ability
- Non-verbal ability
*Extra time is available to support applicants who require this.
Our assessments are designed to enable applicants to demonstrate their academic potential. They reduce the need for coaching and excessive preparation, as they evaluate genuine understanding rather than learning through repetition. CEM does not provide any practice material as they believe this maintains fairness.
CEM data allows us to accurately set new students and forms the basis upon which we then track and monitor each student’s progress.
For further information on CEM assessment please contact admissions@stedmundscollege.org.
Applying to join Sixth Form
Sixth Form applicants are invited to join us for an interview and we request a reference from your current school. Entry to Sixth Form is conditional on achieving certain GCSE grades the subjects selected for A Level.