FAQs

Whilst we are academically selective, we are not an academic 'hothouse'. We are interested in recruiting girls who are keen to participate in all that is on offer, who want to become part of our thriving community and who really enjoy their academic work. We seek to develop all your daughter’s strengths and talents. We take the reference from the present school very seriously and believe that excellent exam results emerge from a broad-based, all-round education. All our pupils achieve Sixth Form grades that enable them to move on to good universities.

We have a cohort of around 25 girls join us at 11+ (Year 7) in our purpose-built Junior Boarding House, Aldhelmsted West. Here, they benefit from the specialist teaching and facilities of the rest of the school, at the same time enjoying a curriculum tailored specifically to their needs. While 11+ entry provides an ideal stepping-stone to our mixed-age Houses from 13+ (Year 9), 13+ remains the main entry point at Sherborne Girls, with around 65 girls joining us at that point.

Depending on availability, we also accept a few girls at 14+ and we have a small intake at 16+.

Entry at 11+ (Year 7) 
Entry is through ATOM online assessments and an individual interview with a member of senior staff. We use multiple-choice assessments in Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, English and Mathematics that have been developed specifically for Sherborne Girls. These tests are fully adaptive to encourage applicants to achieve optimum results. We also use the ATOM online platform to assess Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills.  

The assessments and interview take place at Sherborne Girls as an integral part of the 11+ Boarding Taster and Assessment Weekend in December of Year 6. Where appropriate, remote assessments can be arranged with prior notice. 

If space in the year group is available, a small number of places may also be offered at 12+ (Year 8). Applicants for entry at 12+ will follow a similar entrance assessment process to 11+ applicants. 

 
Entry at 13+ (Year 9) 
Entry is through ATOM online assessments and an individual interview with a member of senior staff. We use multiple-choice assessments in Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, English and Mathematics that have been developed specifically for Sherborne Girls. These tests are fully adaptive to encourage applicants to achieve optimum results. We also use the ATOM online platform to assess Critical Thinking and Problem Solving skills.  

The assessments and interview take place at Sherborne Girls’ 13+ Assessment Day in December of Year 6. Where appropriate, remote assessments can be arranged with prior notice.  

Unconditional places for entry to Year 9 (13+) will be offered following the Assessment Day in Year 6. If applicants sit the 13+ Common Entrance Examinations at their current schools in the June of Year 8, the results will be used for setting purposes only. 

If space in the year group is available, a small number of places may also be offered at 14+ (Year 10). Applicants for entry at 14+ will follow a similar entrance assessment process to 13+ applicants.  

 
Entry at 16+ (Year 12) 
A limited number of places are offered at Sixth Form to study A Levels. Entry is through assessments based on the subjects which girls wish to study at A Level, together with an interview and an observed group task.  

These assessments take place in the November of Year 11 in conjunction with Sixth Form scholarships. Candidates would normally be expected to obtain at least six Grade 6s at GCSE level (or equivalent).

We do not provide past papers. Our papers are skills-based rather than knowledge-based and no specific preparation is required.

If applicants are sitting Common Entrance, we use these results to set pupils, but rely on our own assessments to offer places.

We would advise registering at least two years in advance of entry. Lists at 13+ get booked up by a year in advance although some places do become available later in the process. At 11+ and 16+ there is more fluidity.

Sherborne Girls offers scholarships at 11+, 13+ and 16+ in a range of subjects and means-tested bursaries throughout the school, which can be worth up to 100% of fees in exceptional circumstances.

There is a sibling discount for the third child of 10% and for the fourth of 15%. This operates across Sherborne Girls, Sherborne School and Sherborne Prep.

As a full boarding school we have a number of military families. Please contact the Bursar to discuss the possibility of a bursary. Military and Foreign Office families are normally eligible for a 10% remission of fees.

Sherborne Girls has moved away from operating a system of House preference guarantee, for a variety of reasons. It is impossible to guarantee everyone’s first choice and, if we have a large cohort of girls coming from one school, we want to spread them out over the mixed-age Boarding Houses, ensuring new friendships are made and that no cliques form. We also relieve parents of the pressure of having to make a difficult decision when there is no right or wrong choice. We are well placed to make House allocation decisions as we have an overview of all girls coming into the school.

In making House allocations, we take several factors into account including the school that girls join from, their interests and strengths, and information obtained from the interview, and their Head’s reference. Whichever House a girl is placed in, they always end up thinking their House is the very best and that is just as it should be. Girls are fiercely loyal to their House and mix easily across year groups, something we encourage with our family lunches where they sit on mixed age tables. All the Boarding Houses have their own Dining Room, making each House more of a home from home and allowing more effective pastoral supervision, contact and care. The Houses are the cornerstone of our pastoral care system and will have a special place in the hearts of our girls long after they leave us. Lifelong friendships are formed inside their walls.

Full details about the uniform including price lists, name tape ordering and shop opening times can be found on the School Shop webpage.

Sherborne Girls is very much a full-time boarding school. Weekends are very busy with a comprehensive programme of events and activities taking place. There are academic lessons on Saturday mornings followed by sports fixtures or sporting options for students who aren't involved in matches. All pupils are expected to participate in matches, social activities and Abbey services. As a full boarding school, the majority of pupils stay in School so that our weekend schedule feels just as packed and busy as a week day.

Sherborne Girls has a global community of girls and we celebrate the diversity on occasions such as International Week. There are 10% overseas nationals from around 20 different countries and 10% British ex-pat families.

Sherborne Girls is a full-boarding community with 7% day girls who are well integrated into the Boarding Houses.

We believe that girls learn better in a single-sex classroom environment, but we are lucky to have Sherborne School as a close neighbour, a few minutes walk away. This enables collaboration in several areas, especially in music and drama. From September 2020, our girls have been able to join the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) at Sherborne School. Weekends are packed with a huge array of joint social events, from ‘Rock Soc’ to House dinners and film trips. Read more about our partnership with Sherborne School.

Sherborne has a direct train to London Waterloo. At the beginning and end of term there is a coach to Heathrow Airport. There is further information on our Transport and Travel page.

A number of students receive individual learning support and it may be a condition of entry. The cost of lessons is in addition to the fees.

Students for whom English is their second language will be assessed to see if they require individual EAL support. The cost of lessons is in addition to the fees.

All staff are equipped with a pen-enabled device and use digital technology in their lessons to develop and extend the curriculum. All pupils are expected to make use of a pen-enabled device with a keyboard during their lessons. They have access to Office 365 which allows them to download the Office suite onto their personal device and work collaboratively through the Sherborne Girls SharePoint.

For parents purchasing a new device (not available from the School Shop), the ideal product is a Microsoft Surface Pro or Microsoft Surface Go, Microsoft pencil and keyboard case. If pupils already own an iPad, there is no need to purchase a new device, but we request that they are equipped with a stylus and keyboard compatible with their device. Whatever device they have, it is important that they have a pen-enabled device (interactive screen).

All girls in Years 7 to 11 are asked to leave their mobile phones in the Boarding Houses during lesson time and to hand in their devices an hour before bedtime. They are however required to take a pen-enabled device (Microsoft Surface or tablet) to lessons to support their academic studies. By differentiating between the devices used for academic use and mobile phones for social use, the School aims to encourage correct use of tablets and laptops for learning and limit exposure to social media during the day.

We are very proud of our boarding programme and ethos and there are opportunities at all the main entry points to Sherborne Girls for a boarding taster. In December of Year 6 we invite all those registered for 11+ entry to a combined boarding taster/assessment stay at the School. At 13+ entry all those who have accepted places are invited to a boarding taster event in the September of Year 8.

As the name implies, these events are aimed at giving girls a taste of boarding life at the school and are designed to be a fun and sociable experience. At 16+ entry, we invite all girls who have been offered places to a post-GCSE residential programme over several days, where they have the chance to get to know the girls in their year group and to take part in a variety of activities aimed at developing leadership and life skills. If girls are unable to attend one of these events, we are also happy to arrange individual boarding taster stays.