Years 3, 4 and 5 entry

The main point of entry into the Junior School is at age 7 (Year 3) when we have some 45 places available (15 or 16 boys in each of three forms). We have six to 10 places for entry into Year 4 (age 8) and Year 5 (age 9).

Registration for admission in 2020 has now closed. Registration for 2021 and beyond will open at the beginning of April.

Open Days and Visits

Parents are invited and warmly encouraged to visit the Junior School during the school day. The Head of Junior School leads comprehensive tours for up to ten parents on Friday mornings during the Michaelmas and Summer terms. This provides an excellent opportunity to see the Junior School at work and to discuss the details of the entry procedure. To reserve a place, please contact the Junior School Registrar, Mrs Polly Twisk, on 0208 299 8432 or by email junioradmissions@dulwich.org.uk

Parents and boys are also welcome to visit on our Open Days, when college boys act as guides.

Junior School Open Morning

Saturday 12 October 2019, 9.30am to 12.00 noon
Dr Joe Spence, Master of Dulwich College and Dr Toby Griffiths, Head of Junior School will speak at 10.15am, 10.45am and 11.15am
All welcome, no reservations required

Junior School Open Afternoon

Wednesday 13 November 2019, 1.30pm to 3.30pm
Dr Toby Griffiths, Head of Junior School, will speak at 1.30pm

Registered Parents' Evening

Wednesday 27 November 2019, 7.30pm

This evening is exclusively for those parents of boys registered for September 2020 entry. Speakers include the Master of the College, the Head of the Junior School and a Year 13 pupil who began his Dulwich College career in the Junior School. Junior School staff will be on hand to answer questions after the presentations.

Entry Procedures

2019 Entry

Registration deadline: Friday 15 November 2019 by 12 noon

Age 7 applicants

Year 3 Assessment: Tuesday 7 January 2020 (am)
Year 3 Activity and Interview Morning: Saturday 25 January 2020
Results Posted: Friday 31 January 2020
Replies Deadline: Friday 7 February 2020 by 12 noon

Applicants’ schools will be contacted directly for a confidential report in November.

In our January assessment, the boys will sit papers in Mathematics and English (writing and reading comprehension) as well as Non-Verbal Reasoning. The majority of boys who are successful in our entry procedure will be working at National Curriculum Level 3 by the end of their Infant or Pre-Prep school (which is above the national average for their age group). Candidates who have shown sufficient promise in the assessments will be invited back in mid-January for a morning of varied and enjoyable group activities as well as a short individual interview.

Decisions on a boy’s suitability will be based on his assessment results, his interview, his school report and his approach to learning as demonstrated throughout his time with us.

Age 8 and 9 applicants

Year 4 and 5 Assessments: Monday 6 January 2020 (pm)
Year 4 and 5 Activity and Interview Morning: Saturday 18 January 2020
Years 4 Results Posted: Monday 27 January 2020
Years 4 Replies Deadline: Monday 3 February 2020 12 noon
Years 5 Results Posted: Wednesday 22 January 2020
Years 5 Replies Deadline: Wednesday 29 January 2020 12 noon

Applicants’ schools will be contacted directly for a confidential report in November.

Our assessments include papers in Mathematics, English (writing and reading comprehension) and Reasoning. Candidates who have shown sufficient promise in the assessments, will be invited back for interview.

Decisions on a boy’s suitability will be based on his assessment results, his interview, his school report and his approach to learning as demonstrated throughout his time with us.

Successful candidates are offered a place subject to the College's Standard Terms and Conditions

Disability and Special Educational Needs

Please notify the Junior School Registrar by Friday 15 November 2019, along with any professional reports and recommendations, if your child has any learning difficulties or disabilities which might affect the administration of the 2020 assessment, so suitable arrangements can be made.

Register your son

Entrance Advice

What are we looking for in the Dulwich College Junior School Assessments?

It is important to stress that we are looking for potential in the boys - boys who will thrive at Dulwich College to the age of 18. Our challenge is to find that potential, rather than simply select intensely-tutored boys, whose natural ability will grow with the challenges a Dulwich education provides.

There are four areas of good practice for boys preparing for our papers, all of which can and should be achieved through normal schooling.

Reading, reading and reading

Ideally, your son should be reading aloud to others as well as to himself; he should discuss the stories read, any new vocabulary encountered, their meaning and how they relate to other books, authors and the world around them.

Mathematics

Boys should be thinking about questions forwards and backwards so that they can understand and link topics. If they are given the answer, what was the question? They will be given questions in forms that they won’t have seen before; can they apply their knowledge to these novel questions?

Writing

We are looking for boys who are able to express themselves creatively and accurately. Some awareness of writing an interesting and well-structured piece within 30 minutes is an excellent preparation for our assessment. Also checking for spelling, punctuation and grammar is also to be encouraged. There is a great deal of guidance, given in the form of a mini-lesson beforehand, as to what is required. Then, please be reassured that a teacher will be on hand to support and prompt your son if he requires it during the task on the assessment day.

Talking

Boys will be encouraged to talk about themselves in the chat with the member of staff, discussing their genuine interests and enthusiasms, what they are reading and what they enjoy doing in their spare time. We are looking for boys who have a spark and a passion. Quiet or shy boys can very effectively relay the topics that fascinate them with our gentle and supportive staff.

Reasoning

The boys do not need to do any preparation for reasoning (e.g. non-verbal), although some familiarisation with these type of questions may increase confidence for the uninitiated.

On the Assessment Day

We aim to make the day as normal and as comfortable as possible with friendly teachers encouraging and supporting the boys. The boys will enjoy a morning not unlike a typical school day. The boys will be settled in with Lego or games before they start their papers and the day will include an outside play break and healthy refreshments. The boys will have a really positive and memorable experience of their visit to Dulwich College Junior School.

Entrance Assessments

Year 3 applicants (boys who want to join us at age 7)
Year 4 and 5 applicants (boys who want to join us at age 8 or 9)

Year 3 applicants (boys who want to join us at age 7)

Boys will undertake assessments in Mathematics, English (writing and reading comprehension) and Reasoning. The vast majority of boys who are successful in our entry procedure will be working at National Curriculum Level 3 by the end of their Infant or Pre-Prep school, which is above the national average for their age group. The multiple choice assessments (reading and reasoning) may take place on a computer. The boys will be given guidance and practice in how this will work before sitting the assessments.

Mathematics

Boys will be expected to be able to demonstrate addition and subtraction of single digits, and Hundreds, Tens and Units. They can use whatever methods they have been taught; some schools, for instance, will not have taught vertical addition or subtraction by the time the children come for the assessment. They will need a good working knowledge of at least the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables and be prepared to use alternative methods to address other times tables. They need to be able to show an understanding of fractions of shapes, interpret simple bar graphs and solve a range of worded and pictorial mathematical problems.

Sample 7+ Mathematics Question

English

The English assessment consists of a writing task and a reading paper.

Writing task: Boys will be asked to write a simple piece based on a video or picture stimulus and will be expected to write for about 20 minutes (e.g. between 8 and 15 sentences approximately). We will be looking for a piece that makes sense; includes some creative vocabulary, has a structure, and shows sound understanding of age appropriate spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Reading comprehension: The reading paper has two parts. The first section is sentence completion, where pupils have to choose a word from a list to complete each sentence correctly. The sentences become increasingly difficult. The second part of the paper consists of several comprehension passages with some multiple choice questions.

Sample 7+ Reading Questions

Reasoning

Pupils will be required to do a mixture of reasoning questions. This test is a means of looking at a pupil’s underlying ability. It is ‘age-standardised’, which helps us to identify the potential of candidates, especially for the very youngest boys who have July or August birthdays. We do not assume the boys will have had any experience of these tests before they arrive and we will prepare them for it with a brief practice test before they start the main test to ensure they understand what to do.

Activity Morning

After the written assessment morning we invite back 80-90 applicants for an Activity Morning. The boys will be organised into groups of around ten and will enjoy a carousel of activities including thinking, music and team-building projects. We are not expecting accomplished musicians or sportsmen, instead we will be monitoring the ability of the boys to follow instructions, their enthusiasm and capacity for working within a group and their ability to think and express themselves in novel situations. In addition all the boys will have a one-to-one chat with a teacher when they will read a short passage and answer questions on it, do some mental mathematics and engage in a friendly conversation about themselves and their interests; our staff are skilled at putting the shyest of boys at their ease.

Year 4 and 5 applicants (boys who want to join us at age 8 or 9)

The boys will undertake assessments in Mathematics, English (writing and reading comprehension) and Reasoning. Candidates who have shown sufficient promise in the assessments will be invited back for interview. The multiple choice assessments (reading and reasoning) may take place on a computer. The boys will be given good guidance and practice in how this will work before sitting the assessments.

Mathematics

The papers for these points of entry cover a wide range of concepts candidates will have already met at their current schools. A good working knowledge of all of their times tables will be helpful, and they will need a sound grasp of the four rules of number, including written multiplication and division methods at 9+. They will need to use their own strategies and methods to solve mathematical problems, including word problems involving two distinct calculation stages.

English

The English assessment consists of a writing task and a reading paper.

Writing task: All boys will be asked to write a simple piece based on a stimulus (e.g. a video). The piece should have a clear structure and be paragraphed. We will be looking for descriptive and figurative language in your son’s writing. Marks will be awarded for good knowledge of age-appropriate spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Reading comprehension: The reading paper has two parts. The first section is sentence completion, where pupils have to choose a word from a list to complete each sentence correctly. The sentences become increasingly difficult. The second part of the paper consists of a comprehension passage with some multiple choice questions. The format is the same for all age groups, but the reading level becomes more demanding and the questions more challenging.

Activity Morning

After the written assessment morning we invite back approximately half of the applicants for an Activity Morning. The boys will be organised into groups of approximately 10 and will enjoy a carousel of activities including thinking, movement, music and team-building projects. We are not expecting accomplished musicians or sportsmen, instead we will be monitoring the ability of the boys to follow instructions, their enthusiasm and capacity for working within a group and their ability to think and express themselves in novel situations. In addition all the boys will have a one-to-one chat with a senior staff member when they will read a short passage and answer questions on it, do some mental mathematics and engage in a friendly conversation about themselves and their interests; our staff are skilled at putting the shyest of boys at their ease.