100% Common Entrance Success 2009
Congratulations to the following pupils.............
| Abigail Aird |
King's Canterbury |
| George Byrne Hill |
Ampleforth |
| Rollo Chadd |
Stowe |
| Finnian Charlton-Jones |
Oundle |
| Rupert Clark |
Uppingham |
| Peter Crockett |
Framlingham College |
| Thomas Dufficy |
Ipswich |
| Harold Elman |
Woodbridge |
| William Everington |
Woodbridge |
| Louis Ewart |
King's Canterbury |
| Pippa Fernandes |
Oundle |
| Monty Fynn |
Ipswich |
| Michael Hargrove |
Winchester |
| Sam Huxtable |
Culford |
| Cameron Kerr |
RHS |
| Poppy Lawrence |
Uppingham |
| Anastashia Lophukin |
Stowe |
| Katherine McGuckian |
RHS |
| Joseph Moore |
The Leys |
| Alexander Morrison |
Oundle |
| Holly Morrison |
Canford |
| Molly Nainby-Luxmore |
King's Canterbury |
| Alexander Neagus |
Ipswich |
| Henry O'Brien |
Haileybury |
| Ahmed Omer |
Woodbridge |
| Flora Peacock |
RHS |
| David Perkins-Peck |
Culford |
| William Quilter |
Harrow |
| Jack Riddleston |
Culford |
| Monty Scowsill |
Uppingham |
| Cordelia Sears |
Cheltenham Ladies' |
| Alexander Shea-Simonds |
The Leys |
| Oliver Skailes |
Rugby |
| Felix Tritton |
Harrow |
| Flora Vivian |
RHS |
| Thomas Walker |
Uppingham |
| Alice Whittingdale |
St Mary's, Ascot |
The Common Entrance Examination (CE) is the term given to the three days or so of exams which children sit at the beginning of June of their final year at prep school, at age 13 . Basically a public school entry or placement exam, it is THE academic hurdle which has to be jumped for a child to make the transition from prep school to the chosen public school.
The exams are set by the ISEB (Independent Schools Examinations Board), which is composed of representatives of both prep and senior schools. Each paper has a prescribed syllabus and format. The children sit these exams at their prep school, and their scripts are forwarded at the end of each day to the public schools for which they have been entered, where they are marked. The results are published on the Thursday of the week following the one during which the exams were taken.
The CE papers cover all the main academic subjects. In the case of French there is an oral exam a few weeks prior to the written paper: the child has a chance to read and converse in French, and an audio recording of this is sent to the public school. In Geography a written investigation has to be submitted, usually by the end of the Easter term, in addition to the exam proper.
Generally speaking, Common Entrance is not that academically demanding for the average child who is well motivated, has worked well, and has followed a full CE course at prep school under academic staff who know what they are doing! A notional pass mark of 55% in each subject is considered to represent a sound overall level of academic attainment. The more prestigious public schools, who can afford to be selective in their intake if demand is high, may require a higher standard than this.
A good deal of transfer documentation and information passes between prep and public school. Of critical importance is the confidential report sent by the prep school Headmaster, in which attention is drawn to a child’s extracurricular talents, attitude and responsibilities.