Entry Procedure
The main points for entry to Canford are at 13+ and 16+. There is also the possibility of 14+ entry if space is available and if test results and school report indicate that the applicant is able to embark successfully on a two-year GCSE programme.
Registration
After visiting the school, the submission of a completed registration form and fee secures a place on the Headmaster's List. Those on the Headmaster's List are then invited to a pre-assessment in Year 7. The number of places available by this route will vary from year to year but over recent years around 65% of those who attended Headmaster's List assessments were later offered conditional places.
Most pupils come to Canford from a wide variety of preparatory schools, having taken Common Entrance there. Our pass mark of 55% ensures that pupils are comfortably challenged by our academic pace and curriculum and can proceed to success in 10 GCSEs and 3 or 4 A levels.
Those not at a prep school sit the Canford Entrance Tests during the Spring of Year 8. These do not require candidates to have followed a particular curriculum and they aim simply to identify academic potential. Sample Canford Entrance Test papers are available from the Admissions Office.
Please click here for some Frequently Asked Questions
Pupils join Canford in the Sixth Form from a wide range of backgrounds, both educationally and geographically.
Applications are required during October and applicants are invited to the school early in November for tests, interview and a tour of the school. Applicants from overseas may take these tests at their school. Places are offered subject to achieving a minimum of 42 points on the best seven GCSEs (where A* = 8, A = 7, B = 6, C = 5). Normally we would expect at least A grades in subjects to be studied at AS level and at least B grades in English and Mathematics.
Sample Canford Entrance Test papers are available from the Admissions Office.
Canford welcomes applicants from overseas. The school is run as a full boarding school, and so is well equipped to cater for their needs. At weekends there is a full programme of activities. For further details, please click here.
Currently, around 5% of pupils are British ex-patriots and about the same number are foreign nationals.
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