Entrance Assessment
It’s important to us that every child joining Hymers College has the best chance to succeed. As such, all pupils joining the school from the Spring Term of Year 2 must sit an entrance assessment.
When do the entrance assessments take place?
The majority of entry assessments for Hymers College take place in January, with the pupils then joining the following September. We recommend applying by the beginning of December to ensure that your child can take part. For fee remission applications, the deadline for applications for the 2025-26 academic year is Friday 29 November 2024. The assessments for this intake will take place on the following dates:
Year 3: Saturday 11 January 2025
Years 4-6: Saturday 18 January 2025
Year 7: Applicants will be invited to either Wednesday 8 January or Thursday 9 January 2025 for stage 1. All applicants will then attend stage 2 on Saturday 18 January 2025.
Years 8-10: Friday 17 January 2025
Year 12: Saturday 18 January 2025
Following the main entrance assessment period, if we have capacity in a year group we are sometimes able to run individual assessments throughout the year, for entry into the current or next academic year. Please contact our Admissions team to enquire about capacity, by emailing admissions@hymers.org or calling 01482 343555.
What do the entrance assessments involve?
The assessments vary depending on the year of entry, as follows:
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There is no formal entrance assessment for pupils joining Pre-School to Year 2* at Hymers Hessle Mount. However, each child will be invited to a taster session. This is a great opportunity for us to get to know your child and for them to get used to our environment.
From this point, your child's progress will be tracked to ensure they can progress to Year 3 at the Junior School with no entrance assessment.
*Children joining Year 2 from the Spring Term onwards may need to sit the Year 3 entrance assessment.
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Pupils applying to join the Junior School (Years 3 - 6) will be invited to an entrance assessment, including:
Reading aloud
Reading comprehension
Short piece of writing
Maths assessment
Problem solving exercise
Informal interview
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Applicants interested in joining the Senior School in Years 7 - 10 will undertake an entrance assessment including:
A written Maths paper
A written English paper - comprehension and creative writing
An informal interview
A computer-based assessment called a CEM test
Year 7 applicants who apply by December will also be invited to take part in a fun day of activities alongside other applicants. This is a great opportunity for them to get to know their peers, staff members and the school, as well as for us to get to know them and to see how they communicate in a more relaxing environment.
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Applicants interested in joining the Senior School in Year 11 would need to provide us with a list of their current GCSE subjects and the relevant examining bodies, allowing us to map their progress against our current students.
If we thought we could accommodate a switch part-way through their GCSE course they would then sit an entrance assessment, including:
A written Maths paper
A written English paper - comprehension and creative writing
An informal interview
A computer-based assessment called a CEM test
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When applying to study in our Sixth Form, all pupils have an informal interview with the Headmaster.
Following this, your child may receive a provisional offer based on the pupil's GCSE results.
Students who wish to apply for the Hymers Fee Remission (Bursary) Scheme would also need to sit a computer-based CAT test. The CAT test takes approximately two hours and covers areas such as verbal and non-verbal reasoning, as well as numeracy.
How can my child prepare to sit the entrance assessment at Hymers College?
We will assess your child based on the curriculum they should have already covered at school, so no formal preparation is required. However, they may wish to do some revision of their Maths curriculum. For English, we recommend plenty of reading. Children might also find puzzles useful in their preparation.
We recommend that you don’t purchase any sample papers online as these have not been provided by us. We do not publish sample papers.
For students who will be sitting the computer-based CEM test (Years 7 - 11), we recommend using this CEM Select Familiarisation.
How do I book an entrance assessment for my child?
Everyone who applies to join Hymers College will be invited to an entrance assessment. All applications should be made online. Find out more about our Admissions Process and when to apply.