UK boarding school admissions run in five steps. You register, your child sits the school's assessment, the school makes an offer, and you accept it with a deposit, which secures the place. For a family applying from overseas, the school then issues the paperwork your child's visa needs. What changes from family to family is the timing, and that depends on the age your child joins.
Which entrance exams do UK boarding schools use, and when?
For a boarding place, three entry points matter, and each has its own test.
- 11+ entry (Year 7). Children sit assessments in Year 6. Many senior schools use the ISEB Common Pre-Tests, four online tests in maths, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, which ISEB says are often taken in Year 6 or Year 7. Some girls' schools use Common Entrance at 11+ instead, three papers in English, maths and science.
- 13+ entry (Year 9). Pupils often sit the Pre-Tests in Year 6 or 7, then Common Entrance at 13+ in Year 8, with compulsory papers in English, maths and science. ISEB runs three sessions a year, in November, January and May/June.
- 16+ entry (sixth form). Each school sets its own tests and interviews. Ask which subjects it examines for the A levels your child wants to take.
For international families, 16+ is the busiest door. The ISC Census 2026 found that 55.7% of non-UK pupils whose parents live overseas are in Years 12 and 13. Only 2.5% are in Year 6 or below.
How early should you start?
Our general guide, set out on our admissions page, is to start researching 12 to 18 months before the intended start date and submit applications 9 to 12 months before. Assessments and offers usually follow 6 to 9 months before, and enrolment is finished 3 to 6 months before your child joins.
Entry at 11+ and 13+ starts earlier. ISEB's calendar sets the pace. For the 2026-27 Pre-Tests, its Guardian Portal opened for registration on 9 June 2026 and live testing began on 1 September 2026. A child sitting those tests in Year 6 would join at 11+ in September 2027, or at 13+ in September 2029.
Step 1: Research and register
Each school runs its own process, with its own form, registration fee and deadline. If your child is applying to four schools, you are running four processes. Keep a calendar.
Before you register, be clear on three things: the entry point, whether your child will board full-time or weekly, and what football they need. A school with a strong academic record and one weekly football session is the wrong school for a player who trains five days a week now.
Step 2: The assessment
English and maths are examined at every age. At 13+ the spread of subjects is wider. Ask whether there is an interview and who conducts it; for a boarding place, the school needs to meet your child, not just read a report.
For a footballer, ask whether the school runs a sports assessment or wants footage first. Of the 141 family enquiry threads we received between 17 June and 15 September 2026, at least 12 raised footage. Send recent footage of real matches.
When our co-founder, Chris Woodburn, introduced a player to a school in September 2026, he sent both a highlight reel and full-match footage. He also suggested the family speak to both admissions and the football department.
Each school sets its own academic bar, and it is the school's decision on the school's assessment. The right school is one your child can get into on their academics, with football as the reason to choose it over another.
Do international students need an English test?
Each school sets its own English expectations and decides how to test them. Ask every school on your list which test it uses, what level it expects, and whether it offers English support, in lessons or in the boarding house, once your child arrives. If your child needs extra English before entry, the calendar above gets longer.
Step 3: The offer
Offers come in two kinds. An unconditional offer is a place. A conditional offer depends on something still to come, such as exam results or a further assessment. Scholarships, where a school offers them, are the school's decision on its own assessment.
Scholarships came up in at least 22 of those enquiry threads, which is why we say it plainly: plan on the full fee. Treat any award as a welcome reduction, not the basis of the plan. Our guide to football scholarships explains how sports awards are assessed.
Step 4: Accepting the place
To accept, you sign the school's acceptance form and pay a deposit. Deposits and their terms vary between schools. Read the notice-period terms before you sign, because they matter if plans change.
VAT has applied to independent school fees since January 2025, so check whether any figure a school quotes includes it; our guide to VAT on private school fees explains what changed.
Step 5: For overseas families, the visa paperwork and what a CAS is
The order matters: school first, then immigration. gov.uk says a Child Student visa needs "an unconditional offer of a place on a course with a licensed Child Student sponsor". Not every school holds that licence: the ISC Census 2026 reports that 603 ISC schools hold a Child Student or Student sponsor licence, so ask. Once a licensed school has offered a place, it sends a reference number called a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, or CAS, which your family needs before it can apply.
That is as far as we go on visas: the rules change, and they are for gov.uk and a regulated adviser to explain. Read gov.uk's current Child Student visa guidance early.
Does a boarder need a UK guardian?
gov.uk frames it as a question of where your child lives, not of a guardian as such: a Child Student must have a suitable place to live when not boarding. It lists the options:
- living with a parent or legal guardian who holds a Parent of a Child Student visa;
- living in the UK with someone who is a British citizen or settled in the UK. If that person is not a parent, gov.uk says they must be a foster carer, a close relative, or a nominated guardian. It adds that a Child Student can live with a nominated guardian for no more than 27 days in a row;
- leaving the country in school holidays.
gov.uk says a nominated guardian must be at least 18 and can be nominated by a parent, legal guardian or school. It also says a foster carer or close relative must be a British citizen or settled in the UK.
The Department for Education's National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools cover guardians too. Standard 22 says guardians appointed by the school go through "the same safer recruitment procedures as staff", and that school staff must never be appointed as a boarder's educational guardian. Ask each school whether it appoints guardians or expects you to, and how it checks the arrangement.
Between acceptance and the first day
Once the place is accepted, ask the school for two documents before your child arrives. The first is the school's statement of boarding principles and practice: Standard 1 of the National Minimum Standards says it must be "available to parents". The second is the boarding house's arrangements for keeping in touch. Standard 12 says boarders should be able to contact their families "at a time that is suitable for both parties, considering relevant time zones for international pupils". If you live in Dubai or Hong Kong, ask what that means in practice for your child's evenings. Ask for both in writing.
A short glossary
- ISEB: the Independent Schools Examinations Board.
- Common Entrance: ISEB's papers at 11+ and 13+, with English, maths and science compulsory at both.
- Pre-Tests: ISEB's four online entrance tests, usually sat in Year 6 or 7.
- CAS: the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, the reference number a licensed Child Student sponsor sends once it has offered a place, which a Child Student visa application needs.
- Child Student visa: the UK visa route, set out on gov.uk, for children aged 4 to 17 who want to study at an independent school in the UK.
- Nominated guardian: an adult, at least 18, nominated by a parent, legal guardian or school, with whom a Child Student can stay for up to 27 days in a row.
- National Minimum Standards: the Department for Education's standards for boarding schools in England, last updated on 18 May 2026, with standards on accommodation, health and wellbeing, safeguarding, guardians and contact with families.
Where Prestige fits in
Chris Woodburn leads admissions at Prestige. He is a BBSN accredited agent and British Council certified, and he runs the process with families from shortlist to first term. We shortlist schools that fit your child's football, academics and boarding needs, prepare you for each assessment, and stay beside you through offers and acceptance. See how our boarding school admissions support works.
If you are planning an application, our complete guide to football boarding schools is the next read, and when you are ready, register your interest and we will be in touch.