Admissions Overview

Latymer Prep School is an independent day school for boys and girls aged 7-11. Founded in 1951 as a department of Latymer Upper School, the Prep School now welcomes more than 170 pupils for their primary education. These academically able boys and girls progress to Latymer Upper School to complete an education which is academic as well as rounded and grounded.

We celebrate diversity and welcome children from all social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We are a community where the pupils, parents and teachers work together to create a learning environment which challenges, engages and stimulates. You cannot pigeon hole a Latymerian. Our children are all bright, engaging individuals with an infectious enthusiasm for life and learning. We’re delighted you are considering Latymer Prep School for your son or daughter and hope the information on these pages is useful. We look forward to meeting you and your child in due course.

THE ENTRY PROCESS

Latymer Prep School admits 44 boys and girls into Year 3 each September; 22 boys and 22 girls. We determine each child’s entry point by their age on 1 September. 

Children join the Prep School from independent and maintained schools. In order to sit the assessments, the children must be registered via the online registration form. Please note, we accept applications from pupils who are British or Irish citizens or who can demonstrate that they are dependents of people legally entitled to live in the UK for the duration of their study at Latymer Prep and Latymer Upper School. We do not support Tier 4 Visa applicants.  

WRITTEN ASSESSMENTS

There are three papers: English Comprehension (45 minutes), Creative Writing (35 minutes) and Mathematics (45 minutes). We write our own papers and share exemplars once the registration process has been completed. The comprehension paper is a combination of multiple choice and written answers; the writing paper is an expressive piece connected to the comprehension piece and the mathematics paper incorporates topics covered at the top of KS1 and early KS2 curriculum and includes puzzles and problem-solving as well as number/shape/space/measure and time. 

We do not support remote assessments. All candidates will need to attend Latymer Prep School for the assessments and subsequent assessment stages on the published dates.

INTERACTIVE ASSESSMENT

Those children who perform particularly well in the academic papers will be invited back to the school for a shared activity session and group interview. No preparation is necessary or possible for this stage.

Once children are called for an interactive assessment, we write to their current schools requesting a confidential reference. We recommend parents discuss their plans with current schools in advance of the request being made.

OFFERS

Offers of places take into account all the information gathered during the selection stages. 

Please note that each place is earned on merit and due to our academic selection process, Latymer does not have a sibling policy.

VISIT US

Our visit programme, for entry to the Prep in September 2025, will begin with an Open Day on Saturday 15 June. Booking will open in February on the Prep website. In September 2024 we will also be inviting bookings for a series of Open Mornings in October. Parents will be able to reserve two places for themselves through the booking form on the Open Morning booking section.  

KEY DATES