Admissions Procedure
The main points of entry to the Senior School are at Year 7, Year 9 and Year 12 for Sixth Form. Walthamstow Hall also offers the option for pupils who are currently in a Prep School that continues to Year 8, to apply at the Year 7 entry stage and then defer that place to start in Year 9.
Applications are received for pupils from over 40 schools in both the state and independent sector, including our own Junior School. All applicants follow a common admissions process, outlined in the Admissions Procedures which follows and in the Admissions Key Dates page. For all admissions enquiries please contact the Registrar, Mrs Alex Knight on 01732 468703 or at registrar@whall.school
Year Group and Class Sizes
Walthamstow Hall has a three form entry at Year 7, which is usually a cohort of between 50 – 60 pupils.
Typically, up to 10 additional pupils join at Year 9, when an extra class is added, making 4 forms of around 15 – 17 pupils in each.
New pupils can be admitted in other year groups when places are available.
Before Making an Application
Before applying to Walthamstow Hall parents are advised to attend one of the School’s Open Mornings, these take place in September and March each year and places can be booked through this website. Parents are also invited to refer to the Policies page of this website for School’s Admissions and Attendance Policy.
Making an Application
Parents who wish to apply for a place must complete the ‘Registration Form‘ found on the ‘Apply for a Place’ page.
For entry in Year 7 and 9 in September 2025 the deadline for submitting an application will be October 2024 – once dates are confirmed, we will publish on our Key Dates page . For entry to our Sixth Form in Year 12, the deadline will be November 2024. Applications may be made after this date but such applicants will not be eligible for scholarships or awards.
Admissions Procedure – Year 7
The admissions process for Year 7 entry takes place in the Autumn term prior to entry, for example in Autumn 2024 for entry in September 2025. Please see our Key Dates page.
There are three elements to the Year 7 entry process:
- A Head’s report is requested from the candidate’s current school
- Candidates are interviewed by a senior member of staff
- Candidates will sit the ISEB (Independent Schools Examinations Board) Pre Test in the Autumn Term prior to entry. This adaptive, online, multiple choice test covers English, Maths, non verbal reasoning and verbal reasoning. Tests can either be sat at Walthamstow Hall or at the candidate’s current school. If a candidate is applying for more than one independent senior school who use the ISEB Pre Test, only one test needs to be sat. If you would like further information about the tests, please visit the ISEB website: https://www.iseb.co.uk/Examinations-Assessments/Common-Pre-Tests.
Special arrangements are made for candidates with special educational needs supported by an Educational Psychologist’s Report. Parents should advise the School if this applies to their child.
Candidates who wish to be considered for an Academic Scholarship will sit additional scholarship papers in English and Mathematics at Walthamstow Hall in the Autumn term prior to entry. Candidates who wish to be considered for a Sport and/or a Music Scholarship are also assessed in the Autumn term. Potential scholars are invited for further scholarship interviews.
Decisions on the offer of a place, and the offer of Scholarships and/or Awards if applicable, are sent home by post at the end of the Autumn term.
The number of applicants typically outpaces the number of places available and so the School establishes a waiting list of candidates. Firm places are offered to those on the waiting list as they become available, often in the Spring term. Late applications are also added to the waiting list and assessment is offered should a place become available. Please see ‘Selection in an oversubscribed year’ at the bottom of this page.
Deferring Places from Year 7 to Year 9
Walthamstow Hall offers formal deferred entry for Year 9 places for those at Prep schools continuing to Year 8. Pupils complete the School’s usual entry process whilst they are in Year 6 of their Prep school. If they are offered a Year 7 place at Walthamstow Hall they will be able to defer it and join Walthamstow Hall at the beginning of their Year 9 academic year.
The Deferred Entry Process
The deferred entry process involves pupils participating in Walthamstow Hall Senior School’s usual Year 7 entry process in the Autumn term of Year 6. This involves the ISEB Common Pre-Test and an interview with the Headmistress. In addition, a Head’s report is requested from the candidate’s current school.
Parents can declare that they are pursuing a deferred entry place when they initially make their application to the School or after the assessment process, once a place has been offered. Parents can confirm and secure their deferred entry place with the payment of a £1,000 deposit when a place is accepted. Places must be accepted in the March that a candidate is in Year 6.
In the Summer term of Year 8 Walthamstow Hall will request a further report from the candidate’s school and pupils will be assessed in Maths and a Modern Foreign Language purely for class setting purposes.
Pupils wishing to apply for Academic or Music Scholarships, or Art, Drama or Sports Awards on offer at Year 9, will be required to take part in the scholarship exams and assessments alongside other internal and external candidates in the January that they are in Year 8. Scholarships and awards offered as part of the Year 7 entry process cannot be deferred to Year 9.
Key Dates for 2025 deferred entry
Candidates wishing to defer entry to join Walthamstow Hall in Year 9 in September 2027 will sit their initial entrance exams in November 2024 and their additional papers in the Summer term of 2027. Please see our Key Dates page.
Admissions Procedure – Year 9
For Year 9 candidates who have not deferred a place at the Year 7 entry stage, the admissions process for Year 9 entry takes place at the beginning of the Spring term prior to entry, for example, in January 2025 for entry in September 2025. Please see our Key Dates page.
The elements to the Year 9 entry process are as follows:
- A Head’s report is requested from the candidate’s current school
- Candidates are interviewed by a senior member of staff
- Candidates either sit General Entrance papers in English, Mathematics and a chosen Science (Biology, Chemistry or Physics), or
- Candidates may wish to apply for a Scholarship/Award in a maximum of two subjects: Academic, Music or Sport Scholarships, and Art and Drama Awards.
Academic Scholarship papers are in English, Mathematics, and a chosen science: Biology, Chemistry or Physics, plus one subject of the candidate’s choosing, taken from Geography, History, Latin, a Modern Foreign Language or Religious Studies.
Special arrangements are made for candidates with special educational needs supported by an Educational Psychologist’s Report. Parents should advise the School if this applies to their child.
Decisions on the offer of a place, and the offer of Scholarships and/or Awards if applicable, are sent home by post at the end of the Spring half term.
Admissions Procedure – Year 12
The admissions process for Year 12 entry takes place in the Autumn term prior to entry, for example in November 2024 for entry in September 2025. Please see our Key Dates page.
We advise prospective Sixth Form students to attend the Sixth Form Information Evening and the Senior School Open Morning, held in the Autumn term in the year preceding entry. To attend, please book via our Visiting the School page.
The elements to the Year 12 entry process are as follows:
- A Head’s report is requested from the candidate’s current school
- Candidates are interviewed by a senior member of staff
- Candidates must achieve a minimum of seven GCSEs at grades 9 – 6 (A* – B), including Mathematics and English. We advise that candidates should have achieved at least a grade 7 (A) in the subjects which they wish to study at A Level.
- Candidates may wish to apply for a Scholarship/Award in a maximum of two subjects: Academic, Creative Arts (Fine Art, Textiles or Three Dimensional Design), Drama, Music, and/or Sport.
Academic Scholarship candidates are assessed by a report from their current school and an interview in which they present on an academic topic.
Decisions on the offer of a place, and the offer of Scholarships and/or Awards if applicable, are sent home by post at the end of the Spring half term.
It is possible to submit later applications for non scholarship Sixth Form entry.
Selection in an oversubscribed year
Where all things are equal the following criteria will be used:
- A daughter of a missionary
- A sibling whose sister is in the School at the date of the application
- In the event of a tie-breaker proving necessary, the School will, as a last resort, take into account the proximity of home to school.
