Abingdon School 11+

[littlearmy]

We are considering 11+ entry for ds to Abingdon School (or possibly MCS). He is from a state primary (year 5 currently) and is very bright, hardworking and enjoys learning.
His primary school hasn’t been very good in terms of supporting him and we think he would really enjoy the academic challenge of a school like Abingdon.
Dh and I aren’t rich by any means with incomes of about £40k each. The plan would be to use one of our incomes for school fees and the other to live on. Our mortgage is relatively low and we think we could manage –just.
My questions for any one with knowledge of the school are: what is the level of income for bursaries (just so we know if worth applying)? What is the demographic in terms of income of the other boys, i.e. we would definitely be making sacrifices to do this and don’t want ds to be out of place amongst lots of much richer boys?
Also what is the level of the entrance test (I couldn’t find past exam papers on the school website)?
Thank you so much for any help anyone can give on any of these questions.

If you call the bursar, they will surely be able to give you exact information about their bursary policy. Abingdon's 11plus is geared mainly towards state school pupils, so should be perfectly accessible for your ds, and most other boys trying for a place will be mainly from state schools; local preps will usually enter their boys for the 13plus, and boys from Abingdon prep go through to the senior school without further exams anyway (except for setting purposes, as they say). Boys come from a large variety of backgrounds, and Abingdon has boarders, so most of their parents must be able to afford 40k+ per annum for fees and extras, so yes, while there will be other kids on burseries, some from families with smaller incomes than you, there will be a several kids from families that will be much richer than your family. But I don't think that this should matter - you are probably richer than several families at your ds current state school and (hopefully) you are all rubbing along just fine.

Thanks for your reply - you've been really helpful. Interesting that you seem to think we might have a chance of a bursary - I thought a combined income of £80k would rule us out (even though it is a modest amount when trying to find £20k a year for fees!)
I will see if the bursar will give me any info. Even if we have to pay full fees it is something that I think we want to do.

I think you properly earn too much for help with day school fees, but would probably be considered for help for boarding fees, but only the bursar can tell you for sure. Don't be too shy to ask. I doubt you will receive a large bursary but every little helps, especially as there still will be extras (school bus, extra curricular, trips, exam fees) and annual fee inflation. Would your ds have a chance to win a scholarship? While a scholarship might just be 5%, or an exhibition not any money at all, bursaries also often go to families in line with their performance in the entrance test, so the highest scores would be offered help first if they qualified, then down the list, until bursary pot runs out. It's also worth remembering that Abingdon seems to have less money than other nearby boarding schools, like Radley or Eton. If your ds is very clever you could approach the richer boarding schools and see what they would offer in terms of bursaries.

Abingdon isn't that selective so he should have a good chance. There will be plenty of parents in the same financial boat as you. There are plenty with tons of cash too but overall it's a very welcoming school.

Quite a few boys went to Abingdon from my sons' state primary. I would agree with the pp that it isn't that selective judging by the ones who got in.

I think the teaching is of a really good standard as they don't just take the top 10%. They take a fairly wide range of boys and get fantastic results. The state secondaries around there don't have the best reputation so you won't be the only ones scrimping to pay fees.

Thanks for all the helpful + reassuring replies. We are only looking at day schools (not boarding) although I know Abingdon has some boarding I was under the impression that is a minority so ds shouldn't feel out of place. Regarding bursaries - I will call the bursar to check but not holding out much hope. Not sure if ds scholarship material - he is clever by state school standards but his school sticks very rigidly to national curriculum for the correct year group so he doesn't get the chance for more advanced work (unless I do it with him at home) which I think some other state schools might provide.

I wouldn’t board a boy at Abingdon as it’s really only overseas students who board. At £80k income, you’re unlikely to get a bursary. Ours was less than that and we didn’t even bother applying.

And it is quite selective. Lots of boys from
my son’s prep school didn’t get in. Not sure where that idea comes from as it seems more selective now than it was nine/ten years ago when our son started. I think it’s a better school now than it was then, too. Head is very well regarded.

Yes it is highly selective on academic matters. I think it supports boys well who have weaknesses in some areas. You do not need to be good at absolutely everything but
you do need to be excellent in some areas.

There is clearly a big spread of income amongst the parents there. My DS comes home with the occasional story about X having the latest top iPhone or Y trying to pay for a snack with a £50 note, but most of the people we knew were working out where the next few payment was coming from. The real wealth seems to be in the boarders but I might be wrong.

The 11+ is geared towards the local primaries. I suggest you look at tests for high achieving schools who do publish. I recall DS trying some fiendish stuff from Manchester Grammar which was online.

DS has been very happy at Abingdon. He has turned out to be towards the lower end academically but has made the most of it in the classroom and in music and sport. The school has the amazing Other Half programme which supports a huge range of interests. So eg whether you are obsessed with rugby or obsessed with avoiding it you will fit in. I do not think anywhere around here with day providing comes close for opportunities for a boy to find and develop a passion.