Forest Preparatory School will offer approximately 8 places for boys and girls at age 7 for September 2026 entry. Each of the 3 co-educational classes has one full-time teacher and a shared teaching assistant. 

How old does my child need to be?

7 years old by 1 September in the year of entry.

What are we looking for?

  • Language development and understanding
  • Interest and involvement
  • Mathematical understanding
  • Interaction with adults and peers
  • Co-operation
  • Co-ordination and motor skills
  • Maturity

We want to ensure that Forest will be the best place for your child and if we feel they are and will be ready for the type of education that we offer at Forest.

For this reason we would request you do not specifically prepare your child for the assessment procedure. The schoolwork your child will be undertaking in numeracy and literacy at their current school in Year 2, is the correct preparation for this examination. We do not recommend extra tuition.

What is the assessment procedure?

During the assessment session, the children will undertake a standardised assessment on a computer, a reading comprehension, a short piece of writing, an age-appropriate maths test and some group activity for children to meet and spend time with other boys and girls sitting for entrance to Forest Preparatory School.

Our computer-based assessments are specifically designed so that children cannot prepare for them as it is important to us that children enjoy the level of the work at Forest School and are happy, confident learners. We need to be able to assess that this is the case and not a consequence of a child having received extra tuition.

7+ 2026 Entry Guidelines

Other useful information

The School day is from 8.30am – 3.40pm. Pupils are welcomed to their classrooms from 8.00am and supervised in the playground after school until 4.15pm.
An extended School day is available (an extra charge applies) with Breakfast Club from 7.30am – 8.00am and After School Care from 4.00pm – 6.00pm.

Preparatory Registration Form

Key Dates for 7+ Entry 2026
Open MorningSaturday 20 September 2025 (Book here)
Closing Date for Registrations(Midday) Monday 17 November 2025
7+ AssessmentsThursday 11 December 2025
Offers EmailedThursday 12 February 2026
Deadline for Acceptance of Offer(Midday) Friday 6 March 2026

The heart of our curriculum design principles is the development of pupils’ metacognitive skills, teaching them how to become highly effective learners in an array of contexts.