Your Admission Journey

How to Begin

Here at Birkdale, we try to make the process of choosing a school as simple as possible.

My job is to deal with any queries you may have regarding admission to the school.

We hope the information in the admissions section enables you to make an informed choice whether Birkdale is the right school for your child. If you require further information regarding admissions or would like to arrange a tour, I will be only too happy to help.

If you would prefer to talk to me on the telephone my direct line is 0114 2668409 or email admissions@birkdaleschool.org.uk

Mrs Mary Watson, Registrar

Registration

For entry to the school at any age you will need to register your child as a prospective pupil. In order to do this, please complete the Registration form and include the fee of £50. Once a place has been offered you will be asked to pay a further £250 deposit to accept the place.

Please see below for details of standard entry points to the school. If your enquiry relates to admission outside of the standard entry points, please always contact the Registrar before completing the Registration form.

Once the Registration form is completed, you are also required to send a copy of your child’s birth certificate. This can either be a photocopy posted to:

The Registrar, Birkdale School, Oakholme Road, Sheffield, S10 3DH or a scanned copy emailed to admissions@birkdaleschool.org.uk

Prep School

Pre-Prep 1 Entry (Reception)

Entry to the Prep school is primarily at age 4+ into Pre-Prep 1 (Reception). Up to 40 places are available across two classes.  Although there is not a specific deadline for registering for entry, early registration is recommended as places are provisionally reserved in order of the date that registrations are received.  The formal offers of places are made from the October of the year before entry onwards, following a meeting with parents.

Prep 1 Entry (Y3)

In Prep 1 (Year 3) the class size increases to a maximum of 24 allowing for a further intake of pupils at age 7+.  Although there is not a specific deadline for registering for entry, early registration is recommended.  Following registration, the formal offer of a place is subject to a satisfactory taster and assessment day which is typically arranged during the Easter term when the pupil is in Y2.

We are also able to consider pupils for entry into other year groups, subject to places being available.  Please contact the Registrar, Mary Watson, prior to submitting a registration.

In all cases once the Registration form is completed, you are also required to send a copy of your child’s birth certificate. This can either be a photocopy posted to: The Registrar, Birkdale School, Oakholme Road, Sheffield, S10 3DH or a scanned copy emailed to admissions@birkdaleschool.org.uk

Click here to complete the Registration Form >

11+

For admission to S1 (Y7) at Birkdale Senior School, your child will firstly need to be registered as a prospective pupil. A Birkdale Registration Form should be completed and submitted with a photocopy of your child’s birth certificate. A £50 registration fee is payable and details of how to pay can be found on the form. The closing date for registering for entry to S1 (Y7) in September 2025 is Friday 6 December 2024.  Once the Registration form is completed, you are also required to send a copy of your child’s birth certificate. This can either be a photocopy posted to: The Registrar, Birkdale School, Oakholme Road, Sheffield, S10 3DH or a scanned copy emailed to admissions@birkdaleschool.org.uk

Entry to the Senior School is academically selective and all applicants are required to sit the Independent Schools Examination Board (ISEB) Common Pre-Tests (CPT) when they are in Y6. You will therefore also need to register your child for the Common Pre-Tests with ISEB by the above date. Further details about this can be found below.

The Common Pre-Tests are online, adaptive tests.  We would anticipate that the majority of applicants will sit the tests at Birkdale on our test day which, for entry in September 2025, is Wednesday 15 January 2025.  Any applicants choosing to sit the CPT at an alternative invigilation centre will need to have completed the tests by this date. Please advise us if your child will be sitting the tests at an alternative centre.

The outcome of the Common Pre-Tests will be initially communicated to parents by email during the week following the tests. This will be followed by a letter which will be sent shortly after the February half term holiday, when the formal offer of a place at Birkdale will be made to all those who have met the academic standard for entry. Please note that we do not provide details of candidate scores in the tests.

Late registrations received will be placed on a waiting list and will be invited to be assessed for entry if places are still available once the initial deadline (in March 2025) for acceptance of places offered has passed. It is not possible for pupils registered late to be considered for any of the S1 (Y7) Scholarships and consideration for means-tested bursary funding is unlikely to be possible.

Registering your child for the ISEB Common Pre-Tests

Further information about the tests themselves, as well as details of the registration process can be found on the ISEB website https://www.iseb.co.uk/assessments/common-pre-tests/cpt-for-families/

We advise you to visit the ISEB website and carefully read the information provided. Please find below some key points;

  • Registration is free of charge and will be completed through an easy-to-use online admissions platform (called the Guardian Portal). You will only need to register your child once, even if they are sitting the tests as part of the admissions process for more than one school. If your child will be sitting the tests at Birkdale, you should select ‘Birkdale Senior School’ as the Invigilation Centre.  If your child will be sitting the tests elsewhere, they will need to have completed the tests by 10 January 2024 and we ask you to inform us that they are doing so.
  • When you have registered your child, you must copy and share their applicant ID with us by emailing it to admissions@birkdaleschool.org.uk. Please put ‘CPT Applicant ID Senior School’ as the subject and include your child’s Applicant ID, name and date of birth in the email.
  • The four tests (English, mathematics, non-verbal reasoning and verbal reasoning) are in a multiple-choice format and the standard time taken to complete them is 2 hours 15 minutes in total to complete. Candidates eligible for extra time will also be accommodated appropriately. For all candidates sitting the tests at Birkdale, we will run them over the course of the day, interspersed with breaks and other activities.
  • ISEB provide a test ‘walkthrough’ to help your child become familiar with the format of the Common Pre-Tests, as well as other relevant resources. As part of the walkthrough, your child can explore the accessibility features (coloured overlays, font size) to see if they would find these helpful when they actually sit the tests. ISEB have also recently confirmed their endorsement of a test preparation resource called Bond Online Premium Plus. Further information about this can be accessed via their website as detailed above.

Important Dates for 2025 entry

Friday 6 December 2024 Closing date for 11+ Entrance Test, Scholarship/Bursary applications
Wednesday 15 January 2025 Common Pre-Tests at Birkdale
w/c Monday 27 January 2025 11+ Sports Scholarship assessment
Wednesday 29 January 2025 11+ Music Scholarship assessment
Friday 31 January 2025 11+ Academic Scholarship examination
w/c Monday 24 February 2025 Letters sent confirming places and scholarship/bursary awards
Wednesday 2 July 2025 S1 Transition day

Click here to complete the Registration Form >

Sixth Form

Birkdale Sixth Form is co-educational and each year we welcome 40-50 students from a variety of schools in and around Sheffield and further afield. They join students who have completed S5 (Y11) at Birkdale, the majority of whom carry on into our Sixth Form.

The first stage of the admissions process for sixth form (typically following attendance at open evening or another visit) is to register as a prospective student. A parent/guardian is required to complete our online Registration Form and the student should complete our online Sixth Form Application Form.
These should be submitted with a photocopy of their birth certificate, which can be sent by email to the Registrar admissions@birkdaleschool.org.uk. A £50 registration fee is payable and details of how to pay can be found on the Registration Form. The closing date for applications to join the Sixth Form in September 2025 is Friday 14 March 2025. There is an earlier closing date of Friday 6 December 2024 for those applying for a scholarship or bursary – see below.

Entry into the Sixth Form is conditional upon achievement of a minimum of five passes (grades 9-5) at GCSE, with at least four of these at grade 6 or higher including any subjects studied at GCSE which are to be studied at A level. As part of the admissions process, applicants are invited to attend an informal interview with the Head or a member of the Sixth Form team. Following interview, and the receipt of a satisfactory reference from the applicant’s current school, the formal offer of a place is confirmed.

Summary of key dates for 2025 entry

Tuesday 17 October 2024 Sixth Form Open Evening – details available on our website
Friday 6 December 2024 Closing date for Sixth Form Scholarship/Bursary applications
Saturday 18 January 2025 Sixth Form Academic Scholarship and Bursary Examinations
Thursday 30 January 2025 16+ Music Scholarship assessment day
w/c Monday 27 January 2025 16+ Sports Scholarship interviews
w/c 24 February 2025 Letters sent confirming scholarship/bursary awards
Tuesday 4 March 2025 Sixth Form Taster Day
Friday 14 March 2025 Closing date for Sixth Form applications
Mon 7 – Wed 9 July 2025 Sixth Form Induction Course
August 2025 date TBC Post GCSE Results Interviews

Click here for registration form >

Click here for the 6th Form Application Form >

For Sixth Form entry please complete both forms.