Wycombe Abbey
schools outside of london
Wycombe Abbey is an independent girl’s boarding school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and was founded in 1896. The school has the capacity for 615 girls, aged between eleven and eighteen.
The school’s campus is a huge 170 acres and includes woods, gardens and a lake. Several buildings at Wycombe Abbey are Grade II listed. The school is a short walk to the station where you can catch a fast train into London, something many of the students take advantage of.
School information
The girls at Wycombe Abbey regularly achieve stellar exam results, with 95.2% of GCSE grades at A*/A. An outstanding 83.2% are A* or 9/8. A-Level grades are among the best in the country with 84.8% at A*/A. A high number of girls go onto Oxbridge and Ivy League universities.
Even for the competitive world of independent schools, the academic level at Wycombe Abbey is high. Girls looking to come here will already be front of the class. They are high achievers and the school aims to maintain the girl’s curiosity, while teaching them independence in preparation for life after education.
The facilities are fantastic and the school is undergoing renovations over the next 10 years, ensuring students are taught in state-of-the-art classrooms. Wycombe Abbey is also a big hitter in the world of sports, reaching sixteen finals across eight different sports in 2015/2016. As well as playing for the school, girls also have competitive opportunities through the inter-house fixtures that run throughout the academic year.
There are a number of different bands and orchestras to join and perform with, if your child is musically inclined. Wycombe Abbey has a fully-equipped 430-seat theatre with sound and lighting ready for students to develop their performing, writing or directing skills.
admissions
The school admits girls at 11+, 13+ and 16+. Scholarships and bursaries are offered at each stage.
Entry at 11+ starts with registration while your daughter is in Year 5. The next stage is an assessment day, which is held at the school in the October of Year 6. Your daughter will be interviewed during the day and then sit a computerised verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning test. A report from the current school is also requested. Successful candidates then receive conditional offers and their admittance will depend on the Common Entrance Exams in English, maths and science, all of which are sat in January. The exams are sat either in your child’s current school or at an approved centre. Selected candidates are invited to sit the scholarship exams in English, maths and science. Finally, there is the Language Aptitude Test.
For 13+ entry, your daughter needs to be registered by the end of June while she is in Year 7. The assessment day is in September of Year 8 and consists of an interview, a small group activity and an online verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning test. Successful candidates then decide whether to sit the common entrance exams or scholarship exams in January. The ISEB common entrance exams and Wycombe Abbey Scholarship are in English, maths, science, history, geography, religious studies and a foreign language.
Entry at 16+ is limited and candidates are expected to have six GCSE grades at A*/A and A* in their chosen A-Level subjects. All candidates are then required to sit a UKiset assessment for the school, which tests the student’s verbal, non-verbal and numerical ability. There is also a creative writing exercise and an English Placement Test. The test takes place between January and July while your daughter is in Year 10.
Entry at all stages to Wycombe Abbey requires good preparation well in advance of any assessment, interviews or exams. Regular practice with past papers improves marks and will give your daughter confidence in the lead up to the tests. This will help her to keep her relaxed on the day.