Know exactly where your child stands for Prior Park College
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Prior Park College 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Prior Park College 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Prior Park College
Prior Park College is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school in Bath, Somerset, offering Year 7 entry through a two-stage admissions process. The 11+ assessment uses the Quest Admissions format for independent schools and includes an interview stage. Located on a historic fifty-seven acre site, the college welcomes both day pupils and boarders into its dedicated Lower 3 houses.
Prior Park is an independent Catholic co-educational school for eleven to eighteen, day and boarding, set in a beautiful fifty-seven acre site above Bath. Ralph Allen built the mansion at its centre in the 1730s and 1740s, and said he wanted it 'To see all Bath, and for all Bath to see'. Year 7 arrivals are called Lower 3 and are based in two houses of their own, with their own outdoor space.
The famous Palladian bridge in the valley below is not the school's. That belongs to the National Trust, and it is one of only four in the world. The school occupies the house above it however, listed at the highest grade, which has burned twice and was restored in the 1990s. Bishop Baines bought the estate in 1829 and opened the school in 1830. It has been under lay management since 1981 and co-educational since 1983.
Entry at eleven is a forty-five minute on-line test, fifty minutes of creative writing, a group problem-solving session with sixth formers on hand, and an interview. The school's own line is that 'no preparation is needed, and all candidates start on an equal footing'. It has been phone-free since 2023, with handsets given to tutors at the start of the day. The register records the school as Roman Catholic, and its admissions policy says it welcomes families of all faiths and none, with no faith requirement. One parent told the Good Schools Guide, 'I wanted my child to thrive, not be pushed, and it really does make a huge effort to get them excited about learning.' It suits a child who needs a school to take an interest in them.
Key facts
Annual fees
2026/27, inclusive of VAT. The school bands Years 7 and 8 together and does not publish a Year 7-only rate: day £22,250 per year (Michaelmas £8,500, Lent and Summer £6,675 each), plus a compulsory lunch charge of £1,200 per year, giving £23,450. Boarding is a single rate across all year groups: weekly £38,500 per year and full £49,995 per year, before lunch. Non-refundable registration fee £150; acceptance fee £600.
Admissions
Admissions contact
admissions.ppc@priorparkschools.com
Admissions phone
+44 (0)1225 835353 (extension 2)
Registration form
https://www.priorparkcollege.com/admissions/registration-form
Sibling policy
What this school tests
On-Screen Test
Maths
- Algebra
- Angles and Degrees
- BIDMAS
- Coordinate Grids
- Estimation and Rounding
- Factors and Multiples
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
- Measurement
- Money
- Number and Place Value
- Operations
- Perimeter, Area and Volume
- Position and Direction
- Properties of Shapes
- Ratio and Proportion
- Reflection, Rotation and Symmetry
- Sequences
- Special Numbers
- Speed, Distance and Time
- Statistics
- Time
Non-verbal Reasoning
- Figure Analogies
- Figure Matrices
- Figure Series
- Grid Matrices
- Horizontal Codes
- Match to a Group of Figures
- Most Like Three Figures
- Odd Figure Out
- Odd Shaped Matrices
- Star Matrices
- Triangle Matrices
- Vertical Codes
Spatial Reasoning
- 2D Rotations
- 2D View of 3D Shape
- 3D Rotations
- Block Counting
- Building Blocks
- Combining Shapes
- Diagonal Reflections
- Figure Missing from Image
- Fold and Punch
- Folding Cubes
- Hidden Shapes
- Missing Face of Cube
- Nets of 3D Shapes
- Shape Completion
Puzzles And Problem Solving
- Number Properties & Proportion
- Logic & Systematic Thinking
- Geometry, Measures & Data
- Equations & Early Algebra
- Magic Shapes & Additive Puzzles
- Calculation Fluency
Creative Writing
English
- Creative Writing - Descriptive
- Creative Writing - Narrative
- Creative Writing - Personal
- Creative Writing - Persuasive
Catchment area
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
2025: 52.1% of grades at 9-7, including 15% at grade 9 (school's own published figures).
A-level results
2026: 41% of grades at A*-A and 72% at A*-B (school's own published figures).
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does Prior Park College use for the 11+?
Prior Park College uses the Quest Admissions format for its independent school 11+ entrance assessments.
Does Prior Park College interview candidates as part of the 11+?
Yes, the admissions process consists of two stages and includes an interview stage.
Is Prior Park College co-educational or single-sex?
Prior Park College is a mixed, co-educational school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen.
What are the Year 7 fees for Prior Park College?
For Years 7 and 8, day fees are £22,250 per year plus a compulsory £1,200 lunch charge, totalling £23,450. Weekly boarding is £38,500 per year, and full boarding is £49,995 per year.
What is the website for Prior Park College?
The official website for the school is https://www.priorparkcollege.com/.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2491.0737558008623!2d-2.348298022067627!3d51.364940771781306!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x487180ffec490b55%3A0x6ee74a54a5a1301d!2sPrior%20Park%20College!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sph!4v1787820001272!5m2!1sen!2sph
