There are three main points of entry: age 7+ (Year 3), age 11+ (Year 7) and age 16+ (Sixth Form). We welcome pupils into other year groups if there are spaces, and encourage you to enquire. We cannot accept applications for students into Years 11 or 13.
You can register your interest with our Admissions Department at any point. Our admissions cycle runs a year ahead of the September that your daughter would start at Withington and this is when you would apply.
For 2024-25, Senior and Sixth Form fees are £15,558 and Junior fees are £11,676.
Yes, we strongly recommend that you visit us before you apply. We offer lots of opportunities for families including Open Events and personal tours.
To apply for a place to start in the following September, you need to complete an application form before the deadline (December). Please note there is a non-refundable application fee of £50. We strongly recommend that your family visit us during the autumn term or earlier.
For more information on the admissions process, see the following pages:
The assessments for Junior and Senior School admissions both take place in January for entry the following September.
The interviews for Sixth Form entry in September take place in February/March.
The whole aim of our entrance assessments is to test your daughter’s ability to think for herself. It is not necessary, or even helpful, for her to be heavily tutored, as this will not help us to discover her true potential.
Practising and gaining familiarity with the entrance examination papers is better to help your daughter with confidence and is better for her wellbeing and future prospects.
We do not supply past papers for Junior School entrance but there is an overview of topic areas that may be covered in the assessment.
Senior School past papers in English and Maths are available to download for your daughter to practise. We are unable to share sample papers for the Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
We hold a supplementary examination soon after the original date for girls who are ill on the day, or who are unable to get to Withington due to other unavoidable circumstances.
In March we email and/or post a letter to all the candidates who have been interviewed. The letter will:
The date for you to accept or reject any offer is usually around two weeks after the offer letters are posted and will be indicated within the letter.
Yes. Any financial assistance we offer is fully means-tested and is called a bursary. We will consider the family’s full financial circumstances. Bursaries are available for entry into Years 7 and 12. There is also limited bursary support for pupils in Years 5 & 6.
If you are seeking financial assistance, you need to apply for this at the same time as you apply for your daughter to join Withington.
Yes. £100 per year.
There are good public transport links to Withington and we run a shuttle bus from the city centre. There are also a number of school buses serving different routes.
Because we only offer places to girls with the potential to get the most out of their time here, our class sizes tend to vary slightly across the school and from year to year. Our students are very engaged and so class size isn’t an issue for teaching and learning.
Broadly speaking, class sizes don’t exceed 24 in Juniors or 29 in Senior School; numbers for practical subjects and GCSE classes are generally smaller. At Sixth Form subject classes have a maximum of 16 students but can be much smaller, depending on the subject.
Withington is consistently ranked among the top schools nationwide. We were named Independent School of the Year for Academic Performance in the North West in the prestigious Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2024, and were also ranked 19th nationally.
In 2023, Withington’s A Level pupils achieved 95% of grades at A*-B, the school’s best performance in public examinations on this measure since 2014, while nearly half of all GCSE grades (47.4%) were achieved at grade 9.
Many of our pupils take up places at Oxford and Cambridge, Russell Group universities and other fantastic universities in the UK and USA, studying a wide range of courses including Medicine, Maths, Engineering, Philosophy, English and History.
We aim to provide a wide-ranging, relevant and enriching curriculum which will enable all our pupils to develop their skills and knowledge, grow personally and socially, and be prepared for the world beyond school.
Learn more about our curriculum:
We offer a wealth of extra-curricular activities and all girls are expected and encouraged to participate.
All pupils bring a fully charged suitable device to school every day. Pupils have free access to Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote) through their Withington account.
Once you have accepted a place for your daughter, we will advise you on what kind of device to buy for her.
We pride ourselves on knowing each and every pupil well and addressing their individual needs, while providing a safe environment for everyone. We work closely with parents and ask you to let us know about any circumstances that may affect your daughter’s wellbeing so that we can provide appropriate support.
