Your school guide
Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS and CSVPA)
CATS Cambridge and CSVPA serve older students through separate academic and creative-course admissions; neither publishes a Year 7 route.
Independent school · Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
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Meet the school
At a glance
Facts checked
1 High Street, Chesterton, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 1NQ
Plan your approach
Entry information
This DfE establishment combines CATS Cambridge and Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts (CSVPA), which publish separate course admissions. CATS Cambridge serves students aged 14+ and requires GL CAT4 before an offer for its GCSE, A level, Pre-A level and university foundation courses. CSVPA uses course-specific portfolio, audition, interview and English requirements. Neither publishes a Year 7 or 11+ route.
Entry stage: CATS Cambridge: GCSE, A level, Pre-A level and university foundation; CSVPA: specialist creative courses
What the assessment covers
- CATS Cambridge: GL CAT4 assesses verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning
Assessment provider: GL Assessment (CAT4, CATS Cambridge courses)
The admissions process
- CATS applicants complete CAT4 before an offer; policy applies to its older-student courses
- CSVPA has separate course-specific admission requirements, which may include portfolio, audition, interview and English assessment
- Choose the correct institution/course and confirm requirements with its admissions team
Read the official details: Admissions information from Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS and CSVPA)
Go to the source
Official links for your shortlist
Use the school’s current admissions information to check which sample papers or familiarisation materials apply to your child’s entry year.
Know what to expect
Follow the school’s assessment guidance.
CATS Cambridge uses CAT4 for older-student courses, while CSVPA has separate course admissions. Neither institution publishes a Year 7 route.
Read the official guidance: Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS and CSVPA)
Keep the practical steps clear
Your application starting points
Use the official links on this page to answer these questions for your child’s entry year.
Check the entry point and eligibility
Confirm the year group, age requirements and any conditions that apply to your child.
Put the right dates in your diary
Note any published registration, assessment, application and offer-response dates that apply to your child’s route. They may be separate steps.
Follow the assessment guidance
Check what the school asks your child to do and whether it recommends any preparation. Use its own instructions and the assessment provider’s advice.
Check fees and financial support
Look at fees, bursaries and scholarships, including any separate forms, evidence and deadlines.
Picture your child’s everyday life here.
An open day is a chance to look beyond the exam. Useful questions to take with you:
- How do you help new pupils settle in and make friends?
- Who can a child turn to when they feel worried or stuck?
- How do you help pupils recover from a setback and discover their strengths?
Know where to focus
See what your child is learning.
See the topics your child has practised, revisit questions that need another look and choose a focus for the next session. Plusling helps you put your time where it can be useful.
- Topic summaries and practice history
- Choose topics in Focus Practice
- Progress to discuss with the adults helping them
A little learning, often
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Before you apply
- CATS Cambridge and CSVPA are distinct course providers under one registered establishment. The published admissions requirements apply to older students; confirm the relevant course criteria with the chosen provider.
Plusling’s guide to Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS and CSVPA) is independently written. The school and its admissions authority publish the official arrangements.
Contains government school-register data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Primary sources
- Admissions - CATS Cambridge Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS and CSVPA)
- CAT4 assessment information CATS Cambridge
- Admissions Policy 2026–27 CATS Cambridge
- CSVPA admissions Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts
- CSVPA Admissions Policy 2026–27 Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts
- Regulatory oversight report (2025) Independent Schools Inspectorate
- CATS and CSVPA establishment record Department for Education