Your school guide
Chetham's School of Music
Chetham’s School of Music admits through musical auditions, including for Year 7. Applicants begin with an advice audition or video submission.
Independent school · Manchester
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Meet the school
At a glance
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Long Millgate, Manchester, M3 1SB
Plan your approach
Entry information
Chetham’s School of Music admits pupils through musical auditions rather than a standard academic 11+ examination. Applicants are encouraged to apply by December for entry the following September. The process starts with an advice audition or video submission and successful candidates are invited to a formal audition.
Entry stage: Lower School (Years 4–8), including Year 7
The admissions process
- Apply by December before the intended September entry.
- Arrange an advice audition in person or submit video recordings of two pieces on the principal instrument, with scales or arpeggios.
- Successful candidates are invited to a formal audition; music audition is the criterion for entry.
Read the official details: Admissions information from Chetham's School of Music
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.
Chetham’s asks applicants to demonstrate their music at an advice audition or video submission, followed by a formal audition if invited. Prepare the music and any scales or arpeggios requested by the school; Plusling can support everyday academic learning but does not prepare a child for the musical audition.
Read the official guidance: Chetham's School of Music · Chetham's School of Music
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
Build confidence one question at a time.
Explore Plusling together for everyday learning. Try five free questions and talk through the feedback.
Before you apply
- The school recommends applying by December for the following September. Its open-day page lists 17 October 2026 and 13 February 2027; the October date has passed. Ask admissions about availability for the entry year you want.
Plusling’s guide to Chetham's School of Music 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
- Chetham's School of Music: school details Department for Education
- Applications and auditions Chetham's School of Music
- Open days for 2026–27 Chetham's School of Music
- Audition FAQs Chetham's School of Music
- Chetham’s School of Music – Contact School
- Chetham's School of Music: Lower School Chetham's School of Music
- Chetham's School of Music: audition applications Chetham's School of Music