Your school guide
Shebbear College
Shebbear College uses CAT4 to understand Year 7 pupils’ learning profiles, describing it as diagnostic rather than a pass-or-fail exam.
Independent school · Beaworthy, Devon
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Meet the school
At a glance
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Shebbear, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5HJ
Plan your approach
Entry information
Shebbear’s usual Year 7/Form 1 entry includes a visit or taster and a CAT4 assessment used to understand each pupil’s learning profile. The school says the assessment is diagnostic rather than pass/fail. Families should ask admissions for dates and current arrangements; the published 18 November assessment date relates to September 2025, not the next intake.
Entry stage: Year 7 / Form 1
What the assessment covers
- Verbal reasoning
- Non-verbal reasoning
- Quantitative reasoning
- Spatial reasoning
Assessment provider: GL Assessment CAT4
The admissions process
- Visit the school and discuss entry with admissions
- A taster may be arranged
- Year 6/Form 1 applicants take a CAT4 diagnostic assessment; it is not a pass/fail test
- The school considers reports/reference and the child’s fit for the school
Read the official details: Admissions information from Shebbear College
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.
Shebbear explicitly says children cannot prepare or study for its diagnostic Year 7 CAT4; no separate paper is named.
Read the official guidance: Shebbear College
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
- Ask admissions for the current Year 7 assessment date and any access arrangements. The 18 November date belongs to a September 2025 intake.
Plusling’s guide to Shebbear College 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 Procedure at Shebbear College | Private School Devon Shebbear College
- Admissions assessment information School admissions authority
- Official school information School admissions authority
- CAT4 information for parents GL Assessment
- Shebbear College: school details Department for Education