Your school guide
The Hammond
The Hammond offers Year 7 places through specialist Dance or Acting and Musical Theatre auditions, each with its own practical tasks.
Independent school · Chester, Cheshire West and Chester
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Meet the school
At a glance
Facts checked
Mannings Lane, Chester, Cheshire, CH2 4ES
Plan your approach
Entry information
For September 2027 entry
The Hammond’s Year 7 routes are specialist performing-arts places in School Dance or School Acting & Musical Theatre, not a general academic 11+ test. Applications for September 2027 are open; audition dates are TBC. Dance applicants take ballet and modern/jazz classes and present a short solo. Acting and Musical Theatre applicants take acting/improvisation and musical-theatre workshops and prepare a monologue and song. Both routes include an informal family meeting, current-school reference and audition interview.
Entry stage: Year 7 entry to vocational School Dance or School Acting & Musical Theatre (ages 11–16)
The admissions process
- Apply for School Dance or School Acting & Musical Theatre (ages 11–16)
- Attend the course-specific vocational audition; 2027 audition dates are to be allocated after application
- Dance: ballet and modern/jazz class, short solo and interview; Acting/Musical Theatre: acting and improvisation, musical-theatre workshop, monologue, song and interview
- Informal family meeting and current-school report/reference
Read the official details: Admissions information from The Hammond
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.
The Hammond’s School entry is by a performing-arts audition. Dance applicants should prepare the short solo the school requests; Acting & Musical Theatre applicants should follow its current monologue and song instructions. Plusling supports everyday academic learning, not the audition.
Read the official guidance: The Hammond · The Hammond
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
- The Hammond lists the School audition dates as TBC. Contact the Registrar about the audition date, the chosen course and any access arrangements.
Plusling’s guide to The Hammond 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
- Apply: September 2027 School places The Hammond
- Admissions Policy 2026–2027 The Hammond
- School overview and age range The Hammond
- The Hammond establishment record Department for Education
- School audition requirements by course The Hammond
- Audition setlist for Acting & Musical Theatre The Hammond
- The Hammond: Dance school page The Hammond