The Royal School

Your chances

Check your chances against these criteria.

How it chooses when it has more applicants than places, in order:

1. 1The first 80 of 100 admission-number places allocated by rank order of SEAG TSAS, highest first.
2. 2Up to 15 boarding places allocated after criterion 1, subject to interview.
3. 3Remaining day places allocated from a pool of 20 candidates by rank order of SEAG TSAS.
4. 4If places remain, candidates who have not taken SEAG may be considered (tie-breakers then apply).
5. 5Tie-breaker (i): enrolled in the Preparatory Department at 1 September 2024 and still enrolled on 9 May 2026.
6. 6Tie-breaker (ii): brother or sister currently enrolled in the Secondary Department, or accepted for September 2026.
7. 7Tie-breaker (iii): sibling of a multiple birth whose multiple birth sibling is to be admitted to Year 8 in September 2026.
8. 8Tie-breaker (iv): eldest child of the family eligible for admission in September 2026.
9. 9Tie-breaker (v): entitled to Free School Meals (FSME) at the Education Authority register.
10. 10Tie-breaker (vi): if further selection needed, places allocated by rank order of score.
11. 11Tie-breaker (vii): computerised random selection by the Board of Governors where still tied.

The school's criteria

Getting in

23 of the 119 children who put it first were not offered a place in 2026/27.

Places depend mostly on the SEAG score, so how many apply says little on its own.

For September 2026 entry, 125 applications were considered for 100 places. Places ran out at criterion 6: The tie for the last pool place was broken using TSAS rank order. EA statement

Applications per place (all preferences): 1.5 in 2024/25, 1.2 in 2025/26, 1.3 in 2026/27.

Results for its intake

Expected about 99%, got 97% (5+ GCSEs A* to C with English and maths, 2024/25).