Imperial Maths School provides a challenging, academic curriculum. We therefore run a rigorous admissions process to ensure that we have students that are best suited to the education we provide, and we hope will benefit most from our provision.
The Imperial Maths School application process also reflects our aim to ensure that a diverse group of young people, including those currently underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers, can achieve success in mathematics and science. We welcome and encourage applications from young people from all backgrounds.
Admissions for September 2026 are now open and the application deadline is Thursday 08 January 2026 at 11:59pm. Apply here.
What is the application process?
On completion of the application form, the process is as follows:
- Applicants must apply before the admissions deadline, Thursday 08 January 2026.
- Applicants who meet a minimum threshold are invited to sit the Imperial Maths School admissions test. This is scheduled for Sunday 18 January 2026.
- Applicants who meet a minimum threshold from the combination of their application and admissions test are invited to an interview in February 2026.
- Offers are made in March - April 2026. You will be required to achieve certain results in your GCSE examinations which will be outlined in your offer*
- Summer 2026 – all offer holders are invited to our Summer Series of offer holder events
- August 2026 – students who meet the conditions of their offer enrol
- End of August 2026 – term 1 starts.
What do I have to do on the application form?
The application form includes:
- Personal details, parental contact details and educational history
- A nominated referee from your current school
- A personal statement explaining why you have chosen to apply to our school. There are some prompt questions on the application form to help you. Please don't worry about your personal statement; it is our chance to get to know about you, and learn more about you. You can save your application and return to it, so you might want to consider drafting your personal statement on a separate document first. It should be about 400 words in length.
What does a test and interview involve?Our admissions test and interview are design to test your mathematical thinking, rather than just the depth of your knowledge. It covers GCSE Mathematics content only. The full content can be found on the specification.
We are making some changes to our admissions test for 2026 entry, and all questions will be multiple choice.Specimen papers for the 2025 entry are available below. Sections A and B from the 2025 entry specimen papers will be unchanged in the 2026 specimen papers, but section C will be replaced with an additional multiple-choice section.
Specimen papers from earlier years are also available. Note that these papers do not have a multiple choice section for section C, unlike 2025's papers.
Our admissions test is scheduled for Sunday 18 January 2026.
If you wish to know more about Open Events and Taster Mornings, as well as other admissions events, go to the
events page.
The full admissions and appeals policy for September 2026 entry is
available here.
*If you are sitting alternative qualifications to GCSEs, please continue with your application, but contact us by emailing
admissions@imperialmathsschool.ac.uk.