How It Works

Complete the online application form.

You can find a link to the application form by scrolling to the top of this page, opening the APPLY menu, and clicking on the year of entry for the current admissions cycle. This page also included a list of key dates for the process.

The application form should be started by the student. Parent/Carer details can be added two or three sections into the form, and at this point there is the option to create a Parent/Carer login to access the form.

The applications deadline (and other key dates) for our current admissions cycle can be seen by clicking on the APPLY menu at the top of this page and selecting the page for September Entry.

If you apply by the deadline (and live in our catchment area) you will guarantee you will be invited to the planned Admissions Test day and considered alongside other applicants.

We will consider applications received after the deadline so it is well worth applying after this time, even very late on in the process. The later you apply the more likely it is you would have to go into our Waiting Pool initially, especially if you are applying after we have made conditional offers to other students. If you apply late, please email admissions@exeterms.ac.uk to make sure we see your application as soon as possible.

As our application numbers have increased over the years, it has become less likely that we will be able to consider applications from outside of the catchment area, especially those who live far outside.

If we do consider your application, we may ask you to wait until after in-catchment applications have been considered. If you are successful at Entrance Test and Interview, you are likely to be placed into the Waiting Pool when conditional offers are made.

You may find there are other Maths Schools nearer to where you live. You can see this on the U-Maths website here: Maths Schools Map – uMaths

If you have definite plans to move into our catchment area by September, however, please email us at admissions@exeterms.ac.uk and let us know.

If you would like to study a subject at Exeter College you need to indicate this on your application form to EMS. We then work directly with the college to secure you a place on the course – there is no need for you to complete an additional application form with the college.

The only exceptions to this are:

• if Exeter College is your alternative option for post-16 study, so you are making a separate application to them for if you do not come to EMS;
• if you wish to apply for Exeter College’s Sports Academy, in which case you must apply for it directly with Exeter College by their deadline and also select it as your fourth ‘subject’ on your EMS application form.

It’s common for applicants to change their mind about the subjects they wish to study. If you decide to switch courses you can let us know when you come to an interview or by simply emailing us at admissions@exeterms.ac.uk. We’ll do our best to accommodate all changes and in most cases manage this.

Occasionally students pick subjects which are difficult to timetable. This is usually because there is only one class running at the college for the chosen subject. When this happens we work with our colleagues at Exeter College to adapt the timetable to try to make your option work. If it is not possible to do this we will get in touch with you as soon as possible to let you know and discuss alternative options.

Year 11 is a pressurised enough year without needing to dedicate additional hours to preparing for our test. We’re designing a paper which tests potential and problem solving rather than one which expects you to have crammed for a lot of information. So our first piece of advice is not to over-prepare. We deliberately tell you little about the content and don’t share past papers to reduce the pressure on you to study for long hours in the lead up to our test.

You probably want to warm up a little, just to put your nerves at rest. We recommend that you have a go at the questions on this page which will give you a taster of what to expect.

More generally, the best way to be prepared is to develop your mathematical thinking and problem solving. You can do this by always seeking to understand how and why mathematics works when you learn it in school. Asking teachers questions and playing around to see how things fit together is always beneficial. Be curious and always asking why? what if? If you have the opportunity to take part in maths challenges and enrichment activities, grasp it with both hands and embrace getting stuck from time to time. There are some lovely websites such as nrich, the UKMT and brilliant which have a wealth of materials for you to play with. You might also like to have a go at our own “snackable maths” problems.

None of the above suggestions are designed for last-minute cramming, just ideas to help foster your joy and ability in mathematics which, over time, will develop the type of thinking and problem solving which are likely to serve you well in our admissions test or any other mathematics you do.

This is an understandable concern and we recognise that for many applicants this will be their first ever interview. We hope you will be reassured by knowing that we are not selecting students based on their interview technique, we’re just interested in getting to know you and making sure that we’re the right fit for you.

There are things you can do to make the interview a little less nerve-inducing:

• Jot down things you want to say before you arrive
• Feel free to refer to your notes (you’ll be given the chance to ask questions and share extra information)
• If you are more confident at writing than speaking, add important information to your personal statement when you complete the application form
• Think of this as a two-way process – you’re testing us too to see if this is where you want to be
• Wear clothes you feel comfortable in – we really don’t mind how you dress and have accepted students wearing suits, rugby kit, school uniform or jeans and t-shirt
• If you come out of the interview kicking yourself for missing something out, drop us an email and we promise to read it
• If you have a SEND which is likely to impact your interview, let us know about it so that we can make reasonable adjustments and be prepared to support you

If you have discovered techniques which help make communication easier for you, apply them at the interview. You can also let us know if there are things we can do to make the experience easier for you. We want to be able to get to know you and will do all we can to support you to be able to be your wonderful, lovely self!

The large majority of our applicants do not come from selective schools. Most students who come to EMS do so from their local state school. That’s not to say that students from other schools are not welcome. We’re an inclusive community and take pride in the fact that students from all walks of life are able to come together and support one another through a shared love of mathematics-related subjects.

Try not to think about the admissions process being about you being good enough or not. We have a limited number of places and it may be that all applicants could cope well with our courses, we just don’t have room for them. You could be a very strong mathematician who is likely to go on to achieve high grades and have a fantastic STEM career. Not getting into the maths school does not mean that you are incapable of great things – it’s important you understand and believe that to be the case; don’t be put off studying the subjects you love just because we you were not selected for EMS.

We have between 60 and 64 places available each year.

As a fairly new school which many people have not yet heard of, our application numbers are still not stable and so using previous years’ data to extrapolate into the future should be done with great caution. Furthermore, the number of students who drop out of the process or turn down the offer of a place is also changing over time and this too impacts on the likelihood of applicants securing a place. The data below is therefore shared on the understanding that they are not a reliable indication of numbers for the coming year, nor do they capture the drop-out rates.

2024 – 170 applicants

2023 – 141 applicants

2022 – 158 applicants

2021 – 121 applicants

2020 – 139 applicants

2019 – 129 applicants

2018 – 110 applicants

2017 – 99 applicants

2016 – 91 applicants

2015 – 89 applicants

2014 – 54 applicants

Other than in 2020 and 2024, all students who secured a place in the Waiting Pool and achieved the minimum entry criteria, were able to take up a place when one became available. In 2020 and 2024, we had to turn away a number of students in the Waiting Pool who met our usual entry criteria.

You will be in the waiting pool until a place becomes available. There are three points in the year when this is most likely to happen:

• Soon after offers are made, we ask students to accept or decline their place. At this point a few students may decide that EMS is not for them and places may become available for those in the waiting pool.
• In May, boarding students are asked to accept or decline their place in residential accommodation and to pay a deposit. At this point, one or two places may become available for members of the waiting pool.
• In August, when students receive their GCSE results, some may not meet the entry requirements and others may have a last-minute change of heart, we will then be able to offer places to students from the waiting pool.

We try to keep the waiting pool small enough so that students within it have a realistic prospect of a place at EMS. At the time of initially offering places, the waiting pool is likely to have less than ten students in it, often fewer. All the students in the waiting pool are those who have demonstrated that EMS is a good fit for them, it’s just that we don’t have enough space. If you’re in the waiting pool and are subsequently offered a place, rest assured that we believe EMS is a good fit for you.

Applicants from outside our catchment area will be placed in the waiting pool but will not be prioritised over those from within the catchment area who applied on time. Late applicants will also be added to the waiting pool, provided they perform at a high enough level.