Oundle School — 13+ English Entrance Exam 2023
Oundle School set this 13+ English paper in 2023. Hearthprep hosts it as an interactive past paper — 9 questions worth 125 marks in 125 minutes, each marked the moment the paper is submitted and backed by a step-by-step worked solution. Most 13+ entrance exams are sat between November and January of the year of entry.
Real 13+ English paper from Oundle School (2023). 9 questions, 125 marks. Answer interactively with worked solutions. Covers Creative Writing, Persuasive & Discursive Writing, Poetry.
This is the school's own past paper, reproduced here with worked solutions by Hearthprep. Most 13+ entrance exams are sat between November and January of the year of entry, so a timed attempt at this paper is worth doing early enough to leave room for the topics it exposes. Work through it on screen with instant marking, or print the PDF and sit it under exam conditions.
- School
- Oundle School
- Entry level
- 13+
- Subject
- English
- Year
- 2023
- Questions
- 9
- Marks
- 125
- Time
- 125 minutes
- Exam board
- ISEB
Topics in this paper
- Creative Writing
- Persuasive & Discursive Writing
- Poetry
Questions in this paper (3 of 9)
- Question 1written answer · 5 marks
SECTION A: COMPREHENSION (You should spend 30 minutes on this section and answer ALL the questions. This paper lasts 1 hour and the maximum mark is 50, divided equally between Section A and Section B. Answer on lined paper.) Read Ted Hughes's poem 'To Paint a Water Lily', which describes what is and what is not seen around a pond, and then answer the questions that follow. Leave yourself enough…
- Question 2written answer · 3 marks
[Reading passage - Section A: Ted Hughes's poem 'To Paint a Water Lily'. Above the pond, brilliantly coloured but deadly dragonflies dart like bullets through a silent 'battle'; below, in the dark pond-bed, ancient prehistoric creatures lurk unchanged; the poem ends with the still lily-flower, calm 'as a painting' though a dragonfly may land on it.] Question 2: Find an example of metaphor in th…
- Question 3written answer · 4 marks
[Reading passage - Section A: Ted Hughes's poem 'To Paint a Water Lily', printed as a series of two-line stanzas that move from the pond's green surface, up to the darting dragonflies, down to the monstrous prehistoric pond-bed, and back to the still lily-flower.] Question 3: Comment on the poet's use of structure in this poem. [4 marks]
6 further questions in this paper open with any paid plan, along with marking and the worked solutions. See plans.
Frequently asked questions
What is in the Oundle School — 13+ English Entrance Exam 2023?
9 questions worth 125 marks in total, written for 125 minutes. It covers Creative Writing, Persuasive & Discursive Writing, Poetry. Oundle School set it as a 13+ English paper.
How long is the Oundle School 13+ English paper?
This paper is timed at 125 minutes for 125 marks — roughly 60 seconds a mark. Hearthprep runs the same clock on screen, so your child sees how far through the time they are as they answer.
Can my child answer this paper online?
Yes. Every question on this page can be answered in the browser and is marked the moment the paper is submitted — multiple choice, short answers and written responses alike. Answers are matched leniently, so a correct value written a different way (units, fractions, word numbers) still scores.
Are worked solutions included?
Every question has a step-by-step worked solution and an AI tutor that will talk through it after the paper is submitted. The first 3 questions of this paper are free to try; the remaining 6 and the marking come with a paid plan.
Where does this Oundle School paper come from?
This is the school's own past paper, reproduced here with worked solutions by Hearthprep. Use it to time a full mock attempt, then drill whichever topics your child drops marks on.
Loading the interactive paper…