The 11+ explained

The Inner Area is decisive. The school admits only children living in one of a fixed list of postcodes across Enfield, Edmonton, Haringey and north and east London: E2, E4, E5, E8, E9, E17, EN1, EN2, EN3, EN4, EN5 (sectors 1, 2, 4 and 5), EN8 (sectors 7, 8 and 9), N1 excluding N1C, and N2 to N22. There is no order of preference within that list, but a child living outside it will not be admitted however well she or he scores.

• Exam styleThe school sets its own entrance test rather than using a borough or consortium test
• Preparing for itThe school publishes Test Guidance notes covering its September 2026 testing procedures, and asks families to read them before the test days.
• RegistrationOpened at midday on 17 March 2026 and closed on 2 June 2026
• Test dateThursday 3, Friday 4 and Saturday 5 September 2026. Your child is invited to one of the three days

The published admission number is 120 and there is no catchment: any girl may apply and sit round one, and the test may be taken once only. Round one scores are standardised, combined and ranked, and the top 300 go through to round two, with everyone on a tied cut-off score invited. Places then follow four criteria in order: looked after children, Pupil Premium candidates, girls living within 3 miles at the point of applying, and then rank order. The school informs only the top 60 on the waiting list of their position.

• Exam styleTwo rounds: a first round entrance test, then a second round for the highest ranked candidates
• PapersRound one is set by a nationally recognised body and marked by GL Assessment. Round two is set by the school and sat on one day in school
• Subjects testedRound one: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and English. Round two: English and maths, testing literacy and numeracy appropriate to Key Stage 2.
• Preparing for itThe school points parents to GL Assessment's free familiarisation booklets for round one. It releases no past papers and offers no resources at all for round two. Families who provide Pupil Premium evidence are sent a login to the school's own familiarisation portal. Scores are age-standardised on age in completed months, and the school offers no remarking, since papers are scanned and checked twice.
• RegistrationOpened 1 April 2026 and closed at 5pm on Wednesday 1 July 2026. Late applications are not accepted. Any special educational or medical need requiring arrangements must be declared on the entry form itself, because evidence arriving after the deadline may not be possible to consider. Pupil Premium evidence must come directly from the girl's current school by the same 1 July deadline
• Test dateRound one on 2, 3 and 4 September 2026, in a morning or afternoon session allocated by the school that cannot be changed for any reason. Invitations are sent by Monday 17 August 2026. Round two follows in the week beginning 5 October 2026. Both rounds are sat at the school and cannot be taken anywhere else. A supplementary date about a week later covers illness, with a doctor's certificate required within two working days
• ResultsRound one outcomes, and invitations to round two, by 28 September 2026. The school then writes in late October, before the 31 October application deadline. A girl not invited to round two is given her standardised score and the cut-off for the top 300; scores are not released to those who do sit round two, so that everyone starts level. Offers come from your local authority on Monday 1 March 2027

The published admission number is 243. Places are allocated in order: looked after children; 90 places on distance; siblings; children of staff; then up to 24 technological, 24 musical and 12 dance aptitude places. For 2026 entry, 955 children registered for the technology test for 24 places, and the distance offers reached 1.013 miles. Registering for an aptitude test does not commit you to naming the school, but you must name it to be considered.

• Exam styleNot academically selective. Aptitude tests in technology, music and dance decide a minority of places
• PapersSeparate aptitude tests for each discipline, with slots allocated by the school
• Subjects testedTechnological, musical and dance aptitude. There is no academic entrance test.
• Preparing for itThe school asks parents to read its Admissions Procedures Document before registering, and links to GL Assessment's free testing materials. Slots are allocated at the school's discretion and alternative dates are refused except on religious or medical grounds.
• RegistrationOpened Friday 20 March 2026 and closed at 3pm on Friday 8 May 2026, with no late registrations. Test dates and times are notified by Friday 22 May 2026; if nothing arrives, contact the admissions officer by Friday 29 May
• Test dateDance: Sunday 7 June and Saturday 27 June 2026. Music: Saturday 6, 13 and 20 June and Sunday 28 June 2026. Technology: Saturday 12 September 2026. Additional dates may be added at short notice
• ResultsDance and music by Friday 17 July 2026. Technology by Friday 16 October 2026. Local authority applications run 1 September to 31 October 2026, with offers on 1 March 2027

Faith evidence forms part of the oversubscription criteria. From September 2027 entry, girls applying as baptised Catholics from a practising Catholic family must supply both a Certificate of Baptism and a Certificate of Catholic Practice dated within three months of applying. The original paper certificate has to reach the school office by the deadline, since emailed or scanned copies are not accepted, and the office closes for several days in May and early June. The school is historically oversubscribed for test places alone.

• Exam styleThe school's own entrance tests, sat by invitation
• PapersMultiple-choice papers alongside a written English paper
• Subjects testedThe school publishes familiarisation papers for the multiple-choice tests only. The English test is written rather than multiple choice, and the school states it cannot give any further detail on the style or timings of the papers.
• Preparing for itBecause no familiarisation paper exists for the written English test and no timings are published, there is a limit to how far the format can be rehearsed. Access arrangements need documentary evidence, either an EHCP or a statement from the primary school SENDCO confirming extra time is already normal practice, and the school checks this with the SENDCO directly.
• RegistrationOpened at 9am on Tuesday 14 April 2026 and closed at 4pm on Tuesday 7 July 2026. Registering on the system is not the same as applying: the form must be completed and submitted by the deadline, and late applications cannot be accepted
• Test dateFriday 11 September 2026, by invitation, sat in person at the school

A standardised score of 111 is the eligibility threshold, described by the consortium as the top 35% of the cohort sitting the test. Eligibility does not secure a place: all four schools receive far more eligible applicants than they have places, and each applies its own oversubscription criteria.

• Exam styleTwo papers from GL Assessment, shared by all four consortium schools
• PapersTwo test papers covering a combination of verbal and non-verbal reasoning, English and maths. Marking and standardisation are carried out by the test provider
• Preparing for itOne registration and one sitting covers all four schools. Scores stay inside the consortium: they are not shared with Reading School, Kendrick or Buckinghamshire, so a child applying across those areas sits a separate exam for each.
• Schools coveredHerschel Grammar School, Langley Grammar School, St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School and Upton Court Grammar School
• RegistrationOpened at 10am on Friday 1 May 2026 and closed at 10am on Friday 5 June 2026. Registering is only a request to sit the test: it is not an application, and does not express a preference for any school
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026
• ResultsThrough the Consortium portal in mid-October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

138 day places and 12 weekly boarding places each year, all free. Around 10% of places are held for boys who show both academic ability and sporting aptitude, assessed on a separate day. To be eligible a boy must reach the standard in every element of the test, so a high score in one area will not make up for a weak one elsewhere. The eligible score changes from year to year. The school's timeline runs much earlier than other secondary schools.

• Exam styleThe school's own entrance test, set by Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE)
• PapersAn FSCE entrance test. The subjects, question types, content and format change from year to year, and the school states there are no commercially available practice papers for it
• Subjects testedApplication of what is taught up to and including the Year 5 programme of study. The subjects tested may include any of art and design, computing, design and technology, English, geography, history, languages, maths, music, physical education and science. There is also a written creativity question.
• Preparing for itFSCE publishes free familiarisation guides for children and parents, and says these are the only genuine resources for the test. Its own advice to parents is against preparation that disrupts normal schooling: read widely, practise maths fluency through everyday situations, and talk ideas through at home. The test rewards applying knowledge rather than recalling facts.
• RegistrationOpened 27 March 2026 and closed at midnight on Sunday 17 May 2026 for 2027 entry. Evidence for Pupil Premium, Service Premium, SEN or an EHCP was due by 31 May 2026
• Test dateSporting aptitude assessment 12 July 2026. SEN applicants 15 July, day and boarding applicants 16 July, and day applicants from outside the catchment 25 September 2026
• ResultsOnline in mid-October 2026, before the 31 October application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

The designated area decides almost everything. The school states plainly that no candidate living outside it has been offered a place since the area was introduced in 2013, and advises those families not to register at all. Of the 128 places, up to 96 go to girls in Priority Areas 1 and 2 by rank, and the remaining 32 run through Priority Area 1, then Area 2, then everyone else. Looked after girls and those on Pupil Premium or Service Premium inside the designated area qualify at five points below the qualifying score. Your address on 31 August 2026 is the one that counts, and moving later will not improve your ranking until the following September.

• Exam styleThe school's own admission test, set and marked by GL Assessment
• PapersTwo papers, each about an hour, with a short break between them
• Subjects testedEnglish, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning across the two papers. There is no creative writing element.
• Preparing for itGL Assessment's free familiarisation material is the resource the school points to, and it runs a free familiarisation programme, Widening Horizons, for Year 5 girls in the designated area who receive Pupil Premium or Service Premium or are in care. Raw scores are age-standardised and the ranking comes from the two papers added together. Requests for access arrangements go in the registration form itself, and the school checks the arrangements already in place with the primary school.
• RegistrationOpened 1 May 2026 and closed at midnight on Wednesday 1 July 2026. Late registration is accepted only in exceptional circumstances, at the headteacher's decision. Access arrangements must be requested in the registration form by the same deadline
• Test dateFriday 18 September 2026 at the school, morning or afternoon. Girls living outside the designated area sit it on a later date. No alternative date is offered to anyone who wants to sit another grammar school's test that day, and the school says plainly that this is not an exceptional circumstance. Illness or bereavement can allow a sitting within two weeks, with evidence
• ResultsSent to parents before the 31 October 2026 application deadline, so that you can use it in deciding your preferences. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

This is not a grammar school. The admission number is 180, of which up to 42 may be selected by ability through the test. The remaining places follow the usual criteria: looked after children, medical or social grounds, siblings, children of staff, the named feeder school Battle Primary Academy, and then distance. A girl who does not take the test, or does not do well in it, can still be offered a place on those criteria.

• Exam stylePartially selective. An online selective stream test decides a minority of places
• PapersOne online assessment, about 60 minutes, taken at a computer with on-screen instructions
• Subjects testedNumerical, verbal and non-verbal ability, through the Cambridge CEM Select assessment. No particular curriculum knowledge is assumed.
• Preparing for itFamiliarisation material is published on the CEM website. Because the test is sat at a computer rather than on paper, it is worth a girl trying the online format before the day. For extra time, the school needs written evidence from the primary school showing she is entitled to 25% extra time and is likely to receive it in her Key Stage 2 SATs.
• RegistrationRegistration for the September 2027 entry test closes at noon on Friday 25 September 2026, which is much later than most schools. Invitation letters go out by email after that date, so check spam folders
• Test dateSaturday 3 October 2026, at the school
• ResultsBy letter before 31 October 2026, in time for the application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

One borough test covers all four grammar schools, and those four schools are also the test centres. Scores are age-standardised and weighted, and the average total is 200. Reaching the selective standard does not secure a place: 800 places were available for September 2027, and beyond the highest-scoring 180 children, distance usually decides.

• Exam styleMultiple-choice, provided by Quest Assessments for the London Borough of Bexley
• PapersTwo booklets taken in the same session, each about 50 minutes plus instructions and divided into separately timed sections. A session runs two and a half to three hours including the break
• Subjects testedVerbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. The total is weighted 50% verbal, 25% numerical and 25% non-verbal.
• Preparing for itThe numerical content does not go beyond what children are expected to learn by the end of Year 5. All working has to be done in the booklet, because no rough paper is given. Familiarisation material sits on the Quest website. A selective result from the Kent Test or any other area carries no weight here.
• Schools coveredBeths Grammar School (boys), Bexley Grammar School (mixed), Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School (mixed) and Townley Grammar School (girls). One test covers all four
• RegistrationOpened 1 March 2026 and closed at midnight on 31 March 2026. Late registrations are not accepted and there is no appeal
• Test date2 to 10 September 2026 at Bexley primary schools acting as test centres; 7 to 10 September 2026 at the four grammar schools for everyone else
• ResultsEmailed in early October 2026, with the exact date still to be confirmed by the borough

A highly selective girls' school that runs its own test rather than sharing one with other schools. The catchment is 9 miles from the main entrance, and the school will not check an address against it for you. Bromley Admissions sets the date by which a family must be living inside catchment, usually in the second week of December, and publishes it at the start of September. Naming the school on your local authority form by 31 October is essential: without it your daughter cannot be considered, whatever she scores.

• Exam styleThe school sets and marks its own selection test
• PapersTwo papers: one verbal reasoning, one non-verbal reasoning
• Subjects testedVerbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning only. The school states plainly that it tests no other subjects, so there is no maths or English paper.
• Preparing for itThe school sells a short specimen paper for £5 at reception, in hard copy only, during term time. It publishes no past papers and will not email the specimen. It links to free familiarisation guides from CEM and GL, and offers free online material to families receiving Pupil Premium. If your daughter needs access arrangements for a special educational need or a medical condition, the form and her SENDCo's letter must be uploaded with the registration, not closer to the test.
• RegistrationThe supplementary information form opens on 1 May each year for a few weeks, while your daughter is in Year 5. Registration for the September 2026 test has closed, and late registrations are not accepted
• Test dateThe end of September, just after your daughter starts Year 6. Test day details are emailed towards the end of the first full week of September, along with the October window in which results will follow
• ResultsEmailed during that stated October window, always at least a week before the 31 October application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on the first business day of March

Children at a state-funded Buckinghamshire primary school are entered automatically, so this is opt-out rather than opt-in. Everyone else registers, including families in Milton Keynes, which is not part of Buckinghamshire. A standardised score of 121 or above counts as qualified. For most grammar schools 1 September 2026 is the cut-off date for the home address used in the main allocation, though some set an earlier one, so check each school's admissions policy.

• Exam styleMultiple-choice papers from GL Assessment, run by The Buckinghamshire Grammar Schools (TBGS)
• PapersTwo papers, each about 60 minutes, with a break between them. A shorter practice test is usually taken two days beforehand
• Subjects testedVerbal, non-verbal and mathematical skills.
• Preparing for itThe practice test two days before the real thing is part of the arrangements, so a child sees the format in advance. Adjustments to testing conditions are applied for by the child's headteacher, and only where the adjustment is already a normal way of working for that child.
• Schools covered13 grammar schools: Aylesbury Grammar (boys), Aylesbury High (girls), Beaconsfield High (girls), Burnham Grammar, Chesham Grammar, Dr Challoner's Grammar (boys), Dr Challoner's High (girls), John Hampden Grammar (boys), Royal Grammar School High Wycombe (boys), The Royal Latin School, Sir Henry Floyd Grammar, Sir William Borlase's Grammar and Wycombe High (girls)
• Registration1 May to 2 June 2026 at 3pm, for families who need to register. Test invitations follow by 7 August 2026
• Test datePractice test 8 September 2026, Transfer Test 10 September 2026. Children at a Buckinghamshire state-funded primary or Partner School sit both in school; everyone else at a grammar school test centre
• ResultsReleased 9 October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline

Torbay's four selective schools coordinate one test: Churston Ferrers, Torquay Boys', Torquay Girls' and The Spires College. Your child sits it once and the schools share the result, so any or all of them can consider an application. Registering for the test is not an application for a place. Miss the September deadline without an accepted reason and your child will not be tested until March 2027, after the first round of allocations, which in practice means a waiting list place at best.

• Exam styleOne shared 11+ coordinated by Torbay's four selective schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 50 minutes, both on the same morning: one English and one maths. Marked externally by GL Assessment and standardised for age
• Subjects testedEnglish and maths only. There are no verbal or non-verbal reasoning papers, which is unusual for a GL test and changes what is worth practising.
• Preparing for itGL's free familiarisation material is what the schools point parents to. Because the papers cover English and maths rather than reasoning, preparation is closer to ordinary Key Stage 2 work than to the puzzle-style practice many 11+ areas need.
• RegistrationOpened on 1 March 2026. The schools ask you to register by Wednesday 15 July 2026 if possible, with a final deadline of midday on Friday 4 September 2026. Later registrations are accepted only in evidenced exceptional circumstances, such as a bereavement or a move into the area
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026. Your child sits it at whichever Torbay selective school you choose, and can still apply to the others
• ResultsOn or soon after 12 October 2026. You are told only yes or no against each Torbay selective school, never the actual score, and a yes does not guarantee a place. You must still submit your local authority's Common Application Form by 31 October 2026, because registering for the test is not an application

This is not a grammar school. The Spires College is a bilateral school, one of only a handful in the country: up to 60 places each year go to children who reach the selective standard in the shared Torbay 11+, and the rest of the intake is non-selective. You indicate on the Torbay application form that you want to be considered for a selective place, and the school says to check carefully that you have done so. There is no need to name the college twice: if your child does not reach the standard, the application is automatically treated as one for a non-selective place. Selective places are not restricted by the college's designated area, unlike non-selective ones, so they draw from a wider area. Torbay's four selective schools coordinate one test: Churston Ferrers, Torquay Boys', Torquay Girls' and The Spires College. Your child sits it once and the schools share the result, so any or all of them can consider an application. Registering for the test is not an application for a place. Miss the September deadline without an accepted reason and your child will not be tested until March 2027, after the first round of allocations, which in practice means a waiting list place at best.

• Exam stylePartially selective. Up to 60 places a year come from the shared Torbay 11+, alongside a majority non-selective intake
• PapersTwo papers of about 50 minutes, both on the same morning: one English and one maths. Marked externally by GL Assessment and standardised for age
• Subjects testedEnglish and maths only. There are no verbal or non-verbal reasoning papers, which is unusual for a GL test and changes what is worth practising.
• Preparing for itGL's free familiarisation material is what the schools point parents to. Because the papers cover English and maths rather than reasoning, preparation is closer to ordinary Key Stage 2 work than to the puzzle-style practice many 11+ areas need.
• RegistrationOpened on 1 March 2026. The schools ask you to register by Wednesday 15 July 2026 if possible, with a final deadline of midday on Friday 4 September 2026. Later registrations are accepted only in evidenced exceptional circumstances, such as a bereavement or a move into the area
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026. Your child sits it at whichever Torbay selective school you choose, and can still apply to the others
• ResultsOn or soon after 12 October 2026. You are told only yes or no against each Torbay selective school, never the actual score, and a yes does not guarantee a place. You must still submit your local authority's Common Application Form by 31 October 2026, because registering for the test is not an application

Torbay's four selective schools coordinate one test: Churston Ferrers, Torquay Boys', Torquay Girls' and The Spires College. Your child sits it once and the schools share the result, so any or all of them can consider an application. Registering for the test is not an application for a place. Miss the September deadline without an accepted reason and your child will not be tested until March 2027, after the first round of allocations, which in practice means a waiting list place at best. Torquay Boys' also works with Atom Learning to give free online 11+ preparation to boys eligible for Pupil Premium, once the primary school has confirmed eligibility.

• Exam styleOne shared 11+ coordinated by Torbay's four selective schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 50 minutes, both on the same morning: one English and one maths. Marked externally by GL Assessment and standardised for age
• Subjects testedEnglish and maths only. There are no verbal or non-verbal reasoning papers, which is unusual for a GL test and changes what is worth practising.
• Preparing for itGL's free familiarisation material is what the schools point parents to. Because the papers cover English and maths rather than reasoning, preparation is closer to ordinary Key Stage 2 work than to the puzzle-style practice many 11+ areas need.
• RegistrationOpened on 1 March 2026. The schools ask you to register by Wednesday 15 July 2026 if possible, with a final deadline of midday on Friday 4 September 2026. Later registrations are accepted only in evidenced exceptional circumstances, such as a bereavement or a move into the area
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026. Your child sits it at whichever Torbay selective school you choose, and can still apply to the others
• ResultsOn or soon after 12 October 2026. You are told only yes or no against each Torbay selective school, never the actual score, and a yes does not guarantee a place. You must still submit your local authority's Common Application Form by 31 October 2026, because registering for the test is not an application

Torbay's four selective schools coordinate one test: Churston Ferrers, Torquay Boys', Torquay Girls' and The Spires College. Your child sits it once and the schools share the result, so any or all of them can consider an application. Registering for the test is not an application for a place. Miss the September deadline without an accepted reason and your child will not be tested until March 2027, after the first round of allocations, which in practice means a waiting list place at best.

• Exam styleOne shared 11+ coordinated by Torbay's four selective schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 50 minutes, both on the same morning: one English and one maths. Marked externally by GL Assessment and standardised for age
• Subjects testedEnglish and maths only. There are no verbal or non-verbal reasoning papers, which is unusual for a GL test and changes what is worth practising.
• Preparing for itGL's free familiarisation material is what the schools point parents to. Because the papers cover English and maths rather than reasoning, preparation is closer to ordinary Key Stage 2 work than to the puzzle-style practice many 11+ areas need.
• RegistrationOpened on 1 March 2026. The schools ask you to register by Wednesday 15 July 2026 if possible, with a final deadline of midday on Friday 4 September 2026. Later registrations are accepted only in evidenced exceptional circumstances, such as a bereavement or a move into the area
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026. Your child sits it at whichever Torbay selective school you choose, and can still apply to the others
• ResultsOn or soon after 12 October 2026. You are told only yes or no against each Torbay selective school, never the actual score, and a yes does not guarantee a place. You must still submit your local authority's Common Application Form by 31 October 2026, because registering for the test is not an application

Colyton is responsible for its own testing arrangements and admission criteria, separate from both Plymouth and Torbay. A child applying across more than one Devon area registers and sits each test separately, and Colyton's test falls on the same Saturday as the first Plymouth paper.

• Exam styleThe school's own entrance test, set with Quest Assessments
• PapersThree papers sat on a single day, with breaks between them
• Subjects testedEnglish, maths and extended writing. The school states plainly that the test does not include verbal or non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itFamiliarisation material is published through Quest, and the school warns that there are no commercially available practice papers for these assessments. Free Atom Home access is offered to any child in Years 3 to 6 who is eligible for Pupil Premium, whether or not they end up applying to Colyton. The school also publishes anonymised standardised scores from the previous round, which gives a realistic sense of the standard reached.
• RegistrationThe registration portal opened on 31 March 2026 and closed on 31 July 2026
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026

The writing paper changes how selection works here. A boy's rank comes from the average of the two Quest multiple-choice papers, but every candidate must also pass the school's English writing paper, so a strong reasoning score cannot carry a weak piece of writing. All three Plymouth grammar schools use the same Quest papers on the same two Saturdays, but they do not share one registration. Girls register once, at either Devonport High School for Girls or Plymouth High School for Girls, and that single registration covers both; the schools ask you not to register at both. Boys register separately with Devonport High School for Boys. Registering for the test is not an application: you must still name the school on Plymouth City Council's application form by 31 October 2026. The school offers free access to Atom Home for children eligible for Pupil Premium at any point in the last six years, once their primary school has confirmed it.

• Exam styleQuest Assessments papers plus the school's own English writing paper
• PapersThree papers in total. The two Quest papers, English comprehension and maths, are the same as the girls' schools sit, and DHSB adds an English writing paper of its own
• Subjects testedEnglish comprehension and maths from Quest, with no verbal or non-verbal reasoning, plus a written English paper set by the school. The writing paper offers a choice of prompts, such as the opening of a story, a newspaper article or a letter.
• Preparing for itQuest publishes free familiarisation guidance for parents and children, and that is what the schools point to. Scores are standardised for age. The grammar schools also run an optional mock sitting in the July beforehand, which fills on a first-come basis and is limited to a few hundred places. The school also publishes its own familiarisation papers, while noting that they do not replicate the real Quest papers.
• RegistrationOpened in the summer term of 2026 and closed 31 August 2026. Boys register directly with the school, not through the girls' schools' form
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026 for English and Saturday 19 September 2026 for maths. Your child has to be available on both days
• ResultsMid-October 2026, before the 31 October application deadline. Places are allocated by Plymouth City Council on 1 March 2027

The published admission number for Year 7 is 158. All three Plymouth grammar schools use the same Quest papers on the same two Saturdays, but they do not share one registration. Girls register once, at either Devonport High School for Girls or Plymouth High School for Girls, and that single registration covers both; the schools ask you not to register at both. Boys register separately with Devonport High School for Boys. Registering for the test is not an application: you must still name the school on Plymouth City Council's application form by 31 October 2026. The school offers free access to Atom Home for children eligible for Pupil Premium at any point in the last six years, once their primary school has confirmed it.

• Exam styleQuest Assessments papers, used by all three Plymouth grammar schools
• PapersTwo test days a week apart: a Quest English comprehension paper with no writing, then a Quest maths paper. Both are multiple choice, around 40 minutes with 60 questions, and each is split into two sections
• Subjects testedEnglish comprehension, including spelling, punctuation and grammar, and maths drawn from the Key Stage 2 curriculum. There is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itQuest publishes free familiarisation guidance for parents and children, and that is what the schools point to. Scores are standardised for age. The grammar schools also run an optional mock sitting in the July beforehand, which fills on a first-come basis and is limited to a few hundred places.
• RegistrationOpened 27 April 2026 and closed 31 August 2026. Register at either this school or Plymouth High School for Girls, not both. The optional July mock had its own earlier window, opening 20 April and closing 22 May 2026
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026 for English and Saturday 19 September 2026 for maths. Your child has to be available on both days
• ResultsEmailed on 15 October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Places are allocated by Plymouth City Council on 1 March 2027

All three Plymouth grammar schools use the same Quest papers on the same two Saturdays, but they do not share one registration. Girls register once, at either Devonport High School for Girls or Plymouth High School for Girls, and that single registration covers both; the schools ask you not to register at both. Boys register separately with Devonport High School for Boys. Registering for the test is not an application: you must still name the school on Plymouth City Council's application form by 31 October 2026.

• Exam styleQuest Assessments papers, used by all three Plymouth grammar schools
• PapersTwo test days a week apart: a Quest English comprehension paper with no writing, then a Quest maths paper. Both are multiple choice, around 40 minutes with 60 questions, and each is split into two sections
• Subjects testedEnglish comprehension, including spelling, punctuation and grammar, and maths drawn from the Key Stage 2 curriculum. There is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itQuest publishes free familiarisation guidance for parents and children, and that is what the schools point to. Scores are standardised for age. The grammar schools also run an optional mock sitting in the July beforehand, which fills on a first-come basis and is limited to a few hundred places.
• RegistrationOpened 27 April 2026 and closed 31 August 2026. Register at either this school or Devonport High School for Girls, not both
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026 for English and Saturday 19 September 2026 for maths. Your child has to be available on both days
• ResultsEmailed on 15 October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Places are allocated by Plymouth City Council on 1 March 2027

The Dorset Consortium — Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls, Parkstone Grammar School and Poole Grammar School — exists so that a child considering more than one of them sits only one set of tests. You register with a single school, sit the test there, and the result is shared across all four. Registering is not an application: you must still name the school on your local authority's form by 31 October 2026.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test for the four Dorset Consortium grammar schools, sat once
• PapersThree multiple-choice papers from GL Assessment, all on the same day: maths 50 minutes, English 45 minutes and verbal reasoning 50 minutes. Answers go on a pre-printed sheet and scores are standardised by age
• Subjects testedMaths, English and verbal reasoning. English covers comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation, and maths covers most of Key Stage 2 with some harder questions. There is no non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itGL publishes free familiarisation papers for all three subjects and that is where the schools point parents. The timing is deliberately tight: the schools say the papers test whether a child can work accurately at speed, and no extra time is allowed without agreed access arrangements. Each school runs its own access arrangements panel with its own form and deadline, so apply early if your child needs adjustments. Several of the consortium schools also offer free Atom Home access to children eligible for Pupil Premium at any point in the last six years.
• RegistrationOpened Monday 13 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 4 September 2026. Late registration opened on Monday 7 September 2026, with a late test expected in February 2027
• Test dateSaturday 26 September 2026, sat at whichever consortium school you registered with. Details of the arrangements go out to parents by 18 September
• ResultsEmailed on Friday 16 October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

The Dorset Consortium — Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls, Parkstone Grammar School and Poole Grammar School — exists so that a child considering more than one of them sits only one set of tests. You register with a single school, sit the test there, and the result is shared across all four. Registering is not an application: you must still name the school on your local authority's form by 31 October 2026.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test for the four Dorset Consortium grammar schools, sat once
• PapersThree multiple-choice papers from GL Assessment, all on the same day: maths 50 minutes, English 45 minutes and verbal reasoning 50 minutes. Answers go on a pre-printed sheet and scores are standardised by age
• Subjects testedMaths, English and verbal reasoning. English covers comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation, and maths covers most of Key Stage 2 with some harder questions. There is no non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itGL publishes free familiarisation papers for all three subjects and that is where the schools point parents. The timing is deliberately tight: the schools say the papers test whether a child can work accurately at speed, and no extra time is allowed without agreed access arrangements. Each school runs its own access arrangements panel with its own form and deadline, so apply early if your child needs adjustments. Several of the consortium schools also offer free Atom Home access to children eligible for Pupil Premium at any point in the last six years.
• RegistrationOpened Monday 13 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 4 September 2026. Late registration opened on Monday 7 September 2026, with a late test expected in February 2027
• Test dateSaturday 26 September 2026, sat at whichever consortium school you registered with. Details of the arrangements go out to parents by 18 September
• ResultsEmailed on Friday 16 October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

The Dorset Consortium — Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls, Parkstone Grammar School and Poole Grammar School — exists so that a child considering more than one of them sits only one set of tests. You register with a single school, sit the test there, and the result is shared across all four. Registering is not an application: you must still name the school on your local authority's form by 31 October 2026.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test for the four Dorset Consortium grammar schools, sat once
• PapersThree multiple-choice papers from GL Assessment, all on the same day: maths 50 minutes, English 45 minutes and verbal reasoning 50 minutes. Answers go on a pre-printed sheet and scores are standardised by age
• Subjects testedMaths, English and verbal reasoning. English covers comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation, and maths covers most of Key Stage 2 with some harder questions. There is no non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itGL publishes free familiarisation papers for all three subjects and that is where the schools point parents. The timing is deliberately tight: the schools say the papers test whether a child can work accurately at speed, and no extra time is allowed without agreed access arrangements. Each school runs its own access arrangements panel with its own form and deadline, so apply early if your child needs adjustments. Several of the consortium schools also offer free Atom Home access to children eligible for Pupil Premium at any point in the last six years.
• RegistrationOpened Monday 13 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 4 September 2026. Late registration opened on Monday 7 September 2026, with a late test expected in February 2027
• Test dateSaturday 26 September 2026, sat at whichever consortium school you registered with. Details of the arrangements go out to parents by 18 September
• ResultsEmailed on Friday 16 October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

The Dorset Consortium — Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls, Parkstone Grammar School and Poole Grammar School — exists so that a child considering more than one of them sits only one set of tests. You register with a single school, sit the test there, and the result is shared across all four. Registering is not an application: you must still name the school on your local authority's form by 31 October 2026.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test for the four Dorset Consortium grammar schools, sat once
• PapersThree multiple-choice papers from GL Assessment, all on the same day: maths 50 minutes, English 45 minutes and verbal reasoning 50 minutes. Answers go on a pre-printed sheet and scores are standardised by age
• Subjects testedMaths, English and verbal reasoning. English covers comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation, and maths covers most of Key Stage 2 with some harder questions. There is no non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itGL publishes free familiarisation papers for all three subjects and that is where the schools point parents. The timing is deliberately tight: the schools say the papers test whether a child can work accurately at speed, and no extra time is allowed without agreed access arrangements. Each school runs its own access arrangements panel with its own form and deadline, so apply early if your child needs adjustments. Several of the consortium schools also offer free Atom Home access to children eligible for Pupil Premium at any point in the last six years.
• RegistrationOpened Monday 13 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 4 September 2026. Late registration opened on Monday 7 September 2026, with a late test expected in February 2027
• Test dateSaturday 26 September 2026, sat at whichever consortium school you registered with. Details of the arrangements go out to parents by 18 September
• ResultsEmailed on Friday 16 October 2026, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

One test covers all ten schools, but registering is not an application: you must also name each school you want on your local authority form by 31 October 2026. No offer is made to any child scoring below a total standardised score of 303, apart from successful appeals and places awarded under special considerations. Published admission numbers for 2027 range widely, from 224 at Southend High School for Girls and 192 at both Colchester County High and Westcliff High School for Girls down to 30 selective places at St Bernard's and St Thomas More and 28 at Shoeburyness, which are comprehensive or bi-lateral schools rather than grammar schools. St Bernard's and St Thomas More also need their own supplementary form. Anyone claiming Pupil Premium priority sends a separate form to each school by 31 October, not to the CSSE office.

• Exam styleOne shared test set by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex, used by all ten CSSE schools
• PapersTwo tests on the same day: English, 60 minutes plus 10 minutes' extra reading time, and maths, 60 minutes. Each paper is standardised and weighted to count for half the total, with a statistical adjustment for age
• Subjects testedEnglish and maths only, based on Key Stage 2 of the national curriculum. There is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itFree English and maths familiarisation papers are on the CSSE website, and practice packs can be bought there. CSSE warns that commercial material from booksellers is pitched at a similar level but is not the same format as its papers, and says children need only limited practice to get used to the question types and timing. The consortium does not re-mark papers and makes no adjustment to scores for a child's circumstances; those can only be raised with an appeal panel after offer day.
• Schools coveredColchester County High School for Girls, Colchester Royal Grammar School, King Edward VI Grammar School, Shoeburyness High School, Southend High School for Boys, Southend High School for Girls, St Bernard's High School, St Thomas More High School for Boys, Westcliff High School for Boys and Westcliff High School for Girls
• RegistrationOpened 12 May 2026 and closed on 19 June 2026, online or by post, with that described as an absolute deadline. Requests for access arrangements and supporting documents were due by 26 June 2026. You nominate one CSSE school as your test centre and it cannot be changed once confirmed, so CSSE advises registering early; if a centre fills up another is allocated for you. A child can be withdrawn by emailing the office by 31 August 2026
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026, at your nominated centre, with the letter confirming venue and arrival time emailed by 15 July. Keep the whole day free, since morning and afternoon sittings are not confirmed in advance. Tuesday 29 September 2026 is reserved for religious objection, illness with medical evidence, or other exceptional circumstances agreed with CSSE, and is never offered to fit around another authority's test. Children arriving late are not tested
• ResultsEmailed to every candidate after close of business on Monday 12 October 2026, allowing 24 hours for delivery. You get the raw score for each paper and the overall standardised score. A guidance sheet published the same day shows the scores that secured places in previous years, though CSSE stresses these guarantee nothing and that it can be worth applying even below the previous lowest score. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

CCHS is not a member of the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex, so its test is entirely separate from the CSSE exam. A girl applying here and to a CSSE school registers for and sits both. Anyone naming CCHS on the application form must have registered for and sat the CCHS test.

• Exam styleThe school's own entrance test, set by Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE)
• PapersA single FSCE entrance test, sat at the school
• Subjects testedApplication of knowledge and skills from Key Stage 2 subjects taught up to and including the Year 5 programme of study. The subjects tested vary and are set out in the school's familiarisation guide.
• Preparing for itThe school states plainly that the test does not require specialist tutoring and that no specific preparation is necessary, and that no teacher, tutor or parent has knowledge of it that others lack. It advises reading widely, practising maths fluency through everyday situations and talking ideas through at home, and says it is against preparation that disrupts schooling or creates anxiety. Free familiarisation guides for children and for parents are on the school's site.
• RegistrationOpened at 9am on Monday 13 April 2026 and closed at 4pm on Wednesday 3 June 2026. Late registrations are not accepted
• Test dateThursday 3 September 2026

Each school sets its own qualifying standard from the shared test and publishes its own admissions policy and oversubscription criteria, so read the school's own page before applying. You may name up to five preferences on the Gloucestershire application form, and schools are not told the order you put them in. Meeting a qualifying standard does not secure a place.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering all seven Gloucestershire grammar schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 45 to 50 minutes each, plus extra time for instructions and worked examples, sat on the same day with a short break between. Answers go on separate sheets and are marked electronically by an independent company
• Subjects testedMultiple-choice questions on verbal ability — comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning — together with numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itEvery G7 school publishes familiarisation material, and GL Assessment's free materials are the ones the schools point to. Rough paper is provided and your child may also work in the test booklet. Each paper is standardised by age, to the day, then the two are combined into a total that sets the rank order. There is no re-sit, and answer sheets are released to nobody, so there is no remark.
• RegistrationFrom 12 noon on Monday 18 May 2026 to 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026, through any of the seven schools' websites. You register once and tick which schools should receive the result: a school you do not tick cannot rank your child, and you cannot then apply to it. Evidence for access arrangements is due by the same noon deadline, and a panel drawn from all seven schools agrees them so they are applied consistently
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026. Your allocated test centre and its arrangements are confirmed by Monday 8 September. Centres are allocated by gender and distance where demand is high, and where your child sits makes no difference to the outcome. A child too ill on the day can usually sit about 10 days later, with a doctor's letter
• ResultsIn time for the 31 October 2026 application deadline, with a separate result from each school you shared with. A result tells you whether your child met that school's qualifying standard, not whether a place is offered. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; waiting list requests are due by 15 March, with outcomes after 5 April

Each school sets its own qualifying standard from the shared test and publishes its own admissions policy and oversubscription criteria, so read the school's own page before applying. You may name up to five preferences on the Gloucestershire application form, and schools are not told the order you put them in. Meeting a qualifying standard does not secure a place.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering all seven Gloucestershire grammar schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 45 to 50 minutes each, plus extra time for instructions and worked examples, sat on the same day with a short break between. Answers go on separate sheets and are marked electronically by an independent company
• Subjects testedMultiple-choice questions on verbal ability — comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning — together with numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itEvery G7 school publishes familiarisation material, and GL Assessment's free materials are the ones the schools point to. Rough paper is provided and your child may also work in the test booklet. Each paper is standardised by age, to the day, then the two are combined into a total that sets the rank order. There is no re-sit, and answer sheets are released to nobody, so there is no remark.
• RegistrationFrom 12 noon on Monday 18 May 2026 to 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026, through any of the seven schools' websites. You register once and tick which schools should receive the result: a school you do not tick cannot rank your child, and you cannot then apply to it. Evidence for access arrangements is due by the same noon deadline, and a panel drawn from all seven schools agrees them so they are applied consistently
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026. Your allocated test centre and its arrangements are confirmed by Monday 8 September. Centres are allocated by gender and distance where demand is high, and where your child sits makes no difference to the outcome. A child too ill on the day can usually sit about 10 days later, with a doctor's letter
• ResultsIn time for the 31 October 2026 application deadline, with a separate result from each school you shared with. A result tells you whether your child met that school's qualifying standard, not whether a place is offered. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; waiting list requests are due by 15 March, with outcomes after 5 April

The published admission number for 2027 entry is 155. There is no catchment area and no sibling priority: places go in test rank order, after looked after children, boys registered for Pupil Premium and children of staff. The qualifying standard is set lower for looked after and Pupil Premium boys. A boy ranked in the top 155 is guaranteed an offer if the school is his first preference, and in recent years offers have reached ranks between 327 and 397. Each school sets its own qualifying standard from the shared test and publishes its own admissions policy and oversubscription criteria, so read the school's own page before applying. You may name up to five preferences on the Gloucestershire application form, and schools are not told the order you put them in. Meeting a qualifying standard does not secure a place.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering all seven Gloucestershire grammar schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 45 to 50 minutes each, plus extra time for instructions and worked examples, sat on the same day with a short break between. Answers go on separate sheets and are marked electronically by an independent company
• Subjects testedMultiple-choice questions on verbal ability — comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning — together with numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itEvery G7 school publishes familiarisation material, and GL Assessment's free materials are the ones the schools point to. Rough paper is provided and your child may also work in the test booklet. Each paper is standardised by age, to the day, then the two are combined into a total that sets the rank order. There is no re-sit, and answer sheets are released to nobody, so there is no remark.
• RegistrationFrom 12 noon on Monday 18 May 2026 to 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026, through any of the seven schools' websites. You register once and tick which schools should receive the result: a school you do not tick cannot rank your child, and you cannot then apply to it. Evidence for access arrangements is due by the same noon deadline, and a panel drawn from all seven schools agrees them so they are applied consistently
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026. Your allocated test centre and its arrangements are confirmed by Monday 8 September. Centres are allocated by gender and distance where demand is high, and where your child sits makes no difference to the outcome. A child too ill on the day can usually sit about 10 days later, with a doctor's letter
• ResultsIn time for the 31 October 2026 application deadline, with a separate result from each school you shared with. A result tells you whether your child met that school's qualifying standard, not whether a place is offered. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; waiting list requests are due by 15 March, with outcomes after 5 April

Each school sets its own qualifying standard from the shared test and publishes its own admissions policy and oversubscription criteria, so read the school's own page before applying. You may name up to five preferences on the Gloucestershire application form, and schools are not told the order you put them in. Meeting a qualifying standard does not secure a place.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering all seven Gloucestershire grammar schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 45 to 50 minutes each, plus extra time for instructions and worked examples, sat on the same day with a short break between. Answers go on separate sheets and are marked electronically by an independent company
• Subjects testedMultiple-choice questions on verbal ability — comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning — together with numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itEvery G7 school publishes familiarisation material, and GL Assessment's free materials are the ones the schools point to. Rough paper is provided and your child may also work in the test booklet. Each paper is standardised by age, to the day, then the two are combined into a total that sets the rank order. There is no re-sit, and answer sheets are released to nobody, so there is no remark.
• RegistrationFrom 12 noon on Monday 18 May 2026 to 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026, through any of the seven schools' websites. You register once and tick which schools should receive the result: a school you do not tick cannot rank your child, and you cannot then apply to it. Evidence for access arrangements is due by the same noon deadline, and a panel drawn from all seven schools agrees them so they are applied consistently
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026. Your allocated test centre and its arrangements are confirmed by Monday 8 September. Centres are allocated by gender and distance where demand is high, and where your child sits makes no difference to the outcome. A child too ill on the day can usually sit about 10 days later, with a doctor's letter
• ResultsIn time for the 31 October 2026 application deadline, with a separate result from each school you shared with. A result tells you whether your child met that school's qualifying standard, not whether a place is offered. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; waiting list requests are due by 15 March, with outcomes after 5 April

Each school sets its own qualifying standard from the shared test and publishes its own admissions policy and oversubscription criteria, so read the school's own page before applying. You may name up to five preferences on the Gloucestershire application form, and schools are not told the order you put them in. Meeting a qualifying standard does not secure a place.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering all seven Gloucestershire grammar schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 45 to 50 minutes each, plus extra time for instructions and worked examples, sat on the same day with a short break between. Answers go on separate sheets and are marked electronically by an independent company
• Subjects testedMultiple-choice questions on verbal ability — comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning — together with numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itEvery G7 school publishes familiarisation material, and GL Assessment's free materials are the ones the schools point to. Rough paper is provided and your child may also work in the test booklet. Each paper is standardised by age, to the day, then the two are combined into a total that sets the rank order. There is no re-sit, and answer sheets are released to nobody, so there is no remark.
• RegistrationFrom 12 noon on Monday 18 May 2026 to 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026, through any of the seven schools' websites. You register once and tick which schools should receive the result: a school you do not tick cannot rank your child, and you cannot then apply to it. Evidence for access arrangements is due by the same noon deadline, and a panel drawn from all seven schools agrees them so they are applied consistently
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026. Your allocated test centre and its arrangements are confirmed by Monday 8 September. Centres are allocated by gender and distance where demand is high, and where your child sits makes no difference to the outcome. A child too ill on the day can usually sit about 10 days later, with a doctor's letter
• ResultsIn time for the 31 October 2026 application deadline, with a separate result from each school you shared with. A result tells you whether your child met that school's qualifying standard, not whether a place is offered. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; waiting list requests are due by 15 March, with outcomes after 5 April

Each school sets its own qualifying standard from the shared test and publishes its own admissions policy and oversubscription criteria, so read the school's own page before applying. You may name up to five preferences on the Gloucestershire application form, and schools are not told the order you put them in. Meeting a qualifying standard does not secure a place.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering all seven Gloucestershire grammar schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 45 to 50 minutes each, plus extra time for instructions and worked examples, sat on the same day with a short break between. Answers go on separate sheets and are marked electronically by an independent company
• Subjects testedMultiple-choice questions on verbal ability — comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning — together with numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itEvery G7 school publishes familiarisation material, and GL Assessment's free materials are the ones the schools point to. Rough paper is provided and your child may also work in the test booklet. Each paper is standardised by age, to the day, then the two are combined into a total that sets the rank order. There is no re-sit, and answer sheets are released to nobody, so there is no remark.
• RegistrationFrom 12 noon on Monday 18 May 2026 to 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026, through any of the seven schools' websites. You register once and tick which schools should receive the result: a school you do not tick cannot rank your child, and you cannot then apply to it. Evidence for access arrangements is due by the same noon deadline, and a panel drawn from all seven schools agrees them so they are applied consistently
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026. Your allocated test centre and its arrangements are confirmed by Monday 8 September. Centres are allocated by gender and distance where demand is high, and where your child sits makes no difference to the outcome. A child too ill on the day can usually sit about 10 days later, with a doctor's letter
• ResultsIn time for the 31 October 2026 application deadline, with a separate result from each school you shared with. A result tells you whether your child met that school's qualifying standard, not whether a place is offered. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; waiting list requests are due by 15 March, with outcomes after 5 April

Each school sets its own qualifying standard from the shared test and publishes its own admissions policy and oversubscription criteria, so read the school's own page before applying. You may name up to five preferences on the Gloucestershire application form, and schools are not told the order you put them in. Meeting a qualifying standard does not secure a place.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering all seven Gloucestershire grammar schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers of about 45 to 50 minutes each, plus extra time for instructions and worked examples, sat on the same day with a short break between. Answers go on separate sheets and are marked electronically by an independent company
• Subjects testedMultiple-choice questions on verbal ability — comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning — together with numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itEvery G7 school publishes familiarisation material, and GL Assessment's free materials are the ones the schools point to. Rough paper is provided and your child may also work in the test booklet. Each paper is standardised by age, to the day, then the two are combined into a total that sets the rank order. There is no re-sit, and answer sheets are released to nobody, so there is no remark.
• RegistrationFrom 12 noon on Monday 18 May 2026 to 12 noon on Friday 26 June 2026, through any of the seven schools' websites. You register once and tick which schools should receive the result: a school you do not tick cannot rank your child, and you cannot then apply to it. Evidence for access arrangements is due by the same noon deadline, and a panel drawn from all seven schools agrees them so they are applied consistently
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026. Your allocated test centre and its arrangements are confirmed by Monday 8 September. Centres are allocated by gender and distance where demand is high, and where your child sits makes no difference to the outcome. A child too ill on the day can usually sit about 10 days later, with a doctor's letter
• ResultsIn time for the 31 October 2026 application deadline, with a separate result from each school you shared with. A result tells you whether your child met that school's qualifying standard, not whether a place is offered. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; waiting list requests are due by 15 March, with outcomes after 5 April

Several Hertfordshire schools are partially selective rather than fully selective, which changes how places are allocated.

• Exam styleConsortium test, plus school-administered routes
• PapersVaries by school
• Preparing for itHertfordshire mixes fully selective, partially selective and bilateral schools, so the route differs school by school more than in most areas.
• Schools coveredWatford Grammar School for Boys · Watford Grammar School for Girls · St Clement Danes School · (Dame Alice Owen's runs its own exam)
• RegistrationCheck each school
• Test dateAutumn
• ResultsOctober

This is not a grammar school. The published admission number is 200, of which up to 65 go on academic ability and 10 on musical aptitude, with the rest non-selective. Eligibility to sit the academic test is restricted: your child must live in one of the school's Local Priority Areas or be educated in the London Borough of Islington. The school is not part of the South West Herts Consortium and runs its own process, so registering here covers nothing else.

• Exam stylePartially selective. A Governors' Entrance Examination decides a minority of places, alongside a musical aptitude test
• PapersA two-stage entrance examination. The verbal reasoning paper comes from GL Assessment, while the English and maths papers are set in-house, as is the musical aptitude test
• Subjects testedVerbal reasoning, English and maths for the academic places. Musical aptitude is assessed separately for the music places.
• RegistrationOpened at 10am on Wednesday 29 April 2026 and closed at 4pm on Wednesday 10 June 2026, and the school cannot consider later requests. Paperwork for access arrangements must reach the school by the same closing date, or it may not be possible to consider it

Both papers must be sat for a valid score. The same test is used across the Consortium and may only be taken once in a school year. A non-compulsory familiarisation session is offered before the first paper.

• Exam styleLincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools 11+, set by GL Assessment
• PapersTwo papers on consecutive Saturdays: verbal reasoning, then non-verbal and spatial reasoning. There is no maths paper and no English comprehension paper
• Preparing for itThis is not an area this practice prepares for. The Lincolnshire test examines verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning only, with no maths paper at all, so maths tuition will not help a child pass it. It is listed here so that Lincolnshire parents are not misled, not because we can prepare for it.
• Schools coveredThe Lincolnshire Consortium grammar schools, including Bourne, Boston, Grantham, Lincoln, Louth, Skegness, Sleaford and Spalding. Caistor Grammar School is not in the Consortium and runs its own test on its own dates
• RegistrationClosed at midnight on Tuesday 30 June 2026 for September 2027 entry
• Test dateVerbal reasoning Saturday 12 September 2026, non-verbal and spatial reasoning Saturday 19 September 2026
• ResultsOctober 2026

Caistor is not part of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, so a child applying here and to a consortium school registers for and sits both sets of tests. A combined score of 220 or more is needed to be eligible, the county-wide Lincolnshire standard intended to identify the top 25% of the ability range. Qualifying is not the same as a place: children living within 6.5 miles of the school in a straight line on 1 September 2026 are prioritised, and the test score then ranks children within that group.

• Exam styleThe school's own verbal reasoning tests, administered by the school
• PapersTwo verbal reasoning tests, sat in the autumn term of Year 6
• Subjects testedVerbal reasoning only. There is no English, maths or non-verbal reasoning paper.
• Preparing for itBecause both papers are verbal reasoning, preparation is narrower here than almost anywhere else in this guide, with no maths or English paper to cover.
• RegistrationApplications for September 2027 entry opened at the beginning of March 2026, through a link on the school's website

A separate unitary authority from Kent, with its own test and its own registration. Chatham Grammar is the exception to the split: it accepts a grammar assessment from either the Medway Test or the Kent Test. Children must sit the test at a Medway venue, and the allocated date cannot be swapped or rearranged.

• Exam styleMultiple-choice papers, set for Medway Council by GL Assessment
• PapersThree papers with at least a 20 minute break between them: English 30 minutes, maths 50 minutes, reasoning 45 minutes
• Preparing for itThe reasoning paper covers spatial, non-verbal and verbal reasoning across five separately timed sections, so pacing has to be practised section by section. English and maths each run as a single continuous test. Medway publishes a free familiarisation booklet and says that material from anywhere other than GL is neither official nor endorsed. There is no resit, no remark and no appeal against a mark.
• Schools coveredChatham Grammar, Fort Pitt Grammar School, Holcombe Grammar School, Rainham Mark Grammar School, Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School and The Rochester Grammar School
• RegistrationOpened Monday 18 May 2026 and closed Friday 12 June 2026. Late registrations are not accepted
• Test date15 and 16 September 2026 in school for Medway primary and junior pupils, with 17 and 18 September for some special arrangements. 19 or 20 September 2026 at a Medway test centre for everyone else
• ResultsEmailed after 10am on Wednesday 14 October 2026, or posted the same day if no email address was given

Boys who pass the SET sit a second stage shared with Wallington County Grammar and Wilson's, so one sitting covers all three, but each school sets its own pass mark. Sutton Grammar combines four standardised scores — SET English, SET maths, second stage English and second stage maths — in the ratio 2:2:3:3, adds an age allowance, then rounds to the nearest four marks. Passing does not secure a place, and the school must be named on your application by 31 October.

• Exam styleTwo stages: the shared Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET), then a second stage entrance examination
• PapersSET: two multiple-choice papers, maths and English, each 40 to 50 minutes with a rest break between them. Second stage: a maths paper and an English paper, written rather than multiple choice, each about 45 minutes to an hour
• Subjects testedMaths and English only. Neither stage includes verbal or non-verbal reasoning. Content is broadly the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
• Preparing for itNo specimen papers are published, but the schools do publish sample questions for the SET maths and English papers and a sample answer sheet. Answers go on a separate sheet and no rough paper is given, so working has to fit in the question booklet. There is no negative marking, and the SET total is what counts, so a strong English score can offset a weaker maths one.
• RegistrationOnline from 1 May 2026, closing at midnight on Friday 31 July 2026. One registration covers all six schools and doubles as the supplementary form. No late registrations are accepted. Evidence for access arrangements must come from the primary school SENCO by Friday 12 June 2026
• Test dateSET Tuesday 15 September 2026. Second stage Saturday 3 October 2026, morning session only
• ResultsSET outcome emailed during the week after the test. Second stage outcome emailed before October half term, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers on 1 March 2027

Boys who pass the SET sit a second stage shared with Sutton Grammar and Wilson's. The paper is the same at all three, but each school sets its own pass mark and its own way of combining the SET and second stage scores, so a boy can pass for one school and not another. Wallington County publishes its own method on its admissions pages. Passing does not secure a place, and the school must be named on your application by 31 October.

• Exam styleTwo stages: the shared Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET), then a second stage entrance examination
• PapersSET: two multiple-choice papers, maths and English, each 40 to 50 minutes with a rest break between them. Second stage: a maths paper and an English paper, written rather than multiple choice, each about 45 minutes to an hour
• Subjects testedMaths and English only. Neither stage includes verbal or non-verbal reasoning. Content is broadly the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
• Preparing for itNo specimen papers are published, but the schools do publish sample questions for the SET maths and English papers and a sample answer sheet. Answers go on a separate sheet and no rough paper is given, so working has to fit in the question booklet. There is no negative marking, and the SET total is what counts, so a strong English score can offset a weaker maths one.
• RegistrationOnline from 1 May 2026, closing at midnight on Friday 31 July 2026. One registration covers all six schools and doubles as the supplementary form. No late registrations are accepted. Evidence for access arrangements must come from the primary school SENCO by Friday 12 June 2026
• Test dateSET Tuesday 15 September 2026. Second stage Saturday 3 October 2026, morning session only
• ResultsSET outcome emailed during the week after the test. Second stage outcome emailed before October half term, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers on 1 March 2027

Girls who pass the SET sit a second stage held jointly with Nonsuch. Both the paper and the standard applied are common to the two schools, so a girl who is judged of selective ability can name either or both on her application. The final total is the SET score, re-standardised and halved, plus the standardised second stage maths and English scores. Girls registered as Pupil Premium at their primary school may qualify at up to 20% below the standardised pass mark, but the form must reach the trust before the SET is sat.

• Exam styleTwo stages: the shared Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET), then a second stage entrance examination
• PapersSET: two multiple-choice papers, maths and English, each 40 to 50 minutes with a rest break between them. Second stage: a maths paper and an English paper, held jointly with Nonsuch High School for Girls
• Subjects testedMaths and English only. Neither stage includes verbal or non-verbal reasoning. Content is broadly the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
• Preparing for itNo specimen papers are published, but the schools do publish sample questions for the SET maths and English papers and a sample answer sheet. Answers go on a separate sheet and no rough paper is given, so working has to fit in the question booklet. There is no negative marking, and the SET total is what counts, so a strong English score can offset a weaker maths one.
• RegistrationOnline from 1 May 2026, closing at midnight on Friday 31 July 2026. One registration covers all six schools and doubles as the supplementary form. No late registrations are accepted. Evidence for access arrangements must come from the primary school SENCO by Friday 12 June 2026
• Test dateSET Tuesday 15 September 2026. Second stage Saturday 26 September 2026
• ResultsSET outcome emailed during the week after the test. Second stage outcome emailed by the end of October, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers on 1 March 2027

Girls who pass the SET sit a second stage held jointly with Wallington High School for Girls. Both the paper and the standard applied are common to the two schools, so a girl who is judged of selective ability can name either or both on her application. The final total is the SET score, re-standardised and halved, plus the standardised second stage maths and English scores. Girls registered as Pupil Premium at their primary school may qualify at up to 20% below the standardised pass mark, but the form must reach the trust before the SET is sat.

• Exam styleTwo stages: the shared Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET), then a second stage entrance examination
• PapersSET: two multiple-choice papers, maths and English, each 40 to 50 minutes with a rest break between them. Second stage: a maths paper and an English paper, held jointly with Wallington High School for Girls
• Subjects testedMaths and English only. Neither stage includes verbal or non-verbal reasoning. Content is broadly the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
• Preparing for itNo specimen papers are published, but the schools do publish sample questions for the SET maths and English papers and a sample answer sheet. Answers go on a separate sheet and no rough paper is given, so working has to fit in the question booklet. There is no negative marking, and the SET total is what counts, so a strong English score can offset a weaker maths one.
• RegistrationOnline from 1 May 2026, closing at midnight on Friday 31 July 2026. One registration covers all six schools and doubles as the supplementary form. No late registrations are accepted. Evidence for access arrangements must come from the primary school SENCO by Friday 12 June 2026
• Test dateSET Tuesday 15 September 2026. Second stage Saturday 26 September 2026
• ResultsSET outcome emailed during the week after the test. Second stage outcome emailed by the end of October, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers on 1 March 2027

Greenshaw is not a grammar school. It uses the SET to decide who may be considered for 60 ability places, and holds no second stage exam. A child who does not reach the mark can still be offered a place under the school's other admission criteria, so it is worth naming on the application either way. Children who do qualify are sent details of how to apply for one of the 60 places.

• Exam stylePartially selective. The shared Sutton Selective Eligibility Test (SET) only, with no second stage
• PapersSET: two multiple-choice papers, maths and English, each 40 to 50 minutes with a rest break between them
• Subjects testedMaths and English only. Neither stage includes verbal or non-verbal reasoning. Content is broadly the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
• Preparing for itNo specimen papers are published, but the schools do publish sample questions for the SET maths and English papers and a sample answer sheet. Answers go on a separate sheet and no rough paper is given, so working has to fit in the question booklet. There is no negative marking, and the SET total is what counts, so a strong English score can offset a weaker maths one.
• RegistrationOnline from 1 May 2026, closing at midnight on Friday 31 July 2026. One registration covers all six schools and doubles as the supplementary form. No late registrations are accepted. Evidence for access arrangements must come from the primary school SENCO by Friday 12 June 2026
• Test dateSET Tuesday 15 September 2026
• ResultsOutcome emailed during the week after the test, ahead of the 31 October application deadline. Offers on 1 March 2027

One test covers all five consortium schools, but you must say at registration which of them should receive the result. The qualifying score is 334 at all five. A child can qualify for one school and not another, because the same result is standardised against a different cohort at each. Qualifying does not secure a place, and a place on the waiting list is not automatic — you have to ask for it. The consortium warns that in recent years several places have been withdrawn after offer day over misleading address information. Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College are not in the consortium and set their own separate test.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering the five Trafford Consortium schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers, each about an hour, set by GL Assessment as a paper written specifically for the Trafford Consortium. Your child sits it at one allocated centre
• Subjects testedVerbal skills, non-verbal skills and mathematics. Verbal questions cover word choice, word meanings, how words relate to each other and reading comprehension. Non-verbal questions cover shapes and sequences, common features, codes and spatial awareness. Maths covers content taught up to the start of Year 6: number, measurement, geometry and statistics.
• Preparing for itFamiliarisation material sits on the GL website and on each consortium school's site. The number of questions and the maximum mark are not released, even to the schools, and you will not be given a breakdown of your child's score by paper. Scores are standardised for age, and GL does not re-mark papers.
• RegistrationOpened at 12 noon on Thursday 23 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 19 June 2026. This is a strict deadline: miss it and the next test sitting is after National Allocation Day on 1 March 2027. Access arrangements must be requested by the same deadline, with supporting evidence and a letter from the primary school describing the normal way of working, and a panel drawn from all five schools agrees them together
• Test dateMonday 14 September 2026, at one allocated centre. If your child is ill, do not send them in: a Special Circumstances Form is due by Thursday 17 September 2026 and the school will then advise on alternative dates
• ResultsThrough the admissions portal no later than 31 October 2026, as a single standardised score with no breakdown by paper. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027, with acceptances usually due 14 days later

One test covers all five consortium schools, but you must say at registration which of them should receive the result. The qualifying score is 334 at all five. A child can qualify for one school and not another, because the same result is standardised against a different cohort at each. Qualifying does not secure a place, and a place on the waiting list is not automatic — you have to ask for it. The consortium warns that in recent years several places have been withdrawn after offer day over misleading address information. Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College are not in the consortium and set their own separate test.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering the five Trafford Consortium schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers, each about an hour, set by GL Assessment as a paper written specifically for the Trafford Consortium. Your child sits it at one allocated centre
• Subjects testedVerbal skills, non-verbal skills and mathematics. Verbal questions cover word choice, word meanings, how words relate to each other and reading comprehension. Non-verbal questions cover shapes and sequences, common features, codes and spatial awareness. Maths covers content taught up to the start of Year 6: number, measurement, geometry and statistics.
• Preparing for itFamiliarisation material sits on the GL website and on each consortium school's site. The number of questions and the maximum mark are not released, even to the schools, and you will not be given a breakdown of your child's score by paper. Scores are standardised for age, and GL does not re-mark papers.
• RegistrationOpened at 12 noon on Thursday 23 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 19 June 2026. This is a strict deadline: miss it and the next test sitting is after National Allocation Day on 1 March 2027. Access arrangements must be requested by the same deadline, with supporting evidence and a letter from the primary school describing the normal way of working, and a panel drawn from all five schools agrees them together
• Test dateMonday 14 September 2026, at one allocated centre. If your child is ill, do not send them in: a Special Circumstances Form is due by Thursday 17 September 2026 and the school will then advise on alternative dates
• ResultsThrough the admissions portal no later than 31 October 2026, as a single standardised score with no breakdown by paper. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027, with acceptances usually due 14 days later

The intended admission number for 2027 is 190. One test covers all five consortium schools, but you must say at registration which of them should receive the result. The qualifying score is 334 at all five. A child can qualify for one school and not another, because the same result is standardised against a different cohort at each. Qualifying does not secure a place, and a place on the waiting list is not automatic — you have to ask for it. The consortium warns that in recent years several places have been withdrawn after offer day over misleading address information. Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College are not in the consortium and set their own separate test.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering the five Trafford Consortium schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers, each about an hour, set by GL Assessment as a paper written specifically for the Trafford Consortium. Your child sits it at one allocated centre
• Subjects testedVerbal skills, non-verbal skills and mathematics. Verbal questions cover word choice, word meanings, how words relate to each other and reading comprehension. Non-verbal questions cover shapes and sequences, common features, codes and spatial awareness. Maths covers content taught up to the start of Year 6: number, measurement, geometry and statistics.
• Preparing for itFamiliarisation material sits on the GL website and on each consortium school's site. The number of questions and the maximum mark are not released, even to the schools, and you will not be given a breakdown of your child's score by paper. Scores are standardised for age, and GL does not re-mark papers.
• RegistrationOpened at 12 noon on Thursday 23 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 19 June 2026. This is a strict deadline: miss it and the next test sitting is after National Allocation Day on 1 March 2027. Access arrangements must be requested by the same deadline, with supporting evidence and a letter from the primary school describing the normal way of working, and a panel drawn from all five schools agrees them together
• Test dateMonday 14 September 2026, at one allocated centre. If your child is ill, do not send them in: a Special Circumstances Form is due by Thursday 17 September 2026 and the school will then advise on alternative dates
• ResultsThrough the admissions portal no later than 31 October 2026, as a single standardised score with no breakdown by paper. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027, with acceptances usually due 14 days later

One test covers all five consortium schools, but you must say at registration which of them should receive the result. The qualifying score is 334 at all five. A child can qualify for one school and not another, because the same result is standardised against a different cohort at each. Qualifying does not secure a place, and a place on the waiting list is not automatic — you have to ask for it. The consortium warns that in recent years several places have been withdrawn after offer day over misleading address information. Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College are not in the consortium and set their own separate test.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering the five Trafford Consortium schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers, each about an hour, set by GL Assessment as a paper written specifically for the Trafford Consortium. Your child sits it at one allocated centre
• Subjects testedVerbal skills, non-verbal skills and mathematics. Verbal questions cover word choice, word meanings, how words relate to each other and reading comprehension. Non-verbal questions cover shapes and sequences, common features, codes and spatial awareness. Maths covers content taught up to the start of Year 6: number, measurement, geometry and statistics.
• Preparing for itFamiliarisation material sits on the GL website and on each consortium school's site. The number of questions and the maximum mark are not released, even to the schools, and you will not be given a breakdown of your child's score by paper. Scores are standardised for age, and GL does not re-mark papers.
• RegistrationOpened at 12 noon on Thursday 23 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 19 June 2026. This is a strict deadline: miss it and the next test sitting is after National Allocation Day on 1 March 2027. Access arrangements must be requested by the same deadline, with supporting evidence and a letter from the primary school describing the normal way of working, and a panel drawn from all five schools agrees them together
• Test dateMonday 14 September 2026, at one allocated centre. If your child is ill, do not send them in: a Special Circumstances Form is due by Thursday 17 September 2026 and the school will then advise on alternative dates
• ResultsThrough the admissions portal no later than 31 October 2026, as a single standardised score with no breakdown by paper. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027, with acceptances usually due 14 days later

One test covers all five consortium schools, but you must say at registration which of them should receive the result. The qualifying score is 334 at all five. A child can qualify for one school and not another, because the same result is standardised against a different cohort at each. Qualifying does not secure a place, and a place on the waiting list is not automatic — you have to ask for it. The consortium warns that in recent years several places have been withdrawn after offer day over misleading address information. Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College are not in the consortium and set their own separate test.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test covering the five Trafford Consortium schools, sat once
• PapersTwo papers, each about an hour, set by GL Assessment as a paper written specifically for the Trafford Consortium. Your child sits it at one allocated centre
• Subjects testedVerbal skills, non-verbal skills and mathematics. Verbal questions cover word choice, word meanings, how words relate to each other and reading comprehension. Non-verbal questions cover shapes and sequences, common features, codes and spatial awareness. Maths covers content taught up to the start of Year 6: number, measurement, geometry and statistics.
• Preparing for itFamiliarisation material sits on the GL website and on each consortium school's site. The number of questions and the maximum mark are not released, even to the schools, and you will not be given a breakdown of your child's score by paper. Scores are standardised for age, and GL does not re-mark papers.
• RegistrationOpened at 12 noon on Thursday 23 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 19 June 2026. This is a strict deadline: miss it and the next test sitting is after National Allocation Day on 1 March 2027. Access arrangements must be requested by the same deadline, with supporting evidence and a letter from the primary school describing the normal way of working, and a panel drawn from all five schools agrees them together
• Test dateMonday 14 September 2026, at one allocated centre. If your child is ill, do not send them in: a Special Circumstances Form is due by Thursday 17 September 2026 and the school will then advise on alternative dates
• ResultsThrough the admissions portal no later than 31 October 2026, as a single standardised score with no breakdown by paper. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027, with acceptances usually due 14 days later

A Catholic girls' grammar school, and not part of the Trafford Consortium, so a girl applying here and to a consortium school sits two separate tests four days apart. Baptised girls of any denomination must send their original baptism certificate to the school to complete registration, and the baptism must have taken place before the date of registration. Send a stamped addressed envelope if you want the certificate back.

• Exam styleThe Governors' Entrance Examination, set by the school and separate from the Trafford Consortium test
• RegistrationOpened at 10am on Saturday 27 June 2026 and closed at 1pm on Friday 31 July 2026. Late applications cannot be accepted. Open to girls born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016
• Test dateFriday 18 September 2026

A Catholic voluntary-aided boys' grammar school, where faith evidence forms part of the admissions criteria. It is not a member of the Trafford Consortium, so a boy applying here and to a consortium school registers for and sits two separate tests, four days apart.

• Exam styleThe college's own entrance examination, separate from the Trafford Consortium test
• PapersThree multiple-choice papers: verbal reasoning (50 minutes), maths (35 minutes) and English (35 minutes)
• Subjects testedVerbal reasoning, set by GL Assessment. Maths, written in-house, covering the Key Stage 2 national curriculum up to and including the Year 5 programme of study. English, also written in-house, including a comprehension. There is no creative writing element.
• Preparing for itGL's free familiarisation material covers the verbal reasoning paper only, and the college warns that it is generic and may differ in length, question types and difficulty from the real paper. No sample or past papers exist for the maths or English papers, because both are written in-house.
• RegistrationClosed at 12 noon on Monday 6 July 2026 for September 2027 entry. Open to boys born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016
• Test dateFriday 18 September 2026

One test covers all 19 partnership schools across Birmingham, Shropshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire. A child sits it once and can be considered by any of them, but only if the result-sharing box is ticked at registration.

• Exam styleWest Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test, set by GL Assessment
• PapersTwo papers, each about 50 to 60 minutes, covering English comprehension, verbal reasoning, maths and non-verbal/spatial reasoning
• Preparing for itWeighted 50% English and verbal reasoning, 25% non-verbal reasoning and 25% maths, with every section standardised for age. Maths is a quarter of the marks, so maths practice alone will not carry a child through this test. All questions are multiple choice and answers go on a separate answer sheet, which is worth practising in its own right.
• Schools coveredEight schools in Birmingham: Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, King Edward VI Aston, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, King Edward VI Five Ways, King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls and Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls
• RegistrationClosed at 4pm on 26 June 2026 for September 2027 entry
• Test dateSeptember 2026
• ResultsSent before 31 October 2026

One test covers all 19 partnership schools across Birmingham, Shropshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire. A child sits it once and can be considered by any of them, but only if the result-sharing box is ticked at registration.

• Exam styleWest Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test, set by GL Assessment
• PapersTwo papers, each about 50 to 60 minutes, covering English comprehension, verbal reasoning, maths and non-verbal/spatial reasoning
• Preparing for itWeighted 50% English and verbal reasoning, 25% non-verbal reasoning and 25% maths, with every section standardised for age. Maths is a quarter of the marks, so maths practice alone will not carry a child through this test. All questions are multiple choice and answers go on a separate answer sheet, which is worth practising in its own right.
• Schools coveredSix schools in the Warwickshire Consortium: Alcester Grammar School, Ashlawn School, King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon, Lawrence Sheriff School, Rugby High School and Stratford Girls' Grammar School
• RegistrationClosed at 4pm on 26 June 2026 for September 2027 entry
• Test dateSeptember 2026
• ResultsSent before 31 October 2026

One test covers all 19 partnership schools across Birmingham, Shropshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire. A child sits it once and can be considered by any of them, but only if the result-sharing box is ticked at registration. A boarding application to Haberdashers' Adams is a separate process with an interview and a fee, and is not a substitute for a day place.

• Exam styleWest Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test, set by GL Assessment
• PapersTwo papers, each about 50 to 60 minutes, covering English comprehension, verbal reasoning, maths and non-verbal/spatial reasoning
• Preparing for itWeighted 50% English and verbal reasoning, 25% non-verbal reasoning and 25% maths, with every section standardised for age. Maths is a quarter of the marks, so maths practice alone will not carry a child through this test. All questions are multiple choice and answers go on a separate answer sheet, which is worth practising in its own right.
• Schools coveredFive schools: Haberdashers' Adams, Newport Girls' High School, Queen Mary's Grammar School, Queen Mary's High School and Wolverhampton Girls' High School
• RegistrationClosed at 4pm on 26 June 2026 for September 2027 entry
• Test dateSeptember 2026
• ResultsSent before 31 October 2026

Salisbury's two grammar schools do not share a test. South Wilts and Bishop Wordsworth's each set their own, on the same Saturday, and you register with each separately.

• Exam styleThe school's own GL Assessment test, set separately from Bishop Wordsworth's
• PapersThree papers in one sitting with a break between each: maths 50 minutes, English 45 minutes and verbal reasoning 50 minutes
• Subjects testedMaths covering the Year 5 national curriculum with some early Year 6 content, English assessing comprehension, spelling and punctuation, and verbal reasoning testing logical thinking and problem solving. All multiple choice.
• Preparing for itGL's free familiarisation papers are what the school points to, and it notes they matter most for verbal reasoning, which children often have not met before. The number of questions in each paper can vary. Girls in Years 4 and 5 who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years get free Atom Learning access, whether or not they intend to apply here.
• RegistrationOpened at midday on Wednesday 25 March 2026 and closed at midnight on Tuesday 1 September 2026
• Test dateSaturday 26 September 2026, with a familiarisation session at the school on Saturday 19 September. Final arrangements are emailed about a week beforehand
• ResultsThe published timetable runs to the 31 October 2026 application deadline and National Offer Day on Monday 1 March 2027

Boys who qualify for the Pupil Premium and provide evidence from their local authority are held to a pass mark 3% lower than the standard one, and 10 places are reserved for them; if fewer than 10 qualify, those places return to the standard pool. Being a Church of England school makes no difference to admission, as there is no faith criterion. Note: when this card was checked, the school's 11+ procedure page still showed timetables for 2024 and 2025 entry, so confirm this year's dates with the admissions office.

• Exam styleThe school's own GL Assessment test, set separately from South Wilts
• PapersTwo papers, each about 45 minutes, all multiple choice
• Subjects testedOne paper covers verbal skills, including reading comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, and verbal reasoning. The other covers non-verbal reasoning and maths. That combination is unusual, and it differs from the papers set across the city at South Wilts.
• Preparing for itGL publishes free familiarisation material, which the school links to. The school states that it has no partnership or affiliation with any private tutor or tutoring agency, and that any claim of access to its papers, sample materials or inside information is untrue.

Registering for and sitting the test is not an application for a place. Only boys who reach the required standard are considered, and reaching it guarantees nothing. Scores are released only to parents of boys who did not reach the standard, on request by noon on 19 October 2026, so that everyone who starts at the school does so on an equal footing. The school advises that if you want Ermysted's above other schools, you should rank it first on the application form.

• Exam styleThe school's own entrance test, with papers from Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE)
• PapersTwo papers, each typically 45 to 60 minutes with a break between. Paper 1 is multiple choice; paper 2 asks for short written answers. Both cover English and maths
• Subjects testedEnglish and maths only, drawn from the Key Stage 2 curriculum taught up to and including the end of Year 5. There is no non-verbal reasoning and no creative writing.
• Preparing for itThe school says it does not believe extra preparation is necessary, and states that no tutor, website or company can claim any knowledge of the test beyond its own familiarisation guides. No commercial 11+ books or past papers are endorsed by FSCE. Boys in receipt of Pupil Premium get free Atom Learning support. Papers are scanned and marked automatically, each standardised for age so that both count equally, then added together.
• RegistrationOpened at noon on Monday 13 April 2026 and closed at noon on Monday 31 August 2026. Requests for special arrangements, with all supporting evidence, had to be in by the same deadline, with decisions given by 14 September 2026
• Test dateThe morning of Saturday 26 September 2026 at the school. Absence through illness or bereavement must be reported by noon on Monday 28 September, with evidence by noon on Friday 2 October
• ResultsBy letter in the week beginning 12 October 2026. The Supplementary Information Form, needed only by families claiming priority, is due by noon on 27 November 2026. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

The planned admission number is 120, and a girl may sit the test only once in an academic year. Reaching the required standard does not secure a place. Priority goes to looked after girls, then to those registered for Pupil Premium or whose families receive Universal Credit, then to girls inside the school's Priority Area covering Craven, then to those outside it, with distance as the tie-break. The school says it has always been able to offer places to every girl inside the Priority Area who reached the standard, but not always to those outside it. It also states plainly that a place cannot be guaranteed unless Skipton Girls' is named as first preference on the local authority form. Anyone claiming Pupil Premium or Universal Credit priority must tick the relevant box when registering and get evidence to the school by the end of September.

• Exam styleThe school's own selection tests, with papers from Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE)
• PapersTwo tests, maths and English, sat on one day at the school from 9.30am until about 12.15pm. Questions are a mix of multiple choice and written response, marked by computer and standardised for age
• Subjects testedEnglish and maths only, covering areas of the Key Stage 2 national curriculum taught up to the end of Year 5. The school says there is no element of the test that should surprise, trouble or intimidate a candidate.
• Preparing for itThe school publishes the FSCE familiarisation guide, with sample questions, and states that the test does not require specialist tutoring and that no specific preparation is necessary, because no teacher, tutor or parent has knowledge of it that others lack. Test content changes each year, so the guide is not definitive and the question types in it are not guaranteed to appear. Girls eligible for Pupil Premium at any point in the last six years get free Atom Learning access once their primary school has confirmed it.
• RegistrationThe online form closed at midnight on Wednesday 19 August 2026. Without it a girl cannot sit the tests and so cannot be considered for a place. Registration cards are posted in early September, and the school asks you to make contact if nothing has arrived by 18 September 2026. Late registrations are looked at only after places are allocated in March, with testing in the May before entry
• Test dateSaturday 26 September 2026 at the school, 9.30am to about 12.15pm. If your daughter is too ill to sit them, telephone before 9.30am and get a medical certificate to the school by 4pm on Wednesday 30 September; a re-sit follows within a week. Anything else that may have affected her performance must be put in writing by that same deadline
• ResultsEmailed by Monday 19 October 2026. The application form then goes to your local authority by 31 October 2026, and offers arrive on 1 March 2027, to be accepted within 14 days

The two standardised scores are added together and measured against a cut-off set each year to identify the highest scoring 28% of the Year 6 cohort living in the Ripon area. Recent cut-offs were 203 for 2026 entry, 196 for 2025 and 195 for 2024. Reaching the cut-off does not guarantee a place. The published admission number is 117, including 14 boarding places, and a boarding place is a separate preference from a day place that cannot later be converted into one.

• Exam styleEntrance test organised by North Yorkshire Council, with papers from GL Assessment
• PapersTwo papers. Verbal Skills runs in two parts: English for 25 minutes and 26 questions on a reading passage plus spelling and grammar, then verbal reasoning for 20 minutes and 32 questions. Non-verbal reasoning with maths has three sections: two non-verbal sections of 20 questions in 10 minutes each, then about 25 maths questions in 25 minutes
• Subjects testedReading comprehension, spelling and grammar, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and maths, all multiple choice, with English and maths content up to the end of Year 5. The format changed for this cycle: both papers now carry Key Stage 2 content alongside the reasoning questions, which the previous verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning papers did not.
• Preparing for itGL publishes free familiarisation material. The council says coaching is not required, and warns that standardised marks from off-the-shelf practice tests sold in shops are not comparable with marks from the North Yorkshire papers. Timing is part of the test, and a child cannot return to an earlier section once its time is up.
• RegistrationThe online form opened on 30 April 2026 and closed on 30 June 2026. Requests for special arrangements had to be in by the same deadline, or testing is deferred to April the following year. A late registration means testing after National Offer Day
• Test dateSaturday 12 September 2026 at Ripon Grammar School, with invitations confirming the day's arrangements sent during the week of 25 August
• ResultsIn writing no later than 16 October 2026. The council will not give results by phone or email. Late tests run on set dates in April, June and August 2027

There are 210 places in Year 7, and the school says more than 1,200 children typically register for the exam. A child may take it only once. Heckmondwike is not part of the Halifax arrangement, so a child applying here and to a Halifax grammar school registers for and sits two separate exams. Registering is not an application: the school must also be named on your local authority form.

• Exam styleThe school's own entrance exam, with papers from Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE)
• PapersMultiple-choice and written-response questions, with all written elements sat on one day at the school
• Subjects testedEnglish, maths and creative writing, covering only knowledge appropriate to the Key Stage 2 curriculum. The school says no element of the exam should surprise, trouble or intimidate a candidate.
• Preparing for itThe school publishes familiarisation guides for parents and for children, and suggests reading both before sharing the student guide with your child. It states that the exam requires no specialist tutoring and that no teacher, tutor or parent has knowledge of it that others lack. Its own suggestion is to read with your child and ask them to explain the meaning of a passage.
• RegistrationOpened at 9am on Monday 11 May 2026 and closed at midday on Monday 22 June 2026. The school cannot accept late or incomplete registrations. Open to children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016
• Test dateOn one day in the autumn term, at the school, in September 2026. The school contacts registered families with the invitation and the day's arrangements
• ResultsThe school makes contact in mid-October 2026 with whether the required standard has been met. You then complete your local authority's application form by its deadline, and offers arrive on National Offer Day, usually 1 March 2027

The school admits 180 pupils into Year 7. One registration covers both Halifax grammar schools, and a child may take the test only once. Registering is not an application: either or both schools must be named among your five preferences on the Calderdale application form by 31 October 2026. Access arrangements need a two-part form, the second section completed by your child's current school, uploaded with the application. Crossley Heath also runs a scholarship giving a small number of children entering Year 5 a full year of free face-to-face 11+ tuition; applicants must be in receipt of Free School Meals or Pupil Premium, and places go to the highest performers in a pre-test.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test for The Halifax Grammar Schools, with papers from Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE)
• PapersMultiple-choice and written-response questions in English and maths, plus a creative writing task. All written elements are sat on one day
• Subjects testedEnglish, maths and creative writing, covering only areas of the Key Stage 2 curriculum taught up to the end of Year 5. There is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itThe English and maths papers are marked by computer and standardised for age. Creative writing is assessed only for children who reach an eligible score on those two papers, and candidates are then ranked, so a weak piece of writing matters but only after the first hurdle is cleared. The schools say the test requires no specialist tutoring and that no teacher, tutor or parent has knowledge of it that others lack. Content changes each year, so the familiarisation guide is not definitive. Children eligible for Pupil Premium get free Atom Learning access.
• RegistrationOpened at 10am on Friday 20 March 2026 and closed at 11pm on Friday 26 June 2026, through the shared Halifax Grammar Schools portal. Details of the venue and timetable reach parents by Monday 7 September 2026
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026 at The Halifax Grammar Schools, with a supplementary test at The Crossley Heath School on Friday 25 September
• ResultsSent by Friday 16 October 2026. A result is not an offer of a place. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

One registration covers both Halifax grammar schools, and a child may take the test only once. Registering is not an application: either or both schools must be named among your five preferences on the Calderdale application form by 31 October 2026. Access arrangements need a two-part form, the second section completed by your child's current school, uploaded with the application.

• Exam styleOne shared entrance test for The Halifax Grammar Schools, with papers from Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE)
• PapersMultiple-choice and written-response questions in English and maths, plus a creative writing task. All written elements are sat on one day
• Subjects testedEnglish, maths and creative writing, covering only areas of the Key Stage 2 curriculum taught up to the end of Year 5. There is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning.
• Preparing for itThe English and maths papers are marked by computer and standardised for age. Creative writing is assessed only for children who reach an eligible score on those two papers, and candidates are then ranked, so a weak piece of writing matters but only after the first hurdle is cleared. The schools say the test requires no specialist tutoring and that no teacher, tutor or parent has knowledge of it that others lack. Content changes each year, so the familiarisation guide is not definitive. Children eligible for Pupil Premium get free Atom Learning access.
• RegistrationOpened at 10am on Friday 20 March 2026 and closed at 11pm on Friday 26 June 2026, through the shared Halifax Grammar Schools portal. Details of the venue and timetable reach parents by Monday 7 September 2026
• Test dateSaturday 19 September 2026 at The Halifax Grammar Schools, with a supplementary test at The Crossley Heath School on Friday 25 September
• ResultsSent by Friday 16 October 2026. A result is not an offer of a place. Offers come from your local authority on 1 March 2027

Both schools share a Common Catchment Area, and Redbridge states that only children living inside it have been admitted in the last ten years. 45 places, a quarter of the intake, are set aside for pupil premium children ranked by score. Registering for the test is not an application: the Common Application Form must be submitted separately.

• Exam styleRedbridge 11+ selection test, set by GL Assessment and run by the London Borough of Redbridge
• PapersTwo multiple-choice papers sat on the same day: English with verbal reasoning, and maths with non-verbal reasoning
• Preparing for itMaths is examined, so this is an area the practice prepares for directly. Note that the council sets a minimum threshold score of 104: below that a child is not added to the ranked list or any waiting list, whatever else is in their favour.
• Schools coveredIlford County High School for Boys and Woodford County High School for Girls, 180 Year 7 places each
• RegistrationUsually 1 May to 15 June. No late registrations are accepted
• Test dateProvisionally on or about Friday 18 September 2026 for September 2027 entry
• ResultsPosition in score order given before the 31 October preference deadline

The most fragmented area in the country for admissions arrangements.

• Exam styleSchool-administered — each school runs its own route
• PapersVaries by school
• Preparing for itThere is no shared county test. Check each school's registration form, test content and the local authority's application requirements separately.
• Schools coveredLancaster Royal Grammar School · Lancaster Girls' Grammar School · Clitheroe Royal Grammar School · Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School and others
• RegistrationPer school
• Test dateAutumn
• ResultsAutumn

The single biggest source of confusion here is that the six Wirral grammar schools are often listed together but run under two entirely separate processes. A child applying to a Catholic grammar must register with that school directly and sit its own test, in addition to or instead of the shared one.

• Exam styleWirral Admissions Test, set by Quest Assessments for 2027 entry and run by Wirral Council
• PapersTwo papers taken on the same day
• Preparing for itThe provider changed to Quest Assessments for 2027 entry, so older GL-style practice material may not match the current paper. Check what is being tested before buying anything.
• Schools coveredFour non-Catholic grammar schools use the shared test. Two Catholic grammar schools, Upton Hall School FCJ and St Anselm's College, sit outside it and run their own separate tests, with their own earlier deadlines and a different provider
• RegistrationOpened 1 May 2026 and closed 31 May 2026 for September 2027 entry
• Test dateSeptember 2026
• ResultsSent to parents on 21 October 2026