Entrance Exam Information

Please refer to our Key Dates page for timetabled dates. 

Children who wish to sit the Academic Tests must live within one of our Local Priority Areas. 

Children may only take the Academic Tests for admission to Year 7 once.

Registration takes place when children are in Year 5 and is open between May and June (exact dates are available on our Key Dates page). We are unable to consider any registration requests after the closing date.

The first test takes place in early September when children are starting Year 6.

Please do not send in any supporting material of academic aptitude or ability as these cannot  be taken into consideration.

Emails with exact timings and further details will be sent out before the end of the summer term.

Overview of the Academic Tests

The Governors’ Entrance Examination consists of two stages:  Part I and Part II.

These tests are designed to identify the most able candidates. Children of average or below average ability are likely to find them very challenging. The tests are considered to be valid, reliable and fair.

The examination consists of three papers in total:

• Part I – Verbal Reasoning 
• Part II – English 
• Part II – Mathematics 

Part I – Verbal Reasoning 
A 50 minute multiple choice paper which consists of 80 questions, provided by GL Assessment.  There are normally four test sessions spread throughout the day.

Once marked, raw scores are converted to age-standardised scores (by our test provider) based on the child’s age in completed months. This ensures fairness across the year group. Candidates are then ranked in order of performance.

Children ranked below position 325  are not eligible for further consideration under our academic criterion and will not be invited to proceed to Part II of the Entrance Examination.

Children ranked within the top 325 will be invited to sit Part II.

Part II – English and Mathematics

English – A one-hour comprehension paper which includes an extended writing piece (written internally).

Followed by:

Mathematics – A one-hour paper (written internally).

Overall Results and Ranking

The results from the English and maths papers are age-standardised and combined with the results from the Verbal Reasoning to produce a total combined mark. Candidates are then ranked accordingly.

Parents will be sent an email with a breakdown of marks, the candidate’s ranked position, and the lowest ranked position offered in recent years for reference.

These emails do not constitute an offer of a place at the school. They are provided for information only and may assist parents when making secondary school applications.

Parents who wish to apply for a place must include the school as one of their preferences via their home Local Authority secondary transfer application.

Additional Information

Familiarisation Papers are available for all to view and additional sample papers are available to purchase. We strongly recommend that all children use these materials to familiarise themselves with the format of our tests.

Access Arrangements information

Illness on test date:

Children who are unwell on the test day (a medical certificate will be required where possible) or who are unable to attend for religious reasons (proof will be required) will be offered one further test date. Notification must be received within 12 hours of the test taking place.

Further information can be found in our Admissions Arrangements.

Please refer to our comprehensive FAQs before contacting the school, as you may find the answer to your question there. This helps the Admissions Office prioritise urgent enquiries.

Music Test Information can be found on this page