Grammar Schools in Lancashire

Registration for the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam is completed via the individual school’s website rather than via the county council. Each school has a specific registration window for the exam, and parents must complete a form to register their child. The dates vary substantially for this, with one grammar school’s registration opening in April and another in June. They all close to new registrants in September so it is important to take careful note of the registration dates.

In Lancashire, there are four schools which use the 11 plus exam: Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (boys and girls), Clitheroe Royal Grammar School (boys and girls), Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School (girls only) and Lancaster Royal Grammar School (boys only).

There are four schools in Lancashire which use the 11 plus exam: two are co-educational, one is boys only and one is girls only. Other schools are available in the local area such as state schools which are non-selective and independent schools which have their own admissions criteria.

Typically, the results of the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam will come out in time for parents to complete registration forms with the local council and name a specific school on their application for secondary school for their child. Results come out in October, but the exact date varies depending on which school has been applied for. Once registration has taken place, the school will notify parents when results are expected.

The Lancashire 11 Plus Exam is held in September when the child is in Year 6. The date is the same for all four schools and it very likely to be the last Saturday in September. Despite registration dates and results dates being different, this date remains the same.

The Lancashire 11 Plus Exam consists of three papers set and marked by GL Assessment. These papers are around 45 minutes each, and are taken on one morning in late September. The duration of the exam in its entirety will therefore be around three hours, allowing time for breaks and explanations. Parents should expect to drop their children off around 0900 and collect them around 1200.

The subjects assessed in the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam are English, Maths and Verbal Reasoning. Maths and English will be extension and core work based on the Key Stage 2 syllabus which children have been studying at school. Verbal reasoning may well be a subject which children have not encountered, so careful preparation work will be needed for this section of the exam. GL Assessment publish familiarisation materials for parents and children on their website.

The Lancashire 11 Plus Exam is written and created by GL Assessment. GL Assessment are a nationwide provider of 11 plus tests. These tests are marked by computer but are taken on paper, making them a popular choice for grammar schools who do not have access to hundreds of computers on which applicants can take the tests.

The number of questions in the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam will be between 50 and 80. For the Maths and English papers, the expectation is around one minute per question, whereas for the Verbal Reasoning paper, there is a timing expectation of around 30 to 45 seconds per question. This means that in a 45 minute paper the number of questions can vary significantly depending on the topic.

If a candidate or parent wishes to appeal the results of the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam, they will have to wait until National Secondary School Offer Day, which is in March. At this point school places have been offered and decided and so the only option is to appeal against the offer made. Whilst it is not possible to remark the 11 plus, sometimes children will meet a separate criteria which may mean their appeal is successful. It should be noted that this is very unusual.

The pass mark for the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam will depend on the specific school to which you are applying. Each school uses the same exam, but will have a different pass mark depending on how many applicants they receive and what their published admissions number is. There will also be school-specific admissions criteria aside from the test which will be applied to some candidates.

The Lancashire 11 Plus Exam is a challenging test. Generally if you are putting your child forward for this test they should be in the top 25% of children in their year group. Grammar school tests are designed to assess academic ability, and reading their current reports and taking to their teachers can help you to decide if an application will be successful or not.

A good score on the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam will be around 80%, as these tests are designed to separate out the top 25% of applicants based solely on academic ability, here in English, Maths and Verbal Reasoning. There are four schools which use the Lancashire 11 plus and they are four of the top-performing schools in the county, so it is important to aim high.

Yes, the pass mark for the Lancashire 11 Plus Exam is different depending on which school you apply to. This is because each school has its own admissions criteria alongside the 11 plus exam.

Schools such as Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Clitheroe Royal Grammar School may have higher basic scores beyond which students will be considered for entry into Year 7. If the school attracts a high number of applicants for whatever reason, it will have a higher baseline 11 plus score.

If a grammar school has a lower number of applicants, it may result in the baseline score beyond which candidates are offered places being lowered. Historical data is available around this and should be carefully considered before applying for a place.