Grammar schools in Wirral

To register for the Wirral Consortium Admissions Test, parents need to complete the form available on the Wirral Council website. This will open between April and June when their child is in Year 5. The registration will then trigger information being sent about the test location and date direct to parents. Prior to registering, it is a good idea to discuss the test with your child’s current school to see if they are in a position to achieve a good score.

The schools in the Wirral Consortium are listed above. Two are girls’ schools and two are boys’ schools. There are other grammar schools in the area which do not use the test and have their own entrance exams.

The number of schools that participate in the Wirral Consortium is currently four, although this may change due to the fact that other grammar schools in the area do not currently use the test.

The results of the 11 plus test will come out to parents by the end of October, leaving plenty of time to apply using the county council’s secondary school application form. Children who have passed the 11 plus are able to name a grammar school on the form and can therefore be put forward for a place. Whilst passing the 11 plus in Wirral does not guarantee a place at one of the four grammar schools in the area, it does mean they can progress to the next stage.

The Wirral Consortium process will begin with registration in the Spring, followed by the 11 plus test which takes place in mid-September, usually on the second or third Monday of the month. Following this, results are released to parents by the end of October, and school places finally confirmed in March.

The Wirral Consortium exam has two papers, each lasting around 45 minutes to one hour. The papers contain a mix of questions and short sections on Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Each paper will have clear instructions given by the invigilator and time for practice questions,  followed by the timed sections. There will be a break in between each paper. Both papers are taken on the same morning.

The Wirral Consortium exam assesses three areas: Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The Verbal section contains a component which parents might consider to be English questions – with a comprehension or understanding element in terms of word choice. However neither Verbal or Non-Verbal Reasoning are taught at school so it is a good idea to prepare carefully for this exam.

The exam is written and marked by GL Assessment. This is a company which supplies many of the 11 plus tests in the country, and has a good reputation for extremely accurate marking and assessment. Papers are hand written but are marked by computer, so it is also a good plan to download the familiarisation materials from the GL Assessment website to help with preparation.

The number of questions in the Wirral Consortium exam will be around 100 in each paper. The papers last one hour each, and children are expected to spend around 45 seconds per question answering them. However this can vary slightly from year to year as the balance of reasoning. and Maths questions may affect the number of questions in each paper.

Appeals are only possible once school offers have been made in March so it is best to wait for this before lodging an appeal. If your child has been assessed as of grammar school standard and they have not been offered a grammar school place in Wirral then there is a route you can go down, but if they are assessed as not being of the correct standard then it is more challenging. There may be extenuating circumstances but this is very rare.

The pass mark for the Wirral Consortium exam will depend on the number of children who apply, and how many places there are at that particular school. Generally it is a good idea to aim for a percentage pass mark rather than a specific number. The average score, though, would be around 200 when both papers are added together. Aiming for over this is a good idea, and a score of around 240 will put you in the top 20% of the applicants.

The Wirral Consortium 11 plus exam is a challenging test because all four schools which use it are oversubscribed. Added to this, most children have not previously encountered Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, meaning that they will need to undergo extensive practice prior to the test. The Maths section of the papers will also include extension topics, so children should be at the top of their class in this subject. n

A good score in the Wirral Consortium exam will be something above the average of 200. It is best to aim for 80% in practice papers, as percentage scores take into account age standardisation and other adjustments made by the examination markers.

The pass mark will certainly vary depending on the school. If a school is particularly over-subscribed then the pass mark (the baseline score beyond which your child is considered for a place) will rise. This means that sometimes schools will only accept the top 15% or even 10% of applicants, despite the general theory behind the 11 plus being that it is designed for the top 25% of children, academically.

Grammar schools such as Calday Grange Grammar School and West Kirby Grammar School do sometimes report higher pass marks, due to the fact that they are extremely popular. However, it is a good idea to check historical data and see what the lowest score was which was accepted by these schools. Sometimes schools will change in popularity due to an inspection or change of leadership.

Schools that are not as oversubscribed may well have a lower pass mark. It is also worth checking of any of the other admissions criteria apply to your child. For example, there may be sibling priority, or a specific postcode area beyond which children are not generally accepted. Check the school’s website for the latest information on admissions.