Support with Grammar School Admissions

Preparing for grammar school admissions can feel like a significant milestone for families, and our aim is to make this journey as clear, supportive and successful as possible. We provide a structured approach that develops essential skills from an early stage, offers meaningful opportunities for practice and ensures parents are well informed about their child’s progress. Through a combination of high-quality teaching, targeted preparation and enriching extracurricular activities, we work in partnership with families to help every child approach the 11+ with confidence.

Our Curriculum

Comprehension and mathematics are central to our curriculum, providing pupils with the strong foundations needed for grammar school entry. Verbal reasoning is woven throughout everyday learning to help children develop confidence and familiarity with these skills from an early stage.

Targeted Preparation

In the Summer Term of Year 5, children will receive additional support with verbal reasoning to help strengthen key skills. In the weeks leading up to the 11+ examination, all Year 6 pupils receive discrete lessons in both verbal and non-verbal reasoning. This focused teaching ensures that every child has the opportunity to strengthen the key skills required for the assessment.

Optional NFER Testing in Years 4 and 5

To support early preparation, children in Years 4 and 5 can take part in optional annual NFER testing. Scores are shared with parents in end-of-year reports, providing a helpful indication of each child’s progress in both verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

Year 5 Mock Examination

At the end of the summer term, Year 5 pupils are offered the chance to sit a mock examination under timed conditions. This experience helps familiarise children with the structure and expectations of formal exams. Test papers are sent home afterwards for parents to mark and review together with their child.

Extra-Curricular Enrichment

We offer a variety of extracurricular clubs that help develop the broader skills required for grammar school readiness. For example, our Maths Puzzle Club encourages problem-solving, logical thinking and perseverance in a fun, supportive environment.

Trafford Grammar Schools Admissions

Please view each school’s admission page for current information on entrance examination arrangements and admissions:

• Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
• Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
• Sale Grammar School
• St. Ambrose College
• Loreto Grammar School

Trafford Grammar Familiarisation Guides

• Trafford Grammar Schools Familiarisation Sheet
• Comprehension Guide
• Maths Guide
• Pictures Guide
• Word Choice Guide
• CEM practise materials for Trafford

The Schools Admissions Code, that came into effect in 2012, stated that by law, schools must take all reasonable steps to inform parents of the outcome of tests before the closing deadline for the Common Application form (CAF) on October 31st.

The following five schools are known as the Trafford Grammar Schools CEM Consortium (TGSCC): Altrincham Grammar for Girls, Altrincham Grammar for Boys, Sale Grammar, Stretford Grammar and Urmston Grammar.

Children sit only one test. Parents can request the raw scores be shared between the schools. Scores cannot be shared between the schools after the standardisation process. Parents have to apply to one of the five schools to sit the exam and state which schools to share the scores with. It is possible for a child to pass the test for one school and not for another; this is because the raw scores are being compared to a different cohort of children. Each school has its own admissions policy.