11+ Warwickshire

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Warwickshire LA

School Admissions Service

Warwickshire Grammar Schools

• Alcester Grammar School
• King Edward VI Grammar School
• Lawrence Sheriff School
• Rugby High School for Girls
• Stratford Upon Avon Grammar School for Girls

Prospective year 7 children (entry in September 2012) - if your child's date of birth is 1 Sept 2000 to 31 Aug 2001, you can apply for them to sit the Warwickshire Selection Test this year.

• Register for a 11+ test
• The 11+ test
• Priority areas for grammar schools
• Inside or outside the priority area
• Applying to move to a grammar school in current year 7 to 11

Register for a test

• 11+ Registration Form (pdk, 119Kb)
• 11+ Registration Information (pdf, 133Kb)
• Print out, fill in and return the registration form and read the information found in '11+ registration information'
• Registration forms will be sent to all Warwickshire primary and junior Schools on 7 and 8 June 2011
• Alternatively, you can ring and request a registration form from our offices from 7 June onwards
• Closing Date for on-time 11+ Registration is 22 July 2011.

To apply for a grammar school in Warwickshire you must do two things:

• Register your child for the test.
• Select a Warwickshire grammar school on your secondary school application.

Secondary School Applications must be made through your own local authority. You may pick schools in any local authority to list as preferences on your application. If you do not list a Warwickshire grammar school on your Secondary School Application Form, your child will not be considered for a place, regardless of the score achieved in the tests.

Late Registration

Late registration for the test, or a late Secondary School Application Form means that if your child achieves the qualifying score, they will not be offered a grammar school place on 1 March 2012. Your child will be placed onto waiting lists for schools that you have achieved the qualifying score and applied for.

The 11+ test

We do not release past papers and there are no practice papers available. Two weeks before the test, applicants will receive a sample sheet containing example questions.

You can use BOFA 11+ to help prepare for the exam:

                                                
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• The main test date is 1 October 2011.
• It will take place in the morning.
• Letters will be sent two weeks before the test to inform you of the venue and start time.
• The supplementary testing date is 18 October 2011.
• The test is made up of two 45 minute papers with approximately 100 - 125 questions on each paper.

Sample questions from previous tests:

11+ Sample 2011(pdf, 1.6Mb)

11+ Sample 2010 (pdf, 1.4Mb)

11+ Sample 2009 (pdf, 213Kb)

Priority areas for grammar schools

There are six grammar schools in Warwickshire.

South grammar schools

• Alcester Grammar
• King Edward VI School (KES) (boys only)
• Stratford Grammar School (girls only)

The Priority Area is a circle with a radius of approximately 17 miles. The centre of this circle is the clock tower in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Map of southern grammar school priority area (pdf, 1.9Mb)

Please call the Admissions Service to confirm your priority area if your address falls on the red/purple line on the priority area maps.

East grammar schools

• Ashlawn Selective
• Lawrence Sheriff School (boys only)
• Rugby High School (girls only)

There are two areas from which places can be offered.

Map of Eastern Grammar School Priority Areas (pdf, 1.0Mb)

Full Determination from School Adjudicator on Eastern Grammar School Admission 2010 (pdf, 4.9Mb)

50% of the places will be offered to children who reach the qualifying score in the selection test and reside within the Eastern priority circle (Area 1), This circle has a radius of approximately 10 miles.

50% of the places will be offered to children who reach the qualifying score in the selection test and reside within Rugby and the surrounding areas (Area 2). These areas are outlined below.

Rugby plus the parishes of Dunchurch, Thurlaston, Leamington Hastings, Birdingbury, Grandborough, Wolfhamcote, Willoughby, Binley Woods, Brinklow, Brandon and Bretford, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Bubbenhall, Wolston, Church Lawford, Long Lawford, Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Princethorpe, Frankton, Marton, Bourton and Draycote, Churchover, Clifton-on-Dunsmore, Combe Fields, Cosford, Easenhall, Harborough Magna, Kings Newnham, Little Lawford, Monks Kirby, Newton and Biggin, Pailton, Stretton-under-Fosse, Wibtoft, Willey and Withybrook.

Within these areas, places will be offered as follows:

• Children in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, a local authority (under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) who meet the qualifying standard for the school.
• Children who meet the qualifying standard for the school.
• Children who have been considered by the Committee of Reference and placed as 'exceptions'.

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Priority areas

If your child resides outside of either grammar priority area, you can still apply for a grammar school.

If you reside outside the relevant priority circle for the school you are applying for and your child achieves the qualifying score in the selection test, they will not be offered in the first round of offers and may be placed onto the waiting list (depending on their score).

Living inside the area does not guarantee an offer of a grammar school place.

Eastern grammar schools use two priority areas and offer 50% of places from each area. See priority areas for grammar schools. For futher information you can contact our offices

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Applying for a grammar school in other year groups

If you wish to apply for your child to move to a Warwickshire grammar school from their current secondary school, you must apply through your own local authority for a change of school.

If you live in Warwickshire, please see changing schools for the application form. However, you may also need to arrange testing. Testing will be arranged for you by Warwickshire County Council if your child has not taken the 11+ and is under 12 years old. For other applications, you will need to contact the school directly, unless your child comes under one of the following categories:

Testing is not required if:

• the child has previously taken the Warwickshire 11+
• applying for Ashlawn Selective School when child is over 12
• the child in year 10 or year 11

You can use BOFA 11+ to help prepare for the exam:

                                                
   FREE 11+ Demo             FREE 11+ Demo             FREE 11+ Demo              FREE 11+ Demo

King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon

Admissions Policy for entry in 2011

King Edward VI School is a Voluntary Aided School. The Governors are the Admission Authority and as such have formal responsibility for determining pupil admission. The Admissions Policy of the school is outlined below, together with further information about the current admissions process, which adopts Warwickshire County Council’s procedure for selective admissions in South Warwickshire.

The closing date for registering for selection tests for all the selective schools in Warwickshire is 16th July 2010 (end of the summer term).  Registration after that date will be considered as late.  An exception will be made for parents who can provide evidence of a move of address into the priority circle by 4th February 2011.   Late registrations will only be considered after the first round of offers and may not be tested before the offer date.

Year 7

At age 11 (Year 7) pupils may be admitted to King Edward VI School providing they satisfy the provisions of the Warwickshire County Council’s selection procedure for South Warwickshire as follows:

• Up to and including 2007, admission at an automatic level was determined by comparing the children’s performances in two Moray House verbal reasoning tests.
• Performance in an essay, and additional information provided by the relevant primary schools, was used to decide whether some candidates who do not qualify automatically should also be offered a selective school place.
• The test score for automatic qualification for places at both King Edward VI School and the Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls was set at 260 by the Schools Adjudicator in 2004.  The Adjudicator also set a limit of 22 on the number of children who could be offered places having scored below the automatic standard.
• For entry in 2008, the Moray House tests were replaced by two NFER verbal reasoning tests. The Committee of Reference - a panel of headteachers and teachers appointed according to the terms of reference in the area, and including the Heads of the south Warwickshire selective schools or their representatives - adhered to a similar standard of ability for admission for each of the schools involved, and followed the criteria required by the Adjudicator.
• For entry in 2011, admission at an automatic level will be determined by comparing the children’s performances in two tests commissioned by Warwickshire Local Authority from the University of Durham CEM Unit. The standardisation of the new papers is likely to be different from those of the previous tests, but the Committee of Reference will adhere to a similar standard of ability for admission as has been adopted previously.  A limit of 22 will be placed on the number of boys offered places having scored below the automatic standard.

Looked After Children

Amongst the group scoring above the automatic standard, the highest priority will be given to children in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, a local authority (under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989) scoring above the automatic standard set by the Committee of Reference and where an application has been made by 5th February 2011.
Similarly amongst the group considered further as possible exceptions the highest priority will be awarded to children in the care of, or provided with accommodation by, a local authority (under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).

• Children whose parents have registered for the tests will attend the test centres to complete the test papers. Normally, each child will attend only one session. Details of the test centre are sent to the parent following registration, normally in August or September. Parents of children living in Warwickshire with difficulties in transporting their child to a test centre can raise their individual case with the Admissions Service.
• The tests will be set in a morning session in test centres on 2nd October 2010. If a second date is required it will be 19th October 2010.
• The tests will comprise two standard format papers (bespoke papers available only to Warwickshire County Council).

Each test will be of 45 minutes duration.

Paper 1 will include:

20 minutes verbal reasoning
10 minutes short maths questions
15 minutes comprehension

Paper 2 will include:

15 minutes longer maths questions
10 minutes data processing questions
10 minutes non verbal reasoning
10 minutes missing words in paragraph test (‘cloze test’)

Verbal reasoning involves the manipulation of verbal representations and the solving of verbally presented problems. Orthographic, syntactic and semantic abilities, as well as logic and other problem solving skills are needed in verbal reasoning.

Comprehension tests the ability to make inferences as to meaning within and between phrases, sentences and paragraphs; to derive the ‘gist’ of the meaning from a text; understand the vocabulary, and extract accurate interpretations of the written language.

Non-Verbal

Non-verbal reasoning tests eliminate cultural bias in intelligence testing and the possible bias against individuals who lack experience of a particular language or have difficulties with verbal elements.

The ‘Cloze Test’ consists of several short passages of prose. It needs an overall understanding of the passage, but it requires closer attention to the grammatical and syntactic elements of written language than in the comprehension test. The candidate selects the most appropriate word from a choice of three at various points in the passage so as to make sense of the phrase and/or sentence.

Mathematical Sections:

Short mathematical questions will test ability in mental arithmetic and recognition of mathematical patterns (as curriculum free as possible). A rigorous test of working memory skills with a speed element to this section. Not all the candidates will be expected to finish.

Longer mathematics problems explore numerical problem solving requiring more stages of processing with a greater verbal element involved than in the short maths questions.

One familiarisation paper will be issued to each candidate registered for the tests with the notice of allocation to a particular Test Centre.

A single testing session will include:
Test Paper 1 (45 minutes)
Short Break
Test paper 2 (45 minutes)

Supplementary tests will be held on 19th October 2010. These will only be available for those who provide proof of illness on the day of the original tests (doctor’s note) or who are able to provide evidence of special circumstances such as religious grounds or previously booked engagements prior to the date of the original tests. Late applications from parents moving into the priority area will be included in this group.

• Children not resident in South Warwickshire can be considered for a place at King Edward VI School. However, the first round of offers will only be made to those living within the school’s priority circle, as described in the Local Authority booklet “Secondary Schools in South Warwickshire”. This is a circle drawn from a point between the two Stratford Grammar Schools, on a radius of about 17 miles. Children living outside the priority area will only be considered if vacancies occur after the first round of offers.
• The automatic standard for 2011 will be set by the South Warwickshire Committee of Reference taking account of the previous automatic standard for entry to King Edward VI School (260 for the two Moray House papers) and there will be a limit of offers to no more than 22 boys scoring below the automatic standard.

 You can use BOFA 11+ to help prepare for the exam:

                                                
   FREE 11+ Demo             FREE 11+ Demo             FREE 11+ Demo              FREE 11+ Demo

 
School Admission Numbers

For 2010, the Governors have determined that the number of boys admitted to the school at year 7 will be 75, following a ruling by the Schools Adjudicator in 2003.
If the school is oversubscribed for entry in Year 7, pupils’ names may be placed on a reserve list, which will remain in force until the start of the Michaelmas Term. This list is maintained and administered by the Warwickshire Admission Service as part of the selection process. There is no reserve list for pupils who apply for a place in years 8 – 11.

Rugby High School for Girls

Additional information

The CEM Centre tests will be set in a morning session in test centres on a Saturday during the first half of the Autumn Term, 1st October 2011. If a second date is required, it will be Tuesday 18th October 2011.
The test papers will include the three elements of Verbal Reasoning, Non Verbal
Reasoning and Numeracy.

Verbal Reasoning involves the manipulation of verbal representations and the solving of verbally presented problems. Orthographic, syntactic and semantic abilities, as well as logic and problem solving skills are needed in verbal reasoning.
Included in this section is comprehension which tests the ability to make inferences as to meaning within and between phrases, sentences and paragraphs; to derive the ‘gist’ of the meaning from a text; understand the vocabulary, and extract interpretations of the written language.
The section also includes a ‘Cloze Test’ which consists of several short passages of prose.
It needs an overall understanding of the passage, but it requires a closer attention to the grammatical and syntactic elements of written language than in the comprehension test.
The candidate selects the most appropriate word from a choice of three at various points in the passage so as to make sense of the phrase and/or sentence.

Non-Verbal reasoning tests eliminate cultural bias in intelligence testing and the possible bias against individuals who lack experience of a particular language or have difficulties with verbal elements.

Numeracy questions will test ability in mental arithmetic and recognition of mathematical patterns. They will involve a rigorous test of working memory skills and a speed element. There will be questions which explore numerical problem solving requiring more stages of processing with a greater verbal element.
A sample/familiarisation paper will be issued to each candidate registered for the tests with the notice of allocation to a particular test centre.
A single testing session will include:
Test Paper 1 (45 minutes)
Break for refreshments and toilets
Test Paper 2 (45 minutes)

Supplementary tests will be held on 18th October 2011. These will only be available for those who provide proof of illness on the day of the original tests (doctor’s note) or who are able to provide evidence of special circumstances such as religious grounds or previously booked engagements prior to the date of the original tests. Late applications from parents moving into the priority area will be included in this group if possible.

The test papers will include the three elements of Verbal Reasoning, Non VerbalReasoning and Numeracy.