Barnet Grammar Schools: The 11+ and How Entry Works

Barnet is unusual among London boroughs in having three state-funded grammar schools, each selecting on academic ability at eleven and each setting its own entrance test, with no single borough-wide exam shared between them.

Because the schools, and Barnet Council's own secondary admissions process, run on separate but overlapping timetables, families often register for a school's test months before the shared Common Application Form is due, then still need to list the school as a formal preference through the council regardless of how the test goes.

The three grammar schools in Barnet

Barnet's secondary system includes three state-funded, selective grammar schools, each admitting by academic ability at eleven and each setting and marking its own entrance test independently of the other two.

Because each school runs its own test on its own timetable, families aiming for more than one of the three usually need to register separately with each school, in addition to completing the shared local authority application.

• Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet (QE Barnet) is a boys' grammar school on Queen's Road in Chipping Barnet.
• The Henrietta Barnett School (HBS) is a girls' grammar school, with a co-educational sixth form, in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London NW11.
• St Michael's Catholic Grammar School is a girls' grammar school, also co-educational at sixth form, on Nether Street in Finchley, London N12, and admits on Catholic faith criteria as well as academic ability.

Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet: the entrance test

QE Barnet's own admissions pages set out an entrance test of two multiple-choice papers, one in English and one in Mathematics, sat by candidates in a single session. The school's published guidance states that a combined score of 225 or higher meets the standard required by the governors for a candidate to be considered for admission.

Registration opens online in May of Year 5 and closes in early July; the tests are held in September, with provisional results issued around the start of October. The school states plainly that it has no catchment area and does not give priority for siblings, multiple births or Pupil Premium eligibility, with admission resting solely on the test result. Where scores are tied, places go to the candidate living closest to the school, measured as a straight line using Ordnance Survey data. The school publishes its admission number in its admission arrangements each year.

The Henrietta Barnett School: two rounds

HBS describes a two-round process on its admissions pages. Round One, set by GL Assessment, covers verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and English; the school's published policy explains that the top 300 scorers are invited to Round Two, which consists of a 60-minute English paper and a 50-minute Mathematics paper set by the school itself.

Registration for Year 7 entry usually opens in April and closes in early July, with the school stating it does not accept late applications. Round One is held in early September, results follow within about three weeks, and Round Two takes place in early October. Its admission number is set in its published admission arrangements.

The school's admissions policy sets out a priority order for allocating places once the top 300 have been identified: looked-after and previously looked-after children first, then candidates eligible for Pupil Premium funding who rank in the top 300 after Round One, with evidence of eligibility required directly from the child's current school, then candidates living within three miles of the school, and finally the remaining places by rank order in the tests. Tied scores are settled by proximity to the school, and by a draw where distances are equal.

St Michael's Catholic Grammar School: faith and academic selection

St Michael's own admissions policy describes a single entrance test, taken by invitation on one day in September, covering Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, English and Mathematics, with the English paper assessed through written answers instead of a multiple-choice format. Its admission number is set in the school's published policy.

Admission depends on both faith and rank. First priority goes to baptised Catholic girls from a practising Catholic family, evidenced by a Certificate of Catholic Practice from the family's parish priest, who have made their First Holy Communion; within that group, looked-after and previously looked-after children are ranked first, then Pupil Premium-eligible candidates, capped at 25 per cent of the intake, ranked among the top 200 scorers, then the remaining Catholic applicants in score order. The policy sets out a fallback set of criteria, opening places to other Christian denominations and then to any other girls, for the unlikely event that fewer than 200 qualifying Catholic applicants apply in a given year. Where scores tie, the policy ranks Verbal Reasoning above Non-Verbal Reasoning, English and Maths in turn, before falling back to home address.

Families apply in two parts: the school's own Supplementary Information Form, alongside an original, signed Certificate of Catholic Practice delivered to the school office, and the separate local authority application form. Both usually fall due in early July, ahead of the test itself in September.

How the Barnet application fits together

Registering for a grammar school's own test does not replace the ordinary secondary school application. Barnet Council's guidance for transferring to secondary school explains that families list up to six preferences on the Common Application Form, submitted through the Pan London eAdmissions system or the family's home local authority, by the national closing date of 31 October; a grammar school has to be named as one of those preferences even after a child has already sat, and met the standard in, that school's own test.

National offer day for secondary places falls on 1 March, or the next working day, when Barnet emails families with their allocated school; a second round of offers follows for late applications and changes, usually by the end of March.

Allocating places and appeals

Each of the three grammar schools is its own admission authority, setting its own oversubscription criteria and running its own appeal process independently of Barnet Council; St Michael's policy, for example, gives unsuccessful applicants the right to appeal to an independent panel within a set period after the decision letter.

Barnet's own appeals guidance, which applies to schools where the council is the admission authority, describes hearings before an independent panel of three: a lay member, an education expert, and a clerk. Only one appeal per school is normally allowed in an academic year unless circumstances change, and the council notes that distance from the school, a school's academic reputation or Ofsted rating, or preference alone are unlikely grounds for a successful appeal. Appeals lodged after the stated deadline are still scheduled, though they may be heard later than those submitted on time.

Preparing for the 11+ in Barnet

Because the three schools test differently, preparation tends to work best when matched to the specific school; treating the '11+' as one generic test overlooks these differences. QE Barnet's test covers only English and Maths in multiple-choice form; HBS layers a GL Assessment-style Round One in verbal and non-verbal reasoning plus English onto a school-set Round Two in English and Maths; St Michael's sets its own Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, English and Maths papers, with English assessed through written answers instead of multiple choice.

Registering for each school's test is a separate, deadline-driven step that sits alongside, not instead of, the Common Application Form, so families weighing more than one Barnet grammar school usually need to track each school's own registration window as well as the shared local authority deadline.

Preparing for the Barnet Grammar Schools 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Barnet Grammar Schools 11+ tends to go best when it starts early and stays steady, and most families who work with us begin between twelve and eighteen months out. Our tutors, who have prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, plan the work backwards from the school's own assessment format and registration deadline.

The tutors we match to 11+ preparation are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in London and further afield work with us online, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject, with no registration fee and a free initial consultation to talk through your child's current level and the timeline to the 11+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.

Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.