Colchester Royal Grammar School: Fees, 11+ Scores and Admissions

Key Information Summary

• School Type: Selective boys' grammar school (ages 11-18) with co-educational sixth form
• Location: Colchester, Essex
• Student Numbers: Approximately 1,000 pupils
• Specialisms: Science and modern languages
• Entry Requirements: CSSE 11+ examination
• Recent Achievement: Named East Anglia State School of the Decade by The Sunday Times (2021)

About Colchester Royal Grammar School

Colchester Royal Grammar School was founded in 1206 and was granted Royal Charters by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

The school, on Lexden Road in Colchester, was named East Anglia State Secondary School of the Decade by The Sunday Times.

The sixth form is co-educational and admits external boys and girls, with a boarding house for 30 sixth-form students.

11+ tutors

Hannah

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationCommon Entrance PreparationCreative WritingCritical Thinking

I am a UK-qualified teacher with 15+ years across private and state schools in the UK and abroad, and hold a BSc from LSE and a PGCE with QTS. I teach English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, 11+ and Common Entrance preparation. My approach is personalised, confidence-building and rigorous.

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Sochima

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationBiologyChemistryComputer Science

I'm a qualified teacher in a London classroom every day, with a BSc in Computer Science from Brunel and a PGCE with QTS. I teach Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science to A-Level, plus 11+ preparation, through project-based work that suits SEND learners well.

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Robert

Master Tutor

11+ PreparationBiologyChemistryEconomics

I am a qualified teacher with over twenty years' experience in the UK, Gulf and New Zealand, holding an MA in History and PGCE. I teach English, History, Geography and French from KS2 to A-Level and IB, preparing 11+/13+ candidates. My approach is student-led, focused and diagnostic.

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The 11+ Assessment Process

CRGS admits through the 11+ run by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE), a single test used for entry to all ten consortium schools.

Examination Structure

The CSSE 11+ comprises two distinct papers, each lasting approximately one hour:

• English Paper: Focuses on reading comprehension skills and creative writing ability, assessing pupils' literacy development and analytical thinking
• Mathematics Paper: Based entirely on the Key Stage 2 national curriculum, testing numerical reasoning, problem-solving skills, and mathematical understanding

Scoring System

The two papers are standardised and weighted equally, with results analysed by date of birth, and the CSSE publishes the lowest score that secured a place at each school after every offer day.

Special Admissions Provisions

CRGS reserves up to 12 places for boys who score above 320 and fall into one of these groups, with looked-after children first:

• Looked After Children
• Previously Looked After Children
• Pupils receiving Pupil Premium funding

All remaining places are allocated strictly based on examination performance, with the highest-scoring candidates receiving offers.

How to apply and what the CSSE result means

Boys register with the CSSE from May of Year 5, sit the English and mathematics papers in September of Year 6 and receive a total standardised score by email in October. The school has no priority area, so after up to 12 places for looked-after boys and boys eligible for the Pupil Premium who score above 320, places go in descending score order to the boys who name it, up to 128.

No CSSE school offers a place below a total of 303, and the CSSE publishes the lowest score that secured a place at each school. A score is not an application, so the school must be named on the home local authority's common application by the home council's closing date, normally 31 October and later when that date falls at a weekend; the authority offers the highest preference a boy qualifies for, so a school ranked above it takes the place if he qualifies there.

Offers follow on 1 March. A declined place passes to the next highest scorer in the same category, the school keeps a waiting list through the autumn term of Year 7, and an appeal against a refused place starts with the Notice of Appeal form on the Essex County Council website, though the CSSE schools do not re-mark papers.

How the CSSE test works across every Essex grammar school is set out in the Essex grammar schools guide.

Preparing for the Colchester Royal Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Colchester Royal Grammar School 11+ usually come to us a year or so before the assessment, though shorter runs work where the foundations are already sound. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors build each programme around the format the school actually uses, whether a written paper, an online pre-test, an interview or a combination of them.

More than half of our tutors hold Qualified Teacher Status and around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and the pool includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools, so the preparation is led by people who know how selective schools assess. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in the East of England 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.

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