Bournemouth and Poole Grammar Schools: Complete Guide to the 11+ and Entry

Four grammar schools serve families in Bournemouth and Poole: Bournemouth School and Bournemouth School for Girls in Bournemouth, and Poole Grammar School and Parkstone Grammar School in Poole, each selecting on academic ability. Together the schools form the Dorset Consortium of Grammar Schools, an arrangement built so that a child considering more than one of the four sits a single set of entrance tests instead of sitting four separate exams.

The tests are currently set by GL Assessment and cover mathematics, English and verbal reasoning, with the same papers sat on the same day at consortium schools; from the next September sitting, for the entry round that follows the current one, the assessments move to a new provider, Quest Assessments. Registering for the test is a separate step from applying for a school place, which goes through the home local authority's Common Application Form, and each school then applies its own published oversubscription criteria once results are known.

The four grammar schools in Bournemouth and Poole

Two of the four sit in Bournemouth and two in Poole, and all four are academies with a Year 7 entry point reached through the 11+.

Bournemouth School, founded in 1901 and based in Charminster, takes boys into the main school and has admitted girls into a co-educational sixth form since September 2012. Bournemouth School for Girls, which opened in 1918, is a girls' grammar school academy. In Poole, Poole Grammar School is a boys' grammar school on Gravel Hill whose sixth form also takes applicants from other schools, while Parkstone Grammar School, on Sopers Lane, is a girls' grammar school that became girls-only in 1937 after having opened as a co-educational school in 1905.

• Bournemouth School: Bournemouth, boys (co-educational sixth form)
• Bournemouth School for Girls: Bournemouth, girls
• Poole Grammar School: Poole, boys
• Parkstone Grammar School: Poole, girls

The Dorset Consortium and the shared 11+ test

Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls, Parkstone Grammar School and Poole Grammar School use one set of tests administered on the same day, so no school runs its own entrance exam; a family registers at whichever consortium school suits them, and the result is then considered by every school the family names on their application. Poole Grammar School's admissions policy notes that boys sitting the test may do so at either Bournemouth School or Poole Grammar School, whichever venue is more convenient for the family.

GL Assessment sets the current papers, standardising scores by age so that an August-born and a September-born candidate are compared fairly. From the next September sitting, for children starting Year 7 in the entry round after the current one, the papers change to a new provider, Quest Assessments; Bournemouth School's admissions pages note that from that point no content beyond the Year 5 National Curriculum will be tested.

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What the test covers

Under the current GL Assessment format, candidates sit three multiple-choice papers, entering answers on pre-printed sheets under strict timing, with no variation allowed unless a child holds a relevant Education, Health and Care Plan or Statement of Special Educational Need, in which case up to 25 per cent additional time may be granted.

The mathematics paper runs for 50 minutes and is based on Key Stage 2 work, covering most of the curriculum up to level 5 with some level 6 content included. In English, the paper runs for 45 minutes and tests comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation. The verbal reasoning paper also runs for 50 minutes and is designed to indicate a pupil's academic potential and areas of strength or weakness, with an integral practice element built in since it assumes no prior knowledge of the question types.

• Mathematics: 50 minutes, Key Stage 2 up to level 5, some level 6 content
• English: 45 minutes, comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation
• Verbal reasoning: 50 minutes, tests academic potential with a built-in practice section

Registering and the admissions timetable

Two separate applications are needed for a Bournemouth or Poole grammar school place, and missing either one causes problems: registering for the entrance test with a consortium school, and naming the school as a preference on the Common Application Form submitted to the home local authority. Registering for the test does not itself count as an application for a place.

In the most recent round, registration opened on 13 April and closed at 12 noon on 4 September, with the entrance test held on 26 September. Results are emailed to parents on 16 October, by 4pm according to Bournemouth School's admissions page. Families then have until 12 noon on 31 October to add the school as a choice on the local authority application form. Bournemouth School's admissions pages describe local authorities issuing offers on 1 March of Year 6, or the next working day if that date falls on a weekend. A late registration route exists for families who miss the September deadline, with Bournemouth School citing a late registration deadline of 12 noon on 29 January and a late test sitting in February; late applicants are considered only after on-time candidates, and the later the test is taken, the more likely the year group is already oversubscribed.

• Test registration: opens mid-April, closes 12 noon on the first Friday of September
• Entrance test: last Saturday of September
• Results: emailed to parents in mid-October
• Council application (Common Application Form): due 12 noon, 31 October
• National offer day: 1 March, or the next working day

Catchment, priority areas and how places are allocated

Meeting the required standard in the entrance test makes a child eligible for a place, but it does not guarantee one, since all four schools are usually oversubscribed and each applies its own published admissions policy to decide who is offered a place once eligible applicants exceed the places available.

Poole Grammar School's policy sets out its order of priority in detail and illustrates the pattern used across the consortium. A boy with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school is admitted first if he meets the required standard. After that, places go in order to looked-after and previously looked-after children ranked by test score; Pupil Premium-eligible boys living within the historic Borough of Poole or postcodes BH12, BH13, BH14, BH15, BH16, BH17, BH18 and BH21 3, ranked by score; Pupil Premium-eligible boys living outside that area, ranked by score; sons of staff employed at the school for two years or more, ranked by score; remaining boys within the priority area, ranked by score; and finally remaining boys outside it, ranked by score. Where a tie occurs for the final place, Poole Grammar School offers it to the boy living closest to the school, measured through the local authority's Geographical Information System. Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls and Parkstone Grammar School each publish a comparable policy of their own, built around a priority area and similar categories of looked-after children, Pupil Premium eligibility and staff children ahead of general rank order by score.

Appeals

A right of appeal to an independent admissions appeals panel applies to any family that named a consortium school on their Common Application Form and was not offered a place; registering for the test alone, without naming the school on the council form, does not carry a right of appeal. Poole Grammar School's policy sets out two possible grounds for refusal that can be appealed: that a boy did not meet the required standard for entry, or that he met the standard but the school was oversubscribed and unable to offer a place without prejudicing the efficient education of other pupils.

Bournemouth School directs parents to contact the school by phone or email to begin an appeal, and in the most recent round set an appeal deadline of 13 April with hearings scheduled between 5 May and 16 June; the school notes that very few appeals succeed, and that those that do tend to be supported by significant professional evidence. Parkstone Grammar School runs its appeals through the CASAppeals Portal, with its own timetable and guidance published alongside the admissions policy.

Preparing for the 11+

GL Assessment publishes free familiarisation papers covering verbal reasoning, English and mathematics, available to download from its own website, alongside paid practice paper packs in the same multiple-choice format used in the real test. Consortium schools point Pupil Premium-eligible families toward free access to Atom Learning's Key Stage 2 resources and 11+ familiarisation materials as an additional route to preparation.

Because the papers are multiple-choice, answered on pre-printed sheets and run to strict timings of 45 to 50 minutes per paper, familiarity with that format and with working accurately at pace tends to matter as much as subject knowledge itself. Families of a child with an identified special educational need or an Education, Health and Care Plan can apply for access arrangements, which may allow up to 25 per cent additional time; in the most recent test round, Bournemouth School set a deadline of 12 noon on 7 September for its Access Arrangements form. Parents of younger children should also note the coming change of test provider: from the next September sitting, for the entry round after the current one, Quest Assessments takes over from GL Assessment, with Bournemouth School confirming that no content beyond the Year 5 National Curriculum will be tested from that point.

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