Liverpool Blue Coat School 11+ Entrance Exam: A Guide for Parents

Liverpool Blue Coat School sets its 11+ entrance exam, the Blue Coat Entrance Test, for families applying for a Year 7 place at this state grammar school, with CEM administering the assessment across two phases. Phase 1 is usually sat online towards the end of Year 5, and Phase 2 follows at the start of Year 6. The school publishes the current assessment dates on its admissions pages, which the key facts table on this page also carries.

About Liverpool Blue Coat School

Blue Coat was founded in 1708 as a school for orphaned and destitute children, relocating to its Wavertree campus in 1906. Around 1,100 pupils attend, organised into houses that provide pastoral support.

The entrance exam

CEM sets the Blue Coat Entrance Test, administering both phases as online assessments taken on a PC with keyboard and mouse. Phase 1 runs across five separate tests, each sat within a 1 hour 30 minute session, and covers a broad academic base spanning reading, spelling, mathematics and general ability; Phase 2 narrows to ability testing across three further areas, covering verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning. Candidates complete every component on screen. The school sets out the exact format and any accompanying guidance for each subject on its admissions pages, which is where families applying for a Year 7 place at this state grammar school should check before test day.

• Reading (Phase 1): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse; sat within a 1hr30 session
• Spelling (Phase 1): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse; sat within a 1hr30 session
• General Mathematics (Phase 1): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse; sat within a 1hr30 session
• Mental Arithmetic (Phase 1): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse; sat within a 1hr30 session
• Developed Ability (Phase 1): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse; sat within a 1hr30 session
• Verbal Ability (Phase 2): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse
• Numerical Ability (Phase 2): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse
• Non-verbal Ability (Phase 2): Online test, PC/keyboard/mouse

Registration and key dates

Registration for the Entrance Test usually opens in the spring term of Year 5 and closes a few weeks later, also in the spring of Year 5; families need to register within that window to sit either phase. Phase 1 is usually sat towards the end of Year 5, in early summer, with Phase 2 following in September, at the start of Year 6. Families also submit the Liverpool Local Authority common application form during the autumn term of Year 6, ahead of National Offer Day the following spring, when places are confirmed nationally. The key facts table on this page holds the exact dates published by the school for the current admissions round.

• Registration opens: March, in the spring term of Year 5
• Registration closes: April, in the spring term of Year 5
• Phase 1 assessment: July, towards the end of Year 5
• Phase 2 assessment: September, at the start of Year 6
• Local Authority application form deadline: October, in the autumn term of Year 6
• National Offer Day: March, in the spring term of Year 6

Current dates are in the key facts table at the top of this page, taken from the school's own admissions pages below, which remain the reference for each round.

• Admissions (PDF)
• Entry at 11+

Past papers and familiarisation

Blue Coat does not publish specific past papers or familiarisation materials for its Entrance Test, so families cannot point to school-issued examples when planning practice. Preparation for a CEM-style assessment of this kind usually focuses on the online format itself, since candidates answer every question on screen with a keyboard and mouse, alongside general practice in reading comprehension, spelling, arithmetic and verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning. Timed practice under similar conditions, working through mixed question types within a set session length, tends to help candidates settle into the format before test day.

Preparing with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the Blue Coat 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 work with us online from anywhere in the UK or abroad, 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.