Key Facts
| School type | State grammar (academy), girls, 11 to 18 |
|---|---|
| Location | Poole, Dorset |
| Entry points | 11+ (Year 7, the main point of entry, Published Admission Number 192); occasional vacancies in other year groups by entrance test; 16+ (Year 12, Published Admission Number 50 for external applicants meeting GCSE entry requirements) |
| Assessment | Three GL Assessment multiple-choice papers (Mathematics, English, Verbal Reasoning), sat at the school or at Bournemouth School for Girls, standardised for age and combined into one score |
| Test provider | GL Assessment |
| Registration deadline | Registration to sit the entrance test closes at 12 noon on a Friday in early September; the separate application to the home local authority closes on 31 October. Exact dates are published annually on the school's Admissions Supplementary Date Sheet. |
| Assessment date | The entrance test takes place on a Saturday in late September, with a catch-up date in late September or early October for illness; the exact date is published on the school's Admissions Supplementary Date Sheet. |
Figures correct at the time of writing — always confirm current fees and deadlines with the school directly.
Entry to Parkstone Grammar School at 11+ depends on reaching the required standard in the Poole and Bournemouth Consortium's shared entrance test, then being ranked against the school's published oversubscription criteria if more girls qualify than there are places. The test is set by GL Assessment and covers mathematics, English and verbal reasoning; girls register with Parkstone or with Bournemouth School for Girls to sit it, and a separate application still has to go to the family's home local authority.
The school is a selective girls' grammar on Sopers Lane in Poole, part of a four-school consortium alongside Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls and Poole Grammar School that shares one set of tests. Reaching the required standard makes a girl eligible for consideration; it does not by itself secure a place, since demand for the school's Year 7 places typically outstrips supply.
How 11+ entry works
Entry is at 11+ into Year 7, the school's main point of entry, with the Published Admission Number set at 192 places for Year 7 and 50 places for external Year 12 applicants who meet the sixth-form entry requirements. Admissions follow the Coordinated Admissions Scheme adopted by all admission authorities in the BCP local authority area, and Parkstone shares its entrance test with three other selective schools: Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls and Poole Grammar School.
Occasional vacancies in other year groups are filled by entrance test where places exist, and applicants must reach the year group's required standard. A girl may only take the entrance test once in an academic year.
How the 11+ assessment works
The assessment is three GL Assessment multiple-choice papers: Mathematics (50 minutes), English (45 minutes) and Verbal Reasoning (50 minutes). Mathematics covers Key Stage 2 content up to level 5, with some level 6 questions. English tests comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation, and Verbal Reasoning is designed to be sat without prior knowledge, so the paper carries its own short practice element.
Scores from the three papers are standardised for age and combined into one total, which decides whether a girl meets the required standard. Timing is strict, since GL Assessment tests measure accuracy under time pressure; only applicants with a relevant Education, Health and Care Plan or special educational need receive extra time, up to 25%.
Registration and application steps, in order
Getting a place runs through two processes that both have to be completed: registering with a consortium school to sit the entrance test, and applying separately to the family's home local authority. Registering to sit the test does not replace the local authority application, and naming the school on the application form without having registered for the test means no score is available to consider.
- Register online with Parkstone or with Bournemouth School for Girls to sit the entrance test, by the midday Friday closing date in early autumn
- Sit the GL Assessment papers on the consortium's shared test Saturday in late September, or at the catch-up date if illness prevents this
- Receive test results by email, sent before the local authority's application closing date
- Submit the Common Application Form to the home local authority, naming preferred schools, by the national closing date in the autumn term.
- Receive the local authority's offer on national offer day in early March
- Accept or decline the offer by the stated deadline, or remain on the waiting list
Catchment and oversubscription criteria
The priority area is the historic Borough of Poole and the Poole postcodes BH12, BH13, BH14, BH15, BH16, BH17, BH18 and part of BH21 3. Where more eligible girls apply than there are places, offers follow a fixed order of priority set out in the school's admissions policy.
Within any tied category, the higher test score takes priority; for the final place, ties are broken by home-to-school distance and then, if still equal, by independently supervised random allocation. Girls with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school are admitted ahead of these criteria if they meet the required standard.
- Looked-after and previously looked-after girls who meet the required standard
- Girls living in the priority area who are entitled to Pupil Premium
- Girls living in the priority area
- Girls living outside the priority area who are entitled to Pupil Premium
- Girls living outside the priority area, ranked by entrance test score, highest first
How to prepare for the 11+ assessment
Preparation works best when matched to the actual format: timed multiple-choice papers in mathematics, English and verbal reasoning, answered on a pre-printed sheet, with no extra time given for able but slow workers. Free familiarisation papers from the GL Assessment website give a realistic sense of question style and pacing before test day.
Because the mathematics paper draws on Key Stage 2 content up to level 5, with occasional level 6 questions, and the English paper focuses on comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation, practice tends to help most when it covers the breadth of the primary curriculum, avoiding narrow tricks. It is also worth asking a daughter's current class teacher or headteacher whether she has a realistic chance of reaching the required standard before registering.
What happens if the test can't be taken as planned
Illness or a significant last-minute problem does not mean missing out: the school asks parents not to send a girl in if she is unwell, and arranges for her to sit the test during the following week instead, at a catch-up date in late September or early October.
Access arrangements, including up to 25% extra time, are available for applicants with a relevant Education, Health and Care Plan or special educational need, reviewed by an expert panel that includes the school's SEND co-ordinator and an external adviser. The test is set in English only and cannot be translated, since understanding of English is itself part of what is being assessed.
A girl who misses both the standard and catch-up sessions, or who applies without having registered to sit the test, is treated as a late applicant and offered a further test date after the first round of offers.
After the test: results, offers and waiting lists
Results reach parents by email at least a week before the local authority's application closing date, stating only whether the required standard has been met, since GL Assessment scores are not released and test papers cannot be copied. The local authority then issues offers on national offer day in early March, based on the preferences given and the school's ranking of eligible applicants.
Meeting the required standard does not guarantee a place, so girls who are eligible but not offered a place are kept on a waiting list, ranked by the same oversubscription criteria, until the end of Year 7. Parents whose daughter is not offered a place they named on the application form retain a statutory right of appeal to an independent panel, though there is no right of appeal against the test result itself.
Related guides
Preparing for the Parkstone Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition
Preparation for the Parkstone Grammar School 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.
Frequently asked questions
- Does passing the 11+ test guarantee a place at Parkstone Grammar School?
- No. Meeting the required standard makes a girl eligible, but the school is usually oversubscribed, so the published oversubscription criteria, covering looked-after children, priority-area residency, Pupil Premium status and test score, decide who is actually offered a place among eligible applicants.
- What tests will my daughter sit?
- Three GL Assessment multiple-choice papers: Mathematics (50 minutes), covering Key Stage 2 content up to level 5 with some level 6 questions; English (45 minutes), testing comprehension, vocabulary and punctuation; and Verbal Reasoning (50 minutes), designed to be sat without prior knowledge. Scores are standardised for age and combined into one total.
- Does it matter if my daughter has a summer birthday?
- No. The tests are standardised for age at the time of testing, so a September birthday carries no advantage over an August one; results are adjusted to account for the child's exact age on test day.
- What if my daughter is unwell on the test day?
- Parents are asked not to send her in if she is unwell just before or on the day, since an off day could affect the result unfairly. The school should be contacted as soon as possible, and alternative arrangements are made for her to sit the test the following week.
- What is the priority area for Parkstone Grammar School?
- The priority area is the historic Borough of Poole and the Poole postcodes BH12, BH13, BH14, BH15, BH16, BH17, BH18 and part of BH21 3. Where places are oversubscribed, eligible girls living in this area are prioritised over those living outside it, after looked-after-child and Pupil Premium criteria are applied.
- Can my daughter resit the 11+ test if she doesn't do well?
- No, a girl may only sit the entrance test once in an academic year. Late applicants who missed the standard registration and test window are offered a single further test date in the spring term, considered after the first round of offers has been made.
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