Stafford Grammar School 11+, 13+ and 16+ Admissions: Assessment, Interview and Fees

Stafford Grammar School admissions run through one main entry point, Year 7 at 11+, where a child registers, spends an Assessment Day sitting the school's own papers in English, Mathematics, Creative Writing and Puzzles and Problem Solving, and then attends an informal family interview before an offer is made. There is no external test provider, so the papers are written by the school itself.

Places are also open in Years 8, 9 and 10 when space allows, with the same assessments, and the Sixth Form takes pupils at 16+ through an interview and guidance meeting in place of entrance papers. The Pre-Prep and Prep share the site, so a family can read the whole route from age 3 to 19 in one place.

Entry points and places

Stafford Grammar takes pupils at Pre-Prep (age 3), Prep (age 4 and Years 3 to 6), Year 7 (11+), Year 9 (13+) and Lower Sixth (16+), with Years 8 and 10 open when places are available. Year 7 is described as the main entry point to the Senior School.

The number of places in each year group is not published on the admissions pages, and the school mentions small class sizes without giving figures. When a year group is full, the school keeps a waiting list and offers places as they become available, taking academic suitability, sibling applications and individual circumstances into account.

• Reception to Year 2: taster day and a nursery or school report, with no formal assessment
• Years 3 to 6: taster day with Literacy and Numeracy assessments
• Year 7 (11+): Assessment Day and informal family interview
• Years 8, 9 and 10: a day in lessons plus the same assessments, subject to space
• Lower Sixth (16+): interview and guidance meeting

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment is a single Assessment Day with papers in English, Mathematics, Creative Writing and Puzzles and Problem Solving, and the English and Maths papers are written by the school instead of being bought from a test provider. The day is also a taster, so the papers sit alongside taster lessons, team-building, lunch and time with current pupils and staff.

Paper lengths, question types and mark schemes are not published on the pages we read, and the school does not name a pass mark. The admissions process page says Year 7 assessments take place in October and January, so a family usually has more than one sitting to choose from.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration for Year 7 follows seven steps, beginning with a registration form and ending with a transition day, and the admissions process page adds an enquiry and a visit at the start. Families first contact the Head of Admissions by enquiry form, phone or email, then attend an Open Morning or an individual tour with the Headmaster; virtual appointments are also offered.

Offers follow the interview, and a deposit is requested with the formal offer. Offer holders are then invited to transition events in the spring and summer terms before joining. Closing dates and assessment dates are not given on the pages we read, so families are best placed to confirm them with the admissions office.

• Complete the registration form
• Submit a school report
• Pay the registration fee for the Taster Day and Entrance Examination Day, which is non-refundable
• Attend the Assessment Day
• Attend the informal family interview
• Receive an offer, confirmed with a deposit, the registration form and parent consent
• Join the transition day

Interviews and references

Every Senior School applicant meets the school informally, and for Year 7 the interview involves the family as well as the child. The Headmaster's interview is described as a short, friendly conversation to learn about the family and the child, with time for parents to ask questions of their own.

The school asks for a reference from the child's current school, together with a copy of the most recent school report and the child's passport, sent to the admissions email address. Admissions decisions draw on school reports, the assessments and discussions with the Headmaster, so each element contributes to the final offer.

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships at the school are merit-based, awarded on the entrance assessment and a scholarship assessment, and may also be given in music and sport or as a discretionary Headmaster's award; the school's FAQs also mention drama. The pages read do not set out which awards belong to which entry point.

Bursaries are means-tested and awarded at the Headmaster's discretion, and a bursary candidate must reach the same academic standard in the assessments as any other applicant. Families ask for a bursary application form when registration documents are sent. Scholarships and bursaries can be combined where there is financial need, up to a maximum of 40% of fees, and awards depend on good behaviour, attendance and effort.

Fees and what they include

Fees are published by year group on the school's fees page, with termly figures shown both with and without VAT, and one rate covers Years 7 to 13. The Senior School and Sixth Form are day places only, as no boarding fees are listed.

For Reception to Year 6 the fee includes lunch and before and after school care, and across the school it covers core textbooks, curriculum materials, extra-curricular activities and wraparound care from 8:00am to 6:00pm. Residential trips, private music tuition and school transport are billed separately. A sibling discount takes 10% off the elder child's fees when two children attend together, and 20% off the eldest plus 10% off the middle child for three.

Where pupils join from

Pupils join the Senior School from the school's own Pre-Prep and Prep on the same site, and from other schools through the same registration steps. The Prep takes children from age 3, with taster sessions at Pre-School, a taster day and school report for Reception to Year 2, and Literacy and Numeracy assessments in Years 3 to 6.

The admissions pages do not describe how Prep pupils move up to Year 7, and no feeder or partner schools are named, so families in the Prep are best placed to ask the admissions office how the Year 7 process applies to them. Pupils may also join mid-year where places are available.

How 16+ entry works

Entry to the Sixth Form at 16+ rests on academic performance, predicted grades and suitability for the chosen courses, with no entrance papers mentioned. The steps are an application form, an informal interview and guidance meeting, subject guidance and an offer, then references and a confirmed joining date.

External applicants can take a guided tour and, where possible, sit in lessons in their chosen subjects, and offer holders are invited to an individual Taster Day. The school holds a Sixth Form Information Evening and an Experience Day, and applications are made in the autumn term or during the final GCSE year. Minimum GCSE grades are not published.

How to prepare

Preparation for the 11+ is best tied to the four named components: English, Mathematics, Creative Writing and Puzzles and Problem Solving. Since the English and Maths papers are written by the school, a child gains most from secure work in the current school curriculum, regular practice writing a piece of creative prose to a set time, and reasoning puzzles that call for working through a problem in steps.

The Assessment Day is also a taster, and the interview is described as friendly, so it helps to let the child talk about their interests and ask questions of their own. Attending an Open Morning beforehand makes the day itself more familiar.

Related guides

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• Newcastle-under-Lyme School (11+)
• Denstone College (11+)
• The ISEB Common Pre-Test explained
• 13+ Common Entrance explained
• The 11+ entrance exam explained
• The 7+ entrance exam explained
• 11+ and 13+ scholarship exams explained
• What is a bursary? Private school bursaries explained

Preparing for the Stafford Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Families preparing for the Stafford 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 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.

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