SPALDING GRAMMAR SCHOOL

11+ TESTS AND ADMISSIONS

Admissions and appeals

As a selective academy, Spalding Grammar School is its own admissions authority.  It adheres to the nationally agreed Code of Practice but the governors are able to set their own admissions criteria and are not bound by the Local Authority’s admissions policy.

Co-ordination

The school is part of the coordinated admission scheme within the County administered by the Schools Admission Team of the Local Authority.  All dates and procedures concerning application forms, deadlines and notification of offers can be found online at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk or in the “Going to School in Lincolnshire” booklet available from any primary school.

Admissions Criteria

Admission is normally at age 11 and is offered to boys who achieve an agreed standard in two entrance tests taken during their final year at primary school. 

 All but one of the grammar schools in the county administer common admission tests commissioned from the National Foundation for Educational Research. 

Sitting the test does not constitute an application to the school.  The results are standardised by the NFER so that 25% of the Year 6 population living in the areas of Lincolnshire served by grammar schools attain an agreed aggregate score of 220 across both tests.  

This is known as “the county standard” and all pupils who attain this score qualify for a Lincolnshire grammar school place up to 31st August of Year 7; after that date boys will need to sit a ‘Late Entry’ test.

By law, the Governors must consider parents who have named the school using the common application form, or who have applied online, before any other parents.

Places at Spalding Grammar School are offered to pupils who have attained the county standard irrespective of race, disability or social background.  In accordance with the School Admissions Code, all children whose statement of Special Educational Needs names the school will be admitted; the allocation of school places for those pupils will take place before the school allocates other places as part of the normal admissions process.  Only boys may be admitted below the sixth form.

Registration processes.

Following the registration process properly is very important. Registration forms will be sent to parents via primary schools and available on the School’s website on at the start of

January. Parents need to complete the registration form and return it to the grammar promptly.

Individual OMR sheets will then be printed for each student by GL Assessment, pre-populated with all the student details. 11+ test papers will be ordered specifically for each pupil, so if a pupil is not registered then the primary school will not receive any test papers or OMR sheets for that individual.

Grammar schools will share lists of parents who have registered with primary schools to cross check with each primary school’s expectations.

The entry process and security of the 11+ test papers will be similar to the process for GCSE/A Level i.e. test papers and question papers will only be sent for those who are entered and all question papers and OMR sheets must be returned to GL Assessment. 

No photocopying of test papers or OMR sheets is allowed. The grammar schools will hold a few extra OMR sheets and tests papers for genuine late registration.

The same level of security applies to the practice papers. They must not be photocopied and all papers must be returned to GL Assessment.

I am worried that my son will not cope with all the homework at the Grammar School.

As well as support from individual subject teachers, departments run homework clubs.

Many students use the support available to do homework in the School Library at lunchtime.

The Additional Needs team provide support for students who are having specific difficulties.

The students are able to access help on a daily basis from older students through our Vertical Tutoring system.

Will we be offered a place if we live outside the South Holland area?

Over the past 5 years the School has been able to offer all those pupils who reached the standard a place at the School.

I can’t afford all the trips and extras I have heard the Grammar School puts on.

There are a wealth of opportunities for students to broaden their knowledge, skills and cultural understanding outside of the classroom. Support is available for pupils whose parents are financially stretched.

I can’t afford the uniform.

The cost of the Grammar School uniform is little different to any other secondary school.

We do offer direct support for uniform through our Pupil Premium Funding and through our School Fund.

The Parents Association runs a popular second hand uniform service. Boys grow quickly and many parents are happy to donate uniform for smaller boys to use.

All my son’s friends are going to another school. He will be the only one going to the GrammarSchool. He won’t have any friends.

We do have a lot of boys who start at the Grammar School not knowing many others. Our reputation for being a friendly, welcoming school is well founded. We care about the

individual and have a long standing reputation for enabling bright yet sometimes timid students to flourish in our supportive environment. This is particularly strengthened by our Vertical Tutoring system. Your son will spend time with his tutor group every day which will contain older students who have experienced the same journey as your son and will be able to help him get to know people and settle in quickly.

With boys coming from over 50 different primary schools, your son will find he is not out of place. You will find that even after just one day in school he will have already made new

friends.

His Form Tutor will make contact with you before he starts and work with you to make sure he settles in well. Your son will then stay in the same tutor group for the 7 years at the

Grammar School, so that the Form Tutor can get to know you and your son extremely well.

The Form Tutor will then provide personal support for his journey through the School.

Whichever secondary school your son goes to he will be mixing with a lot of people he currently does not know. He will make lots of new friends and is likely to change friendship

groups in a new school. Coming to the Grammar School will be no different.

What transport arrangements are available?

Lincolnshire County Council will provide free travel to all pupils who are allocated a place at the School and live more than 3 miles away from the School while in the School’s

Designated Transport Area (district of South Holland). Please contact Lincolnshire County Council’s Transport Services department for further information (01522 552222).

There are direct public service buses running from Peterborough (through Crowland), King’s Lynn, Market Deeping, Bourne and Boston, as well as trains from Peterborough and Sleaford.

As well as direct support for transport costs for boys for whom we receive Pupil PremiumFunding, the School operates a confidential support fund to help remove any barriers, including the cost of transport to school. The level of support is determined on an individual basis.

Will the Grammar School be able to support my son who has Special Needs?

The Grammar School has a very experienced and successful Additional Needs department with eight dedicated Teaching Assistants. The department is used to supporting students with a wide range of needs and enabling them to go on to be very successful in examinations, socially and in employment.

If my son scores 210, is it worth going to Appeal?

The standardisation of the 11+ scores is worked out so that a score of 220 or above represents the top 25% of the ability range.

A score of 200 represents the 50th percentile i.e. average ability. A score of 210 may seem very close to 220, but it indicates the student comes in around the top 35%, not the top 25% of the ability range.

The Grammar School uses independent Appeals Panels run by the Local Authority. Thegrounds for successful Appeals usually relate to the fact that there were clear exceptional circumstances that affected the pupil’s performance in at least one of the tests along with

evidence to show that the pupil would otherwise perform much better. 

If the pupil’s score was very close to 220 and there is plenty of clear evidence (in particular Key Stage 2 National Curriculum Levels in English and Maths) that the pupil has got the ability to benefit

from a Grammar School education, then an Appeal may be successful.

If the primary school is in a position to complete the proforma outlining their assessment of the pupil’s ability, then this can prove to be very useful evidence for the Appeals Panel.

The Appeals process does not start until after offers of secondary places are sent out in March.