11 Plus Exams Wirral

Administration

The examination is administered by Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council for the all the community grammar and foundation selective schools within Wirral except for the following two schools which administer their own 11 plus entrance exams: –

11 Plus Exam Dates for September 2007 Entry

Wirral Council has advised that dates for the 11 plus entrance exams will be as follows and will be held at different Grammar school venues:

16 November 2006	Practice Test Verbal Reasoning
23 November 2006	Practice Test Verbal Reasoning
28 November 2006	Real Test Verbal Reasoning
5 December 2006	Real Test Verbal Reasoning

Parent must return a completed form by 26 September 2006 to Wirral Council to enlist their child for the 11 plus entrance test for admission to the four grammar schools below.

This form is not required for St Anselm’s College and Upton Hall School which have their own arrangements.

If your child is at a Wirral Primary school the form should be returned to the Primary School. If your child is at a private or independent school or school outside Wirral the form should be returned to Children & Young People’s Department, Hamilton Building, Conway Street, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 4FD.

In addition to the request to sit the entrance tests parents will also need to complete and return Preference forms indicating the preferred schools of their choice by 17 October 2006.

The Wirral Multiple Choice Verbal Reasoning Tests

There will be two verbal reasoning tests in multiple choice format lasting 50 minutes each.

The tests do not take into account what pupils have learnt at primary school and are designed to predict a pupil’s potential performance at secondary school. Information packs are available to help pupils prepare for the type of tests and questions.

Like Buckinghamshire, since Wirral does not set Mathematics, Non-Verbal Reasoning and English exams like many other LEAs and selective schools do, their Verbal Reasoning papers differs from those set by other local education authorities and NFER familiarization practice papers available in the shops. The tests contain more question types (almost a third more) and have been specially written for Wirral Council.

The verbal reasoning questions test intelligence, speed and accuracy through a series of questions based on vocabulary, sequences, patterns and mental mathematics.

Many parents buy the NFER Nelson 11 plus verbal reasoning, multiple choice papers, although these contain 6 less question types, they are recommended to ensure practice in the same format as the real tests. Papers that contain the correct types of questions include The Bright Sparks series by Susan Daughtrey (not books 1-7), The Tutors verbal reasoning practice papers (3 sets of 4 tests, available from this website either as e-papers or physical), IPS and AFN. In addition interactive The Tutors Verbal Reasoning CDs Volumes 1 & 2 is recommended.

Assessment of Results

So that children are not disadvantaged because of their age each score is changed using conversation tables to take account of the child’s exact age. This is called standardization of scores. Children who reach the required score will be deemed to have reached the grammar school standard unless their primary school head teacher refers them to the Independent Assessment Board.

As soon as the test results are known Wirral Council inform the primary school head teachers in confidence the scores of their pupils and the required score for the grammar school standard. The head teachers of the primary schools are then invited to make representations on behalf of any children whose test results do not reflect their true potential.

A meeting is then arranged for the Independent Assessment Board which is made up of four head (two from primary schools, two from grammar schools) and is chaired by an inspector from the Education & Cultural Services Department. None of the board will have any personal interest in any of the pupils they are asked to assess.

There may be genuine reasons why a child’s performance may have been affected, for example, ill health, change of schools. If this is the case it is important that parents inform the child’s head teacher, in writing. The deadline for doing so is 12 December 2006. This information can then be made available to the Independent Assessment Board if the child’s case is referred to them.

For each child whose case is referred, the board will see:

The child’s verbal reasoning test scores and papers;
The representations made by the primary school head teacher with supporting evidence if necessary; and
Confidential information from you and reports from other professional agencies such as educational psychologists, social workers, doctors, and so on.

The board then uses its professional judgement to decide whether the evidence clearly shows that the results of the verbal reasoning tests did not truly reflect the child’s ability. The board will decide in each case whether or not the child has reached the grammar school standard.

Once the assessment procedure is concluded, Wirral Council will have a final list of the children who have reached the grammar school standard. This does not necessarily mean that they will be guaranteed a place at the grammar school as that will depend on the number of preferences and if the grammar school is oversubscribed then other criteria is used to decide which children should be given places.

Admission criteria for community grammar schools:

If there is oversubscription of a community grammar school places are allotted in priority order using the following criteria: –

a) Children who are looked after by a local authority.

b) Children who have a valid medical reason for a specific placement.

c) Children who have a sibling at the school

d) Those who live nearest to the school. A computer mapping system based on Ordnance Survey maps is used to measure the distances from the home to the school gate nearest to the child’s home using the shortest road route unless it is possible to use a footpath is considered to be safe walking route.

Admission criteria for foundation and voluntary-aided grammar schools: –

The foundation and voluntary-aided grammar schools also have other criteria for admissions where there is oversubscription More details on these admission criteria from the schools concerned.

Key Dates

26 September 2006	Return of forms for request to enter for 11 plus test
17 October 2006	Common Application Forms (CAF) to be returned to LEA
16 November 2006	11 Plus Practice Test
23 November 2006	11 Plus Practice Test
28 November 2006	11 Plus Real Test
5 December 2006	11 Plus Real Test
12 December 2006	Deadline for notifying mitigating circumstances
1 March 2007	National Allocation Results Day
March 2007	Appeals deadline usually 21 days after allocation

Wirral Grammar Schools

School Name	Address	Telephone
Calday Grange Grammar School	Grammar School Lane West Kirby Wirral CH48 8GG	Tel 0151 625 2727 Fax 0151 625 9851 Email: theschool@calday.wirral.sch.uk
St Anselm’s College	Manor Hill Birkenhead Wirral CH43 1UQ	Tel 0151 652 1408 Fax 0151 652 1957
West Kirby Grammar School	Graham Road West Kirby Wirral CH48 5DP	Tel 0151 632 3449 Fax 0151 632 1224
Wirral Grammar School for Boys	Cross Lane Bebington Wirral CH63 3AQ	Tel 0151 644 0908 Fax 0151 643 8317 Email: hm@wirralgrammarboys.wirral.sch.uk
Wirral Grammar School For Girls	Heath Road Bebington, Wirral CH63 3AF	Tel 0151 644 8282 Fax 0151 643 1332 Email: info@wirralgrammar-girls.wirral.sch.uk
Upton Hall School	Ford Road Upton Merseyside CH49 6LJ	Tel 0151 677 7696 Fax 0151 677 6868 Email: uhs@uptonhall.wirral.sch.uk

Further information

Whilst we take great care to ensure that the above general information is a true reflection of the current regime for 11 plus exams in Wirral we would strongly recommend that you contact:

The Schools Admission Department
Pupil Services Section
Children & Young People’s Department
Hamilton Building
Conway Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
Ch31 4FD

Telephone: 0151 666 2121
Fax: 0151 666 4450
Email to: educ@wirral.gov.uk