Hertfordshire 11 Plus Tuition
Our Hertfordshire 11 Plus Tuition Courses prepare pupils for all aspects of the SW Herts 11 Plus exam
Discover Bushey 11+ coursesIntroduction to the Hertfordshire 11 Plus (Academic Ability Test)
Partially selective schools in SW Herts
- There are seven partially selective schools within the South West Hertfordshire Schools Consortium, each with their own admissions criteria.
- Six of the seven South West Herts Consortium schools allocate between 10% and 35% of their Year 7 places based on academic abilty; if your child is ineligible to join one of these schools under other criterion, such as sibling or proximity, they can be considered for entry based on their academic ability.
- Some of the schools also test musical or sports aptitude; Croxley Danes does not offer academic places but offers a small number of places based on music aptitude.
Applying for an academic place with the Hertfordshire 11 Plus Exam
- To apply for a place at South West Herts Consortium schools under the Academic Criterion, your child will need to sit the South West Herts Consortium Academic Ability Test (Hertfordshire 11 Plus exam) in Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning.
- Children born between 1st September 2014 and 31st August 2015 will take the Herts 11+ exam in early September 2025 to be eligible to apply for an academic place for September 2026. The exact date for the September 2025 exam has not yet been announced and we will update this information as soon as the official date is available.
- The tests are administered by South West Herts Schools Consortium and your child will only need to sit them once, regardless of which school they are applying for, as all six schools use the same test.
- The Hertfordshire 11+ tests are provided by GL Assessment and there is no 'pass mark'; places are offered in accordance with each school’s admission policy and students are ranked in order of their score.
If your child does not sit the Hertfordshire 11 Plus Academic Test, they may still be able to apply
- If your child does not take the Hertfordshire 11 Plus 'Academic Ability Test' prior to applying for a place at one or more of the schools, it will not be possible for their application to be considered under academic testing.
- However, their application can still be considered under other criterion (such as sibling or proximity). They can also apply for other places by taking the South West Herts Consortium Music Aptitude Test (Parmiter's, Queens', Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes, Watford Boys, Watford Girls and Croxley Danes School and Sports Aptitude Test (Queens' School only).
Skip to our useful FAQs about the Hertfordshire 11+ exam (Academic Ability Test) >
How many academic places are available for students sitting the Hertfordshire 11 Plus (SW Herts Academic Ability Test) and what score is required?
- The South West Herts Consortium schools (with the exception of Croxley Danes School), allocate a proportion of their Year 7 places based on academic ability, as measured by a student's score in the Hertfordshire 11 Plus (Academic Ability Test).
- To ensure that younger students are not disadvantaged (i.e. those born later in the school year), the scores are age-standardised.
- There is no pass mark for the Hertfordshire 11 Plus and instead, students are ranked in order based on their score. It is therefore important that your child aims for as high a score as possible.
- You will not know until Allocation Day (1st March), whether your child has been successful in securing an academic space. However, as a helpful guide for when you apply for a place, the schools provide the minimum scores that students were admitted with in previous years; you can find the most recent scores below. Please bear in mind that even if your child scores higher than the previous year’s lowest admitted score(s), it does not automatically mean that they will be offered a place. Ensure that your child is fully prepared, with our Hertfordshire 11 Plus tuition.
- You can see the lowest admitted scores for the last few years on our Parmiter’s School, Queens’ School, Rickmansworth School, St Clement Danes School, Watford Grammar School for Boys and Watford Grammar School for Girls pages.
South West Herts Consortium School | Total places in Year 7 (published admission number) | Places available under academic criterion | Lowest standardised score of a child allocated a place for September 2023 admission under academic criterion |
---|---|---|---|
Parmiter’s School | 208 | 52 (up to 25% of total places) | 215 for students in catchment area (i.e. postcodes WD3 to WD25 inclusive, AL1, AL2, AL3, HP1, HP2, HP3 and HA6), 243 for students outside catchment area (i.e. any other postcode). |
Queens’ School | 270 | 94 (up to 35% of total places) |
181 (students whose permanent residence is located within postcodes WD3-7, WD17-19, WD23-25, AL2 (south of M25), HA6, HA5 3**, HA5 4**, HA3 6**, HA7 3**, HA7 4*). For September 2023 admission, the furthest distance was 1269.640 metres, however, this includes academic, music and sport aptitude and a separate breakdown is not provided for the academic criterion. |
Rickmansworth School | 240 | 60 (up to 25% of total places) | 185 |
St Clement Danes School | 240 | 24 (up to 10% of total places) | 212 |
Watford Grammar School for Boys | 224 | 56 (up to 25% of total places) |
202 for students in the Watford area, 212 for students in the ‘rest of the admission area'. Of the 56 academic places, 34 are allocated to boys whose normal home address lies within the Watford area. The remaining 22 are allocated to boys whose normal home address lies within the ‘rest of the admission area'. |
Watford Grammar School for Girls | 210 | 52 (up to 25% of total places) |
200 for students in the Watford area, 209 for students in the ‘rest of the admission area'. Of the 52 academic places, 31 are allocated to boys whose normal home address lies within the Watford area. The remaining 21 are allocated to boys whose normal home address lies within the ‘rest of the admission area'. |
How does my child apply for a 2025 academic place at a SW Herts Consortium School?
Register for the SW Herts Academic Ability Test (Hertfordshire 11+ exam)
If your child was born between 1st September 2014 and 31st August 2015, they will need to register to take the Academic Ability Test in September 2025 to be eligible to apply for an academic place for September 2026.
Online registration for the 2025 exam is expected to open in early April 2025 and close in the middle of June 2025. We will update the exact dates here as soon as they are available.
The 2024 SW Herts 11+ exam took place on Saturday 7th September 2024 and the results will be announced at around noon on Wednesday 16th October. The exact date for the September 2025 exam has not yet been announced.
Complete your child’s Common Application Form (CAF)
When you receive your child’s results on 16th October 2024, you will need to decide whether to apply for an academic place at your preferred school(s). You can use the historical lowest scores as a guide, however, as scores change each year, even if your child scores higher than the previous year’s lowest admitted scores, it does not automatically mean that they will be offered a place.
To apply for a school place, you will need to submit a Common Application Form to your local authority (the authority to whom you pay council tax), listing each school that you are applying for, in order of preference. The number of schools you can list will vary by authority (for example, if you live in Hertfordshire, you can name up to 4 schools).
To apply for a place for September 2025, the CAF will be available online from your local authority in September 2024 and will need to be submitted by 31st October 2024.
Apply to each school by completing their Supplementary Information Form (SIF)
In addition to completing a Common Application Form, you will need to submit a Supplementary Information Form to each school to which you are applying*. If applying for a place for September 2025 admission, you will find the SIF on the admissions page of each school from September 2024.
If you do not complete the SIF, there may be a delay in processing the application; this is because the school(s) will not know under which criteria you intend to apply and they will have no way of knowing if your child has taken the academic (or music) tests. Your application will therefore only be processed under their distance criterion.
Please ensure that you refer to each of the school’s admissions pages for the latest information. It is important that you carefully read their admissions policies and FAQs before applying.
*For Queens’ School, the school states that a SIF is only completed for students that are applying using rule 2 (medical) or rule 4 (children of staff), however, please always refer to the school admissions page for the latest information.
Our courses are led by qualified primary teachers and prepare pupils for all aspects of the Hertfordshire 11 Plus exam
Discover our 11 Plus coursesThe Sir John Madejski Scholarship
FAQs about the Hertfordshire 11 Plus
- The South West Herts Consortium Academic Ability Test (Hertfordshire 11+ exam), consists of two papers, taken on the same day, each approximately 50 minutes in duration and testing two areas – maths and verbal reasoning.
- The first paper tests mathematical skills and is based on the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
- The second paper tests verbal reasoning.
- All questions on both papers are multiple choice and pupils indicate their answers on a separate answer sheet.
Generic GL familiarisation papers for maths and verbal reasoning can be found here. These do not reflect the exact specification of the South West Herts Schools Consortium exam but are useful tools to familiarise your child with the style of the test booklet and answer sheets. They do not reflect the timings, number and type of questions that will appear in the Hertfordshire 11+ (SW Herts Academic Ability Test).
Your child will only need to sit the Academic Ability Test if they are applying for an academic place. If you are applying under other criterion only (such as sibling or distance criterion), they do not have to sit the academic test.
What is tested in the South West Hertfordshire 11 Plus?
Maths
- Basic skills (addition, multiplication, division and subtraction)
- Mental maths development
- Problem solving techniques
- Extracting information from graphs and tables
- Averages
- Foundation algebra concepts
- Fractions, decimals and percentages
- Ratio and proportion
- Area and volume
- 2d and 3d shapes
Verbal Reasoning
- Verbal reasoning (the production of words, relationships between words, letters and numbers)
Data-Led approach with SuccessTrack® by Marie Redmond
Our term time students are assessed twice during each team – at half term and at the end of term. Based on the outcome of their initial assessment, we will create a tuition plan that sets their individual targets for each area they are preparing for (e.g. verbal, non-verbal and numerical reasoning). All lessons throughout the course are then designed to develop these areas. We continually monitor our student's progress; this means that we can check they’ve achieved their individual targets and revise their tuition plan to ensure that it suits their needs and challenges. Parents are always welcome to get in touch with us at any time during your child’s tuition, to gain feedback on their development.
SuccessTrack® by Marie Redmond is our unique data-led service that allows parents to:
- Track their child’s progress over the Year 4 and 5 term time courses - our charts visualise a students' performance in each area of the 11 Plus, using data from our regular assessments (2 per term).
- See their child's overall score and how that compares to our recommended pass mark for each exam they are planning to sit.
- View anonymously how their child's scores compare (for each topic area and at a total level) to the average of all children in their cohort.
- View their child's termly tuition plan, created using data from their assessments.
- Read the end of term student report from their child's teacher.
Marie Redmond Tuition 'Bag of Knowledge®'
Marie Redmond Tuition 'Bag of Knowledge®'
At the start of the Hertfordshire 11+ tuition course, your child will receive a Bag of Knowledge® containing their class and homework books. This includes selected Marie Redmond's Superbrain® resources, in addition to books that are carefully curated each year from a wide range of reputable publishers. All our students are presented with their books in a Marie Redmond Tuition® rucksack, featuring an electronic thesaurus, notebook and a pencil case containing pencils, an eraser and sharpener. The cost of your child's Bag of Knowledge® is covered within the monthly Bushey course fees.
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11+ Resources
A range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books are provided exclusively to students on our courses. Using the knowledge gained during her eleven years of preparing students for the 11+ and independent school entrance exams, Marie Redmond MEd has written a number of verbal reasoning, English and maths books. Additionally, a range of verbal reasoning holiday course books are provided exclusively to students attending our Year 5 11+ Easter and 11+ summer holiday courses.
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11 Plus Flash Cards are given to all our term time students when they join our 11+ tuition courses in Hertfordshire, to supercharge their vocabulary skills.
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 5 11+ Tuition Courses in Hertfordshire
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 5 11+ Intensive Holiday Courses in Hertfordshire
Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 4 11+ Tuition Courses in Hertfordshire
The Marie Redmond Tuition® Book Club
Sharing our enjoyment of books is a fantastic way to encourage reading and therefore develop vocabulary and comprehension at home. The Marie Redmond Tuition® Book Club is open to all students attending our term-time 11 Plus tuition courses in Hertfordshire and is an excellent platform for discussions about books, opportunities for creativity and promoting reading for pleasure. Discover our book of the month.
Creative Writing Course
Creative Writing Course
The virtual creative writing course is taught by our experienced teacher, Anne, who has an immense passion for reading and writing and leads our Book Club, in addition to teaching 11+ courses. This option is particularly useful for boys preparing for the Reading School 11+ exam but is open to all our term-time students, including those attending our 11 Plus tuition courses in Hertfordshire.
Students attend one creative writing lesson per week on Zoom, which lasts for 45 minutes. During every lesson they participate in a fun writing skills warm-up activity which might focus on grammar or a literary device, they might read and analyse a writing example or use a story prompt, and then work on creating their own text.
Every week there is a focus which can include story settings, characters, openings, events / problems and resolutions. Students practise writing in a variety of formats such as stories, plays, newspaper articles and letters. They are taught to use a variety of literary techniques and we show them how to draft their work, as well as reviewing and editing.
Homework is set every week. Students build upon the tasks in their lesson to create their own text. The texts are then reviewed at the start of the next lesson.
One lesson per week on Zoom, lasting 45 minutes. Tuesdays at 4:30 pm, 5:30 pm or 6:30 pm.
For further information, including fees, term dates and FAQ's, please visit our creative writing course page.
11+ Mock Exams with Marie Redmond 11+ Intelligent Video Learning®
Get exam ready with Marie Redmond Tuition® 11 Plus Mock Exams for the Buckinghamshire, Kendrick, Slough and Reading exams. Our SW Herts 11 Plus mock exams will be available from 2025.
Students who sat our mock exams in 2023 said they were very similar to the actual tests, which made them feel prepared and confident when sitting the exam.
Herts 11 Plus tuition costs
We offer a straightforward monthly payment plan for our Herts 11+ tuition courses, which you can see on our Bushey course fees page. Many parents take advantage of the government's Tax-Free Childcare scheme to save 20% on their fees.
Our South West Herts 11 Plus Tuition Courses prepare pupils for all aspects of the Hertfordshire 11 Plus exam
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