St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School

Stay ahead with exclusive tips on the Slough 11+ exam for St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School

We’re dedicated to your child’s success

With a proven track record in preparing pupils for the 11 Plus, Marie Redmond MEd and her team of exceptional, fully qualified and experienced primary teachers (not 'tutors') provide specialist tuition focused on your child’s individual learning needs.

Our unique 11 Plus tuition courses in Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Bushey, Gerrards Cross, High Wycombe, Maidenhead, Reading (Winnersh, Wokingham) and Stoke Poges are structured to give children the confidence they need to sit and pass exams in a friendly, stress-free environment.

Introduction to the Slough Consortium 11 Plus exam

To be eligible to apply for a place at a Slough grammar school (Herschel Grammar School, Langley Grammar School, St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School and Upton Court Grammar School), your child will need to pass the Slough Consortium 11 Plus exam. Children born between 1st September 2013 and 31st August 2014 will take the Slough Consortium 11+ exam on Saturday 21st September 2024 to be eligible to apply for a place for September 2025.

The Consortium operates a shared 11 Plus testing process with the four schools using the same test papers and common eligibility criteria for selection. In October 2022, CEM Cambridge formally announced its decision to stop providing paper based exams from September 2023; therefore the Slough Consortium required a new exam provider from 2023. At that point, we immediately switched all students preparing for Slough to our GL Assessment syllabus; by making this decision before the new exam board was confirmed, we ensured that our Slough students received nearly 4 months of additional preparation for the GL-style of questions. On Tuesday 7th February 2023, it was announced that the Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools had contracted with GL Assessment for the 11+ examinations to be held in September 2023, 2024 and 2025. The tests identify the top 35% of the cohort as eligible for consideration for entry to grammar school and the eligibility mark is 111.

The Slough Consortium has its own contract with GL Assessment and there will be no sharing of 11+ scores with any other schools. Therefore, for example, a student applying to both Buckinghamshire and Slough will need to sit both exams.

What Is Required to Pass the Slough 11 Plus?

11+ Mock Exams With Marie Redmond

• We're not a franchise.
• Entire lesson taught by a fully qualified and highly experienced primary school teacher (not 'assistants').
• Small class sizes with individual attention (maximum of 10 students).
• Meticulously planned 11 Plus Courses by Marie Redmond MEd; continually improved for the best results.
• Never miss a lesson - fully interactive live virtual lessons available if your child can't make their regular classroom slot.
• An initial assessment of your child’s current level of ability.
• Two assessments per term.
• A personalised Tuition Plan every term, detailing their specific targets.
• Four written student reports per year from your child's teacher.
• Data-led approach, with SuccessTrack® by Marie Redmond; track your child's progress and anonymously compare performance.
• Homework at the end of each class, with reviews of each topic in the following lesson.
• Optional book club and creative writing course.
• Straightforward monthly payment plan. We accept Childcare Vouchers and Tax-Free Childcare.
• Intensive Easter and summer holiday courses.
• Realistic 11+ mock exams.
• Full parental support.

11+ Intelligent Video Learning®

Get exam ready with Marie Redmond Tuition® 11 Plus Mock Exams for the Slough Consortium 11 Plus. Students who sat our mock exams in 2023 said they were very similar to the actual test, which made them feel prepared and confident when sitting the exam.

Marie Redmond's Superbrain® 11+ Resources

A range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books are provided exclusively to students on our term time and holiday 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, to supercharge their vocabulary skills.

Our Range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 5 Courses

Our Range of Marie Redmond's Superbrain® Books for Year 4 Courses

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 compares (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.

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 an excellent platform for discussions about books, opportunities for creativity and promoting reading for pleasure. Discover our book of the month.

The Marie Redmond Tuition® Creative Writing Course

Our virtual creative writing lessons take place weekly on Zoom and are particularly useful for boys preparing for the Reading School 11+ exam but are open to all our term time students.

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.

For further information, including fees, term dates and FAQ's, please visit our creative writing course page.