How are places allocated at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls?
In mid-October, you'll receive your child's results. Children who meet the qualifying standard are eligible to apply for a place in Year 7.
You must name Altrincham Grammar School for Girls as a preferred school on your common application form to be considered. This must be submitted to your home local authority by 31st October.
Places are then allocated using oversubscription criteria, which prioritise children in a set order. This includes priority for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, Looked-After Children, children in the catchment area who are eligible for free school meals, children in the catchment area with a sister at the school, and then all other children living in the catchment area. Details are available in the school's admissions policy.
Does Altrincham Grammar School for Girls have a catchment area?
Yes. The catchment area is an 8-mile radius from the main entrance of the school, measured in a straight line.
If your child qualifies but you don't live close to the school, it's worth thinking about how they will get there every day. How long will the journey take? What transport options are available? A longer commute can affect how much time your child has for homework, rest and after-school activities, so it's worth factoring this into your decision.
How can I help my child prepare for the exam?
The Trafford Grammar Schools entrance examination is competitive, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child feel ready.
Stay on track with a clear plan
One of the hardest parts of 11+ preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.
A structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.
Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's exam date and target schools, and Atom will create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build confidence in a calm, manageable way — little and often.
That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.
Build smart exam technique
As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.
Atom's 11+ practice papers are exact replicas of real 11+ exams, and they're unlimited — your child will get new questions each time they download the same paper, so they can practise without repeating the same content.
Marking is easy too. Simply photograph your child's answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing your child's standardised age score, where they're doing well, and what to focus on next. You'll also see how they compare to other children applying to the same school.
Encourage regular reading
Strong reading skills play an important role in 11+ preparation, particularly for the verbal sections of the exam.
Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety — mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose and meaning across different texts.
Over time, regular reading will broaden their vocabulary, improve comprehension and inference, and build confidence in tackling unseen texts.
Celebrate progress, not just scores
When you're supporting your child through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.
Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and which direction they're heading. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.
That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.
