Chelmsford County High School for Girls 11+ guide

Please note: the 11+ exam provider used by Chelmsford County High School for Girls may be changing the structure and content of the test from September 2025.
For specific information about the entrance exam, we recommend checking the school website for more information.

Thinking about applying to Chelmsford County High School for Girls? Find out everything you need to know about admissions and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus.

Key information about Chelmsford County High School for Girls

• Address: Chelmsford County High School, Broomfield Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 1RW
• Number of pupils: 1,100+
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 180
• 11+ exam: Future Stories Community Enterprise 11 plus
• Catchment area: yes

Dates for your diary

• Wednesday 2nd April 2025: online registration opens for the CCHS entrance test at 9am
• Thursday 1st May 2025: CCHS open day (4–7pm)
• Wednesday 4th June 2025: online registration closes for the CCHS entrance test at 4pm
• Week of 30th June 2025: test day arrangements sent to parents
• Wednesday 3rd September 2025: CCHS entrance test
• Mid-October 2025: parents receive results from CCHS entrance test
• Friday 31st October 2025: national deadline to apply for school places
• Monday 2nd March 2026: national offers day

About Chelmsford County High School for Girls

Chelmsford County High School (CCHS) is a girls' grammar school in Chelmsford, Essex. It's highly selective and students achieve some of the best exam results in the country.

Students at CCHS are passionate about learning and study a dynamic and progressive education. The academic pace is fast and standards are high. Students are particularly active in the sciences, engineering and debating.

There's a broad enrichment programme for students to learn beyond their subjects. Activities include sports, creative arts, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, charity work, and friendly but fierce house competitions.

How to apply to Chelmsford County High School for Girls

Chelmsford County High School for Girls is a selective school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place.

To register your child for the exam, complete the application form on the school website. This will open on Wednesday 2nd April 2025 and will close on Wednesday 4th June 2025.

Unlike the 10 other grammar schools in Essex, CCHS is not a member of the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE). If you are also considering other grammar schools in Essex, you will need to register your child for the exam at these schools separately through the CSSE website. Your child will then need to take the CSSE exam in addition to the Chelmsford County High School exam.

The CCHS entrance test will take place on Wednesday 3rd September 2025 and you’ll receive your child’s results in mid-October. You can then use these results to decide whether to apply for a place at Chelmsford County High School for Girls. To apply, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October 2025.

Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Chelmsford County High School for Girls below.

What subjects are on the entrance exam?

Girls applying to Chelmsford County High School take an 11 plus exam created by Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE). The questions in this exam cover three subjects:

1. English. Questions test reading comprehension, vocabulary, and missing letters.
2. Maths. Questions test the core topics on the Key Stage 2 maths national curriculum.
3. Creative writing. Your child will need to write a piece of original writing in response to a prompt.

How does place allocation work at Chelmsford County High School for Girls?

Your child’s English and maths tests will be marked by computer. The raw marks from each test will be age- standardised to ensure that children born later in the school year aren't disadvantaged by their age. Children who have performed well in these tests and met an 'eligible score' will then have their creative writing test assessed. This will be marked by examiners.

When you receive your child’s results in mid-October, you will find out whether she has achieved an ‘eligible score’. This is not a pre-defined pass mark, but indicates where your child has positioned in the rank order of standardised scores in the English and maths tests, once the minimum standard for creative writing has been achieved.

If the number of children who have applied for a place at CCHS exceeds 180, places are allocated in descending order from the ranked list (starting with the highest score) in this priority order:

1. ‘Looked after’ and ‘previously looked after’ children who have achieved a score up to 5 marks below an eligible score
2. Children with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHC) who have achieved an eligible score
3. Of the next 144 places, up to 30 are prioritised for children who receive Pupil or Service Premium, have achieved a score up to 5 marks below an eligible score, and who live within the school priority area
4. The remaining places of the 144 above are then allocated to children who have achieved an eligible score and live within the priority area
5. All remaining places (up to 36) are allocated to children in descending order from the ranked list of scores

What is the catchment area for Chelmsford County High School for Girls?

Chelmsford County High School for Girls has a priority area which covers a 12.5 mile radius (measured in a straight line) from the school.

Children who live within this area are prioritised for places in the oversubscription criteria.

Atom’s top tips for 11 plus preparation

The 11 plus is designed to select the most academically able children in the country. Here are our top tips to help you and your child feel confident for exam day!

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.

Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.

Read widely

11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.

Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.

Refine exam technique

When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.

Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.

With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.

Celebrate progress

Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.

Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.