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Are you considering Churston Ferrers Grammar School for your child? We've collated all the information you need to know about 2024 entry to Year 7. Keep reading to learn about key dates, the admissions process, and how to prepare for the 11 plus exam.
About Churston Ferrers Grammar School
Churston Ferrers Grammar School is a selective school for boys and girls aged 11–18 located near the coast in Brixham, South Devon. Founded in 1957, the school is relatively young and values its relaxed and supportive atmosphere.
The school is dedicated to providing an inclusive culture and welcoming students from all backgrounds and aims for all pupils to leave the school with a strong sense of social justice. In 2007, Churston Ferrers was named a leading school in the southwest for sustainability.
Churston Ferrers Grammar School is rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
Address: Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Greenway Road, Brixham, Devon, TQ5 0LN
Local authority: Torbay Council
School type: mixed grammar
Headteacher: Kieran Earley
Number of pupils: 1,000+
Key info for Year 7 admissions
Admissions contact: [email protected], 01803 842289
Number of places in Year 7: 150
Open day date: 29th June 2023
11 plus registration opens: mid-March 2023
11 plus registration closes: 7th September 2023
Exam date: 16th September 2023
Exam type: South Devon Consortium – GL Assessment
Common application form (CAF) deadline: 31st October 2023
National school offer day: 1st March 2024
Churston Ferrers Grammar School term dates
The 2023–2024 term dates at Churston Ferrers Grammar School are:
Autumn term: 6th September – 15th December 2023
Half term: 23rd–27th October 2023
Spring term: 2nd January – 28th March 2024
Half term: 12th–16th February 2024
Summer term: 15th April – 19th July 2024
Half term: 27th–31st May 2024
How to apply to Churston Ferrers Grammar School
If you would like your child to be considered for a place in Year 7 at Churston Ferrers Grammar School, you will need to apply for them to take the 11 plus exam and apply for a school place separately. There are two forms and two different processes to complete.
1. Register for the 11 plus
Before registering, speak to your child’s teacher to see if the 11 plus and grammar school is right for them. The 11 plus exam is a challenging exam, designed to select the children working within the top 25% of their year group.
The registration form for the 11 plus at Churston Ferrers Grammar School will be available to complete on the school website from mid-March 2023. It's preferable that you submit this by midday on Wednesday 19th July 2023, but the final deadline is midday on Thursday 7th September 2023.
2. Apply for a school place
Churston Ferrers Grammar School will post you a letter indicating your child's 11 plus results on, or as soon as possible after, the 17th October 2023. This letter will outline whether your child is eligible for a place at the school.
If you would then like to apply for a place at the school, you will need to name Churston Ferrers Grammar School on your common application form. You must complete the form for your home local authority:
Torbay residents: Torbay Council
Plymouth residents: Plymouth City Council
Rest of Devon: Devon County Council
Before completing your common application form, make sure to check the school's oversubscription criteria first. In the likely event that more children achieve the qualifying score than there are places available, the school will need to apply oversubscription criteria to prioritise places.
The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023.
What's on the Churston Ferrers Grammar School 11 plus exam?
Churston Ferrers Grammar School is a member of the South Devon Consortium, which also includes Torquay Boys' Grammar School and Torquay Girls' Grammar School. All three schools use the same 11 plus test and administer it on the same dates, so your child will only need to take the test once if they're applying to another school in the consortium.
Children will take two multiple-choice papers set by GL Assessment on Saturday 16th September 2023, during either a morning or an afternoon session. The subjects tested are:
English
Maths
You can choose for your child to take the test at any of the three schools, but it's recommended that your child sits the exam at the school you expect to be your first choice so they can get some experience of the school site and staff.
Learn more about the Churston Ferrers Grammar School 11 plus and get free preparation resources in our local guide:
What's the pass mark for Churston Ferrers Grammar School?
Your child's raw scores in the exams will be age-standardised by statisticians at GL Assessment. This is to ensure that children born later in the school year aren't disadvantaged by being younger. An average of the two papers will then give your child's rank.
There is no set pass mark for the 11 plus at Churston Ferrers Grammar School. Each child's overall standardised mark will be put in rank order, from highest to lowest, to determine the qualifying score for the year group.
Achieving the qualifying score doesn't guarantee a place at the school of your choice, as grammar schools are usually oversubscribed with qualified candidates. We always recommend researching the admissions policies for your target schools, looking at their oversubscription criteria and their catchment area.
Churston Ferrers Grammar School admissions criteria
Churston Ferrers Grammar School has a planned admission number (PAN) of 150. Once the papers have been marked, children will be put in one of three categories:
Category A: children who have achieved a qualifying mark equal to or higher than that of the 130th candidate.
Category B: children who have achieved a qualifying mark between the marks achieved by the 131st and 180th ranked candidates.
Category C: children who have achieved a qualifying mark lower than that of the 180th candidate.
The school will then allocate places, beginning with Category A, until all 150 places have been filled. There is no catchment area for Churston Ferrers Grammar School – all children are considered equally, irrespective of their home address.
Category A
Children in this category have achieved the highest marks in the 11 plus. These children will be ranked according to their total combined score. If children have identical scores and there's a tie for the last place, the school will allocate the final place in this category to the child who lives closest to the school.
Category B
Children in this category will be prioritised in the following order:
Looked after and previously looked after children
Children in receipt of free school meals, pupil premium or the service premium
Children of parents who have been working at the school for a minimum of two years
The remaining places in this category will then be ranked according to the total test score
Category C
Children in this category will be ranked by their total test score.
How to help your child prepare for the 11 plus
Here are our top tips on how to best prepare your child for the Churston Ferrers Grammar School 11 plus.
Cover all the content
The 11 plus assesses a large breadth and depth of learning objectives across the Key Stage 2 national curriculum.
We recommend that your child starts revising content at least one year before the test. Setting aside study periods using a 'little and often' approach will give them time to build the skills and knowledge they need. When preparing, avoid falling into the trap of over-focusing on either the topics your child enjoys or the topics they find hardest.
Atom Nucleus is an 11 plus online course that tailors your child's personalised learning journey to cover all elements of the Churston Ferrers Grammar School 11 plus at the right pace for them.
No surprises
Your child may encounter lots of unfamiliar types of questions in the 11 plus exam. Building exam technique with 11 plus test papers will help your child to feel fully confident with the styles of questions they'll encounter in the exam, reducing the potential for stress on the day.
Celebrate their progress
Setting regular goals and celebrating achievements will help keep motivation high. Atom Nucleus offers data-driven insights into your child’s progress towards mastering the 11 plus curriculum, making it easy to see where they need to focus next.
Personalised 11 plus prep for your child
Wondering how to make sure your child covers the depth and breadth of the entire 11 plus curriculum, stays on track with their progress, and gets help when they're stuck? Online learning is a particularly efficient, cost-effective (and fun) way to do this!
Atom Nucleus is the award-winning online 11 plus practice platform that gives your child everything they need to prepare for grammar school exams.
Children work independently through over 90,000 interactive practice questions in English, maths and reasoning. Teacher-created helpsheets and videos help them discover new concepts and consolidate their learning.
Atom's algorithm keeps children on their ideal learning path, tailored to their unique learning style and pace to keep them challenged and motivated.
11 plus practice papers
Atom Nucleus gives children access to online 11 plus practice papers. Our online tests are designed to mirror the format and style of the real 11 plus, so your child will go into the exam knowing exactly what to expect.
And what's more, everything is automatically marked for you.
Try Atom Nucleus free for 5 days
Begin your child's journey to Churston Ferrers Grammar School today. Use the full features of Atom Nucleus free for 5 days – cancel anytime.
Personalised 11 plus support for you
We know how keen you are for your child to do well in the 11 plus, to give them every chance of securing a place at their school of choice. Our dedicated team of Education Experts are on hand to support you and your family every step of the way:
Ask us anything
We're happy to help with any questions you may have about admissions processes and helping your child prepare for entry to Devon grammar schools.
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