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James Allen's Girls' School 11 plus guide

By Atom | Jun 21, 2023, 8:40 AM

James Allen's Girls' School, London

Are you considering JAGS for your daughter's education? We've collated everything you need to know about entry to Year 7, including key dates and what's covered on the entrance exam.

About James Allen's Girls' School

James Allen’s Girls’ School, more commonly known as JAGS, is a day school for girls in South London and the oldest private girls' school in the capital. Despite its extensive history, facilities are modern and progressive and include a state-of-the-art music centre, a purpose-built theatre, and an ozone-filtered swimming pool.

Pupils at JAGS study a broad and balanced curriculum designed to motivate and inspire. Alongside traditional subjects, students can opt to take Classical Greek or Latin, Computer Science, Italian, Japanese and Russian. Exam results are consistently outstanding – in 2022, 92.4% of A level grades were A*–B and 91.8% of GCSEs were graded 9–7.

Beyond the classroom, students are encouraged to get involved in a variety of co-curricular activities. Popular trips include studying history in China, art in New York, and supporting the school's AFFCAD charity partner through volunteering projects in Uganda.

  • Headteacher: Mrs Alex Hutchinson

  • Address: James Allen’s Girls’ School, 144 East Dulwich Grove, London SE22 8TE

  • London Borough: Southwark

  • Age range and gender: 4–18 (girls only)

  • Number of pupils: 1,100+

  • National league table rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 48

  • A level results: 92.4% A*–B

  • GCSE results: 91.8% 9–7

Key info for Year 7 admissions

  • Admissions contact: Henrietta Kiezun – [email protected], 020 8613 6335

  • Open day: 20th September, 4th October, 7th October and 12th October 2023. See the school website for details

  • Overview of selection procedure: ISEB Common Pre-Test, interview, creative writing task and an interactive group task

  • Registration deadline: 31st October in Year 6

  • Assessment date: autumn term

  • Offer date: February in Year 6

James Allen’s Girls’ School term dates

The 2023–2024 term dates for James Allen’s Girls’ School are:

  • Autumn term: 4th September – 15th December 2023

  • Half term: 23rd October – 3rd November 2023

  • Spring term: 10th January – 28th March 2024

  • Half term: 12th–16th February 2024

  • Summer term: 23rd April – 4th July 2024

  • Half term: 27th–31st May 2024


Fees at James Allen's Girls' School

The current tuition fees at James Allen’s Girls’ School are £7,045 per term for girls in the senior school (age 11 and above).

JAGS provides financial assistance that can cover up to 100% of school fees (in addition to a contribution to school uniform, travel, trips and lunches, if there is demonstrable need) for talented girls whose families would not otherwise be able to afford a JAGS education. Bursaries currently cover well cover 80% of all fees for the 149 families receiving them. More information about bursaries and how to apply for financial assistance is available on the school website.

James Allen's Girls' School admissions process

There are approximately 80 places available for external applicants to Year 7 in James Allen’s Girls’ School each year. Successful candidates join the girls who move up from the junior school.

1. Register for Year 7 entry

If you would like your daughter to be considered for a place in Year 7 at JAGS, you will need to complete the senior school registration form by 31st October in the year preceding entry. The fee is £125 per child for UK-based applicants (or £200 for overseas applicants). This fee can be waived for applicants who are eligible for the Pupil Premium or Universal Credit.

2. Welcome morning

All registered candidates will be invited to a welcome morning during the autumn term of Year 6. This consists of a one-to-one interview with a senior member of staff, an interactive group task, and a creative writing task.

Learn more about:

3. ISEB Common Pre-Test

Children will also need to take the ISEB Common Pre-Test between early November and early January. This is usually taken at your child's current school, but if your daughter's school is not able to facilitate the exam, she can take it at JAGS in early January.

Find out more about the ISEB Common Pre-Test below.

4. Offers

Offer letters are sent to families in early February, shortly before the half-term break. The deadline for accepting an offer is in early March.

The ISEB Common Pre-Test

All children applying for Year 7 entry to JAGS take the ISEB Common Pre-Test. This is an online test that is completely adaptive, meaning the questions become easier or more challenging depending on how your child is performing. Children will answer questions in four subjects:

  • English: covering comprehension and spelling, punctuation and grammar

  • Maths: questions cover Key Stage 2 national curriculum taught up to the end of Year 5. The main topics are number, measurement, data, algebra and geometry

  • Verbal reasoning: tests logic and problem-solving with written information

  • Non-verbal reasoning: tests your child’s ability to understand and analyse visual information

How is the ISEB Common Pre-Test marked?

Each child will be given a Standardised Age Score (SAS), which is calculated based on the number of correct and incorrect answers, the level of difficulty in each question and their date of birth in years and months (to prevent younger children from being disadvantaged). Your child's ISEB Common Pre-Test score will be sent directly to JAGS.

As a guide, competitive selective schools like James Allen’s Girls’ School will generally require candidates to reach an ISEB Common Pre-Test score of 120 or more.

Atom Learning

Guide to the ISEB Test

Read our comprehensive guide to the ISEB Common Pre-Test and get tips and hints to help your child prepare.

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ISEB test on Atom Nucleus

How to prepare for entry to James Allen's Girls' School

Here are some top tips on how to best prepare your child for Year 7 entry to JAGS.

Preparation is key: familiarisation with the question formats and known styles ahead of the exam is essential. Access to quality, unlimited practice material for the ISEB Common Pre-Test ensures confidence when tackling the exam.

Achieve mastery quickly: the ISEB Common Pre-Test assesses a huge amount of content. Atom's adaptive algorithm creates your child's personalised learning journey specific to your target schools, with over 90,000 expert, teacher-created resources to support your child to fully master each topic.

Access to instant support: learners need clarification to address any misconceptions and become truly secure in their understanding of a topic. Access to videos, help sheets and engaging examples for each question builds confidence and competence in all areas covered in the exam.

Engage with their progress: celebrate their improvements in their areas of challenge together! An accurate, ongoing assessment of your child’s strengths and development areas is instrumental for preparing efficiently. Atom's Parent Portal gives you data-driven insights into your child’s areas of strength and development.

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Children work independently through over 90,000 interactive practice questions in English, maths, verbal and non-verbal 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.

ISEB practice tests

With Atom Nucleus you'll unlock online mock tests tailored to the ISEB Common Pre-Test, so your child will go into the exam knowing exactly what to expect.

And what's more, everything is automatically marked for you.

89% of JAGS applicants using Atom Nucleus receive an offer.

Will your daughter be one of them? Begin your child's journey to James Allen's Girls' School today.

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Personalised support for you

We understand how important this next step is for them, and for you. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions you may have about the ISEB Common Pre-Test or applying to independent schools.

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