The Liverpool Blue Coat School 11 plus: 2024 entry guide

School guide

Feb 22, 2023, 3:52 PM

The Blue Coat School Liverpool 11 plus entry guide

Are you considering The Liverpool Blue Coat 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 the school's admissions process, what's on the 11 plus exam, and how to give your child the best chance of getting a place.

About The Liverpool Blue Coat School

The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a mixed (boys and girls) grammar school with an Outstanding Ofsted rating. Despite its 300-year-old tradition, this is a forward-looking school that aims to enable all children to become responsible citizens and active participants and leaders in the wider community.

One of the highest-ranking state schools in the country, The Liverpool Blue Coat School was named The Northwest Secondary School of the Year in 2017 by the Sunday Times.

Address: Church Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 9EE
Local authority: Liverpool City Council
School type: mixed grammar
Headteacher: Scilla Yates
Number of pupils: 1,257
National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 32
A level results: 88.2% A*–B
GCSE results: 81.4% 9/8/7

Key info for Year 7 admissions

Admissions contact: [email protected]
Number of places in Year 7: 180
Open day: 30th June 2023
11 plus registration opens: 3rd July 2023
11 plus registration closes: 2nd September 2023, 4pm
Exam date: mid-September 2023
Exam type: school's own papers in English and maths
Common application form (CAF) deadline: 31st October 2023
National school offer day: 1st March 2024

The Liverpool Blue Coat School term dates

The 2023–2024 term dates at The Liverpool Blue Coat School are:

Autumn term: 6th September – 22nd December 2023
Half term: 30th October – 3rd November 2023
Spring term: 8th 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 The Liverpool Blue Coat School

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.

While your child is in Year 5, register them to take The Liverpool Blue Coat School's entrance exam on the school website. Registration closes at 4pm on Friday 2nd September 2023.

If you are considering other local selective schools, remember to register for their exams too. The grammar schools on the Wirral use different 11 plus tests:

The Wirral Admissions Test is used by Calday Grange, West Kirby Grammar, Wirral Grammar for Boys and Wirral Grammar for Girls.
St Anselm's College and Upton Hall School have their own tests.

2. Apply for school places

Once your child has taken The Liverpool Blue Coat School 11 plus, you will get their results in mid to late October. You can use the results to decide which schools to include on your local authority application form.

Before listing The Liverpool Blue Coat School as a preference on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible. As well as your child's exam score, how close you live to a school is an important factor in whether your child is likely to be offered a place.

The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023.

What's on The Liverpool Blue Coat School 11 plus exam?

Unlike many other 11 plus exams, the Liverpool Blue Coat School does not test verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning. The entrance exam consists of two papers of 50 minutes each:

Maths
English

The maths and English papers assess your child's knowledge of Key Stage 2 national curriculum content, and their ability to reason and apply this knowledge accurately.

During the application window (July and August), the school publishes information packs about the entrance test on its website. The test is taken at the school in mid-September.

Learn about 11 plus topics in detail and get free preparation resources in our complete guide:

11 plus exam guide

What is the pass mark for The Liverpool Blue Coat School?

There is no universal pass mark for The Liverpool Blue Coat School. Instead, the scores are age-standardised and combined to give each child a total score across both papers. The papers are equally weighted. The total scores are ranked in order.

Up to 27 places are offered to the highest-scoring children who are eligible for free school meals and scored 213 or above (out of 300).
The remaining places are offered to all other highest-scoring children.

If there is a tie for the last place available, the English test score will determine the result. If there is still a tie, the age-standardised, non-rounded total score will determine the result. However, if the tie involves a child in the following categories they will be entitled to the place:

Looked After Child, previously Looked After Child, or Internationally Adopted Previously Looked after Child.
Child with an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP).

The Liverpool Blue Coat School catchment area

There is no defined catchment area for The Liverpool Blue Coat School.

How to help your child prepare for the 11 plus

Here are our top tips on how to best prepare your child for The Liverpool Blue Coat School 11 plus exam.

Cover all the content

The 11 plus assesses a large breadth and depth of learning objectives across the Key Stage 2 national curriculum and beyond.

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 Liverpool Blue Coat School 11 plus at the right pace for them.

No surprises

Your child will 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.

$Nucleus maths fractions demo$

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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 practice papers. Our online tests are designed to mirror the format and style of real 11 plus exams, so your child will go into the exam knowing exactly what to expect.

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

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Begin your child's journey to The Liverpool Blue Coat School today. Use the full features of Atom Nucleus free for 5 days – cancel anytime.

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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 11 plus or grammar school admissions.

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