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Thinking about applying to The Liverpool Blue Coat School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions in 2025–2026 and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus entrance exam.
Key information for The Liverpool Blue Coat School
Address: The Liverpool Blue Coat School, Church Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 9EE
Number of pupils: 1,200+
Admissions contact: [email protected]
Number of places in Year 7: 180
11+ exam: school’s own English and maths papers
Catchment area: no
Dates for your diary
The 2025 exam dates haven’t been published yet. However, they are likely to be the same as 2024. Please use the dates below as a guide.
Monday 1st July 2024: registration opens for The Liverpool Blue Coat School entrance exam
Monday 2nd September 2024: registration closes for The Liverpool Blue Coat School entrance exam
Mid-September 2024: The Liverpool Blue Coat School entrance exam (date TBC)
Mid-October 2024: parents receive outcome of child’s exam results
Thursday 31st October 2024: secondary school applications close at 5pm
Monday 3rd March 2025: secondary school national offers day
About The Liverpool Blue Coat School
The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a grammar school for boys and girls in Liverpool. It was founded over 300 years ago and has a rich and distinctive history and heritage. The school is consistently named in the top three schools in the North West.
Ofsted rate The Blue Coat School 'good', with 'outstanding' behaviour and attitudes. The report mentions how the school maintains a culture where diversity is celebrated and " everyone can be themselves". Students are diligent and attentive in class and show genuine care for others.
The school has a vast extracurricular programme which helps students develop skills for life. Activities include multiple subject societies, debating, LAMDA, musical groups, and sports.
How to apply to The Liverpool Blue Coat School
The Liverpool Blue Coat School is a selective state school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place in Year 7.
Children who were born between 1st September 2014 and 31st August 2015 can take The Liverpool Blue Coat School entrance exam to apply for a place in September 2026. The application window for the exam is open between July 2025 and September 2025. The test date is yet to be confirmed, but will likely be in mid-September. You’ll receive your child’s results a few weeks later.
If your child meets the required standard in the exam, they’ll be eligible for a place at the school. To apply to The Liverpool Blue Coat School, 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 exam 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 The Liverpool Blue Coat School below.
What subjects are on the entrance exam?
The Liverpool Blue Coat School entrance exam consists of two papers, each lasting around 50 minutes. These are both created by the school.
One paper tests English. This includes a creative writing task and may include a reading comprehension activity. Your child will need to demonstrate accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar when answering the test questions.
The other paper tests maths. The questions in this test are aligned to the Key Stage 2 national curriculum. The main topics taught in Key Stage 2 maths include:
Number (place value, four operations, fractions, decimals and percentages)
Measurement (such as units, perimeter, area and volume)
Geometry (including properties of shapes and position and direction)
Statistics (such as interpreting information in tables and diagrams and using line graphs)
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How does place allocation work at The Liverpool Blue Coat School?
After the test, the school admissions authority will decide on an eligible score. Children who meet the eligible score can then apply for a place at The Liverpool Blue Coat School.
Up to 27 places are available to the highest scoring children who are eligible for free school meals by September. All remaining places are then available to the other highest scoring children.
Priority is given to children who reach an eligible score and are looked after children, previously looked after children, or who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC).
The Liverpool Blue Coat School does not have a catchment area.
How can I help my child prepare for the entrance exam?
The Liverpool Blue Coat School entrance exam is designed to be challenging. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the exam in September 2025.
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 for 11 plus exams. 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.
Tailored preparation for the 11 plus
Wish you could give your child a roadmap to success in the 11 plus? You can. Atom Home has everything you need to get prepared, in one package.
You don't need a tutor to get into your top-choice grammar school. You just need Atom. We’ll create a tailored plan for your child and support them along their fun revision journey.
Online and printable practice papers for 11 plus English and maths
90,000+ adaptive questions
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Automatic marking and instant progress data
Navigate the entrance exam with confidence.
In 2024, 91% of Atom users got offered a place at their top-choice school.
Start your free trial today. Our specialists will get to work on your child’s plan. Relax, entrance exam prep is sorted.
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