Applying to Loreto Grammar School for September 2028? This guide covers the Loreto Grammar School Entrance Examination, the qualifying score, how the 150 Year 7 places are allocated and the key dates for September 2028 entry.
Number of places in Year 7: 150 (2027-entry figure — Loreto Grammar School confirms each year's admission number in its determined arrangements, published the spring before entry.)
Qualifying score: girls must pass the Governors' Entrance Examination to be considered in any admissions category (2027 entry policy). Loreto Grammar School doesn't publish a fixed pass mark before the test.
11+ test: Loreto Grammar School Entrance Examination (three papers: maths (set by the school), plus GL English and verbal reasoning)
Catchment or priority area: only for category three: Catholic girls at an associated primary who live in a Nominated Local Pastoral Area
Source: Loreto Grammar School Admissions Policy – 2027 Entry (approved January 2026). Last checked October 2026.
Key dates for September 2028 entry
Loreto Grammar School hasn't published its 2028-entry timetable yet. For 2027 entry, baptismal certificates were due before 10 July 2026, the Entrance Examination was held on the morning of Friday 18 September 2026 and results were due on or before 21 October 2026. The windows below follow that pattern. The 2027-entry registration opening and closing dates aren't in the policy or on the school's site, so we haven't estimated the registration window and that row shows 'To be confirmed'. For 2026 entry, online registration ran from 28 June to 31 July 2025. We'll update this page as soon as the school publishes its 2028-entry dates.
Key dates for Loreto Grammar School 11+ entry in September 2028, with expected windows where the school has not yet confirmed exact dates.
Date
What happens
To be confirmed
Test registration — Loreto Grammar School hasn't published this for 2028 entry
Early July 2027
Baptismal certificates expected to be due, for girls applying under a baptised category (before 10 July 2026 for 2027 entry)
Mid-September 2027
Entrance Examination expected (a Friday in each of the last two years)
Late October 2027
Results expected by email
Late April 2028
Late Entrance Examination expected for girls who missed the September test (for 2027 entry it was on 28 April 2027)
Sunday 31 October 2027
Deadline to apply for secondary school places through your home local authority. This date falls on a Sunday.
Wednesday 1 March 2028
National offer day for secondary school places
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Loreto Grammar School is selective, so your child needs to sit the 11+ test to be considered for a place.
Parents register online with the school for its Entrance Examination. If your daughter is applying under a Catholic or other baptised category, you'll need to provide her original baptismal certificate when you register (for 2027 entry, before 10 July 2026), and she must have been baptised before the date of registration. Any access arrangement requests must also reach the school by the registration closing date.
Once you have your child's result, you apply by naming Loreto Grammar School on your common application form, which goes to your home local authority. For September 2028 entry the deadline is Sunday 31 October 2027. As it falls on a Sunday, you may find it easier to submit your form in the days before.
Reaching the qualifying score makes your child eligible, but it doesn't guarantee a place. If more qualifying children apply than there are places, the school uses its oversubscription criteria, set out further down this page.
What will my child be tested on?
Loreto Grammar School sets its own Entrance Examination. It is not part of the Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium, so the consortium's move to the FSCE test from 2028 entry doesn't apply here.
Your child sits three papers: mathematics (45 minutes), English (45 minutes) and verbal reasoning (50 minutes). The English and verbal reasoning papers are GL Assessment tests, and the maths paper is the school's own. The school publishes familiarisation papers for the GL papers on its admissions pages.
The school hasn't announced any change to the test for 2028 entry.
The table below shows what each paper covers.
The Loreto Grammar School Entrance Examination papers for September 2028 entry: length and content of each paper.
Paper
Length
What it covers
Mathematics
45 minutes
Maths, set by the school
English
45 minutes
English, provided by GL Assessment
Verbal reasoning
50 minutes
Verbal reasoning, provided by GL Assessment
How are places allocated at Loreto Grammar School?
If more children reach the qualifying standard than there are 150 Year 7 places, Loreto Grammar School offers places in the order below. This order comes from the school's admissions policy for 2027 entry. The school sets its 2028-entry policy separately, and we'll update this table if anything changes.
Loreto Grammar School oversubscription criteria in priority order, from the 2027 entry admissions policy.
Priority
Who it covers
1
Baptised Catholic girls who are looked after or previously looked after, including internationally looked after girls
2
Baptised Catholic girls with a sister at the school at the time of admission (including half-, adopted and step-sisters living in the same family home)
3
Baptised Catholic girls who attend an associated Catholic primary school and live in a Nominated Local Pastoral Area
4
Other baptised Catholic girls
5
Other looked after and previously looked after girls, including internationally previously looked after girls
6
Baptised girls of other denominations
7
Other girls
No items found.
Every category requires a pass in the Governors' Entrance Examination. A girl whose EHC plan names Loreto and who passes the exam is admitted first, which reduces the places available. Within each category, girls eligible for Pupil Premium come first, then girls with the highest marks in the Entrance Examination.
Does Loreto Grammar School have a catchment area?
Loreto's Nominated Local Pastoral Areas only count in category three, for baptised Catholic girls who also attend an associated Catholic primary school. They are parishes in St Ambrose Deanery (Diocese of Shrewsbury), covering West Timperley, Altrincham, Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, Hale Barns, Partington and Sale Moor, and in Our Lady's Deanery (Diocese of Salford), covering Old Trafford, Stretford, Urmston, Davyhulme, Flixton, Firswood and Chorlton. The policy lists each parish and its associated primary schools; in the other categories, where you live only matters for the final tie-break.
If a category has more applicants than places, girls eligible for Pupil Premium come first, then girls with the highest Entrance Examination marks. If girls are still tied, the one who lives closest to the school gets priority, measured from the seed point of the home address as Trafford defines it.
If you don't live close to the school, it's worth thinking about how your child will get there every day. How long will the journey take? What transport options are available? Will they be travelling independently or with support?
A longer or more complex journey can affect your child's daily routine, including how much time they have for homework, rest and after-school activities. It's a good idea to think about how manageable the school run will be and whether it will work for your family day to day.
How can I help my child prepare for the test?
The Loreto Grammar School entrance exam can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.
Stay on track with a clear plan
One of the hardest parts of exam preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.
A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.
Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.
That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.
Build smart exam technique
As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.
Atom's 11+ practice papers are built to match the format, timing and question styles of real entrance exams. They're also unlimited — you can download the same paper again and again, and your child will get new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.
We've made marking easy for you, too. Simply photograph your child's answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.
Encourage regular reading
Strong reading skills play a big role in exam preparation.
Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.
Over time, regular reading will broaden their vocabulary, improve comprehension and inference, and build confidence in tackling unseen texts.
When you're supporting your child through exam preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.
Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.
That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.
Take control of your child’s 11+ preparation.
Not sure if your child is on track for the grammar school 11+? You don’t need to guess what to cover or whether they’re ready. Atom shows you exactly what to practise each week and how they’re performing, so you can stay ahead of the process without the stress.
