Reading Girls' School 11+ guide

Thinking about applying for a place on the Selective Stream at Reading Girls' School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions and how to prepare your child for success in the exam.

Key information about Reading Girls' School

• Address: Reading Girls' School, Northumberland Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, RG2 7PY
• Number of pupils: approx. 800
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 180 (including up to 42 selective places)
• Selective stream entrance exam: CEM Select
• Catchment area: no

Dates for your diary

• Selective stream test registration opens: April 2024
• Selective stream test: Saturday 5th October 2024
• Selective stream test results: mid-October 2024
• Secondary school application deadline: Thursday 31st October 2024
• School allocations: Saturday 1st March 2025

About Reading Girls' School

Reading Girls' School is a partially-selective state school for girls in Reading, Berkshire. The school focuses on developing thoughtful and mindful citizens. Reading Girls' is proud of its multicultural student population where over 50 languages are spoken.

Students at Reading Girls' School receive high-quality teaching. Once a fortnight, Years 7–8 have a day dedicated to learning STEM. Past activities have included visits to the University of Reading, project management with Fujitsu, and a workshop with the InterClimate Network.

Reading Girls' School is mainly non-selective. However, girls applying for Year 7 can apply for a place on the Selective Stream, which provides a more intensive education. It enables intelligent and adaptable girls to progress through the curriculum to achieve the highest possible grades in exams.

How to apply to Reading Girls' School

Reading Girls’ School is a partially-selective school with 180 places in Year 7. To apply for a place, 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 Thursday 31st October 2024.

If you would like your daughter to be considered for one of the 42 places on the school’s Selective Stream, you will need to register her to take the Selective Stream Test. Registration for the test opens in April 2024 and the test will take place on Saturday 5th October 2024. You’ll receive your daughter’s results before the common application deadline.

There’s no guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many popular schools are often oversubscribed. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Reading Girls' School below.

What subjects are on the Selective Stream Test?

Girls applying for a selective place at Reading Girls’ School will take the CEM Select assessment on Saturday 5th October 2024. This is an online test provided by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM). The test takes about one hour to complete.

The CEM Select exam tests verbal, non-verbal and numerical ability. It is usually split into five or six smaller sections. These include comprehension, missing words, numerical ability and pictures. These are supplemented with one or two more sections which test verbal reasoning ability.

How does place allocation work at Reading Girls' School?

There are 180 places available in Year 7 at Reading Girls’ School. Children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which names the school will be admitted first.

If more children apply to the school than there are places available, highest priority is given to looked after children and previously looked after children. There are also up to 42 places reserved for children who performed well in the Selective Stream Test, ranked in order of score.

The remaining places are then allocated in the following order, until all 180 places have been filled:

1. Children who have a social or medical need to attend Reading Girls’ School
2. Children who have siblings currently at Reading Girls’ School
3. Children of staff employed at Reading Girls’ School for at least two years
4. Children who attend Battle Primary Academy – the feeder school for Reading Girls’ School
5. Remaining places are then allocated to the girls who live closest to the school, measured in a straight line from the school to the home address

Atom’s top tips for preparing for the Selective Stream Test

The Selective Stream Test at Reading Girls’ School is designed to identify intelligent and adaptable students. Here are our top tips to help you and your child feel confident for exam day!

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the exam. 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

The Selective Stream Test will assess 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. 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.