St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School 11 plus: 2024 entry guide

About St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School

Founded in 1897 in Slough, St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School is a mixed grammar school for Years 7 to 13. As well as encouraging academic performance, the school aims to promote spiritual life and a sense of belonging to the Catholic Church.

Pupils at St Bernard's develop positive relations with all members of the school community. Prayer life, everyday actions and words support each individual's spiritual, moral and cultural development. The school is committed to the community in every dimension (be it locally, nationally or internationally), supporting Catholic charities and organisations to help the poor and disadvantaged, and is proud of its partnership with Sinethemba School in South Africa.

St Bernard's has a distinguished tradition of achieving academic excellence and provides a curriculum that allows pupils to choose subjects reflecting their own strengths. There is a range of traditional and contemporary subjects on offer, including five languages (French, Spanish, Latin, Japanese, and Ancient History).

• Address: St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, 1 Langley Road, Slough, Berkshire SL3 7AF

• Local authority: Slough Borough Council

• School type: mixed grammar

• Headteacher: Paul Kassapian

• Number of pupils: 1,000+

• National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 151

• A level results: 68.9% A*–B

• GCSE results: 72.7% A*/A/9/8/7

Key info for Year 7 admissions

• Admissions contact: [email protected], 01753 527020

• Number of places in Year 7: 150

• Information evening: Tuesday 25th April 2023

• 11 plus registration opens: Thursday 27th April 2023

• 11 plus registration closes: Monday 12th June 2023 at 10am

• 11 plus exam date: Saturday 16th September 2023

• 11 plus exam type: Slough Consortium 11 plus – GL Assessment

• Common application form (CAF) deadline: 31st October 2023

• National school offer day: 1st March 2024

How to apply to St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School

1. Register for the Slough Consortium 11 plus

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School is a member of the Slough Consortium, along with three other grammar schools in the Slough area. If your child is applying for any of the grammar schools within the Consortium, they will only need to take the 11 plus exam once.

You will need to register your child to take the Slough Consortium 11 plus test through the portal, accessed via any of the grammar school websites within the consortium. Registration will be open from Thursday 27th April 2023 to 10am on Monday 12th June 2023.

2. Apply for a school place

You will receive your child's results in the Slough 11 plus in mid-October 2023. If your child has achieved the pass mark, they will be eligible for a grammar school place. You can then name St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School as one of your preferred schools on your common application form.

Before listing the school as a preference on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible. Passing the 11 plus will not be a guarantee of a place as more children reach the qualifying standard each year than there are places available.

The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023. The form must be completed for your home local authority – i.e. if Slough Borough Council is your local authority, you will need to complete the common application form on the Slough Council website. If you live in a different local authority, make sure to apply through the relevant website for that council.

What is the pass mark for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School?

Your child's answer booklets will be marked by computer and their 'raw' scores will be provided. These raw scores are then standardised to even out any age disadvantage for children born later in the year. A total score is calculated for each child, and these are ranked in order. All marking and standardisation are carried out by GL Assessment.

Children will need a standardised mark of 111 to be eligible for a grammar school in Slough. This represents approximately the top 35% of the cohort.

However, achieving a particular score won't guarantee a place at a grammar school, as schools are usually oversubscribed with qualified candidates. We always recommend researching the admission policies for your target schools, looking at their oversubscription criteria and their catchment area. We've included the admission criteria for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School below.

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School admission criteria

There are 150 places available in Year 7 at St Bernard's. The school aims to provide a Catholic education and expects that parents applying for a school place will accept and uphold the school's Catholic character and ethos. However, all beliefs are accepted and children are welcomed from all denominations and faith backgrounds, with provision for the study of different faiths in the school's religious education programme.

Children who have qualified for entry to St Bernard's and who have either a Statement of Special Educational Need or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) naming the school will be allocated a place automatically. The planned admission number will then be reduced accordingly.

If the number of children who have qualified for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School exceeds the number of places available, the school will prioritise places in the following order:

1. Looked after children and previously looked after children

2. Practising Baptised Catholic children who have a Priest's reference or a Certificate of Catholic Practice

3. Other Baptised Catholic children

4. Baptised or Dedicated Children of other Christian Churches, supported with a reference from a religious leader

5. Baptised or Dedicated Children of other Christian Churches

6. Children from other faiths who attend a Slough Catholic primary school within St Peter's Pastoral Area and live permanently in Slough

7. Children of other faiths who attend a Slough primary school within St Peter's Pastoral Area

8. Children of other faiths with a reference from a religious leader

9. Children of other faiths

10. Other children

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School catchment area

The catchment area for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School covers the pastoral area of St Peter's. This incorporates the following primary schools:

• Holy Family Catholic Primary School

• Our Lady of Peace Catholic Primary School

• St Anthony's Catholic Primary School

• St Ethelburt's Catholic Primary School

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