St Michael's Catholic Grammar School 11+ guide

Key information about St Michael's Catholic Grammar School

• Address: St Michael's Catholic Grammar School, Nether Street, North Finchley, London, N12 7NJ

• Number of pupils: approx. 850

• Admissions contact: office@st-michaels.barnet.sch.uk

• Number of places in Year 7: 128

• 11+ exam: GL Assessment

• Catchment area: no

What subjects are on the St Michael’s 11 plus?

Girls applying for 2026 entry to St Michael's Catholic Grammar School will take the 11 plus entrance exam in September 2025.

The 11 plus papers are provided by GL Assessment. All of the questions are multiple-choice. Your child will have a question booklet and separate answer sheets.

Children are tested in:

• English: questions are based on the national curriculum content your daughter will be learning at school. This often includes a reading comprehension task.

• Maths: questions are based on Key Stage 2 maths content taught up to the start of Year 6. The areas typically assessed include aspects of number, measurement, geometry and statistics.

• Verbal reasoning: this subject is not taught at school. Verbal reasoning assesses your child’s ability to analyse and solve problems with written information, like letters, words, symbols and numbers.

• Non-verbal reasoning: like verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning isn’t taught on the national curriculum. This tests your child’s ability to solve problems with visual information, such as shapes, diagrams and pictures.

Atom’s top tips for 11 plus preparation

St Michael's Catholic Grammar School is one of the most popular state schools in London, so competition for places is high. 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 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. 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.