Stroud High School 11 plus: a parents' guide for 2023

Established in 1904, Stroud High School is a grammar school for girls aged 11-18 in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and became an academy in 2011.

Stroud High School has a fundamental belief in what its pupils can achieve. This is illustrated through student success, with pupils accessing the full range of universities and degree apprenticeships including Oxbridge, Rolls-Royce and Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology. The school has received ‘outstanding’ Ofsted ratings.

11 plus exam information for Stroud High School

• Address: Stroud High School, Beards Lane, Cainscross Road, Stroud, GL5 4HF

• County: Gloucestershire

• Admissions contact: [email protected]

• School type: girls’ grammar

• Number of pupils: 1,026

• Number of places in Year 7: 177

• Open day date: April and June 2023

• 11 plus exam dates: Saturday 16th September 2022

• Exam board type: Gloucestershire Grammar Schools 11 plus test

Stroud High School term dates

Stroud High School’s term dates for 2023–2024 are:

• Autumn term: 6th September – 22nd December 2023

• Half term: 30th October – 3rd November 2023

• Spring term: 8th January – 22nd March 2024

• Half term: 12th–16th February 2024

• Summer term: 8th April – 22nd July 2024

• Half term: 27th–31st May 2024

How and when to apply for 11 plus entry to Stroud High School

Admission into Year 7 is through the Gloucestershire Grammar Schools 11 plus exam taken in September. Registrations for the Gloucestershire Grammar Schools' 11 plus exam are open from 22nd May to 30th June 2023 – you can register your child on the school website.

If a child has special educational needs (SEN), parents can provide details on the Grammar School Test registration form to allow Stroud High School to consider any necessary access arrangements.

Stroud High School 11 plus admissions process

Applicants to Stroud High School must take the 11 plus test to be eligible. Applicants must attain a ‘qualifying standard’, which is the minimum age-standardised score required to be considered for entry to the school.

For admission into Year 7 parents must also submit the Local Authority’s Common Application Form (by the deadline of 31st October) which is available online via the Gloucestershire County Council website.

The Local Authority then allocates places to girls who have met this qualifying standard, and whose parents have expressed a preference for Stroud High School on the Common Application Form. 150 places will be available and parents will find out the results on 1st March 2023.

The school applies oversubscription criteria when there are more successful applicants (i.e. who have met the qualifying standard) than available places in the following order:

• Looked After Children / Previously Looked Children;

• Girls who are eligible for Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium

• Rank order from the entrance test. When there are multiple students with an equal qualifying result, the candidate’s geographical proximity to the school (measured in a straight line) will be taken into account.

Visit the school website for more details on Stroud High School's admissions process for entry in 2024.

Stroud High School 11 plus exam: format and content

Stroud High School will be using GL Assessment to administer its 11 plus test for pupils applying for entry in 2024 and beyond.

Children will take two tests at Stroud High School on Saturday 16th September 2023. The two tests take around 2 hours in total to complete:

• Paper 1: Multiple-choice verbal reasoning, vocabulary and reading comprehension

• Paper 2: Multiple-choice non-verbal reasoning and maths

Each paper will begin with 15 minutes to read through the instructions and work through examples (non-verbal reasoning only). Children will then have 45 minutes to work through the questions for each test.

For more details, please see our guide to the Gloucestershire 11 plus test.

How to prepare your child for the Stroud High School 11 plus test

Starting 11 plus preparation towards the end of Year 4 or 5 will provide your child with familiarity with the test process and timed sections, as well as solid knowledge of all Key Stage 2 content.

Your child's school may not yet have covered a number of topics covered in the 11 plus. Verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning are not taught on the primary school curriculum, so practising questions in these subjects will help your child build confidence for the exam.

Atom Nucleus is an award-winning online learning platform that can help your child prepare effectively for the 11 plus. Groundbreaking technology is combined with industry-leading educational content to make 11 plus not only easy, but fun for your child!

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• Over 90,000 interactive questions in Key Stage 2 English, maths, science, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning

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• Access to expert advice from education specialists, with ongoing parent webinars and WhatsApp groups for your child’s cohort

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