The Crypt School 11 plus: parents' guide for 2023

Founded in 1539, The Crypt School is a Gloucestershire grammar school and academy for boys and girls aged 11-18 years old.

Starting from September 2023, the school will offer unique and tailored pathways from their new primary school, with both schools benefiting from shared resources, facilities and staff.

The Crypt School is known as a high-achieving school that supports its students to progress to the best of their abilities. It was rated 'outstanding' in its last Ofsted report.

11 plus exam information for The Crypt School

• Address: The Crypt School, Podsmead Road, Gloucester GL2 5AE

• County: Gloucestershire

• Admissions contact: [email protected], 01452 530291

• School type: co-ed grammar school

• Number of pupils: 1,000+

• Number of places in Year 7: 150

• Open day dates: Wednesday 22nd March 2023. Additional open events in June will be confirmed in due course

• 11 plus exam date: Saturday 16th September 2022

• Exam board type: Gloucestershire Grammar Schools 11 plus test

The Crypt School term dates

The 2023–2024 term dates for The Crypt School are:

• Autumn term: 6th September – 20th 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 – 12th July 2024

• Half term: 27th–31st May 2024

How and when to apply for 11 plus entry to The Crypt 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 The Crypt School to consider any necessary access arrangements.

The Crypt School 11 plus admissions process

The Crypt School is selective, meaning that applicants 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.

The Local Authority then allocates places to children who have met this qualifying standard, and whose parents have expressed a preference for The Crypt School on the Common Application Form.

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

• Candidates in receipt of Pupil Premium

• Children of current members of school staff provided the parent has been employed for at least two years or has been recruited to fill a vacant post for which there was a demonstrable skills shortage at the time of their appointment

• All other candidates who have met the qualifying standard in test rank order

For the purposes of oversubscription criteria in categories 1-3 above, a higher ranking will be given to the candidate who lives closest to The Crypt School as measured in a straight line from their main residence.

The Crypt School 11 plus exam format and content

Applicants to The Crypt School take the same 11 plus exam as the other six Gloucestershire Grammar Schools.

Children will take two tests at The Crypt 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 The Crypt 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

• Unlimited online practice papers that replicate the 11 plus, including tests set by GL Assessment

• Daily live lessons and revision programmes with engaging teachers to help your child master key topics and revise efficiently

• Automatic progress-tracking so you can see how your child is performing compared to their peers

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

See why over 25,000 families already love using Atom – start your free trial today.

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