Are you considering The Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston upon Thames for your daughter? We've collated all the information you need to know about 2024 entry to Year 7. Keep reading to learn about key dates, the admissions process, and how to prepare for the 11 plus exam.
Contents
About The Tiffin Girls' School
The Tiffin Girls' School is a grammar school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Kingston upon Thames. The school is academically outstanding and is currently ranked as the 4th best state secondary school in the UK.
Pupils at Tiffin Girls' are encouraged to 'dare to be wise'. The school prides itself on its strong sense of inclusivity, challenge, independence, questioning stereotypes and creativity, where girls aspire to excellence in everything they do. Great value is placed on the importance of extracurricular activities to help develop students as rounded young adults, and there's no shortage of activities for students to get involved in, with many clubs set up and led by students themselves.
Girls leave The Tiffin Girls' School for a wide range of excellent universities. In 2022, 84% of students went on to study at a Russell Group university, of which 25 students went to Oxford and Cambridge.
Address: The Tiffin Girls' School, Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT2 5PL
Local authority: Kingston London Borough Council
School type: girls' grammar
Headteacher: Ian Keary
Number of pupils: 1,200+
National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 4
A level results: 97.1% A*–B
GCSE results: 94.9% 9/8/7
Key info for Year 7 admissions
Admissions contact: [email protected], 020 8546 0773
Number of places in Year 7: 180
Open evening: Tuesday 11th July 2023
11 plus registration opens: 5th June 2023
11 plus registration closes: 4th September 2023
Exam date: 5th October 2023 (Stage One), 11th November 2023 (Stage Two)
Exam type: Kingston upon Thames 11 plus
Common application form (CAF) deadline: 31st October 2023
National school offer day: 1st March 2024
The Tiffin Girls' School term dates
The 2023–2024 term dates at The Tiffin Girls' School are:
Autumn term: 4th September – 15th December 2023
Half term: 23rd October – 3rd November 2023
Spring term: 3rd January – 28th March 2024
Half term: 12th–16th February 2024
Summer term: 15th April – 19th July 2024
Half term: 27th–31st May 2024
How to apply to The Tiffin Girls' School
1. Register for the 11 plus
If you would like your daughter to be considered for a place at The Tiffin Girls' School, you will need to begin the application process by registering for the 11 plus Stage One tests. All children applying for Year 7 entry take these tests, after which shortlisted candidates are invited back for Stage Two.
The 11 plus is designed to select children who are working within the top 25% of the academic ability range for their year group. Before registering for the exam, speak to your child's teacher to see if the 11 plus and a grammar school education is right for them.
Registration for the Stage One Test opens at midday on Monday 5th June 2023 and closes at midday on Monday 4th September 2023. You will be able to apply via the school website.
2. Apply for a school place
The Tiffin Girls' School will email your daughter's Stage One results in mid-October 2023. If your child is invited back to take the Stage Two test in November, you will be able to name the school as one of your options on your common application form.
Before listing The Tiffin Girls' School as a preference on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible. Passing the second stage of the assessment will still not be a guarantee of a place as more girls 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 you live in Kingston upon Thames you will need to complete the form on the Kingston upon Thames Council website. If you live in a different local authority, make sure to apply through the relevant website for that council.
What's on the Tiffin Girls' 11 plus exam?
All girls applying for The Tiffin Girls' School will take the Stage One test on either Thursday 5th or Friday 6th October 2023. This is a two-hour exam consisting of two multiple-choice papers:
English: one hour
Maths: one hour
Children who perform well in the Stage One exam will be invited back to the Stage Two exam on 11th November 2023. This consists of two written papers, also in English and maths, produced by the school.
Learn about the exam in more detail in our full guide to the Kingston upon Thames 11 plus:
What is the pass mark for The Tiffin Girls' School?
After the Stage One tests, your child's test paper will be marked to provide raw scores. These two scores will then be combined into one total score, which is then age-standardised to ensure that children born later in the school year aren't disadvantaged.
The children with the highest scores will be invited back to the Stage Two test in November. This too will be age-standardised, and a total weighted score will then be calculated for each child, consisting of:
40% maths (30% from Stage One and 10% from Stage Two)
60% English (purely from Stage Two)
Children will then be ranked in order of their total weighted scores (with a 10% leeway applied to the test marks of disadvantaged children). There is no specific pass mark; The Tiffin Girls' School will select children from the highest-ranked scores. In 2022, the lowest weighted score to be offered a place at the school was 107.
The Tiffin Girls' School admissions criteria
The Tiffin Girls' School has a planned admission number (PAN) of 180. Places will be allocated to children who have demonstrated high ability in the selection tests in the following order:
Girls who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) which names the school
Looked after and previously looked after children whose combined score is higher than or equal to the 350th-ranked mark
Up to 60 girls whose combined mark is higher than or equal to the 350th-ranked mark who live within the priority area. Pupils who qualify for the pupil premium are prioritised first within this group
Girls who live within the priority area
Girls who live outside the priority area
The Tiffin Girls' School catchment area
There are two catchment areas for The Tiffin Girls' School: the 'inner area' (which is the priority area) followed by the wider 'designated area'.
The inner area comprises the electoral wards of Berrylands, Canbury Gardens, Coombe Hill, Coombe Vale, Green Lane & St James, Kingston Gate, Kingston Town, New Malden Village, Norbiton, St Mark's & Seething Wells, Surbiton Hill, Tudor, Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside.
The full designated area comprises the following postcodes:
KT1, KT2, KT3, K4, KT5, KT6, KT7, KT8, KT9, KT10, KT12, KT13, KT17, KT19
TW1, TW2, TW3, TW4, TW5, TW7, TW8, TW9, TW10, TW11, TW11, TW13, TW14, TW15, TW16, TW7
SW13, SW14, SW15, SW17, SW18, SW19, SW20
W3, W4, W5, W7, W13
SM4
CR4
Since the designated area was introduced in 2014, the school has not offered places to eligible girls who live beyond it. The school is heavily oversubscribed, so it's highly unlikely that girls who do not live within the designated area will be offered a place.
How to help your child prepare for the 11 plus
Here are our top tips on how to best prepare your child for the The Tiffin Girls' School 11 plus.
Cover all the content
The selection tests for The Tiffin Girls' School are academically rigorous, and assess a large breadth and depth of learning objectives across the Key Stage 2 curriculum.
We recommend that your child starts revising content at least one year before the test. Setting aside study periods using a 'little and often' approach will give them time to build the skills and knowledge they need. When preparing, avoid falling into the trap of over-focusing on either the topics your child enjoys or the topics they find hardest.
Atom Nucleus is an 11 plus online course that tailors your child's personalised learning journey to cover all elements of the The Tiffin Girls' School 11 plus at the right pace for them.
No surprises
Your child may encounter lots of unfamiliar types of questions in the 11 plus exam. Building exam technique with 11 plus test papers will help your child to feel fully confident with the styles of questions they'll encounter in the exam, reducing the potential for stress on the day.
Celebrate their progress
Setting regular goals and celebrating achievements will help keep motivation high. Atom Nucleus offers data-driven insights into your child’s progress towards mastering the 11 plus curriculum, making it easy to see where they need to focus next.
Personalised 11 plus prep for your child
Wondering how to make sure your child covers the depth and breadth of the entire 11 plus curriculum, stays on track with their progress, and gets help when they're stuck? Online learning is a particularly efficient, cost-effective (and fun) way to do this!
Atom Nucleus is the award-winning online 11 plus practice platform that gives your child everything they need to prepare for grammar school exams.
Children work independently through over 90,000 interactive practice questions in English, maths and reasoning. Teacher-created helpsheets and videos help them discover new concepts and consolidate their learning.
Atom's algorithm keeps children on their ideal learning path, tailored to their unique learning style and pace to keep them challenged and motivated.
Kingston upon Thames 11 plus practice papers
Atom Nucleus gives children access to online practice papers. Our online tests are designed to mirror the format and style of the real Kingston upon Thames 11 plus, so your child will go into the exam knowing exactly what to expect.
And what's more, everything is automatically marked for you.
Try Atom Nucleus free for 5 days
Begin your child's journey to The Tiffin Girls' School today. Use the full features of Atom Nucleus free for 5 days – cancel anytime.
Personalised 11 plus support for you
We know how keen you are for your child to do well in the 11 plus, to give them every chance of securing a place at their school of choice. Our dedicated team of Education Experts are on hand to support you and your family every step of the way:
Ask us anything
We're happy to help with any questions you may have about admissions processes and helping your child prepare for entry to grammar schools in the UK.
Exam prep WhatsApp groups
Why not join over 2,000 parents in our community WhatsApp groups? You’ll get access to free resources, advice and admissions updates.
Subscribe for the latest education advice
Subscribe to Atom’s mailing list and get free resources to help your child master core subjects, excel in their entrance exams and build academic confidence.
Get exclusive discounts for Atom Nucleus, invitations to parent webinars, and much more, direct to your inbox.
Atom
Learning
Atom Learning Ltd. is registered and incorporated in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 10867907 VAT number: 316903508 Copyright Atom Learning Ltd. All rights reserved.