Upton Court Grammar School 11+ guide

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Thinking about applying to Upton Court Grammar School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions in 2025–2026 and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus entrance exam.

Key information for Upton Court Grammar School

• Address: Upton Court Grammar School, Lascelles Road, Upton, Berkshire, SL3 7PR
• Number of pupils: 1,100+
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 165
• 11+ exam: Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools 11 plus
• Catchment area: no

Dates for your diary

• Tuesday 29th April 2025: Slough 11+ information evening
• Thursday 1st May 2025: Slough 11+ registration opens
• Thursday 5th June 2025: Slough 11+ registration closes
• Saturday 20th September 2025: Slough Consortium 11+ entrance test
• Mid-October 2025: parents receive test results
• Friday 31st October 2025: secondary school applications close at 5pm
• Monday 2nd March 2026: secondary school national offers day

About Upton Court Grammar School

Upton Court Grammar School is a selective state school in Slough for boys and girls. The school aims to ensure all students fulfil their aspirations and thrive as successful citizens. The core values are unity, curiosity, growth, and service.

In 2022, Ofsted rated Upton Court 'outstanding' in all areas. The latest report praises students' exemplary behaviour and commitment to the school's values. Students speak positively about their experience at the school and celebrate others' differences. Ofsted also report on the school's exceptional extracurricular programme. Activities include sports, arts, speaking, reading, cooking, and debating.

How to apply to Upton Court Grammar School

Upton Court Grammar School is a selective state school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place in Year 7.

Upton Court Grammar School is a member of the Slough Consortium of Grammar Schools. All four grammar schools in the Consortium share the same entrance test. This means that your child will only need to take the test once – even if you’re applying to more than one grammar school in Slough.

The registration portal for the Slough Consortium of Grammar School will open on Thursday 1st May 2025 and close on Thursday 5th June 2025. After registration, your child will be invited to take the 11 plus exam at one of the participating schools. The Slough 11 plus exam will be held in September 2025 and you’ll receive your child’s results in mid-October.

To apply to Upton Court Grammar School, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October 2025.

Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Upton Court Grammar School below.

What subjects are on the Slough 11 plus?

The Slough Consortium 11 plus exam consists of two papers provided by GL Assessment. Most grammar schools in the UK use 11 plus papers provided by GL Assessment.

Each test lasts around one hour. This includes time for instructions, some worked (unmarked) example questions, and the real test questions. Your child will take both tests on the same day. There is a short break between the two papers.

One paper tests verbal skills, which includes English and verbal reasoning. The other paper tests non-verbal skills, which includes maths and non-verbal reasoning.

How does place allocation work at Upton Court Grammar School?

After the test, your child’s answer sheets are marked using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR). This technology picks up the marks your child has made to indicate which answers they think are correct. Your child receives a mark for every correct answer.

Your child’s raw scores are then age-standardised. This is a common practice in 11 plus scoring to make the exam fair for children born throughout the academic year. Standardisation takes into account how well your child has performed compared with the average performance of all children who took that particular test. It also shows how your child has performed compared with children of a similar age (e.g. born in the same month and year).

The standardised pass mark for the Slough Consortium 11 plus exam is 111. If your child achieves a score of 111 or higher, they will be eligible for a place at Upton Court Grammar School.

When the number of children who achieve the pass mark exceeds the number of places available, the school applies oversubscription criteria. Eligible children are prioritised for places at Upton Court Grammar School in this order:

1. Looked after children and previously looked after children
2. Children who are eligible (or have been eligible in the past six years) for Free School Meals. Up to 20 places are available for these children and are offered in rank order of 11+ score
3. Children of staff employed at Upton Court Grammar School for at least two years
4. Children attending Foxborough Primary School or Trevelyan Middle School
5. Up to 120 children in rank order of 11+ score
6. Remaining places are then allocated based on each child’s proximity to the school, from nearest to furthest, measured ‘as the crow flies’

In 2023, the furthest distance for which a child was offered a place at Upton Court Grammar School was 2.972 miles, with a standardised score of 119.

How can I help my child prepare for the Slough Consortium 11 plus?

The 11 plus exam is designed to be challenging. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the Slough Consortium 11 plus in September 2025.

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the exam. 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 for the Slough Consortium 11 plus exam. 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.