How is the Wiltshire 11+ scored?
At both schools, answer sheets are read using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR), and scores are then age-standardised, so younger children in the year group aren't disadvantaged. A score of 100 indicates a child working at the average level for their age.
Results go out in October 2027. Bishop Wordsworth's has said mid-October; South Wilts hasn't published a date. If your child meets the qualifying standard for your target school, you then apply by naming that school on your common application form.
What's the pass mark for the Wiltshire 11+?
Neither school sets a fixed pass mark in advance. Once all papers are marked and scores standardised, totals are placed in rank order and each school sets its own qualifying score, which varies year to year with the cohort.
At Bishop Wordsworth's, the qualifying standard is 10% lower for boys eligible for Pupil Premium, and 10 places are reserved for them.
Scores from earlier years are a weak guide, and at Bishop Wordsworth's an even weaker one, because a qualifying score belongs to the test that produced it, and the school has changed test providers, because a qualifying score belongs to the test that produced it and the school has changed test provider. Treat any published Wiltshire pass mark as background rather than a target.
Reaching the qualifying score makes your child eligible; it doesn't guarantee a place. Both schools are competitive and frequently oversubscribed, and each then applies its own admissions criteria. Check each school's admissions policy carefully.
How to apply to Wiltshire grammar schools
1. Register for the test — separately at each school
Registration is with the school, not the local authority, and the two schools open on different dates:
- Bishop Wordsworth's School: opens Monday 22 March 2027, closes Friday 2 July 2027
- South Wilts Grammar School: opens Wednesday 24 March 2027. The closing date hasn't been published.
A link to register appears on each school's website during its registration window. If you are applying to both, register twice.
2. Apply for school places
Results arrive in October 2027. If your child meets the qualifying standard for a school, you can list it on your secondary school common application form, which goes to your home local authority by Sunday 31 October 2027. That date falls on a Sunday, so it's worth submitting before the weekend.
Before listing a school, check its admissions policy to make sure your child meets the relevant criteria.
3. National Offer Day
On Wednesday 1 March 2028, you'll be informed which secondary school your child has been allocated. If your preferred school isn't offered, your child will be allocated a place at another local school, and you'll receive information about how to appeal.
How do Wiltshire’s grammar schools compare?
Reaching the qualifying score is one thing; deciding which schools to name on your application is another. Our grammar school rankings order all 163 state grammar schools in England by Attainment 8 — the average GCSE score pupils achieve across eight subjects — using the DfE’s 2025-26 figures. Filter by Wiltshire to see how the schools near you compare, and how they sit against the rest of the country.
How can I help my child prepare for the Wiltshire 11+?
Both tests draw on the Key Stage 2 curriculum your child is already being taught, so the best work is securing those foundations and getting comfortable working under timed conditions.
Stay on track with a clear plan
One of the hardest parts of 11+ preparation isn't motivation — it's knowing what to work on, when, and how to stay consistent without it taking over family life. A clear plan helps your child build skills in the right order and avoid last-minute cramming.
With Atom's Exam Plan, you enter your child's exam date and target schools, and Atom builds a personalised weekly plan based on the skills they'll be tested on. It adapts as they improve and shows them what to focus on each week.
Practise working to time
Atom's 11+ practice papers are designed to reflect real test conditions, and they're unlimited — your child can sit the same paper again and again with new questions each time. Photograph the answer sheets and upload them for instant marking, a Standardised Age Score (SAS), and a clear view of which topics to work on next.
Encourage regular reading
Strong reading skills underpin almost every part of the 11+, and at South Wilts they feed directly into both the English and verbal reasoning papers. Encourage your child to read for 10 to 15 minutes a day, with variety — fiction and non-fiction, different genres and authors. This builds vocabulary, comprehension and inference, and confidence with unfamiliar texts.
Explore Atom's free reading and writing starter kit for age-appropriate suggestions.
Celebrate progress, not just scores
What matters through 11+ preparation is knowing your child is moving in the right direction, not how they scored on one test. Atom's progress tracking shows how they're doing across topics and which way each one is heading, so you can keep encouragement specific and motivation steady.
