What score or mark will be enough to get my child a place at their chosen Grammar School?

Parents often want to try to understand how well they are doing in relation to what performance level they will need to reach to get into their chosen Grammar School. In reality these things are difficult to detail exactly but based on our experience we can give you a feel for it.

“ What  score will my child need to get into Grammar School?”

The first thing to note is that in many areas scores are standardised (age adjusted and adjusted for difficulty). Schools may in some cases publish a standardised score requirement but in others they won’t and will simply take children in rank order.

Based on our experience of speaking to parents down the years we have found that it’s most useful to translate all such advice into percentage terms as it’s frankly easier to understand and in fact a rough guide is all that’s really required.

1/ If your child is old for their year then in most cases where scores are age adjusted this will mean they may need to score something like 5% more than a younger child to end up with the same mark.

2/ In those areas with good levels of provision evidence shows that those children who deliver 80%-85% in tests done at home are getting towards the right number. On the day percentages will be lower because of the unique nature of the exam day, but if your child is going for a place in a well provided area then 80%-85% at home or on a mock day is a good start.

3/ In more competitive areas children need to be scoring more highly but also need to be relaxed enough and calm enough to deliver of their best on the day. In very competitive areas you may find 2000 plus going for 120 places. In reality we know that this creates a bit of a lottery situation, there will be plenty of similarly able children but only those who can produce it on the day will get a place. Avoid driving performance levels up so much that too much pressure is applied which has an adverse effect.

4/ Where competition is tough we know that those children who have more highly developed core skills will be more likely to go through than those who have focussed on technique and papers.

 

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