11+ score - what scores needed to get into competitive London schools?

[SamPoodle123]

Does anyone know from past results, what scores were needed to get into competitive London schools such as Godolphin or Latymer Upper? I know every year it changes depending on the results of the current year applying, but there must be some idea.

If your child got into a competitive school, do you know what scores were required for that year to make the cut off?

Scores in what? Mine were both at state primaries so didn’t take any tests etc in Y6 ( well one did SATs but that was all).

The title says it, 11+ scores. And sorry, I should have been more clear, for london private schools. I know for the state schools they do banding tests (at least the ones we are applying to do, and they take 20% from top set, 50% from middle and 25% from bottom). But for private schools they take an 11+ test first and they only accept a certain amount who get X score to the next round, which is either another test or interview. I know each year and school is different, but I am curious what sort of score range for the schools mentioned or similar in the past year or so.

You tend not to find out exact scores unlike state grammar tests. Private schools use academic tests, interviews and reference then you are offered a place, waiting list or not.

This might not be very helpful because we aren't in London but for my daughters 11+ grammar school the pass mark this year was 80%, this was considered high apparently. The year before was 60% but that was a lockdown year. I wish I'd known this beforehand, it would have stopped me worrying so much!

You won’t know the private schools scores. Some will just take say the top 400 if they have a first round and then interview them all. Others will look at English, maths, VR etc and look at them in conjunction with reports and interviews.
they are looking for different things, hence why it’s a tricky process.

Get onto atom learning.

@declutteringmymind thanks for the tip :) We are already on there and my dd enjoys doing the mock tests because she likes to see her scores go up and see her ranking levels. Atom learning says to aim for a score of 115-120 for the private schools, but I am wondering for the top schools if you need a score closer to 130!

@monopole that confuses me more lol. As I have only heard people mention the 11+ scores like in the 100s and not as a percentage.

@Winterofdiscontent22 yes, very true. I tried to google it to see if I can find some answers or get some idea. From what I understand, you take the pre test first, based on that score you are either invited for an interview or not. Or to the next round of tests, so what I was wondering is for the top schools, what sort of scores might get you past the first round lol. But I am sure this is an impossible question to answer.

@LIZS I thought you get your 11+ score and based on those you either get invited for further testing or interview for private schools?

Not ime. All the entrance tests are sat on one day, although interviews and scholarship assessments may be at another time. Some interview all, some don't.

It changed a bit with Covid but when DD did the private schools 11plus every school was different:

1 did English and maths and interviewed everyone
1 did E, M and VR and interviewed everyone
1 did E, M and Vr and interviewed about half
1 did a computerised test, E, M and interviewed everyone
1 did E and M and didn’t interview
1 did VR and NVR then did group interviews for everyone

all different exams!

IESB simplified it a bit during covid but wasn’t all that great as if you messed it up it affected all the schools. Also some kids did so much IESB practice they nailed it and wasn’t necessarily a true reflection of their academic ability.

This is why people end up applying to quite a few schools - there is no one exam in which you need a certain score (though the North London consortium comes close), it’s a question of how your DC does on the day of the exam for that school, and whether the mix of VR / NVR / maths / English / interview for that school plays to their strengths.

If you’re at a prep, the Head should
be able to tell you what is realistic. If you’re at a primary, then you just have to take a punt and cross your fingers. Though the the first round Tiffin results give a bit of an indication.

Every 11+ admission process is different. You need to find out how your target school works based on feedback from the prep school, other parents or a knowledgeable tutor.

You have 4 'relevant' scores - the CAT score (only taken in some private/prep schools), the Atom score (which anyone who uses Atom can get), the actual 11+ exam score (which is irrelevant imo as no school takes a call based on the 11+ written exam alone), the 13+ ISEB pre-test score (which is not revealed to parents). Which one of these scores is most relevant will depend on your target school.

Atom score of 115-120 is considered good - DS was scoring around 120 and got offers from the top London independent schools.

@Winterofdiscontent22 Thanks, that is helpful understanding the process a little better. And yes, that is what I thought, great if you nail the IESB exam, but if it is an off day it can mess things up!

@HighRopes my dd school gave us a range of schools to look at from ones likely to get in and then more competitive, but then of course nothing is a sure thing and they do not have that much experience with 11+ as most kids do not do it. In my dd year we only know of one other child out of 58 kids! I am sure there might be one or two more....but even the head did not know this, she just told me she was aware of one other child and gave me the name (which turns out I am friendly w the mum so we discussed it a bit).

i think you’re talking about cat scores? A friend of mine went to G&L last year and scored 128 and 129 in their 5th and 6th year. 120- 125 will get you reeds or St. George’s and a few others. Where else are you thinking . These are obvs general scores but you need to be hitting those to have a good chance of being offered a place and keeping hip when there

@TypsTrycks many thanks! That is what I was looking for, some indication of scores and getting into the top London schools. Could you tell me which ones he got offers to? Or private message me to let me know? I know that there is a lot more that goes into it and if you score well, it does not actually mean you will get in, as the school also does interviews etc, but I just wanted to get an idea if we actually have a chance at the top schools and not just reaching for stars. :) My dd is quite competitive and wants to apply to schools like St Pauls and Godolphin! We have told her St Pauls is almost impossible to get into and lets see. We have a range of schools on our list from more likely to get into like Queens Gate to for example more difficult Godolphin and middle like Francis Holland.

Ds did Atom for a month to get to practise with format, think he was on 135 - 142

It’s quite exxy though but I saw a discount on here recently so search for the thread

@SamPoodle123 if you put your target school in then you should get an idea of performance against similar, as 100 will give you the average score of I've gotten hat right? I would aim for 130 to get in the ball park.

With regards to scores in past papers, it's difficult to tell. They difficulty in papers will vary from year to year, and they will scale the pass mark accordingly. Obviously the pass mark will be higher the better and bigger the cohort that is applying. Therefore use the past papers to practise technique and identify areas to improve. Also stress to your child that if it's a hard paper, it will be hard for everyone so don't panic.

@SamPoodle123 The best way to apply to schools is by using your cat score from Y5. Atom publishes cat score ranges for each independent school (I don't find it online anymore, but you can reach out to them). St P, for eg, they recommend a CAT score of 132+.

CAT scores will also be higher than your Atom scores - Atom suggests that the CAT score is usually around 12 points higher than the Atom subject scores. Again, Atom will be able to advise better on this. I spoke to the advisors a lot during exam preparation, and they were very helpful.

@Whatswrongwithmarjorie I am confused because my dd does atom learning online and they give you scores so I assumed when taking the 11+ you get scores.

My dd has been doing atom a few weeks and scores range 115-122 atm, which according to them is good...but how good I am not sure, when it comes to actually getting into a school. My dd is bright, however, we have only just started thinking about 11+ now, due to complicated circumstances due to our original first choice school, suddenly changing rules, which means she will most likely not get a spot. Basically, her current school is a bilingual school taught one week in one language and one week in the second language and she was planning to transfer to a non English secondary school. They unfairly made some rule changes, which means she most likely (and unfairly!!) will not get a spot.

So we suddenly find ourselves trying to prepare for the 11+ and private school applications.

You won't know until she sits the test I'm afraid but you've got time. Just spend your time and energies on steadily improving.

@SamPoodle123 as previous poster says, you won’t get a score when you sot the 11+ . It’s either and offer, a wait list place or a no

@MarshaBradyo we already signed up and wow, 135-142 are very high scores..in fact, 142 is the highest score you can get. What secondary did he end up going to? He must be a genius if he was scoring 142!

@declutteringmymind we put Godolphin for the target school. That was my thought, aim for 130.

@TypsTrycks many thanks. I will message them and find out more. My dd is in year 5 and I do not think they took CAT yet, at least I did not get any scores or feedback. I will ask the school about this.

@Whatswrongwithmarjorie oh man. That will drive me nuts not knowing!

If you get a 'no' you can usually ask for feedback- they may tell you which quartile your child's results were in etc. Can be useful if doing 10pluses.

I didn’t realise that about the highest, so I just double checked with him
I hadn’t misremembered

He's in the co ed selective school in Dulwich. It was actually a really hard choice as his sibling is at the outstanding state and doing really well in A levels, and it’s free ;

We took a leap of faith as seemed a good opportunity and accepted the place and he seems happy so hopefully all good

Just to add it took a week or so to get those scores so I do think practising the format was invaluable - in terms of timing mostly