School Address

Contact Information

Email Address office@cheshamgrammar.org

Telephone (Main Office) 01494 782854

Website Address https://www.cheshamgrammar.org%20

Parking in the school

Very limited parking can be found on the school premises. Alternative parking can be found within a 15 minute walk.

• Queens Road Parking, Earls Colne Parish Council, Queens Road, Earls Colne CO6 2QZ (Opening Times: Mon-Sun All Day)
• Weavers Court Parking, Halstead Town Council, Weavers Court, Halstead CO9 2JH (Opening Times: Mon-Sun 07:00-18:00 – max stay 2 hours, but no restrictions outside these hours.)
• Chapel Street Parking, Halstead Town Council, 1 Chapel Street, Halstead, CO9 2LR.

The STT: Overview

There are four key components to the STT, which is overseen and marked by the GL Exam Board, making it a GL 11 Plus Exam. The STT will assess candidates competency in English, Verbal Reasoning (VR), Non-verbal Reasoning (NVR) and Maths. For an in depth breakdown of the GL 11 Plus in Buckinghamshire, please visit our article ‘Selective Tests in Buckinghamshire – The GL 11 Plus Test’.

Overview:

The test consists of two exam papers, each taking approximately 60 minutes in length.

• Paper One: Verbal Reasoning (VR) & English: VR and English each have their own section.

• Paper Two: Non-verbal Reasoning (NVR) & Mathematics: NVR will include Spatial Reasoning (SR) too, and will have its own section. Maths will have its own section.

TBGS GL 11 Plus Test: Pass Criteria

Test scores are received by October for the following year of entry. For example, for entry in 2023, test scores will be received in October 2022. It is notable that younger children are not penalised for their age, the results are statistically standardised to compare any child’s score average to the average score of their school year. Further, there is no ‘pass mark’, for the STT; instead, admission is based on whether a candidate has met a ‘qualifying score’. This is the minimum aggregate score received upon sitting the STT that a child must receive in order to be eligible for admission to Chesham Grammar School. The qualifying score in Chesham’s 2023 admission policy is stated as 121. However, the ‘qualifying mark’ can vary from year to year. Although the qualifying mark cannot be predicted, it is estimated that the top 25% of students will achieve the qualifying mark. For more information please see our article ‘Selective Test in Buckinghamshire – GL 11 Plus”

Catchment Area

As a prerequisite, a child must achieve the qualifying score (currently 121) in order to be eligible for admission to Chesham Grammar School. The school does operate on a catchment area. This is contained on their website – https://0e58658be539ee7325a0-220f04f871df648cf4a4d93a111e3366.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/chesham/uploads/document/Chesham-Grammar-Catchment-2019-onwards.pdf?ts=1527690746 – it is notable that the catchment area is subject to change every year, so please check for the most updated version of the catchment area.

Additional eligibilities:

Where the number of eligible admissions exceeds the number of places at Chesham Grammar School, offers for a place at the school are made on a tiered basis. The prerequisite to meet the “qualifying score” still must be met.

1. Looked After and Previously Looked After* children
2. Children Living in the Catchment area who qualify for Free School Meals**
3. Siblings of children in years 7-12 who are on the roll of the school at the time allocations are made and who will be on the roll of the school at the time of the proposed admission.
4. Children of staff employed on a permanent contract by the school for at least 2 years at the time of application, or where the member of staff has been recruited to fill a post for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage. This does not include staff who work on site for other employers.
5. Children living in the catchment area of the school. For admission to Year 7, applicants must be able to provide evidence of their residency within the catchment continuously from October 31st of the preceding year of admission.
6. Children who have exceptional medical or social needs which can only be met at CGS.
7. Last, further places are offered in distance order using straight line distance between the family’s home address and the main entrance of the school on White Hill. 

Note: Up to 6 places in Year 7 above the prescribed admission number (180) will be available to children living in the catchment area who are in receipt of Free School Meals at the time of application and whose standardised score in the STT is between 110 and 120 inclusive.

*A Looked After or Previously Looked After boy is one who is in or has previously been in state authority care.

**A child eligible for free school meals must be eligible for them from 31st October of the preceding year of entry, and must remain eligible at the date of entry.

For a full and detailed breakdown of the admissions process and eligibility criteria, please visit Chesham’s full 2023 admission policy at https://www.cheshamgrammar.org/644/policies