Kesteven & Sleaford High School: Late Entry to Years 8-11/Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4)
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Kesteven & Sleaford High School (KSHS) is a selective secondary school for girls only in Years 7-11 and girls and boys in the Sixth Form. Its most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2024 resulted in the school being rated Outstanding across all areas, with the report commenting that pupils are proud to attend KSHS.
Academic standards at KSHS are high. Committed and knowledgeable teachers deliver engaging lessons that are adapted as necessary so that all pupils can be successful. They routinely check understanding and provide helpful feedback, enabling pupils to improve their work. As a result, students are motivated and perform well in public exams.
The extra-curricular programme at KSHS allows students to have fun while learning new skills and enhancing existing talents. The clubs and activities on offer vary from term to term, but drama, sport and music are always included. Additionally, day and residential trips take place, such as an art trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and a Year 7 three-day trip to Norfolk.
Wellbeing is taken seriously at KSHS, with the school recognising how important it is for pupils to know how to take care of their mental health and be able to support their friends. For this reason, the school has a Personal Development curriculum designed to equip pupils with strategies to help them maintain a healthy mind.
If you are interested in a place in Year 8, 9, 10 or 11 for your daughter, please read on.
Kesteven & Sleaford High School: Contact Details and Admissions Process for Year 8, Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11
School Details for Kesteven & Sleaford High School
Address: Jermyn Street, Sleaford, NG34 7RS
County: Lincolnshire
Admissions info: [email protected] or 01529 414044
School type: Selective school for girls aged 11-18, with a co-educational Sixth Form
Entrance exam: Paper-based CAT4
Admissions Process for Entry to Years 8-11 at Kesteven & Sleaford High School
We advise contacting KSHS to see if they have a space in the year group you are interested in. If they do, you will need to arrange with KSHS for your daughter to sit their entrance test, and you must fill out your local authority’s application form.
For admission to Year 8, 9, 10 or 11, your daughter must sit the CAT4 (Cognitive Abilities Test). This test is produced by GL Assessment, and KSHS uses the paper-based version.
The papers will be sent off to be marked externally. You can expect the results within 10 working days of your daughter sitting the test. To be considered for a place at KSHS, your daughter must reach the required standardised score, which is likely to be around 112-114, placing her in the top 25% of the ability range nationally.
If your daughter does achieve the necessary score, she will be offered a place if one is available.
The CAT4 for Admission to Years 8-11 at Kesteven & Sleaford High School
The CAT4 at KSHS comprises papers containing multiple-choice questions that cover four areas:
- The verbal reasoning questions will assess how well your daughter can interpret language and reason with words. A strong vocabulary is crucial for these questions.
- The non-verbal reasoning questions will evaluate your daughter’s ability to analyse shapes and diagrams to solve problems.
- The quantitative reasoning questions will assess your daughter’s problem-solving abilities using numbers.
- The spatial reasoning questions will require your daughter to solve three-dimensional problems by mentally moving shapes around.
Altogether, allowing for short breaks between papers, the CAT4 will be completed in about 90 minutes.
The CAT4 has different levels for different year groups. Typically, schools use the following levels:
Level D for candidates in Year 7
Level E for candidates in Year 8
Level F for candidates in Year 9 or 10
Please note that KSHS uses the paper-based CAT4 and not the online version.
Preparing for the Kesteven & Sleaford High School CAT4 for Admission to Year 8, Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11
Effective preparation is key to excelling in the CAT4. Here are our top tips for ensuring your daughter’s preparation process is fruitful:
- Schedule regular but short study sessions, starting at least a few months before the CAT4 entrance exam. Lengthy sessions will feel overwhelming and are not advisable because children focus best for short periods.
- Adopt a healthy lifestyle. Eating nutritious food, feeling refreshed after a decent night’s sleep and exercising regularly are excellent for your daughter’s wellbeing. If she feels great, she will cope better with the pressures of an entrance exam.
- Teach your daughter that time and effort yield results. Praise her for her endeavours and embrace mistakes as part of the learning process. A growth mindset (believing that her abilities are not set in stone but will improve with hard work) will keep her positive and motivated.
- Encourage your daughter to read widely. Reading will bring her many benefits, such as expanding her vocabulary, strengthening her ability to understand complex information and enhancing her reasoning skills.
- Use our CAT4 practice tests so your daughter knows precisely what to expect in the CAT4. Familiarity will remove any fear of the unknown, meaning nerves won’t negatively impact her performance. Also, she will have a thorough understanding of the format and timings, and she will have practised the types of questions that will come up, enabling her to answer them quickly and accurately on the day. The answers and explanations we provide with our CAT4 practice tests mean she can learn from her mistakes, avoiding similar errors on the day.
Our CAT4 practice tests are online, making them available immediately after purchase.
Kesteven & Sleaford High School: CAT4 Practice Materials
Our CAT4 practice tests and courses are highly accurate, ensuring that your child’s exam preparation is targeted and efficient. The following packs are specifically designed for CAT4 Levels D-F (Years 7-11).
Online Practice Tests, Skill Practice Resources & Video Courses
➢ Our highly rated CAT4 full practice tests are available to take online immediately after purchase. Each CAT4 practice test is marked automatically and can then be reviewed. Answers and explanations are provided for every question, as well as comparative ranking statistics on a per module basis.
➢ Our CAT4 skill practice tests each focus on one module that will come up in the CAT4 assessment. Therefore, if your child finds particular modules challenging, you can target them specifically, making a big improvement in a short amount of time.
➢ Our CAT4 online video courses cover each section of the CAT4 exam. Each course consists of a series of lessons and step-by-step explanations.
Click the button below to access our Level D CAT4 resources if your child is sitting the Kesteven & Sleaford High School exam in Year 7 👇
CAT4 Practice for Year 7 Students
Click the button below to access our Level E CAT4 resources if your child is sitting the Kesteven & Sleaford High School exam in Year 8 👇
CAT4 Practice for Year 8 Students
Click the button below to access our Level F CAT4 resources if your child is sitting the Kesteven & Sleaford High School exam in Years 9/10 👇
CAT4 Practice for Years 9/10 Students
If you don’t buy a bundle, don’t forget to use the code ppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £80 and 20% off orders over £200!
If you have any questions about any of our resources, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will always do our best to answer your queries, as our goal is to help your daughter ace her CAT4 entrance exam.
The information in this post was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of possible future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.
Please note that Pretest Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers of the CAT4 or any other test publisher.
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