Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn: Year 7 (11+) Entry Assessment Information
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School (QEGS) is a co-educational free school for children aged 4-19. It used to be an independent school but is now state-funded; however, it maintains its independent-school ethos, placing great emphasis on academic excellence, high standards of behaviour and the importance of extra-curricular activities.
Its Secondary School has a broad and balanced curriculum, with the aim being to fully engage pupils in challenging lessons that will inspire a lifelong love of learning. In Years 7 and 8, pupils study a range of 17 subjects, allowing them to develop an array of skills and a knowledge base that will stand them in good stead for life beyond school. Recently, an impressive 43% of GCSE grades were in the 9-7 range, paying testament to the quality of the teaching at the school.
The extra-curricular programme at QEGS is extensive, covering everything from chess, tennis and music to electronics, debating and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. All pupils are encouraged to make the most of the opportunities offered to them, as the school is keen that all pupils develop into confident, well-rounded young adults.
Pastoral care is taken seriously at QEGS, with the school recognising that pupils need to feel safe, secure and happy to thrive. Peer mentors, who are an important part of the pastoral provision, help students who are struggling with their mental health, teaching them coping strategies and generally being there for them. The mentors are trained and sessions are supervised.
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn: Year 7 (11+) Entry Admissions Process
The school recommends that you attend their Open Morning in October if you are thinking of applying for a place in Year 7 for your child. This will give you the chance to explore the facilities, meet members of the staff and check the school is the right fit for your child. Please note that QEGS does not offer individual tours.
You apply for a Year 7 place when your child is in Year 6. Applying involves filling out two application forms, which need to be submitted by the end of October. The first form, the Common Application Form (CAF), needs to be submitted to your Local Authority. The second form, the Supplementary Information Form (SIF), available on the school’s website, needs to be submitted to QEGS. Completing the SIF will mean your child receives an invitation, via e-mail, to sit the Fair Banding Assessment. This assessment will take place in November of Year 6.
Applicants’ results from the Fair Banding Assessment enable the school to put pupils into bands according to ability. Places will be allocated to the same number of pupils from each band to ensure the Senior School has an intake incorporating children of all abilities.
All pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who apply to QEGS will be offered a place.
Oversubscription
In the event of oversubscription, preference will be given in the following order:
- to looked after children or previously looked after children
- to children at Queen Elizabeth’s Primary School who have a parent who has been recruited to fill a vacancy at QEGS for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage
- to children at Queen Elizabeth’s Primary School
- to children at schools other than Queen Elizabeth’s Primary School who have a parent who has been recruited to fill a vacancy at QEGS for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage
Please see the school website for further details.
You will know whether your child has a place at the start of March on National Offer Day.
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn: Contact Details and Assessment Information for Year 7 (11+) Entry
Address: West Park Road, BB2 6DF
County: Lancashire
Admissions info: [email protected] or 01254 686307
School type: Co-educational free school
Assessment date: November of Year 6
The assessment that applicants will take for Year 7 (11+) entry is the CEM Select. It is an online assessment that measures your child’s Verbal, Non-Verbal and Numerical reasoning abilities and is produced by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), which is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
The Verbal reasoning questions used by QEGS assess your child’s ability to understand text and make inferences (Comprehension), their knowledge of vocabulary (Related Words) and their comprehension and vocabulary skills (Missing Words).
The Non-Verbal reasoning questions require your child to solve problems by analysing pictures.
The Numerical reasoning questions assess your child’s ability to solve problems using mental arithmetic and require them to analyse data.
The CEM Select online assessment has the following methods to answer questions, which your child may not have come across before:
- Drag and drop: this involves using the mouse or trackpad to drag and then drop an answer into the correct place on the computer screen.
- Auto-complete: this involves starting to type your answer into the space on the screen. If you start typing the correct answer, the computer will finish it for you, meaning you can move on to the next question.
- Multiple-choice: this involves using the mouse or trackpad to select the correct answer from a group of answer choices.
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn: Preparing for the Year 7 (11+) Entry Online Assessment
At Pretest Plus, we believe that considered preparation will significantly boost a student’s confidence and enhance their performance in assessments.
Working their way through our CEM Select Practice Tests will help your child be prepared for the CEM Select online assessment in the following ways:
- They will become familiar with the format of the CEM Select online assessment, meaning there are no surprises on the day.
- They will get better at answering questions quickly and accurately when under time pressure.
- Looking at the answers and detailed explanations for each question, they will learn from any mistakes they make and avoid repeating them in the actual assessment.
- They will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses, meaning they can then focus on any areas that require improvement.
Improving across all the areas that will be tested in the CEM Select online assessment will mean your child is well-equipped to access every aspect of the extensive curriculum at QEGS. Furthermore, the more advanced their reasoning abilities are, the more successful they will be in navigating the challenges of higher education and beyond.
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn: Year 7 (11+) Entry Online Practice Tests
Full Mock Tests
Our full mock tests are designed to provide your child with highly accurate practice ahead of their CEM Select assessment. Each practice test covers Verbal, Non-Verbal and Numerical reasoning, replicating the modules, timings and question types used in the actual exam.
Each test contains unique content, but they are all pitched at the same difficulty level as the actual assessment. This means you can easily benchmark your child’s progress as they work through the practice tests, quickly identifying their strengths and weaknesses.
The practice tests contain six timed modules. These can be completed individually. Once a module is complete, it is marked automatically. Your child will then be able to review it in detail, with answers and explanations provided for every question. Statistical averages based on the scores of other students who have taken the practice test are also provided.
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Online Skill Practice Tests
Each of our Skill Practice Tests is designed to focus on one specific question type that can come up in the CEM Select assessment. They are ideal for targeted practice and an efficient way to quickly improve your child’s scores in each area.
Verbal Reasoning
CEM Select – Comprehension Pack 1
CEM Select – Comprehension Pack 2
CEM Select – Missing Words Pack 1
CEM Select – Missing Words Pack 2
CEM Select – Shuffled Sentences
CEM Select – Letter Connections
CEM Select – Multiple Meanings
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning
✂️ Save 30% by purchasing our CEM Select Skill Practice Tests bundle, including all 13 products. Click the button below to learn more:
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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 or need any help with them, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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 CEM Select test or any other test publisher.
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