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Boston High School for Girls 11 plus guide

By Atom | Jun 20, 2023, 3:46 PM

Boston High School for Girls, Lincolnshire

Looking for information about 2024 entry to Boston High School for Girls? We've collated all the information you need to know about registering your child and the content of the 11 plus exam.

About Boston High School for Girls

Boston High School is a grammar school for girls with a co-educational sixth form, located on the outskirts of Boston in Lincolnshire.

The school was founded in 1921 on Carlton Road and moved, as a result of expansion, to its current location in 1938. The school follows the national curriculum and is designed to meet learners’ needs and prepare its students fully for the future.

  • Address: Boston High School for Girls, Spilsby Road, Boston, Lincolnshire, PE21 9PF

  • Local authority: Lincolnshire County Council

  • School type: girls' grammar with a mixed sixth form

  • Headteacher: Andrew Fulbrook

  • Number of pupils: 850+

Key info for Year 7 admissions

  • Admissions contact: [email protected], 01205 310505

  • Number of places in Year 7: 108

  • Open day date: 2nd February 2023. More dates may be available later in the year

  • 11 plus registration opens: January 2023

  • 11 plus registration closes: 31st March 2023

  • Exam date: Friday 15th and Friday 22nd September 2023

  • Exam type: Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools: GL Assessment

  • Common application form (CAF) deadline: 31st October 2023

  • National school offer day: 1st March 2024

Boston High School for Girls term dates

The term dates at Boston High School in 2023–2024 are:

  • Autumn term: 6th September – 20th December 2023

  • Half term: 23rd–30th October 2023

  • Spring term: 3rd January – 28th March 2024

  • Half term: 12th–16th February 2024

  • Summer term: 16th April – 19th July 2024

  • Half term: 27th–31st May 2024

How to apply to Boston High School for Girls

If you would like your daughter to be considered for a place at Boston High School for Girls, you will have to register her to take the 11 plus and apply for a school place separately. There are two forms to complete:

  • Register for the 11 plus: you will need to register your child to take the 11 plus exam at Boston High School for Girls before 31st March 2023. The registration form is available to complete on the school website.

  • Register for a school place: you will need to submit your local authority common application form (CAF) and name Boston High School for Girls as your preferred school of choice. If you're applying from within Lincolnshire, you will be able to complete this form on the Lincolnshire County Council website between 1st September and 31st October 2023.

The 11 plus at Boston High School for Girls

The 11 plus exam for entry to Boston High School for Girls will take place on two Fridays in September. 15 of the grammar schools in Lincolnshire take the same exam, so your child will only need to take these papers once if they're applying to more than one grammar school in the area.

If your daughter attends a primary school in Lincolnshire, she will likely take the exams at her own school. If you're applying from outside of Lincolnshire, the school may arrange for your daughter to take the tests at Boston High School for Girls.

The Lincolnshire 11 plus exam consists of two multiple-choice papers, each lasting around 50 minutes.

  • Verbal reasoning: to be taken on Friday 15th September 2023

  • Non-verbal reasoning: to be taken on Friday 22nd September 2023

Children in feeder Lincolnshire primary schools will receive familiarisation materials for verbal and non-verbal reasoning in June 2023.

Find out more in our guide to the Lincolnshire 11 plus and access free resources to help your child prepare.

Lincolnshire 11 plus guide

What is the pass mark for Boston High School for Girls?

After your child takes the 11 plus exam, a team of independent professional markers will double-mark and check the papers. Some scores will be age-standardised and then the results for the school will be ranked in order.

The qualifying level (pass mark) is a total standardised score of at least 220 on both papers. Children who meet and exceed this pass mark are normally working within the top 25% of their cohort.

You will receive your daughter's results in the 11 plus on 13th October 2023. However, passing the 11 plus does not guarantee that your daughter will receive a place at the school, as more children normally qualify for a place than there are places available. See more information about this below.

Boston High School for Girls oversubscription criteria

There are 108 places available in Year 7 at Boston High School for Girls. If the number of children who meet the qualifying score exceeds 120, the school will apply oversubscription criteria to decide which children should be offered places.

Children who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan which names the school, and are within the top 25% of the cohort, will take priority. If any children who meet these requirements are offered a place, then the planned admissions number (108) will be reduced accordingly and priority will be determined in this order:

  1. Looked After and previously Looked After children

  2. Children who are registered for Pupil Premium or Free School Meals

  3. Children who have siblings already attending the school

  4. Children living closest to the school, calculated in a straight line distance from the home to the school

If two or more children are tied for the last place, a tie-breaker will be used. In this instance, an independent person not employed by the school (or working in Children's Service Directorate at the local authority) will draw a lottery.

How to help your child prepare for the 11 plus

Here are our top tips on how to best prepare your child for the Lincolnshire 11 plus.

Cover all the content

The Lincolnshire 11 plus assesses a variety of skills in verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Neither of these subjects is taught on the school curriculum.

We recommend that your child starts revising content at least one year before the test. Setting aside study periods using a 'little and often' approach will give them time to build the skills and knowledge they need. When preparing, avoid falling into the trap of over-focusing on either the topics your child enjoys or the topics they find hardest.

Atom Home is an adaptive 11 plus online course that tailors your child's personalised learning journey. They'll be able to cover all elements of 11 plus verbal and non-verbal reasoning at the pace that's right for them.

No surprises

Your child will encounter lots of unfamiliar types of verbal and non-verbal reasoning questions in the 11 plus exam. Building exam technique with 11 plus test papers will help your child to feel fully confident with the styles of questions they'll encounter in the exam, reducing the potential for stress on the day.

Celebrate their progress

Setting regular goals and celebrating achievements will help keep motivation high. Atom Home offers data-driven insights into your child’s progress towards mastering the 11 plus curriculum, making it easy to see where they need to focus next.

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Personalised 11 plus prep for your child

Wondering how to make sure your child covers the depth and breadth of the entire 11 plus curriculum, stays on track with their progress, and gets help when they're stuck? Online learning is a particularly efficient, cost-effective (and fun) way to do this!

Atom Home is the award-winning online 11 plus practice platform that gives your child everything they need to prepare for grammar school exams.

Children work independently through over 90,000 interactive practice questions in English, maths and reasoning. Teacher-created helpsheets and videos help them discover new concepts and consolidate their learning.

Atom's algorithm keeps children on their ideal learning path, tailored to their unique learning style and pace to keep them challenged and motivated.

Lincolnshire 11 plus practice papers

Atom Home gives children access to unlimited online practice papers. Our online tests are designed to mirror the format and style of the real Lincolnshire 11 plus, so your child will go into the exam knowing exactly what to expect.

And what's more, everything is automatically marked for you.

Try Atom Home free for 5 days

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Personalised 11 plus support for you

We know how keen you are for your child to do well in the 11 plus, to give them every chance of securing a place at their school of choice. Our dedicated team of Education Experts are on hand to support you and your family every step of the way:

Ask us anything

We're happy to help with any questions you may have about admissions processes and helping your child prepare for entry to Lincolnshire grammar schools.

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