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Thinking about applying to Poole Grammar School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions in 2024–2025 and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus entrance exam.
Key information for Poole Grammar School
Address: Poole Grammar School, Gravel Hill, Poole, Dorset, BH17 9JU
Number of pupils: approx. 1,200
Admissions contact: [email protected]
Number of places in Year 7: 180
11+ exam: Dorset Consortium 11 plus exam
Catchment area: yes
Dates for your diary
Monday 15th April 2024: Dorset 11 plus registration opens
Friday 6th September 2024: Dorset 11 plus registration closes at midday
Monday 9th September 2024: deadline to submit form for exam access arrangements
Friday 13th September 2024: parents receive test information by this date
Saturday 21st September 2024: Dorset grammar schools’ entrance test (11 plus exam)
Friday 11th October 2024: results of entrance tests sent to parents
Thursday 31st October 2024: secondary school applications close at 5pm
Monday 3rd March 2025: secondary school national offers day
About Poole Grammar School
Poole Grammar School is a boys' grammar school in Dorset. The school prides itself on its outstanding pastoral system and all-round education. Poole Grammar is curently rated 'good' by Ofsted.
Boys at Poole Grammar School learn in a vibrant community where success is celebrated and different talents are valued. As a single-sex school, Poole Grammar is committed to getting the best out of boys and creating an environment where boys are taught in the most effective ways.
Many pupils get involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award programme. There's also an extensive extra-curricular programme on offer. Some of the school's wide variety of clubs include Model United Nations, Warhammer, Greenpower, Gardening and Lego.
How to apply to Poole Grammar School
Poole Grammar School is a selective state school. Your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place in Year 7.
Poole Grammar School is a member of the Dorset Consortium. There are four grammar schools in the Consortium and they share the same entrance test. This means that your child will only need to take the test once, even if you’re applying to more than one school in the Consortium.
Registration for the Dorset 11 plus opens on the school websites on Monday 15th April 2024 and closes at midday on Friday 6th September 2024. Your child will take the Dorset 11 plus entrance test on Saturday 21st September and you’ll receive their results on Friday 11th October.
To apply to Poole Grammar School, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by Thursday 31st October 2024.
Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Poole Grammar School below.
What subjects are on the entrance exam?
Bournemouth School uses the Dorset Consortium 11 plus entrance exam. This consists of three test papers:
Maths: 50 minutes
English: 45 minutes
Verbal reasoning: 50 minutes
All of the questions in the Dorset 11 plus are multiple-choice. Your child will have separate answer sheets which they will use to mark their answers. These are marked electronically.
Guide to the Dorset Consortium 11 plus entrance test
Find out everything you need to know in our complete guide to the Dorset Consortium 11 plus entrance test. Plus, get access to free 11 plus resources to help your child feel confident for their exam!
How does place allocation work at Poole Grammar School?
Your child’s marks in the Dorset 11 plus are age-standardised to ensure that younger children aren’t disadvantaged. All children’s standardised scores are then placed in rank order from highest to lowest. Poole Grammar School will then set a qualifying score based on this ranked list.
If the number of children who achieve the qualifying score exceeds the 180 places available, Poole Grammar School applies oversubscription criteria. Children who achieved the qualifying score are prioritised for places in this order:
Looked after and looked after children
Children eligible for Pupil Premium and who live within the school catchment area
Children eligible for Pupil Premium and who live outside the catchment area
Sons of members of staff employed at Poole Grammar School for at least two years
Other children who live within the catchment area
Other children who live outside the catchment area
In each of the above categories, places are allocated based on rank order of the child’s 11+ score. If two or more children have the same test score and ranking, places are prioritised based on how close the child lives to the school.
What is the catchment area for Poole Grammar School?
The catchment area for Poole Grammar School covers the historic Borough of Poole, plus postcodes BH12, BH13, BH14, BH15, BH16, BH17, BH18 and BH21 3.
Atom’s top tips for 11 plus preparation
The Dorset 11 plus is designed to select the most academically able children in Bournemouth and Poole and the surrounding area. Here are our top tips to help you and your child feel confident for exam day!
Bitesize learning
It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.
Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.
Read widely
11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.
Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.
Refine exam technique
When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.
Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.
With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers for the Dorset Consortium 11 plus entrance test. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.
Celebrate progress
Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.
Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.
Tailored preparation for the Dorset 11 plus
Wish you could give your child a roadmap to success in the Dorset 11 plus? You can. Atom Home has everything you need to get prepared, in one package.
You don't need a tutor to get into your top-choice grammar school. You just need Atom. We’ll create a tailored plan for your child and support them along their fun revision journey.
Online and printable practice papers for the Dorset 11 plus
90,000+ adaptive questions
500+ hours of on-demand video lessons
Automatic marking and instant progress data
Navigate the Dorset 11 plus with confidence.
In 2024, 91% of Atom users got offered a place at their top-choice school.
Start your free trial today. Our specialists will get to work on your child’s plan. Relax, Dorset 11 plus prep is sorted.
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