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St Anselm's College 11 plus: 2024 entry guide

By Atom | Feb 22, 2023, 2:55 PM

St Anselm’s College 11 plus entry guide

Are you considering St Anselm's College for your child? We've collated all the information you need to know about 2024 entry to Year 7. Keep reading to learn about the grammar school admissions process on the Wirral and how to excel in the 11 plus exam.

About St Anselm's College

St Anselm's College is a selective boys' Catholic academy on the Wirral. It was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1933 in response to a request from the Bishop of Shrewsbury to provide grammar school opportunities for academically able Catholic boys in Wirral and Cheshire.

Rated Good by Ofsted, the school seeks to educate the whole person, following the philosophy of an Edmund Rice education. St Anselm's has a strong sporting tradition, particularly in rugby and athletics, and the College musicians regularly perform locally and abroad.

  • Address: Manor Hill, Prenton, Birkenhead, CH43 1UQ

  • Local authority: Wirral Council

  • School type: boys' grammar

  • Headteacher: Simon Duggan

  • Number of pupils: 950

  • National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 390

  • A level results: 53% A*–B

  • GCSE results: 37% 9/8/7

Key info for Year 7 admissions

  • Admissions contact: [email protected] or 0151 652 1408

  • Number of places in Year 7: 156

  • 11 plus registration closes: 15th September 2023

  • Exam date: 22nd September 2023

  • Exam type: school's own papers in English, maths and verbal reasoning

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

  • National school offer day: 1st March 2024

St Anselm's College term dates

The 2022–2023 term dates at St Anselm's College are:

  • Autumn term: 7th September – 16th December 2022

  • Half term: 24th–28th October 2022

  • Spring term: 4th January – 31st March 2023

  • Half term: 20th–24th February 2023

  • Summer term: 17th April – 14th July 2023

  • Half term: 29th May – 2nd June 2023

How to apply to St Anselm's College

1. Register for the 11 plus

Before registering, speak to your child’s teacher to see if the 11 plus and grammar school is right for them.

While your child is in Year 5, register them to take the St Anselm's College entrance exam on the school website. Registration closes on 15th September.

If you are considering other local selective schools such as Calday Grange or Wirral Boys' Grammar, remember to register for their exams too. Those schools use a different exam called the Wirral Admissions Test.

2. Apply for school places

Once your child has taken St Anselm's College 11 plus, you will get their results before the end of October. You can use the results to decide which schools to include on your local authority application form.

Before listing St Anselm's College as a preference on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible. As well as your child's exam score, how close you live to a school is an important factor in whether your child is likely to be offered a place.

The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023.

What's on the St Anselm's College 11 plus exam?

For entry into Year 7 in September 2024, the St Anselm's 11 plus exam will take place provisionally on 22nd September 2023. After you have registered with the school, they will contact you in September 2023 with details of the day.

The St Anselm's College entrance exam consists of three written papers:

  • Verbal reasoning

  • Maths

  • English

Each paper lasts one hour. You can find some sample questions on the school's website here.

The maths and English papers assess your child's knowledge of Key Stage 2 national curriculum content, and their ability to reason and apply this knowledge accurately. 11 plus verbal reasoning tests your child’s ability to connect, spot patterns with, and manipulate written information.

Learn about 11 plus topics in detail and get free preparation resources in our complete guide:

11 plus preparation guide

What is the pass mark for St Anselm's College?

The school does not publish its pass mark. After your child takes the exam, their scores are age-standardised and combined to give them a total score across both papers. These total scores are ranked in order, and oversubscription criteria are applied. As a result, the specific cut-off score varies from year to year and is only decided after the tests have been marked.

St Anselm's College admissions criteria

The planned admission number (PAN) for the school is 156. When there are more eligible applicants than there are places available, places are prioritised in this order:

  1. Catholic Looked After and previously Looked After boys, as well as baptised Catholic boys who live within five miles of the school.

  2. Baptised Christian, non-Catholic Looked After and previously Looked After boys, as well as baptised Christian and non-Catholic boys living within five miles of the school.

  3. Looked After and previously Looked After boys who are not baptised Christians but whose parents wish them to have a Catholic education.

St Anselm's College catchment area

St Anselm’s College has a ‘relevant area’ which forms part of its oversubscription criteria. This is defined as any area within five miles of the school.

How to help your child prepare for the 11 plus

Here are our top tips on how to best prepare your child for the St Anselm's College 11 plus exam.

Cover all the content

The 11 plus assesses a large breadth and depth of learning objectives across the Key Stage 2 national curriculum and beyond.

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 11 plus online course that tailors your child's personalised learning journey to cover all elements of the St Anselm's College 11 plus at the right pace for them.

No surprises

Your child will encounter lots of unfamiliar types of 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.

Nucleus maths fractions demo

Test your knowledge

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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.

11 plus practice papers

Atom Home gives children access to online practice papers. Our online tests are designed to mirror the format and style of real 11 plus exams, 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

Begin your child's journey to St Anselm's College today. Use the full features of Atom Home free for 5 days – cancel anytime.

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Personalised support for you

We understand how important this next step is for them, and for you. Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions you may have about the 11 plus or grammar schools on the Wirral.

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