Wirral 11+: grammar schools, tests and the move to Quest

The consortium assessment

The consortium's members are Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby Grammar School, Wirral Grammar School for Boys and Wirral Grammar School for Girls. One test covers all of them.

• Who runs it: Wirral Council (Mainstream Admissions team) on behalf of the four schools; papers provided by Quest AssessmentsSource for Wirral: Test run byWirral: Test run byCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: The governing bodies of Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby Grammar School, Wirral Grammar School for Boys and Wirral Grammar School for Girls have reached an agreement with the authority on how their admission procedures will work. If parents want their children to be considered for places at these schools, Wirral Local Authority will assess these children on behalf of the school.View the official source.
• How to register: Register with Wirral Council (online, or by the paper request-for-assessment form), whether or not you live in WirralSource for Wirral 2027 entry: Registration routeWirral 2027 entry: Registration routeCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: Register online at wirral.gov.uk/schooladmissions ... Completed forms should be emailed to secondaryplaces@wirral.gov.uk or returned directly to Mainstream Admissions team, PO Box 290, Brighton Street, Wallasey, CH47 9FQ by 31st May 2026.View the official source.
• Who can sit it: No residence requirement to sit the consortium test; children from other authorities are considered on the same basis as Wirral children. Each school applies its own distance criteria when oversubscribed.Source for Wirral 2027 entry: CatchmentWirral 2027 entry: CatchmentCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: Requests from parents of children living in other authorities are considered on the same basis as described for Wirral children.View the official source
• Papers: Paper one (verbal reasoning) (50 minutes); Paper two (maths and non-verbal reasoning) (50 minutes)Source for Wirral 2027 entry: PapersWirral 2027 entry: PapersCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Calday Grange Grammar School.The source says: Your child will sit two papers: Paper one: assesses verbal reasoning Paper two: assesses mathematics and non-verbal reasoning Both papers will be sat in the same session, and your child will have a short break between them. Each paper will last approximately 50 minutes.View the official source.
• Answers: multiple-choiceSource for Wirral 2027 entry: FormatWirral 2027 entry: FormatCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Calday Grange Grammar School.The source says: The Wirral 11+ Assessment is a paper test. All questions in the assessment are multiple choice.View the official source.
• When and where: Autumn term of Year 6 (test on 15 September 2026)Source for Wirral 2027 entry: Test timingWirral 2027 entry: Test timingCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: The assessment is based on the results of a test comprising two papers that pupils take in the Autumn term of Year 6.View the official source. At one of the four Wirral grammar schools (venue allocated by Wirral Council; parents told by end of August 2026)Source for Wirral 2027 entry: Test venueWirral 2027 entry: Test venueCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Calday Grange Grammar School.The source says: Your child will sit the test at one of the four Wirral grammar schools.View the official source.
• What to bring: A printed Test Day Identity Form with passport-style photo, primary school stamp and headteacher signature must be brought on test daySource for Wirral: Test day identity formWirral: Test day identity formCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: Your child must bring this form with them on the test day and may not be able to sit the test without it.View the official source.
• Access arrangements (2027 entry): Request on the registration form with supporting evidence (less than two years old); requests for the September assessment must be received by 7 June 2026; arrangements confirmed by 17 July 2026; examples include enlarged print, 25% extra time, smaller room, rest breaks; readers and scribes not provided; arrangements must ordinarily be in place at primary school.Source for Wirral 2027 entry: Access arrangementsWirral 2027 entry: Access arrangementsCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: The arrangements must ordinarily be in place at your child ... Readers and scribes are not provided. ... We will confirm if any arrangements have been agreed by 17 July 2026 for the September assessment. ... Requests for the September assessment must be received by 7 June 2026.View the official source
• Practice material: Free familiarisation booklets from the test provider (maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning) with a practice answer sheet, plus guidance for childrenSource for Calday Grange Grammar School 2027 entry: FamiliarisationCalday Grange Grammar School 2027 entry: FamiliarisationCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Calday Grange Grammar School.The source says: Familiarisation Booklets These booklets provide sample questions so your child can become familiar with the question format and filling in an OMR answer sheet.View the official source.
• Ill on the day: A child who registered but is ill or absent on the test day sits a late test later in the autumn termSource for Wirral: Late testingWirral: Late testingCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: A late test will take place later in the Autumn term for pupils who were registered to take the test but were unable to do so due to illness or absence on the main test date. No other arrangements will be made to assess children if request forms were received after 31st May, unless they have moved from another part of the country.View the official source.

A few consortium rules surprise families, so check them early:

Upton Hall and St Anselm's: separate tests

Upton Hall School FCJ (girlsSource for Upton Hall School FCJ: PupilsUpton Hall School FCJ: PupilsCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Upton Hall School FCJ.The source says: Upton Hall School FCJ is a Roman Catholic Grammar School for girls aged 11-18.View the official source) and St Anselm's College (boysSource for St. Anselm’s College: PupilsSt. Anselm’s College: PupilsCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against St Anselm's College.The source says: St. Anselm’s College is a Catholic Grammar School and Academy for boys aged 11 to 18.View the official source) are Catholic grammar schools. Each runs its own entrance exam with its own registration, separate from the council's assessment. So a child applying to one of them and to a consortium school registers twice and sits two tests. Side by side for 2027 entry:

The biggest difference is in how the score is used. At the consortium schools, a child either reaches the standard or does not, and most places then go by priority group and distance. Upton Hall and St Anselm's rank qualified children by their test result within each priority group, so a higher score can matter there. Upton Hall also sets a minimum in each part of its test. Both Catholic schools test English, which the consortium test does not, and St Anselm's papers need written answers rather than multiple choice. Our guide to tests set by schools themselves explains how these differ from a shared test.

The four non-faith schools moved to a new test provider (Quest Assessments) for the September 2026 test. For this first year the style, format, subjects and relative weightings stayed the same, and the standard needed to pass did not changeSource for Wirral 2027 entry: Provider changeWirral 2027 entry: Provider changeCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Calday Grange Grammar School.The source says: we have moved to a new test provider ... The test will now be delivered through a different provider. However, for this first year, we have taken the decision to retain the same overall style and format of the test, including the areas assessed and their relative weightingsView the official source. The official sources do not name the previous provider, and nor do we.

For children now in Year 6, the practical message is that the subjects, question style and pass standard stayed as before, even though the papers came from a new supplier. For children now in Year 5, nothing further has changed so far: the same two papers are listed for the September 2027 sitting. The weighting given to each subject is not published. Check the council's and the schools' pages again before your child registers, in case anything is updated. The change applies only to the consortium schools; Upton Hall and St Anselm's run their own tests. More detail is in our guide to the Quest change in Wirral and our page on Quest Assessments 11+ tests.

No published pass mark. The consortium does not print the score a child needs to reach the grammar school standard, so there is no target number to aim for.

How the score is built. Each of the two test scores is age-adjusted with conversion tables (exact age in years and months); the two scores are then added together. Weights not printed.Source for Wirral Grammar School for Girls: Score composition (2027)Wirral Grammar School for Girls: Score composition (2027)CloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Grammar School for Girls.The source says: in each case the score is adjusted by the use of conversion tables to take account of each child’s exact age in years and months. The two test scores are then added togetherView the official source Age-adjusting (standardising) means the youngest children in the year are not at a disadvantage.

What happens after the standard. At Calday Grange and at both Wirral Grammar Schools, every child who reaches the standard is treated the same, and the last places go by distance. West Kirby is different. After the priority groups, 60% of the remaining places go by distance and the rest by test score, highest firstSource for West Kirby Grammar School: Distance score splitWest Kirby Grammar School: Distance score splitCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: 6. Once the above criteria has been applied, 60% of the remaining places will be allocated to students based on geographical factorsView the official source.

Past results for the consortium schools. These come from Wirral Council's admissions booklet. Each describes one past year only: a guide, not a promise.

West Kirby's lowest score is a combined figure: the two age-adjusted scores added together. We have not found published figures for how many children sat the consortium test or reached the standard.

Upton Hall and St Anselm's. Both publish more about their own tests:

St Anselm's had more than 700Source for St. Anselm’s College 2027 entry: RegisteredSt. Anselm’s College 2027 entry: RegisteredCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against St Anselm's College.The source says: with more than 700 Year 6 pupils registered to sit the Entrance ExaminationView the official source boys registered for 156Source for St. Anselm’s College: Year 7 places (2027)St. Anselm’s College: Year 7 places (2027)CloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against St Anselm's College.The source says: For the school year commencing September 2027, the Indicated Admissions Number, based on Net Capacity, is 156.View the official source places, so most of the boys who sat its exam this year will not be offered a place. Upton Hall's pass mark is from an older version of its test, and St Anselm's current rules describe its standard across all three papers, so treat both as history rather than a target. More on our Wirral pass marks page, our Wirral results guide and in the 11+ cut-offs dataset.

Pupil premium is extra funding schools receive for children from lower-income families, mostly those who get or recently got free school meals (FSM). In Wirral, the grammar schools' rules talk about free school meals rather than pupil premium. Wirral Council's summary for the consortium: All four non-Catholic grammar schools give some priority to FSM children who reach the standard; the number of places is set in each school's policy (Calday up to 15, West Kirby up to 18 per the council policy booklet).Source for Wirral 2027 entry: Pp priorityWirral 2027 entry: Pp priorityCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: All Wirral non-Catholic grammar schools give some priority to ... children who get low income based Free School Meals at the ... time of applying in Autumn 2026. Children must still reach the ... standard for admission. Wirral Grammar School for Boys has a ... lower standard for these children.View the official source

Wirral Grammar School for Boys is the only one that accepts a lower score for some children, and those places are shared with looked-after children. At the other schools a child must reach the full standard first. Wirral Grammar School for Girls, for example, takes the free school meals details from the council preference form, and the council checks them. Fill in that part of the form if it applies to your child.

This section is general information, not legal advice. Each step has strict deadlines, so check the school's and the council's own guidance.

No re-sit and no viewing papers. The consortium test can be taken only once, and parents cannot see the marked papers. For 2027 entry, the official sources we checked describe no process for reviewing a result. For 2028 entry, Quest's page says: Requests for a review go to the grammar school the child is applying to (no procedure or deadline printed)Source for Wirral 2028 entry: Review processWirral 2028 entry: Review processCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Quest Assessments.The source says: For questions about admissions, results, or to request a review, contact the grammar school your child is applying to directly.View the official source.

Admission appeals. Offers come from your home council on National Offer Day, 1 March 2027Source for Wirral 2027 entry: National Offer DayWirral 2027 entry: National Offer DayCloseChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Wirral Council.The source says: 1 March 2027 Email offers are sent to online applicants.View the official source. If a school cannot offer your child a place, you can appeal to an independent panel. Appeals for Calday, West Kirby and Wirral Grammar School for Girls go through Wirral Council. Upton Hall and St Anselm's take appeals in writing at the school:

Waiting lists. Schools keep waiting lists after Offer Day, but a child who did not reach the standard cannot join a grammar school's list. Appeals take time and can be stressful. Most appeals for oversubscribed schools do not succeed, so a realistic second choice on your council form matters. Our Wirral appeals guide goes into more detail.