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Introduction
The North Halifax Grammar School, founded in 1985 and situated in Illingworth, Halifax, is a co-educational state grammar school with academy status.
The curriculum at North Halifax Grammar School is challenging and extensive, preparing students for academic excellence. It was designed to embody the school’s motto, “Living to learn, learning to live”. Students are engaged with up-to-date research and guidance in all subjects, including maths, science, and RPSE. Moreover, the curriculum is regularly re-evaluated to ensure the school nurtures the best scientists, linguists, and historians.
In addition, The North Halifax Grammar School places great importance on activities beyond the classroom setting. It offers its pupils a broad range of extracurricular activities, the most famous being the choral group, boxing, book club, coding club, creative writing, etc.
Both staff and pupils describe NHGS as a place with a “family-like” atmosphere. It’s an inclusive and safe school where everyone feels welcomed and inspired to learn and give their best. It focuses on academic study and the development of each student’s character. The goal is to enable the flourishing of 21st-century citizens who navigate life with confidence.
North Halifax Grammar School proves how successful its academic approach is each year with its students’ achieving exceptional results in GCSE and A-Level. Recently, an impressive 76% of pupils secured grades 7-9 in English, while 63% of them excelled in GCSE mathematics. They also earned over 100 A* grades in A-Levels. Ofsted also recognised the school’s quality and work ethic, giving it an “Outstanding” score in its last inspection. [1] [2]
The North Halifax Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information 2025
Address: Moorbottom Road, Illingworth, Halifax HX2 9SU
County: Yorkshire (Calderdale)
Admissions info: mail@nhgs.co.uk, 01422 244625
School type: Co-Educational Grammar
Number of pupils: 1,142 (approx.)
Number of places in Year 7: 180
Open Day date: June
Exam date: September 2025
Pass mark: Aim for 80%+ in our practice tests. See below for more details.
Exam type / Board: FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise)
The North Halifax Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Admissions
Alongside Crossley Heath Grammar School, North Halifax Grammar School complies with Calderdale Council’s admissions process in Yorkshire. In order to be considered for one of the 180 places at NHGS in Year 7, pupils must pass the eleven plus exam.
Parents and prospective pupils are advised to attend the school’s open event ahead of applying. At this event, school staff will go into more detail about the admission process and parents will also have the opportunity to ask questions and take a tour of the school’s facilities.
If the school receives more applications than there are places available, it will apply the following oversubscription criteria, giving priority to:
- Looked after, or previously looked after, children
- Children entitled to Pupil Premium
- Children with siblings attending the school at the time of admission
- Proximity of the child’s home to the school, with those living closest given highest priority
Get more information about The North Halifax Grammar School’s admission criteria here. You can view the school’s exact location on the map below:
How to Apply for 11 Plus (11+) Entry to The North Halifax Grammar School
To apply for a Year 7 place at The North Halifax Grammar School, parents must register their child via the Halifax Grammar Schools’ website. Students will take the school entrance test in September and parents will receive the results from the admissions test in October.
If a pupil has been offered a place at The North Halifax Grammar School, parents must submit the Online Common Application Form (CAF) to Calderdale Local Authority by late October and include the school as one of their preferences to be considered for a place.
The North Halifax Grammar School Catchment Area
Does The North Halifax Grammar School have a catchment area?
The school does not operate a catchment area.
The North Halifax Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Format
The 11 Plus test for The North Halifax Grammar School comprises three sections:
- a Maths test
- an English test
- a Creative Writing paper.
The exam provider is Future Stories Community Enterprise Entrance (FSCE). Children are expected to show competence in skills appropriate to Key Stage 2 English and Mathematics.
The test elements are marked by a computer and are age-standardised to ensure fairness. All students with an eligible score from the English and Mathematics tests will have their creative writing element assessed, which will determine their ranking.
How to Prepare for The North Halifax Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam?
To succeed at the eleven plus stage, students need to be organised well ahead of the exam. Keep stress levels to a minimum by creating a thorough revision timetable. Our 11 Plus guide for parents provides an overview of the exam and what to expect of the process.
Encourage your child to start revising early to ensure that they have plenty of time to work on their weaker subject areas. Students should use practice test papers to familiarise themselves with the layout of the exam and to improve their time management skills.
The North Halifax Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Pass Marks and Target Scores
The North Halifax Grammar School has 180 available places in Year 7. There is no formal 11+ pass mark, as the scores are age-standardised to ensure fairness.
Pupils who are able to score 80%+ consistently in our 11+ practice tests should be on track to pass The North Halifax Grammar School 11+ test.
Whilst there are no guarantees, this has historically been a fairly strong indicator that your child should do well in The North Halifax Grammar School 11+ exam. Please click here to learn more.
The North Halifax Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Practice Exam Papers
If you would like to target specific subjects in preparation for the North Halifax Grammar School 11+ Exam, we’ve highlighted our recommendations below. Whilst the 11+ exam is not created by CEM, it still shares some similarities with the CEM style and format. The resources selected below will therefore provide relevant practice for each section of the new exam:
Paper 1
Mathematics
11+ CEM Long Numerical Reasoning
11+ CEM Short Numerical Reasoning
11+ CEM Multiple Choice Numerical Reasoning
Paper 2
English
11+ CEM Cloze Pack 2 – Sentences
11+ CEM Comprehension Pack 1 – Fiction
11+ CEM Comprehension Pack 2 – Non-Fiction
11+ CEM Comprehension Pack 3 – Poetry
11+ CEM Synonyms and Antonyms Pack 1
11+ CEM Synonyms and Antonyms Pack 2
Paper 3
Creative Writing
If you’d like to have your child’s writing assessed and marked, you may be interested in our Writing Marking Service. Please click here to learn more.
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended subject-based resources for The North Halifax Grammar School 11+ Exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
NHGS 11+ Subject Bundle
If you don’t buy a Bundle, don’t forget to use the code eppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250.
Our practice tests aim to show what sort of questions have been included in The North Halifax Grammar School 11+ past papers. The information provided about The North Halifax Grammar School is believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the article.
Please note that Exam Papers Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and resources, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The North Halifax Grammar School.
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Author(s)
Louise Lang
Director of Learning
