The Cathedral School, Llandaff 11 Plus (11+) Entrance Exam Information

Introduction

The Cathedral School, Llandaff, is an independent co-educational school for pupils aged 3-18. It has a superb reputation and was recently named the Welsh Independent School of the Year in The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide.

Academically, The Cathedral School has high standards, with students performing exceptionally well in public exams, enabling them to secure places at prestigious universities. Any pupil with additional learning needs is fully supported, which could involve interventions such as working with a specialist tutor and differentiated lesson materials.

The co-curricular programme at The Cathedral School is impressive, reflecting the school’s desire for pupils to grow into confident, well-rounded young people. Available activities include a vast array of music and sports clubs, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme from Year 10. 

A Christian ethos underpins life at The Cathedral School, creating a warm and caring community in which pupils thrive. Every pupil in the Senior School is a member of a House and is appointed a House Tutor. Tutors get to know their students well, becoming a trusted adult who can offer support and

guidance when necessary.

Admissions Process for 11 Plus Entry to The Cathedral School, Llandaff

Attending an Open Morning is a great way to learn more about The Cathedral School and see if it feels like the right school for your child. A Whole School Open Morning is held in October and a Senior Open Morning in March. You can also arrange an individual visit. 

In November, when your child is in Year 6, you can attend an Information Afternoon, allowing you to ask any questions you have about the Year 7 admissions process. The registration deadline is a few days after this. When you register, you must pay a £100 non-refundable registration fee.

Your child will have a short interview with two senior members of staff within a few weeks of the registration deadline. Then, in January, on separate days, they will attend an Orientation Day at The Cathedral School and sit the entrance tests. 

In February, you will find out if your child has secured a place. If they have, you will need to accept it by the deadline in early March and pay the £500 deposit, which is deducted from your child’s last invoice before leaving the school. It may be that your child is offered a place on the waiting list.

Please note that a reference from your child’s current school will be requested to help The Cathedral School decide whether your child would flourish at their establishment. Offers will be made based on the reference, your child’s performance at their interview and in the entrance tests. You will also be expected to support the school’s principles.

The Cathedral School, Llandaff: Scholarships, Fee Assistance and Bursaries for Year 7 Entry

Scholarships

Scholarships for Year 7 entry are available in the following areas:

• Academic
• Music
• Sport

You do not need to apply for an Academic Scholarship because the results of the entrance tests will determine which candidates are invited to be interviewed for an Academic Scholarship.

The application deadline for Music and Sport Scholarships is in January of Year 6, with auditions and assessments taking place later the same month.

Scholarships typically offer a 5-10% reduction in fees, but if a pupil holds more than one scholarship, only one will be of financial benefit. 

Scholarships are reviewed annually and can be withdrawn if the holder is not meeting the high standards expected of a scholar.

Fee Assistance

Fee assistance is means-tested and is designed to enable pupils whose families cannot afford the full fees to attend The Cathedral School. It is worth 5-60% of the school fees. If you apply for fee assistance, you will need to supply details of your household income and assets. 

Bursaries

Bursaries are also means-tested. They are usually worth 70% or more of the school fees. The Cathedral School will likely give preference to candidates from a disadvantaged background, such as children who are in the care system or who act as carers within their families.

Recipients of fee assistance or bursaries will have demonstrated that they can contribute significantly to school life in the area of academia, music, sport, drama or art.

If you have any questions about scholarships, fee assistance or bursaries, you should contact the school’s Bursar (contact details are given earlier in the post). 

The Cathedral School, Llandaff: Entrance Exam for Year 7 Entry

The 11+ entrance exam for The Cathedral School comprises the following:

• An interview that will enable staff members to gauge your child’s social skills and see if they will make the most of all the school has to offer.

• An Adaptive Admissions Test (AAT) by GL Assessment that tests verbal, non-verbal and numerical reasoning skills. It is an online test and is adaptive, meaning your child’s questions will get harder if they are consistently answering correctly. The idea is that your child will face questions that are appropriate for their ability, helping them to stay motivated throughout the test.
• An English paper that will have a comprehension section and a descriptive writing section. The comprehension section will assess your child’s reading skills, their ability to extract information from a text and make inferences. The descriptive writing section will enable The Cathedral School to evaluate your child’s spelling, punctuation and grammar.

There is plenty that you can do to help your child prepare for The Cathedral School’s Year 7 entrance tests, so please do not worry.

Our Top Tips for Preparing for Year 7 Entry to The Cathedral School, Llandaff

Here are our top tips to help your child prepare effectively so that they can go into the entrance exam feeling ready and confident:

• Encourage your child to read widely so that they expand their vocabulary, improve their reading skills and enhance their spelling, punctuation and grammar. The importance of reading cannot be overstated.
• Get your child to revise their schoolwork because going over what they have learnt in their English and maths lessons in particular will give them a solid knowledge base. 
• Schedule short study sessions to ensure that your child doesn’t feel overwhelmed and has the time to continue with the activities they enjoy. Also, children around the age of ten can only focus effectively for about 30 minutes at a time, meaning long sessions are counterproductive.  
• Ask your child mental arithmetic questions when you are out on a walk or a car journey. Make it fun by seeing how many they can get right in a row and then challenge them to beat their record.
• Promote a growth mindset, which is the belief that hard work and effort make a difference to ability. Knowing that they will improve their skills over time will help them stay positive. Also, ensure they see mistakes as an opportunity to learn.
• Discuss your child’s interests with them so that they are able to speak about their passions fluently. You don’t want them to learn set responses to questions, but you do want to get them used to talking enthusiastically and articulately. 
• Remember the importance of a healthy lifestyle because good nutrition, plenty of sleep and regular exercise will support your child’s emotional and physical wellbeing, ensuring they are in a strong position to cope with the pressure of preparing for a competitive entrance exam. 
• Use our targeted resources and practice papers to guarantee your child knows what to expect in the entrance exam. Familiarity with the question types that will come up, the timings and the format will eliminate fear of the unknown, leading to a stronger performance on the day. Working through our resources and practice tests will also mean your child can pinpoint the areas they need to spend more time on, and they can feel encouraged by identifying their strengths. 

Please look at the resources we recommend below.

The Cathedral School, Llandaff: 11 Plus (11+)/Year 7 Entrance Exam Practice Materials

These full mock tests are designed to provide your child with highly accurate practice for the Adaptive Admissions Test. Each practice test covers Verbal reasoning, Non-Verbal reasoning, English and Mathematics, replicating the sections, timings and question types used in the actual exam.

Each test contains unique content, but they are all pitched at the same difficulty level as the AAT. This means you can easily benchmark your child’s progress as they work through the practice tests, quickly identifying their strengths and weaknesses.

Full Practice Tests

AAT – Practice Test 1

AAT – Practice Test 2

AAT – Practice Test 3

AAT – Practice Test 4

AAT – Practice Test 5

AAT – Practice Test 6

AAT – Practice Test 7

AAT – Practice Test 8

AAT – Practice Test 9

AAT – Practice Test 10

✂️ Save 30% (compared to buying the ten tests individually) by purchasing our AAT Practice Test bundle, including all ten tests. Click the button below to learn more:

Alternatively, click the buttons below to purchase Bundles of five of our AAT Practice Tests. You will save 25% compared to buying each product individually.

Skill Practice Tests

Our Skill Practice Tests are designed to focus on one specific question type that will come up in the  AAT. They are ideal for targeted practice and an efficient way to quickly improve your child’s scores in the relevant topic.

AAT – Comprehension

AAT – Sentence Completion

AAT – Spelling and Punctuation

AAT – Mathematics

AAT – Non-Verbal Reasoning

AAT – Verbal Reasoning

✂️ Save 25% (compared to buying the six tests individually) by purchasing our AAT Skill Practice Test bundle, including all six tests. Click the button below to learn more:

Don’t forget to use the code eppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250 if you don’t buy a bundle.

Please do contact us if you have any questions about our resources. We will do our best to help you. We want to take this opportunity to wish your child all the best in their entrance exam and at senior school.

The information provided about The Cathedral School, Llandaff, was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware that there may be future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you need clarification on anything. School contact details are provided within the post.

Please note that Exam Papers Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and is not affiliated with or endorsed by GL Assessment or any other test publisher.