St Mary’s School, Cambridge: 8 Plus (8+)/Year 4 Entry Assessment Information
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Table of Contents
Introduction
St Mary’s School, Cambridge is an independent Catholic school for girls aged 3-18. Boarding is an option from year 5 onwards. In 2022, an ISI inspection resulted in St Mary’s being awarded the highest grade possible: Excellent. In addition to this, the school achieved an incredible parental satisfaction rate of 98%.
In the Junior School, class sizes are small, meaning every pupil will receive the individual attention they need to thrive. It also means teachers have a thorough understanding of each pupil’s progress and can adapt their teaching to ensure pupils can reach their full academic potential.
The extra-curricular programme at St Mary’s Junior School is extensive, enabling girls to get involved in activities at lunchtime and after school that will help them develop into well-rounded young ladies while having fun. Popular pursuits include dance, coding, orchestra and ecobrick sculptures.
Pastoral care at St Mary’s School is impressive. Being a Mary Ward school, Christian values lie at the heart of school life, giving girls a moral framework that helps to create a happy and caring environment.
St Mary’s School, Cambridge: Contact Details and 8 Plus (8+)/Year 4 Entry Admissions Process
Address of Junior School: 6 Chaucer Road, CB2 7EB
County: Cambridgeshire
Admissions info: admissions@stmaryscambridge.co.uk or +44 (0) 1223 224 177
School type: Catholic independent school for girls
Assessment dates: Throughout the year
Entrance assessments: Creative writing paper, online assessment and informal interview
Choosing the right school for your daughter is important. For this reason, St Mary’s School warmly invites you to visit before you make any decision. They hold both in-person and online open events.
For entry to Year 4, there is no formal deadline – applications are accepted all year round. It is worth contacting the admissions team though to see what availability there is. Applying involves filling out the application form and paying the £100 non-refundable application fee.
As part of the admissions process, your daughter will sit an entrance exam, which will consist of a creative writing paper and an online assessment. St Mary’s will, if possible, arrange for the exam to be taken on a Taster Day, meaning your daughter will get to sit the exam and experience what life is like at St Mary’s on the same day.
St Mary’s will also request a reference from your daughter’s current school. This will help St Mary’s decide whether your daughter will make the most of all they have to offer.
Additionally, your daughter will be interviewed by a member of St Mary’s Senior Leadership Team. The interview is a chance for your daughter to chat about her academic interests and her hobbies.
You should hear within a week of your daughter taking the entrance exam whether she has been successful or not. If your daughter is offered a place and you accept it, you will need to pay a £500 deposit (refundable when your daughter leaves St Mary’s School).
Please be aware that preference will be given to the following applicants:
- Those who have a sibling currently attending St Mary’s.
- Those with difficult personal circumstances who would benefit from the exceptional pastoral care the school provides.
- Those whose mother attended St Mary’s or another CJ (Congregation of Jesus) school.
Your family does not need to be Catholic to apply for a place at St Mary’s, but you do need to support its Catholic ethos.
St Mary’s School, Cambridge: Scholarships and Bursaries
There are no scholarships or bursaries available for Year 4 entry.
St Mary’s School, Cambridge: 8 Plus (8+)/Year 4 Entrance Assessment
The entrance exam for entry to Year 4 consists of the following:
- A creative writing paper.
- An online assessment.
The creative writing paper is designed to assess your daughter’s writing skills, such as the standard of her spelling, punctuation and grammar; the maturity of her vocabulary; and her ability to write in a way that engages the reader.
The online assessment will evaluate her vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning skills. It will also gauge her mathematical ability, using topics covered by the relevant national curriculum stage.
St Mary’s School, Cambridge: Preparing for the 8 Plus (8+)/Year 4 Creative Writing Paper and Online Assessment
At Exam Papers Plus, we believe that preparing for the 8+ creative writing paper by using our resources will help your daughter perform well on the day for the following reasons:
- Being prepared will boost your daughter’s confidence and make her believe she can do well, creating the necessary mindset for success.
- She will gain an understanding of what will be expected of her in the creative writing paper. This will remove any fear of the unknown and lead to a better performance on the day.
- Her writing skills will improve, which will not only lead to a higher score in the entrance assessment but will also help your daughter in all her future academic endeavours.
Preparing for the online assessment using online Practice Tests produced by our sister company, Pretest Plus, will also prove hugely advantageous for several reasons:
- Your daughter will get used to sitting tests online, making the actual online assessment seem less daunting.
- She will get plenty of practice answering the types of questions that will come up, which will help her work quickly and accurately on the day, as she will know how to approach the questions.
- She will have plenty of practice working under time pressure, meaning the time constraints on the day will not be a problem for her.
- The answers and explanations provided with the Practice Tests will enable your daughter to learn from any mistakes she makes.
St Mary’s School, Cambridge: 8 Plus (8+)/Year 4 Entrance Assessment Resources
English
We highly recommend the following practice papers to help your child prepare for the St Mary’s School, Cambridge, 8+ English exam:
Writing Skills
Writing Guide
Starting from the foundational basics, this guide works its way through all the key skills your child needs to develop to become an excellent writer within the framework of what’s expected at the 8 Plus level.
The Complete Guide to 8+ 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.
Online Assessment
The following online practice tests are highly recommended for successful preparation for the St Mary’s School, Cambridge, 8+ online assessment.
Primary Insight (INCAS) – Year 3 – Practice Test 1
Primary Insight (INCAS) – Year 3 – Practice Test 2
Primary Insight (INCAS) – Year 3 – Practice Test 3
Primary Insight (INCAS) – Year 3 – Practice Test 4
Primary Insight (INCAS) – Year 3 – Practice Test 5
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Our resources aim to prepare your child for the St Mary’s School 8+ creative writing paper and online assessment. The information provided about St Mary’s School was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of possible future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.
Please note that Exam Papers Plus is an independent publisher of practice tests and not affiliated with or endorsed by the publishers of the St Mary’s School creative writing paper, the online assessment or any other test publisher.
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