Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Entrance Exam Information – Key Details
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Basic information: Birkdale School is a co-educational independent school in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Founded in 1904, it maintains a Christian tradition and offers a number of facilities, including a cutting-edge music practice room and spacious science labs. [1]
Curriculum: Pupils in the Prep Department actively pursue academic excellence, mainly due to the comprehensive teaching provision and broad curriculum. Subject areas vary from DT, ICT and science to MFL, humanities and music, allowing pupils to acquire relevant academic and non-academic knowledge as they approach their senior years.
Co-curricular: Clubs and trips are central to the activities programme, engaging pupils in a variety of pursuits that help them grow in confidence and character. Choosing from ballet, hockey, gardening and chess, among others, they get to spend quality time with peers, maximising their cognitive and physical potential in the process.
ISI Inspection report: The recent Regulatory Compliance report for the school acknowledges Birkdale’s tireless efforts to meet all national criteria for quality education. According to the ISI, staff effectively fulfil their responsibilities, ensuring that the provision broadly addresses all aspects of pupils’ growth. [2]
Catering for children from various cultural backgrounds, Birkdale Prep offers an inclusive learning environment where extensive teaching is balanced with a friendly and welcoming ethos. The community is accepting of differences and nurtures independence of thought and spirit, producing insightful and self-motivated learners as a result.
Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Exam Information
Address: Oakholme Road, Sheffield S10 3DH
County: Yorkshire
Admissions info: prepschool@birkdaleschool.org.uk or 0114 267 0407
School type: Independent, co-ed day school
Open days: March and October
8+ Exam date: On Taster Day
Open Events for Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Entry
To get a feel for life on campus, you should attend Birkdale’s Open Morning events, taking place in the Spring and Autumn terms. The events include a number of on-site activities, such as speeches and guided tours of facilities. To pre-register, please follow this link.
Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Admissions
8+ is not the school’s standard point of entry. Admission into this year group is based on successful exam performance and satisfactory references from your child’s current school.
The registration form should be submitted with a £50 registration fee, which is non-refundable. If your child receives an offer, you will be asked to accept it with a payment of a £250 deposit, refunded in their last term at the school.
Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Scholarships and Bursaries
Scholarships and bursaries are not available to 8+ applicants.
Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Exam Format
The Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) exam consists of the following assessments:
- English
- Mathematics
The English assessment examines comprehension and writing skills, including inference, punctuation and grammar, as well as the fluency of your child’s reading and oral skills.
The Maths exam assesses problem-solving abilities and arithmetic skills, including your child’s knowledge of times tables.
Please see below for further details and recommendations on how to prepare for the Birkdale School 8 Plus entrance examination.
How to Prepare for the Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Entrance Assessment
To prepare your child successfully for the Birkdale School 8+ entrance exam, we suggest that you make use of our targeted resources. Our practice tests enable familiarisation with the types of questions and the format of the actual exam, which will help your child gain confidence in the lead up to the big day.
With the use of our practice tests, you will be able to precisely identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses, which will guide you in devising a carefully thought-out revision plan that focuses on studying ‘little and often’. Moreover, our practice tests will help your child get used to answering questions quickly and under time pressure.
The majority of our 8+ resources are accompanied by detailed step-by-step video tutorials for every question. These are available for free with all purchases. It’s like having a world-class tutor explain each question to your child at no extra cost!
Our practice tests are used successfully every year by tens of thousands of students targeting schools with a competitive entrance exam. They are age-appropriate, reflecting the demands of the actual exam.
Our recommendations to help your child prepare for the Birkdale School 8 Plus entrance exam can be found below.
Birkdale School 8 Plus (8+) Exam Practice Papers
Recommendations for the Birkdale School 8 Plus exam can be found below:
English
We highly recommend the following packs to prepare successfully for the Birkdale School 8 Plus English assessment. They will help improve your child’s comprehension and writing skills:
Full Practice Tests
Comprehension Skills
8+ English: Comprehension Pack 1
8+ English: Vocabulary and Grammar
The Complete Guide to 8+ Comprehension
Writing Skills
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.
Mathematics
We highly recommend the use of the following packs to help develop your child’s arithmetic and problem-solving skills within the examination context of the Birkdale School 8 Plus maths test:
Full Practice Tests
Targeted Skill Development
8+ Mathematics: Mental Arithmetic
8+ Mathematics: Problem Solving
Listening
The following pack is ideal for developing listening skills ahead of the Birkdale School 8 Plus entrance exam:
Get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250. Use the code eppdiscount at checkout.
Our practice tests aim to show what sort of questions were included in Birkdale School 8+ past papers. The information provided about Birkdale School was 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 post.
Other entry points for Birkdale School:
Click here to learn about Year 3 entry via the 7 Plus (7+) Exam
Click here to learn about Year 7 entry via the 11 Plus (11+) Exam
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