Princess Helena College 11 Plus (11+) Entrance Exam Information – Key Details
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
Princess Helena College (PHC) is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Preston near Hitchin in Hertfordshire. Founded by Miss Sophia Williams in 1820, the school is set in 100 acres of beautiful countryside, comprising a Grade II* listed building, gardens and a landscaped park.
The curriculum covers the following departments: Creative Arts, English, Mathematics, Humanities, MFL, Science, Computer Science and Sport.
Pupils choose from a wide range of co-curricular clubs and activities, including Orchestra, Fencing, Photography Club, Athletics, Public Speaking, Horse Riding, School Magazine and Life Saving.
At PHC, students thrive on all levels within a warm and purposeful atmosphere where they are provided with everything they need to enjoy happy and successful lives. The school’s caring and inclusive environment enables pupils to maximise their potential whilst benefiting from a healthy balance of experiences beyond lessons, thus ensuring their academic, spiritual and physical development.
Princess Helena College 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information
Address: School Lane Preston, Hitchin UK, SG4 7RT
County: Hertfordshire
School type: Independent co-ed day and boarding school
Number of students: 143 (approx.)
Open day: In the Autumn and Spring Term
11+ Exam date: January
11+ Exam type / Board: School’s own
Open Events for Princess Helena College 11 plus (11+) Entry
The school holds Open Days twice a year during the Autumn and Spring term. These take place on Saturdays. Families can also attend Coffee Mornings, held on weekdays, and experience the school on a working day. Personal tours can be arranged via the Admissions Office.
Princess Helena College 11 Plus (11+) Admissions
Following your visit to the school, you can register your child by completing the Registration Form and paying a non-refundable £100 registration fee.
Your child will be invited to sit an entrance exam in January which examines skills in three areas. Their current-school reports and a confidential reference will be requested around this time. There will also be an interview.
To confirm and secure your child’s place at the school, you will be expected to pay a deposit of £650 (for day students) / £1,000 (for boarders). The deposit should be returned to the school along with a completed and signed Acceptance of Place form.
Princess Helena College 11 Plus (11+) Scholarships and Bursaries
Students who excel on Assessment Day in January will be invited to sit a further assessment and interview for the Bicentennial Scholarship.
Additionally, prospective pupils can apply for a Scholarship in the areas of academia, Art, Dance, Drama, Music or Sports.
The school also offers a limited number of means-tested bursaries to pupils from low-income families. The evaluation includes a home visit.
To be considered for a bursary, you should submit your application together with a written statement prior to the Entrance Exam dates. For more details, please reach out to the Admissions Team.
Princess Helena College 11 Plus (11+) Exam Format
The Princess Helena College 11+ exam consists of the following papers:
- English (50 mins)
- Mathematics (60 mins)
- Verbal Reasoning (30 mins)
The English paper examines both comprehension and writing skills, including inference, spelling, vocabulary and punctuation. Marks will be awarded for good use of imagination, creativity, form, purpose, organisation, cohesion and sentence structure.
The maths exam assesses your child’s problem-solving abilities and arithmetic skills. The paper may include questions on number, measurement, geometry, algebra and statistics.
The Verbal Reasoning paper is primarily designed to test and assess their logical thinking, use of English language and vocabulary.
Please see below for further details and recommendations on how to prepare for the Princess Helena College 11+ entrance examination.
How to Prepare for the Princess Helena College 11 Plus (11+) Exam
Practice tests are an effective tool for preparation for the Princess Helena College 11+ exam. With the help of our practice tests, designed and formatted to match the actual exams, your child will learn to deal with various 11+ exam question types quickly and confidently.
The benefits for your child are numerous: the tests provide focused practice and familiarity with a wide variety of possibilities and examples, serving as an indicator of any weaker areas that require additional work ahead of the exam. We suggest starting early with your revision so that you have plenty of time to identify subject areas that need additional work.
The practice tests are challenging, and preparing for the 11 Plus can sometimes feel overwhelming. But once a carefully thought-out revision plan is implemented, students should find the process a lot more manageable.
Aside from getting used to answering the types of questions that may be asked on the big day, they also work on developing time-management skills, such as answering questions under pressure.
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 Princess Helena College 11 plus entrance examination can be found below.
Princess Helena College 11 Plus (11+) Exam Practice Papers
NOTE: The following English and Mathematics practice tests are in standard format, which means that students need to write in their own answers rather than choose from a list of multiple-choice options. This matches the 11+ Exam format used by the school.
English
We highly recommend the following packs to prepare successfully for the Princess Helena College 11+ English paper. They will help improve your child’s comprehension skills, such as inference, and writing skills, including spelling, vocabulary and punctuation:
Comprehension
11+ Complete Comprehension Guide
Writing
11+ English Bundle
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 Princess Helena College 11+ maths test:
Full Practice Tests
Skill Specific Practice
11+ Fractions, Decimals & Percentages
11+ Reflection, Rotation & Symmetry
11+ Mathematics Bundle
Verbal Reasoning
Practice Tests
To develop your child’s Verbal Reasoning abilities ahead of the Princess Helena College 11+ entrance examination, we suggest that you make use of the following packs that cover all of the key question types:
Skill specific practice
The following topic specific packs will help your child prepare for the various question types that could come up in the Princess Helena College 11+ Verbal Reasoning exam:
Masterclasses
11+ Verbal Reasoning Masterclass
11+ Verbal Reasoning Bundle
Interviews
11+ Interviews – The Complete Guide
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Our practice tests aim to show what sort of questions were included in Princess Helena College 11+ past papers. The information provided about Princess Helena College 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.
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