Sacred Heart Grammar School PPTC Transfer Test (11 Plus) Information
Bookmark this page? Pop your email into the box below to receive a link to this article so you can easily refer back to it later.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Founded in 1930 by the Sisters of St Clare, Sacred Heart Grammar School is a girls’ grammar located in Newry, County Down. The school has over 800 students on its roll aged 11-18 and consistently produces good examination results.
The school strongly believes that its success is partly due to the range of activities available to students. All students are encouraged to participate in at least one area of activity, although many choose more. Girls take part in a series of inter-house competitions throughout the academic year and go on a number of expeditions and field trips to further their experiences.
Transfer Test Information for Sacred Heart Grammar School
Address: Sacred Heart Grammar School, 10 Ashgrove Avenue, Newry, County Down, BT34 1PR
Admissions Info: info@shsnewry.com, 02830 264632
School Type: Girls’ Grammar
Number of pupils: 855 (approx.)
Number of Places in Year 8: 120 (approx.)
Open Day Date: January
Exam Date: November/December
Exam Board Type: GL Assessment
Sacred Heart Grammar School Admissions
Sacred Heart Grammar School is one of Northern Ireland’s post-primary schools to use a selective admission policy. It is a member of the Post Primary Transfer Consortium (PPTC), an unregulated system consisting of 34 schools that use the same standardised entrance assessment to determine admission.
In cases where there are more applicants than available places, the school uses the following oversubscription criteria, giving priority to:
- Girls whose parent/guardian is a member of the permanent teaching, administrative, or ancillary staff of school
- Girls who have another girl of the family attending the school
- Girls who have had another girl of the family previously attend the school
- Girls whose mother/guardian attended the school
- Girls who are the first girl of the family to transfer to secondary education
- Girls who are the first girl of the family to apply to a grammar school
- Girls, who at the date of their application are entitled to Free School Meals
For more information on the admissions process or oversubscription criteria at Sacred Heart Grammar School, parents can contact the school directly either via email info@shsnewry.com or call 02830 264632.
How to Apply for Year 8 Entry to Sacred Heart Grammar School
Sacred Heart Grammar invites parents and prospective pupils to their open event, which usually takes place in November. This event is a great opportunity to learn more about the school’s aims and objectives and to ask any questions about the transfer process.
The PPTC use the same entrance assessment across the board, so children only need to be registered for the test once. Parents should apply on behalf of their child using the registration form on the PPTC website. Please refer to these guidance notes for parents for further information about the registration form.
Sacred Heart Grammar School Transfer Test Format
Children registered for the Sacred Heart Grammar School Transfer Test will sit two papers, one in English and one in Maths. Both tests are set by GL Assessment and all questions are multiple-choice.
English Paper
The English assessment paper requires children to work through 60 questions in 50 minutes. The paper has three reading passages, each of which is followed by a number of comprehension questions. There are also a number of spelling questions and punctuation questions. The paper finishes with some general questions that focus on study skills. Overall, 60% of the marks are for the comprehension questions and 40% of the marks are for the spelling, punctuation and general questions.
Maths Paper
The Mathematics paper requires children to work through 45 questions in 45 minutes. The majority of the questions are based on the school’s curriculum, although there are some additional questions on elementary logic, mathematical facts, properties, or geometric names, aiming to test children’s intuition and understanding of mathematical concepts and processes.
Once the papers are marked, scores from both are age standardised and results are posted to parents in January.
More information on the content of the test papers can be found on the PPTC website. The website also has a useful FAQs page that relates to the transfer test.
How to Prepare for the Sacred Heart Grammar School 11 plus (11+) Transfer Test?
Sacred Heart is a popular grammar school, so parents should expect competition for Year 8 places to be high. With 120 places available, students should prepare for the Transfer Test well ahead of exam day. The best way to help students with their exam preparation is to work together to devise a thorough revision timetable.
Practice exam papers are an effective revision practice for the Sacred Heart Grammar School as they provide a good indication of any weaker subject areas. The papers will help familiarise students with the question types in the exam and will also help to improve their time management skills.
Students currently preparing for the Sacred Heart Grammar School 11 Plus Transfer Test will find the following practice papers especially useful:
English
Full Practice Tests
Skill specific practice
Masterclasses
Mathematics
Full Practice Tests
Skill specific practice
11+ Fractions, Decimals & Percentages
11+ Reflection, Rotation & Symmetry
Masterclasses
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 Sacred Heart Grammar School 11+ past papers.The information provided about Sacred Heart Grammar 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.
Bookmark this page? Pop your email into the box below to receive a link to this article so you can easily refer back to it later.