St. Albans School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information
Table of Contents
Introduction
Having been established in 948 by Abbot Wulsin, St. Albans School has strong links to the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St. Alban, known locally as ‘the Abbey’.
Since its foundation, the school has gone through many changes, however the links to the Abbey remain strong. The school has occupied its current location in the Abbey Gateway for nearly 150 years and holds assemblies in the cathedral twice a week.
St. Albans School is an independent day school for boys aged 11–18 years, with a coeducational sixth form. The school offers a broad academic curriculum offset by a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. In 2018, 99.4% of GCSE results were grades A* to C (9–4) and 82% were A* to A (9–7).
The school has a Combined Cadet Force, which represents both the Army and RAF and provides military training in areas such as field craft, survival skills and tactics. The RAF cadets gain air experience flying at local RAF bases and work towards their Part One and Part Two certificates.
Competition for places at St. Albans School can be fierce at 11+, with on average 300 boys contesting just 72 places.
11 Plus Exam Information for St. Albans School
Address: St. Albans School, Abbey Gateway, St. Albans, Herefordshire, AL3 4HB
County: Hertfordshire
Admissions info: admissions@st-albans.herts.sch.uk or 01727 515182
School Type: Boys’ independent day school (coeducational sixth form)
Number of Pupils: 860
Number of Places in Year 7: 72
Exam Date: January of Year 6
Exam Type / Board: School’s own
St. Albans School 11 Plus Admissions
There are two stages to the St. Albans selection process. All candidates who register for 11+ entry must sit the school’s own entrance exam, comprising papers in English, maths and verbal reasoning, and attend a short interview with a senior member of staff on the same day. Boys who are successful in this first stage of assessment are notified within one week and invited to a call-back session, where they take part in group activities and a couple of trial lessons.
St. Albans School is part of the North London Consortium, so all offers are posted on the Consortium’s agreed date (usually the Thursday before February half term).
The school publishes an Additional Information Booklet, which contains further information about admissions policies and procedures.
There is also an Information Booklet for prospective parents, which provides in-depth information about the programme of education, co-curricular activities and the school in general.
How to Apply for 11 Plus Entry to St. Albans School
To be considered for a place in First Form (Year 7) of the Lower School at St. Albans you can register your son at any time up to the end of November in the year preceding entry. To register, you need to complete an online registration form and pay the non-refundable registration fee of £100.
Information about the entrance exam is sent out to all registered candidates in November.
The school holds four open mornings each year and prospective parents are encouraged to visit the school before registering their son. Dates are published on the ‘Admissions’ page of the school’s website. Places, which can be booked through the admissions office: admissions@st-albans.herts.sch.uk or 01727 515182, are often oversubscribed so it is advisable to book as far in advance as possible.
A limited number of means-tested bursaries are available for up to 100% of the fees. The paperwork for bursary applications must be returned by mid-December.
All candidates are automatically considered for academic scholarships, which are awarded based on the results of the entrance assessments.
Choral scholarships can also be applied for at 11+. They are awarded on the basis of an audition and are subject to satisfactory entrance exam results being achieved.
St. Albans School 11 Plus Exam Format
The St. Albans 11+ entrance exam consists of the following papers:
- English: reading comprehension and writing (80 minutes)
- Maths: arithmetic, problem solving and logic (60 minutes)
- Verbal Reasoning (60 minutes).
Calculators are not permitted in the maths exam.
How to Prepare for the St. Albans School 11 Plus Exam
One of the best ways of preparing for competitive entrance exams is to use practice papers. These help students to familiarise themselves with the format and question types they will encounter in the actual test in an efficient and effective manner. They also provide an excellent opportunity for students to practise working under time pressure.
Our practice papers, which are available for immediate download, print and use after purchase, offer excellent practice and preparation for the St. Albans entrance exam. They cover all the key skills and can be used to identify any weaker areas that require additional work ahead of the exam and to help build confidence.
Our 11+ practice papers are thoroughly researched and up to date. Every year, they are used successfully by tens of thousands of students targeting schools with a competitive entrance exam. They are designed to be age appropriate but challenging, to reflect the demands of such an exam.
English
To prepare for the St. Albans English paper, we would highly recommend using the following practice papers, which will help to improve comprehension and writing skills, including spelling and vocabulary:
Comprehension
11+ Complete Comprehension Guide
Writing
Mathematics
To prepare for the maths paper, we would highly recommend using the following practice papers:
Verbal Reasoning
Practice Tests
To prepare for the Verbal Reasoning paper, we would highly recommend using the following practice papers:
Skill specific practice
The following topic specific packs will help your child prepare for the various question types that could come up in the St. Albans School 11+ Verbal Reasoning exam:
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Anagrams
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Analogies
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Compound Words
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Embedded Words
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Form a Word
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Insert a Letter
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Letter Calculations
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Letter Sequences
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Move a Letter
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Number Calculations
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Number Sequences
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Shuffled Sentences
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Synonyms
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Word Completion
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Word Match
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Word Opposites
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Word Puzzles
11+ Verbal Reasoning: Word Relationships
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Our practice tests aim to show what sort of questions were included in St. Albans School 11+ past papers. The information provided about St. Albans 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.
