St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information – Key Details 2024
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Table of Contents
Introduction
St. Mary’s Calne is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11–18. It is located close to the market town of Calne in the Wiltshire Downs and is a relatively small school with just 360 students, of which approximately 80% are boarders.
St. Mary’s was first established in 1873 by the vicar of Calne and takes its name from the local church. The school was originally attended by nine daughters of local tradespeople and farmers, but gradually grew and expanded. It moved to its current site in 1907 and has acquired more land over the years. It now occupies a 25-acre site, which boasts several impressive new buildings, including a state-of-the-art library and wood-clad sixth form boarding house.
St. Mary’s is consistently listed as one of the UK’s top boarding schools for girls in league tables. It is highly academic and particularly strong in science and mathematics. Recently, the school’s science department was awarded the Platinum Science Mark Award. The award is held by just ten schools in the UK and St Mary’s was the first independent school to receive it.
St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information 2024
Address: Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DF
County: Wiltshire
Admissions info: 01249 857206 or admissions@stmaryscalne.org
School type: Girls’ independent boarding and day school
Open Day date: Throughout the year
Exam date (Entrance Day): Autumn Term of Year 6
Exam date (Common Entrance): Spring Term of Year 6
Pass mark (CEM Select): Aim for 65% in our practice tests.
Pass mark (papers): Aim for 75%+ in our practice tests.
St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Open Days
The school hosts four Open Days on Saturday mornings throughout the year. The events commence with a chat with teachers over refreshments, followed by a presentation from senior member of staff and some of St. Mary’s current pupils. During the presentation, prospective pupils can enjoy some fun craft activities. You will later re-join your child and enjoy a tour around the school. Pre-booking for Open Days is essential. You can view the school’s exact location on the map below:
St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Admissions
St. Mary’s Calne is extremely popular and the school advises that a girl should be registered for 11+ entry when she turns 8 years old or earlier. The school has fairly rigid entrance procedures and carries out a pre-assessment of all candidates prior to the examination.
You are expected to make an initial enquiry 3–4 years ahead of entry and, following this, to visit the school and meet with the Head. You will then be invited to register your daughter by completing a registration form and paying a non-refundable registration fee of £250.
Following registration, parents will be sent confirmation of a reserved place and regular newsletters and details of events being held at school. Please be aware that the reserved place is not a confirmed offer and is subject to assessment and examination.
Girls who have a reserved place will be invited to an informal taster day, usually towards the end of Year 5. They will then be invited to attend an Entrance Day in the Autumn Term of Year 6, which is when they will be assessed and evaluated by St. Mary’s.
The Common Entrance for 11+ is usually held in the Spring Term of Year 6. Based on Entrance Day performance and subject to achieving satisfactory results in the Common Entrance exam (or in the St. Mary’s 11+ examinations), a firm offer of a place may be made.
St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Scholarships and Bursaries
St. Mary’s Calne offers Scholarships in the following areas:
- Academic
- All-Rounder
- Art
- Drama
- Sport
- Choral (for first-study singers)
- Music (for first-study instrumentalists)
Academic Scholarships are awarded on the basis of strong Entrance Day performance and your child’s results in further assessments (testing English and Maths skills).
Assessments for Art, Drama, Music and Sport Scholarships take place in January of Year 6. The allocation of these awards is subject to performance in the Common Entrance exam / St Mary’s entrance exam. For more details about scholarships, please click here.
The school has a limited number of Foundation (fee-assisted) places available and applications for these should be sent directly to the Head Teacher. The Foundation awards are means-tested and can reduce the day fees by up to 100%.
CGA bursaries are also available but are limited to the daughters of former pupils wishing to enter St. Mary’s. These awards are reviewed annually and may vary in size, depending on changes in your finances.
St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Format
The 11+ Entrance Day exam at St. Mary’s Calne consists of the following assessments:
- CEM Select
- Critical Thinking exercises
CEM Select is an online assessment which examines your child’s skills in Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Numerical Reasoning.
The Critical Thinking exercises assess the ability to solve multi-step problems.
The Common Entrance exam at St. Mary’s Calne consists of the following assessments:
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
The English exam assesses reading comprehension and composition, including syntax, grammar and punctuation.
The maths exam assesses the skills and knowledge set out on the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2, with a strong focus on the Year 5 and Year 6 Programmes of Study.
The science exam broadly reflects the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2, with an emphasis on ‘Working Scientifically’.
Please see below for further details and recommendations on how to prepare for the St. Mary’s Calne 11+ examination.
How to Prepare for the St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) 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 Common Entrance at 11+. 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 examination process. They are designed to be age appropriate but challenging, to reflect the demands of the Common Entrance at 11+.
St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Pass Marks and Target Scores
Pupils who are able to score 65% consistently in our 11+ online practice tests should be on track to pass the St. Mary’s Calne CEM Select exam.
Pupils who are able to score 75%+ consistently in our 11+ practice papers should be on track to pass the St. Mary’s Calne 11+ paper-based exam.
Whilst there are no guarantees, this has historically been a fairly strong indicator that your child should do well in the St. Mary’s Calne 11+ exam.
Don’t worry if your child is not scoring well in our practice papers from the outset. With targeted practice and focus, it’s possible to make big improvements in a short amount of time!
St. Mary’s Calne 11 Plus (11+) Exam Practice Papers
Entrance Day
CEM Select
The following full practice and skill practice online tests are specifically designed to help your child familiarise themselves with the demands of the St. Mary’s Calne CEM Select assessment:
Full Practice
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CEM Select Practice Tests Bundle
Skill Practice
CEM Select – Letter Connections
CEM Select – Multiple Meanings
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CEM Select Skill Practice Bundle
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Critical Thinking
To prepare for the Critical Thinking exercise, we would highly recommend using the following practice papers:
11+ Critical Thinking & Analysis Pack 1
11+ Critical Thinking & Analysis Pack 2
11+ Critical Thinking & Analysis Pack 3
Interviews
11+ Interviews – The Complete Guide
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Common Entrance
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
To prepare for the Common Entrance English exam, 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
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended 11+ resources for the St. Mary’s Calne English exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
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
To prepare for the Common Entrance maths exam, we would highly recommend using the following practice papers. Please note that some of the questions towards the end of these papers go slightly beyond the ISEB 11+ Maths syllabus.
Full Practice Tests
Skill Specific Practice
11+ Fractions, Decimals & Percentages
11+ Reflection, Rotation & Symmetry
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended 11+ resources for the St. Mary’s Calne mathematics exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
11+ Mathematics Bundle
Science
To develop your daughters’s skills in Science, we highly recommend the following packs:
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Our practice tests aim to show what sort of questions were included in St. Mary’s Calne 11+ past papers. The information provided about St. Mary’s Calne 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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