How to prepare for the Churston Ferrers Grammar 11+

The exam at a glance

Churston Ferrers Grammar School Academy is a selective state school, and entry to Year 7 is through the Torbay selective schools test. For September 2028 entry, the verified format is GL Assessment, sat on paper, with tests in Maths and English only.

That matters for preparation. Some grammar school tests spread effort across four areas, but here the focus is narrower: children need secure number skills, problem solving, careful reading and clear written English. There is no need to spend precious time on verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning for this school.

The school explains that the 11+ test is used for admission to Year 7 and that the specific test date is published each year once confirmed. In practice, parents should expect the assessment in September of Year 6, with guidance letters following within a few weeks.

On the day, children should expect a formal exam setting rather than a classroom lesson. Because this is a paper-based GL-style process, good habits matter: reading instructions carefully, keeping work neat, pacing steadily and checking answers where time allows.

Board: GL Assessment via Torbay selective schools
Format: two papers/assessments covering Maths and English
Subjects tested: Maths and English
Delivery: paper-based
When it is usually sat: September in Year 6
Used for: Year 7 entry the following September

If you want a quick reference page for this school’s format, catchment and dates, see The Churston Ferrers Grammar School Academy 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

Registration and key dates

For Churston Ferrers, the admissions information parents need is split between the school and the local authority. The school’s entry requirements page confirms that the school uses the 11+ test for Year 7 admission, while Torbay Council handles the wider secondary application process.

For 2028 entry, the school had not yet published the exact registration opening date, registration deadline or test date at the time of writing. The school states that it will publish the exam date as soon as it is confirmed. Where exact dates are not yet available, the safest advice is to check the school’s admissions page regularly from the summer term of Year 5 onwards and to sign up for alerts.

What parents can say with confidence is:

The test is typically in September of Year 6.
The school says guidance letters are issued within a few weeks of the test.
Your child’s secondary school application is then made through your home local authority using the Common Application Form.
The national closing date for secondary applications is usually 31 October in Year 6.
Offers are made on 1 March, National Offer Day, for entry the following September.

Because families sometimes miss one part of the process, it helps to think of it in two stages:

Register for the selective test when the school/Torbay selective process opens.
Submit the CAF to your local authority by the national deadline, listing Churston Ferrers in your genuine order of preference if you want to be considered for a place.

Documents and evidence can vary year to year, especially where address evidence is relevant, so use the instructions published for your child’s cohort rather than relying on an older forum post.

Useful links for staying on top of the process:

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Churston Ferrers Grammar School Academy is open to applicants for selective Year 7 entry, but admissions are not simply a case of passing and then taking places in score order. The school’s admission arrangements set out oversubscription criteria and explain how priority works.

For September 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified directory notes that the school’s policy change for 2025 admissions was intended to benefit its local community. The school refers to 15 named feeder primary schools in Torbay that have historically dominated intake. It also states that sibling priority was removed for September 2027 entry, and that changes to the qualifying score were made so that a more reasonable proportion of places are accessible to pupils beyond those schools.

The school has 160 Year 7 places.

Competition is real, but it is also important not to over-interpret rumours about scores. Churston does not publish a simple pass mark that guarantees a place on the pages reviewed here. Admissions depend on the school’s published rules, whether a child is deemed qualified, and how many higher-priority applicants apply in that year.

One useful published indicator is the school’s own statement about the effect of the policy change: for September 2026 entry, approximately 80% of children offered a place, 131 of 160, would still have obtained a place under the previous policy. That gives parents some context: the changes matter, but they did not completely reshape the intake overnight.

For families outside the school’s strongest priority groups, that means two things. First, it is sensible to prepare well for the test. Second, it is equally important to read the current admission arrangements carefully each year instead of relying on older assumptions about siblings, feeder patterns or score thresholds.

School type	Selective grammar school, coeducational
Published Year 7 places	160
Priority factors to check	Current admissions policy, catchment/feeder wording, qualification rules and oversubscription criteria
What not to rely on	Unofficial pass marks, guessed cut-off scores or old sibling assumptions

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child aiming for the September 2027 test for 2028 entry, the most effective approach is steady and calm. Churston’s format rewards secure core skills more than frantic last-minute cramming.

January to March of Year 5

Keep it light: around 1 to 2 hours a week in total is enough for most children at this stage. Focus on arithmetic fluency, times tables, fractions basics, reading comprehension and accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. The aim is not speed yet; it is confidence.

April to May of Year 5

Move to around 2 hours a week. Start introducing short, focused practice in the style of selective questions: multi-step maths, comprehension under gentle time pressure and concise written responses. Build routines such as showing maths working clearly and checking whether an answer actually fits the question.

June of Year 5

Increase to 2 to 3 hours a week. By now, most children benefit from one maths session, one English session and one mixed review session each week. Start short timed sections rather than full papers. This helps children get used to pacing without making every session feel like a test.

July of Year 5

Stay at 2 to 3 hours a week. Identify weak areas properly. In maths, that might be fractions, ratio, worded problems or careless errors. In English, it may be inference, vocabulary in context or writing clearly from a prompt. If your child has not yet done any realistic timed work, begin now in small chunks.

Summer holiday before Year 6

This is the key period, but it should still be manageable. Aim for roughly 3 to 4 hours a week, spread over four or five short sessions. Introduce timed papers gradually from this point. One paper every week or two, followed by careful review, is usually more useful than racing through lots of papers. Keep one day each week completely free.

September of Year 6

In the run-up to the exam, keep work focused and calm at about 3 hours a week. Do a small number of realistic papers, but spend just as much time reviewing errors. In the final week, prioritise sleep, routine and confidence over squeezing in extra material.

A good rule for Churston is this: because only Maths and English are tested, children benefit more from depth than from doing huge quantities of mixed 11+ material aimed at other schools.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For a GL-style maths paper, children should be comfortable with the full range of upper Key Stage 2 content used in selective tests: arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, averages, measures, shape, area, perimeter and multi-step word problems. The challenge is often not advanced content but handling familiar content accurately and efficiently.

Useful practice includes:

rapid but accurate arithmetic
fractions, decimals and percentages conversions
reading word problems carefully and deciding what is relevant
showing working in a clear order
checking reasonableness at the end

Children preparing for Churston should spend time on method as well as answers. A child who can explain why they chose a method is usually more secure than a child who only recognises patterns from worksheets.

English

For English, preparation should cover both reading and written accuracy. GL-style English work commonly rewards close comprehension, vocabulary in context, inference, grammar knowledge, punctuation and clear expression.

Useful practice includes:

reading short passages and answering precisely from the text
working on inference without overcomplicating answers
building vocabulary through regular reading
revising sentence punctuation, verb forms and common grammatical terms
writing concise, well-structured responses rather than overlong ones

Encourage your child to read the exact wording of every question. Many marks are lost not through weak reading ability, but because a child gives evidence when asked for inference, or writes far more than is needed and drifts away from the point.

Because Churston does not test verbal reasoning or non-verbal reasoning for 2028 entry, families can safely keep practice centred on these two subjects.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are part of a simple cycle: attempt, review, repair, repeat. Children improve far more from understanding mistakes than from sitting paper after paper without reflection.

A sensible approach is:

Start with untimed or lightly timed sections to learn the style.
Move to timed sections.
Use full papers only once your child has the stamina for them.
Mark carefully and sort mistakes into types: knowledge gap, rushed reading, weak method or time pressure.
Revisit the weak area within a few days.

For Churston specifically, choose resources that match the school’s actual format. Since the school tests only Maths and English, avoid spending too much time on generic four-subject 11+ packs unless you are also applying to schools that need them.

You can use ElevenReady’s school-specific resources here:

If you use a mock exam, treat it as information, not judgement. Its main value is helping your child practise timing, concentration and recovery after one difficult question. A mock should leave you with a clear next step, not just a score.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Set clothes, equipment and travel plans out the night before, and avoid last-minute revision. For most children, the best warm-up is a calm breakfast, a steady journey and reassurance that they only need to take one question at a time.

Remind your child to:

listen carefully to instructions
check they are on the right question number
leave no answer blank if they can make a sensible attempt
move on if stuck and come back if time allows
keep handwriting and working clear enough to follow

If your child tends to rush, give one simple cue such as: read twice, answer once. If they tend to freeze, use a different cue: do the next question, not the whole paper. Short, familiar phrases work better than long pep talks.

After the exam, try not to conduct a detailed post-mortem in the car or at home. Most children feel better if the day is treated as finished once it is done.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

After the September test, the school says guidance letters are issued within a few weeks. These help families understand the next stage before they complete or finalise their secondary application.

You must still submit your Common Application Form through your home local authority by the national deadline, usually 31 October, if you want to be considered for a place. Sitting the test alone is not enough.

School places are then allocated through the coordinated admissions process. National Offer Day is 1 March. If Churston Ferrers can offer your child a place under its admissions rules and your ranked preferences, that offer is made through the local authority process.

If your child is not offered a place, the usual next steps are to:

read the refusal information carefully
ask to remain on the waiting list if available
consider an appeal if you believe there are grounds to do so

Appeals are governed by the normal school admissions appeals framework. The details, forms and deadlines are usually published after offers are released. For school-specific procedures, use the current admissions and appeals information for that admissions round rather than older advice online.

What has changed recently

The clearest recent changes are in admissions policy rather than exam content.

The school says its 2025 admissions policy change was intended to benefit its local community and refers to 15 named feeder primary schools in Torbay that have historically dominated intake.
The school says sibling priority was removed for September 2027 entry.
The school also says changes to the qualifying score were made so that a more reasonable proportion of places are accessible to students beyond those schools.
For September 2026 entry, the school states that approximately 80% of children offered a place, 131 of 160, would have obtained a place under the previous policy.

On the exam side, the verified format for 2028 entry remains GL Assessment, paper-based, with Maths and English only. No official source reviewed for this guide announced a recent change to those tested subjects for the 2028 cohort.

Frequently asked questions

Does Churston Ferrers Grammar School test verbal reasoning?

No. For 2028 entry, the verified format is Maths and English only, so verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning are not tested for this school.

When is the Churston Ferrers 11+ exam?

The school says the test is typically taken in September of Year 6 and that it will publish the exact date each year once confirmed.

How many Year 7 places does Churston Ferrers offer?

The school has 160 Year 7 places.

Is there a published pass mark for Churston Ferrers?

Not on the sources reviewed for this guide. Parents should avoid relying on unofficial score claims and check the school’s current admissions information.

Do siblings get priority at Churston Ferrers?

The school says sibling priority was removed for September 2027 entry, so parents should read the current admissions policy carefully for the relevant cohort.

Do I still need to fill in the CAF if my child sits the test?

Yes. Sitting the test does not replace the secondary school application. You must submit your Common Application Form through your home local authority by the national deadline.

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Sources

Churston Ferrers Grammar School Academy - Entry Requirements: School uses the 11+ test for Year 7 admission; specific test date is published each year once confirmed; guidance letters are issued within a few weeks of the test; references to admissions policy changes intended to benefit the local community; 15 named feeder primary schools in Torbay; sibling pri
GOV.UK - Apply for a secondary school place: National closing date for secondary school applications is 31 October; offers are sent on 1 March.

Preparing for other schools in Torbay

Written by ElevenReady from the school's published information and reviewed by a person before publishing. Last reviewed 4 October 2026. Exam arrangements change. Check the school's admissions page for the current year.