How to prepare for the Stafford Grammar School 11+

The exam at a glance

For September 2028 entry into Year 7, Stafford Grammar School uses its own assessment rather than a shared grammar-school test. The school’s published admissions information for the senior school says Year 7 applicants are invited to attend one of the school’s Assessment Days, held through the admissions cycle.

The verified format for 2028 entry is straightforward: children are assessed in Maths and English only. Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not part of this process, so preparation is best spent building secure literacy and numeracy rather than spreading time across extra test types.

Because the school uses its own assessment, parents should expect the papers to reflect core prep-school and upper-Key-Stage-2 skills rather than the style of a consortium selective test. In practical terms, that usually means:

Maths: arithmetic fluency, fractions, decimals, percentages, problem solving and clear written method.
English: reading accuracy and understanding, vocabulary in context, spelling/punctuation/grammar awareness, and written expression.

The school’s admissions pages describe Assessment Days but do not clearly publish a minute-by-minute structure, the exact paper lengths or whether the assessments are handwritten, online or mixed. So the safest assumption for parents is that the day may include some combination of testing and a chance for the school to meet applicants more broadly, but you should check the current Year 7 admissions information directly with the school when booking.

What this means for preparation is actually helpful: with only two subjects tested, children benefit most from depth in Maths and English. A calm, steady routine of reading, written English practice and regular maths problem solving is usually more valuable here than large volumes of generic 11+ reasoning material.

Registration and key dates

Stafford Grammar School manages its own admissions process. The school’s senior admissions page explains that families should contact the Admissions Team and that prospective Year 7 pupils are invited to attend one of the school’s Assessment Days, which are held throughout the admissions cycle. That wording matters: this does not appear to be a single county-wide test date in the way many grammar-school systems work.

For 2028 entry, the school had not published a single fixed Year 7 registration deadline or one universal autumn exam date on the pages reviewed. Instead, the school presents admissions as an ongoing process with assessment opportunities across the cycle. Parents should therefore use the school’s own admissions route rather than waiting for a local-authority selective test portal.

In practical terms, the registration process appears to be:

Make an enquiry or contact the school’s admissions team using the school’s admissions route.
Arrange a visit or conversation if helpful.
Book or be invited to an Assessment Day for Year 7 entry.
Follow any instructions the school gives about references, reports or supporting information.

The school website also says offer holders are invited to transition events throughout the Spring and Summer Terms. That is useful for families planning ahead, because even where assessment takes place earlier in the cycle, joining arrangements continue well into the year before entry.

Because exact 2028 dates were not published on the pages checked, the most accurate advice is:

Do not rely on county grammar-school timelines. This is an independent-school process run by Stafford Grammar School itself.
Check the current senior admissions page early in Year 5 or at the start of Year 6.
Ask directly when the next Assessment Days are available for your child’s entry year.

If you want a quick place to track updates, see The Stafford Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) and Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

Stafford Grammar School is an independent, coeducational school for ages 3 to 19, with Year 7 as one of its main entry points. Unlike many state grammar schools, it does not operate a catchment-area rule for Year 7 entry. That means families do not need to live within a defined admissions boundary in order to apply.

That said, no-catchment does not mean unrestricted entry. Independent schools still make offers through their own admissions process, and places depend on successful assessment and the availability of places in the year group. The school’s senior admissions information highlights Year 7 entry and Assessment Days, but the pages reviewed did not publish a fixed number of Year 7 places or a published score threshold for admission.

Parents sometimes look for a pass mark or cut-off score, especially if they are used to grammar-school admissions. For Stafford Grammar School, the school pages reviewed did not publish a standardised pass mark, ranking score or distance rule. The right next step is to treat this as a school-based assessment process and ask the admissions team how decisions are made for your child’s entry year.

In practical terms, that usually means focusing on whether your child can:

read confidently and write accurately for their age
show secure Year 5 and early Year 6 maths understanding
work carefully under mild time pressure
present their thinking clearly

Because all sections of the school are on one site, some families will also want to ask how internal progression works for pupils already in the prep school and how that interacts with external Year 7 applicants. The admissions pages reviewed did not set out a detailed oversubscription framework for external applicants, so that is worth checking directly if it matters to your family.

A month-by-month preparation plan

With this school, a balanced routine works better than intensive cramming. For most Year 5 children aiming for an autumn Year 6 assessment, 2 to 3 hours a week in the early stages is enough, rising gradually to 3 to 4 hours a week closer to the assessment if your child is coping well.

January to March of Year 5

Keep things light. Build habits rather than pressure.

Read aloud and independently most days.
Check number fluency: times tables, written addition/subtraction, multiplication/division.
Start one short English task and one short maths task each week.
Total time: about 2 hours weekly.

April to June of Year 5

Begin slightly more structured preparation.

Add comprehension work: retrieving information, inference and explaining answers in full sentences.
Add maths topics that often expose gaps: fractions, decimals, percentages, multi-step word problems.
Practise neat working and showing method.
Total time: about 2 to 3 hours weekly.

July to August before Year 6

This is a good time to increase consistency without making the summer feel like school all over again.

Do two focused sessions a week for maths and two for English.
Include one longer reading-comprehension task each week.
Use short timed bursts for arithmetic and spelling/punctuation.
Start looking at school-specific practice material rather than generic reasoning books.
Total time: about 3 hours weekly.

September of Year 6

This is usually the point to make preparation exam-aware.

Introduce timed sections in both subjects.
Practise switching from easy to harder questions without panicking.
Review mistakes carefully the next day, not immediately in frustration.
Total time: about 3 to 4 hours weekly.

October and the weeks before the assessment

Focus on confidence and accuracy.

Complete one maths paper and one English paper or section each week under realistic conditions.
Keep one day each week completely free from preparation.
Revisit weak areas in short bursts: fractions, vocabulary, punctuation, planning writing.
Prioritise sleep, routine and calm.

When should you start full timed papers? For most children, not too early. If you start months before they have the underlying skills, papers become discouraging. For this school, where success depends on strong Maths and English rather than test-format tricks, it is usually best to spend most of Year 5 building knowledge first and use full timed work mainly from late summer into early autumn.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

Because Stafford Grammar School tests Maths directly, your child needs secure curriculum knowledge and the ability to apply it. Focus on:

rapid, accurate arithmetic
place value and written methods
fractions, decimals and percentages
ratio-style thinking at a simple age-appropriate level
measurement, time and money
word problems with more than one step
checking answers for reasonableness

Good practice for this school is less about obscure tricks and more about clear method. Ask your child to set out working neatly, underline final answers and explain how they knew what operation to use. If they make frequent mistakes, separate knowledge gaps from rushing errors; the fix is different for each.

English

English preparation should cover both reading and writing accuracy. Useful areas to practise include:

comprehension using fiction and non-fiction texts
retrieval, inference and explaining evidence
vocabulary in context
spelling, punctuation and grammar basics
sentence control and paragraphing
planning and writing clearly within a time limit

For reading work, encourage complete written answers rather than one-word responses. Children often understand more than they show on paper. For writing, short regular tasks are better than occasional long ones: for example, improving a paragraph, correcting punctuation, or writing a concise response to a prompt. Accuracy matters, but so does clarity. A child who communicates ideas simply and correctly is usually in a stronger position than one who writes at length with many avoidable errors.

As Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not part of Stafford Grammar School’s 2028 entry assessment, those should stay firmly in the background unless your child is also applying elsewhere and needs them for another school.

Practice papers and mock exams

The best practice for Stafford Grammar School is targeted rather than excessive. Since the school tests only Maths and English, choose materials that strengthen those two subjects in a school-assessment style.

A sensible approach is:

Use untimed practice first to teach method and identify gaps.
Move to timed sections once your child is getting most questions right.
Mark work carefully and keep an error log.
Redo weak questions a few days later to check that learning has stuck.
Use full papers sparingly so they still feel purposeful.

For school-specific preparation, use Free Stafford Grammar School practice papers (one per tested subject, with answers). Those are the most relevant place to start because they keep revision centred on the two subjects this school actually assesses.

You may also want to bookmark The Stafford Grammar School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates) for admissions updates and Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Should you book a mock exam? It depends on your child. A mock can help if they need practice working in an unfamiliar room, managing nerves or sustaining concentration. But for a school using its own Maths-and-English assessment rather than a multi-paper reasoning test, a mock is most useful when your child already has the academic basics in place. It should be a confidence-building rehearsal, not a substitute for learning the content.

On the day

If your child attends an Assessment Day, keep the tone matter-of-fact. The goal is to help them feel prepared, not watched.

Lay out clothes, stationery and directions the night before.
Aim for an ordinary breakfast they know suits them.
Arrive with time to spare so the morning does not begin in a rush.
Avoid last-minute quizzing in the car.
Remind them to read instructions carefully and move on if stuck.

For the papers themselves, three simple rules help most children:

Start carefully. Early marks count just as much as later ones.
Keep moving. If a question feels sticky, leave space and return.
Check obvious errors. In Maths, signs and copied numbers; in English, punctuation, capital letters and missing words.

After the assessment, try not to run through every question. Many children come out unsure how they have done, and a detailed post-mortem rarely helps. A calmer approach is to praise effort, feed them, and move the family’s attention on to the next normal part of the day.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

Because Stafford Grammar School runs its own Year 7 admissions process, the post-assessment timeline is different from a local-authority grammar-school allocation system. In broad terms, families can expect the school to review assessment performance and then communicate the next stage directly.

The school’s admissions information says that successful applicants who hold offers are then invited to transition events throughout the Spring and Summer Terms. That suggests that, once offers are made and accepted, there is a structured settling-in process before September entry.

The pages reviewed did not publish a fixed annual results date, a national offer day arrangement, or a formal published appeals process in the state-school sense. That is not unusual for an independent school. If your child is unsuccessful, the most useful questions to ask the admissions team are:

whether a waiting list operates
whether further assessment is possible if circumstances affected performance
whether later entry points are available

If your child receives an offer, respond promptly and note any deposit, acceptance paperwork or transition arrangements the school sets out in its joining information. As these details can vary from year to year, the school’s current admissions communication is the source to follow.

What has changed recently

No clearly announced recent change to the Year 7 assessment format, catchment rules or published testing structure was identified on the official pages reviewed. The current senior admissions information continues to describe Year 7 entry via the school’s own Assessment Days, and the verified 2028 format remains Maths and English only.

If the school publishes a new admissions policy, revised assessment structure or fixed Year 7 dates for 2028 entry, that would be the point to update your preparation plan.

Frequently asked questions

Does Stafford Grammar School use the 11+ grammar-school test?

No. For 2028 entry, the verified format is the school's own assessment, and it tests Maths and English only.

Is there a catchment area for Stafford Grammar School Year 7 entry?

No catchment area applies. It is an independent school, so families do not need to live in a defined admissions zone to apply.

Does Stafford Grammar School test Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning?

No. The verified 2028 format is Maths and English only.

When is the Stafford Grammar School Year 7 exam?

The official pages reviewed did not publish one fixed annual Year 7 exam date. The school says pupils are invited to Assessment Days held throughout the admissions cycle, so check the current admissions page directly.

How should my child revise for Stafford Grammar School?

Focus mainly on Maths and English: reading comprehension, writing accuracy, arithmetic fluency and problem solving. School-specific practice is more useful here than broad reasoning preparation.

Are there practice papers for Stafford Grammar School?

Yes. You can use the free school-specific papers here: /schools/stafford-grammar-school-mock-tests.

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Sources

Stafford Grammar School – Senior School Admissions: Year 7 is a main entry point; prospective Year 7 pupils are invited to attend one of the school's Assessment Days; Assessment Days are held throughout the admissions cycle; offer holders are invited to transition events throughout the Spring and Summer Terms; admissions are run by the school rather
Stafford Grammar School – Home: Stafford Grammar School is an independent, coeducational school in Stafford for ages 3 to 19; the school has Pre-Prep, Prep School, Senior School and Sixth Form on one site.

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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.