Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School 11+ guide

Thinking about applying to Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions in 2025–2026 and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus entrance exam.

Key information for Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School

• Address: Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School, Glen Road, Waterfoot, Rossendale, BB4 7BJ
• Number of pupils: 1,250
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 180
• 11+ exam:
• Catchment area: no, but children at local primary schools are prioritised

Dates for your diary

• April/May 2025: registration opens for the Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School entrance exam
• Friday 13th September 2025: registration closes for the entrance exam at midday
• Saturday 27th September 2025: Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School entrance exam
• Mid-October 2025: parents receive entrance exam results
• Friday 31st October 2025: national deadline to apply for secondary school places
• Monday 2nd March 2026: national offers day

About Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School

Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School (BRGS) is a mixed selective academy serving the communities of the Rossendale Valley. It traces its history back to Newchurch Grammar School which was founded in 1703.

The school has a track record of exceptional outcomes, with a long list of notable former pupils including sportspeople and actors. With a culture of high expectations and an enriching curriculum, BRGS aims to nurture and inspire tomorrow's leaders.

How to apply to Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School

Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School is a selective state school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place in Year 7.

Registration for the BRGS 11 plus closes on Friday 13th September 2025. Your child will take the exam on Saturday 27th September and you’ll receive their results in mid-October.

To apply to Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October 2025.

Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for BRGS below.

What subjects are on the 11 plus?

The entrance exam at Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School consists of three test test papers provided by GL Assessment:

• English
• Maths
• Verbal reasoning

All of the questions are multiple-choice. Your child will have separate answer sheets which they will use to mark their answers. These are marked electronically.

How does place allocation work at Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School?

Your child’s marks in the 11 plus are age-standardised to ensure that younger children aren’t disadvantaged. All children’s standardised scores are then placed in rank order from highest to lowest. BRGS will then set a qualifying score based on this ranked list.

If the number of children who achieve the qualifying score exceeds 180, BRGS applies oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in the following order:

1. Looked after or previously looked after children
2. Children attending Area 1 primary schools, ranked in order of overall entrance exam mark.
3. Children attending Area 2 primary schools, ranked in order of overall entrance exam mark.
4. Children of staff employed at BRGS for 2 or more years.
5. All other children ranked in order of overall entrance exam mark.

Area 1 primary schools

• Balladen Primary, Rawtenstall
• Britannia Community Primary, Bacup
• St. Paul’s CE Primary, Rawtenstall
• Crawshawbooth Primary, Crawshawbooth
• Holy Trinity CE Primary, Stacksteads
• Newchurch CE Primary, Newchurch
• Northern Primary, Bacup
• Sharneyford Primary, Bacup
• St. Anne’s Edgeside CE, Waterfoot
• St. James the Less RC Primary, Rawtenstall
• St. Joseph’s RC Primary, Stacksteads
• St. Mary’s CE Primary, Rawtenstall
• St. Mary’s RC Primary, Bacup
• St. Peter’s RC Primary, Newchurch
• St. Saviour’s Community Primary, Bacup
• Thorn Primary, Bacup
• Water Primary, Rossendale
• Waterfoot Primary, Waterfoot

Area 2 primary schools

• Broadway Primary, Haslingden
• Edenfield CE, Edenfield
• Haslingden Primary, Haslingden
• Helmshore Primary, Helmshore
• Our Lady & St Anselm’s RC Primary, Whitworth
• St. Batholomew’s CE Primary, Whitworth
• St. James CE Primary, Haslingden
• St. John’s Stonefold CE Primary, Accrington
• St. John with St. Michael CE Primary, Shawforth
• St. Mary’s RC Primary, Haslingden
• St. Veronica’s RC Primary, Helmshore
• Stubbins Primary, Stubbins
• Tonacliffe Primary, Whitworth

Atom’s top tips for 11 plus preparation

The 11 plus is designed to select the most academically able children in the local area. Here are our top tips to help you and your child feel confident for exam day!

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.

Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.

Read widely

11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.

Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.

Refine exam technique

When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.

Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.

With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers for the Lancashire 11 plus. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.

Celebrate progress

Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.

Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.