Dorset grammar schools 11 plus guide

Thinking about a grammar school in Dorset for your child? This guide walks you through how the system works, key dates for entry, and how to support your child through the Dorset Consortium 11+.

In this guide, you’ll find:

• How the Dorset grammar school system works
• Key 11+ dates and deadlines for 2027 entry
• Which schools use the Dorset Consortium 11+
• What your child will be tested on
• How the exam is scored and how places are allocated
• Practical ways to support your child’s 11+ preparation

Dorset grammar schools

Four grammar schools in Dorset have a shared 11 plus exam. These schools are known collectively as the Dorset Consortium 11+. These schools are:

• Bournemouth School (boys)
• Bournemouth School for Girls (girls)
• Parkstone Grammar School (girls)
• Poole Grammar School (boys)

Poole High School and Budmouth Academy are partially-selective secondary schools in Dorset. Only a small proportion of Year 7 places are based on academic criteria. These schools have their own admissions processes.

Dates for your diary

• Monday 13th April 2026: Dorset 11 plus registration opens
• Friday 4th September 2026: Dorset 11 plus registration closes
• Saturday 19th September 2026: Dorset 11 plus exam day
• Friday 16th October 2026: parents receive Dorset 11 plus results
• Saturday 31st October 2026: national deadline to apply for school places
• Monday 1st March 2027: secondary school national offers day

Dates can vary, so always check with your target schools!

What is the Dorset grammar schools’ entrance test?

The Dorset Consortium 11+ is the entrance exam used by the grammar schools in Dorset.

Your child only needs to take the test once, even if you are applying to more than one Dorset grammar school.

The test is taken in September of Year 6. Children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 will sit the Dorset 11+ on Saturday 19 September 2026 for entry to Year 7 in September 2027.

The test is designed to assess a child’s academic ability across reasoning, maths and English. Grammar schools offer places to children performing towards the top end of the national ability range for their age group.

What's in the Dorset grammar schools’ entrance test?

The Dorset entrance test consists of three papers provided by GL Assessment. Most grammar schools in the UK use 11 plus papers provided by GL Assessment.

All three papers are multiple-choice. Your child will have separate pre-printed answer sheets, which they will use to mark the answer(s) they think are correct.

The three papers are:

Maths

The maths paper lasts 50 minutes. The questions are based on the topics your child will have learned at school during Key Stage 2. These cover Year 5 content, with some questions aimed at Year 6.

The topics normally assessed in a GL Assessment 11 plus maths paper include number, measurement, geometry and statistics. Your child will need to use their skills to solve new kinds of problems for some more advanced questions.

English

The English paper lasts 45 minutes. The test will assess your child’s understanding of English based on the national curriculum taught up to the start of Year 6.

Some questions will test reading comprehension. Your child will need to read a passage of text and answer questions to demonstrate their understanding. Other questions assess further English skills, such as spelling, vocabulary and punctuation.

Verbal reasoning

The verbal reasoning paper lasts 50 minutes. Unlike the English and maths paper, this paper is not based on topics your child will have learned at school. Verbal reasoning is not taught on the national curriculum, so the questions might be unfamiliar to your child. Grammar schools often use 11 plus verbal reasoning papers because they analyse children’s academic potential, rather than what they have already learned.

Verbal reasoning involves reasoning with written information, such as words, letters, numbers and symbols. Your child will need to understand how words are produced and used, and the relationships between them. They might also need to use logic to solve codes and work out the next item in a sequence.

There is a short unmarked practice exercise at the start of the test to help your child understand how to answer the different types of questions.

How is the Dorset entrance test scored?

After the test, answer sheets are marked using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) technology.

Scores are then age-standardised, which means younger children aren’t disadvantaged.

Your child’s results will be sent to you in mid-October 2026. If they meet the qualifying standard for your target school, you can then apply for that school through your common application form (CAF).

What's the pass mark for the Dorset 11 plus?

There’s no single fixed pass mark. Instead:

• All children’s age-standardised scores are ranked.
• Each school sets its own qualifying score.

Some priority groups (including Looked After Children and children eligible for Pupil Premium) may qualify with a lower score.

Each grammar school also applies its own admissions criteria when allocating places.

How to apply to Dorset grammar schools

If you're considering a grammar school in Dorset for your child, it's a good idea to speak to your child's teacher first.

Grammar schools are academically selective and select children working towards the top of their year group. Your child's teacher can indicate whether they think your child will be able to keep up with the pace at a grammar school.

1. Register for the Dorset 11 plus

To be considered for a place at one of the four Dorset grammar schools, you’ll need to register your child to take the Dorset Consortium 11+.

• Registration opens: Monday 13 April 2026
• Registration closes: Friday 4 September 2026
  

You’ll be able to register your child for the test via the website of any of the participating schools. Details of the test day will be sent to you shortly after registering.

2. Apply for school places

Your child’s test results will be sent to you on Friday 16th October 2026. You’ll find out if your child has met the qualifying standard to be eligible for a place at your target school(s).

You can use these results to decide which schools to name on your secondary school common application form. Before listing a school on your form, check its admissions policy and make sure your child is eligible.

The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2026.

3. National school offer day

On Monday 1st March 2027, you will find out which school your child has been allocated a place at. They will be allocated a place at your highest-preferred school for which they meet the entry criteria and which has places available.

If no places are available at your preferred schools, they will be offered a place at another school in your area. You can appeal via an independent panel. Information about how to appeal will be sent to you by your local authority along with your school offer on National Offers Day.

How can I help my child prepare for the Dorset 11+?

The 11 plus exam is designed to be challenging. Here are our top tips to help your child prepare for the Dorset 11+.

Stay on track with a clear Dorset 11+ revision plan

One of the hardest parts of 11+ preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom’s exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child’s target schools and exam dates, and we’ll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they’ll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build 11+ exam technique with realistic practice papers

As your child’s knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom’s 11+ practice papers are exact replicas of real 11+ exams. They’re also unlimited – you can download the same paper again and again, and your child will get new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

We’ve made marking easy for you, too. Simply photograph your child’s answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing your child’s standardised age score (SAS), where they’re doing well, and what they should focus on next. You’ll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in 11+ preparation.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will:

• broaden their vocabulary
• improve comprehension and inference
• build confidence in tackling unseen texts

And just as importantly, it can help them enjoy reading — not just see it as exam preparation.

Looking for inspiration? Atom’s recommended reading lists have suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you’re supporting your child through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing they’re moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom’s progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they’re moving in. You can see where they’re on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.