Loreto Grammar School 11+ guide

Are you thinking about applying to Loreto Grammar School? Find out everything you need to know about the entry process and how to prepare for the 11+ exam.

Key information for Loreto Grammar School

• School type: girls' Catholic grammar school
• Location: Altrincham, Cheshire
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 150
• 11+ exam: GL Assessment and school's own test
• Catchment area: yes

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Saturday 27th June 2026: test registration opens (Open Day)
• 10th July 2026: Baptism Certificate submission deadline (where applicable)
• Registration closes: check the Loreto Grammar School admissions page for the registration deadline once it is published
• Friday 18th September 2026: test day
• Mid-October 2026: parents receive test results
• Saturday 31st October 2026: deadline to apply for secondary school places
• Monday 1st March 2027: secondary school national offers day

How to apply to Loreto Grammar School

Loreto Grammar School is selective. This means that your child will need to take an entrance examination to be eligible for a place. As a Catholic school, girls who are Baptised Catholic are prioritised for places under the school's admissions policy.

The 11+ is known as the 'Governors' Entrance Exam' at Loreto Grammar School. You must register your child for the exam. Registration opens at 10:00am on Saturday 27th June 2026, the same day as the school's Open Day. 

The exam will take place on Friday 18th September 2026. You’ll receive details about the test location, time, and what your child needs to bring before the exam.

Your child’s results will be emailed to you in mid-October. If they meet the qualifying standard for Loreto Grammar School, you can apply for a place by naming the school on your common application form. This must be submitted to your local authority by Saturday 31st October 2026.

Important note: passing the test doesn't guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Grammar schools are often oversubscribed with children who meet the qualifying standard. After the 31st October deadline, schools use admissions criteria to allocate places. 

We've outlined the process for Loreto Grammar School below.

What will my child be tested on?

Children applying to Loreto Grammar School take three papers on exam day:

1. Maths

The maths paper is created in-house by Loreto Grammar School staff and takes 45 minutes to complete. It will assess the maths topics your child has been taught in school, up to and including Year 5. You can find out more about maths national curriculum topics here.

2. English

The English paper is provided by GL Assessment and takes 45 minutes to complete. All the questions are multiple-choice; your child will mark their answers on an answer sheet which is provided.

The content of a GL Assessment English paper can vary. However, most grammar schools use papers which test skills in reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation. The content is aligned with the Key Stage 2 national curriculum, so it includes topics your child will have studied at school.

3. Verbal reasoning

The verbal reasoning paper is also provided by GL Assessment and takes 50 minutes to complete. All the questions are multiple-choice.

Verbal reasoning is not taught on the national curriculum, so your child might be unfamiliar with these types of questions. It assesses how well your child can apply logic and solve problems with written information, such as letters, words, symbols and numbers. Some of the key skills tested include reading fluency, knowledge of vocabulary, and the ability to discover and apply rules.

How are places allocated at Loreto Grammar School?

In mid-October, you'll receive your child's test results. These will confirm whether your child has met the required standard for admission.

If your child's results meet the required standard, you must name Loreto Grammar School as a preferred school on your common application form to be considered. This must be submitted to your home local authority by Saturday 31st October 2026.

Places are allocated in a particular order. This is known as ‘Oversubscription Criteria’ and is specific to each grammar school you apply to. Details are available in your target school’s admissions policy.

Does Loreto Grammar School have a catchment area?

The catchment area for Loreto Grammar School is known as Nominated Local Pastoral Areas. This covers:

Saint Ambrose Deanery (Diocese of Shrewsbury)

St. Hugh and St John, St. Vincent de Paul's, All Saints, St. Margaret Ward, St. Joseph's, Holy Angels, Our Lady of Lourdes, Holy Family, West Timperley, Altrincham, Ashton-on-Mersey, Sale, Hale Barns, Partington and Sale Moor.

Saint Ambrose Barlow Deanery (Diocese of Salford)

St. Alphonsus, St. Ann's, English Martyrs', St Hugh of Lincoln, Our Lady and the English Martyrs', St. Monica's, St. John's and St Teresa's, Old Trafford, Stretford, Urmston, Davyhulme, Flixton, and Firswood/Chorlton.

If a tie-break is needed, the child living closest to the school will be prioritised for a place.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

The Loreto Grammar School entrance exam can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

One of the hardest parts of exam 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 smart exam technique

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 entrance 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 exam 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, and build confidence in tackling unseen texts.

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 exam 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.