Saint Ambrose College 11+ guide

Are you thinking about applying to Saint Ambrose College? Find out everything you need to know about the entry process and how to prepare for the 11+ exam.

Key information for Saint Ambrose College

• School type: boys’ grammar school
• Location: Altrincham, Manchester
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 140
• 11+ exam: School’s own test
• Catchment area: yes

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Mid-April 2026: test registration opens
• 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 Saint Ambrose College

Saint Ambrose College is selective. This means that your child will need to take the 11+ exam to be eligible for a place.

You must register your child for the test. A link to register will be available on the school’s website during the registration window.

The Saint Ambrose College entrance test will take place on Friday 18th September 2026. You’ll be emailed 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 Saint Ambrose College, 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 Saint Ambrose College below.

What will my child be tested on?

Children applying to Saint Ambrose College take three 11 plus papers:

1. Verbal reasoning

The verbal reasoning paper takes 50 minutes to complete. It is provided by GL Assessment – one of the country’s leading 11 plus exam providers. All the questions are multiple-choice; your child will mark their answers on an answer sheet which is provided.

Verbal reasoning tests your child’s ability to 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.

Learn more about 11 plus verbal reasoning.

2. Maths

The maths paper is created in-house by Saint Ambrose College staff and takes 35 minutes to complete.

All the questions are multiple-choice. They 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.

3. English

The English paper is also created in-house by Saint Ambrose College staff. Like the maths paper, this lasts 35 minutes and consists entirely of multiple-choice questions.

The paper will include a reading comprehension task along with other English elements. These might include questions which test spelling, punctuation and grammar. There is no creative writing task.

How are places allocated at Saint Ambrose College?

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 Saint Ambrose College as a preferred school on your common application form to be considered. This must be submitted to your home local authority by the 31st October.

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 Saint Ambrose College have a catchment area?

The catchment area for Saint Ambrose College 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. These areas include the postcodes WA14, WA15, M31 and M33.

Saint Ambrose Barlow Deanery (Diocese of Salford)

Our Lady’s & St. Alphonsus, St. Ann’s & St. Hugh of Lincoln, Our Lady and the English Martyrs’, St. Monica’s, St. John’s and St Teresa’s, Moss Side/Old Trafford, Stretford, Davyhulme/Urmston, Flixton, Firswood/Chorlton. These areas include the postcodes M16, M21, M32 and M41.

If a tie-break is needed (e.g. there is one place left and two children have the same score), the child living closest to the school will be prioritised for a place.

If you don’t live close to the school, it’s important to think about how your child will get there every day. How long will the journey take? What transport options are available? Will they be travelling independently or with support?

A longer or more complex journey can affect your child’s daily routine, including how much time they have for homework, rest, and after-school activities.

It’s a good idea to think about how manageable the school run will be and whether it will work for your family day to day.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

The Saint Ambrose College 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 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 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 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.