Applying to Upton Hall School FCJ for September 2028? This guide covers the Upton Hall School FCJ Entrance Examination, the qualifying score, how the 156 Year 7 places are allocated and the key dates for September 2028 entry.
Number of places in Year 7: 156 (2027-entry figure — Upton Hall School FCJ confirms each year's admission number in its determined arrangements, published the spring before entry.)
Qualifying score: No pass mark is published. Girls must reach the school's Qualifying Standard, which includes a minimum standard in each part of the examination.
11+ test: Upton Hall School FCJ Entrance Examination (a 50-minute verbal reasoning paper and a 45-minute English paper)
Catchment or priority area: no — places go by the faith criteria, then exam score
Source: Upton Hall School FCJ Admission Policy for September 2027. Last checked October 2026.
Key dates for September 2028 entry
Upton Hall School FCJ hasn't published its timetable for 2028 entry yet. The windows below follow its 2027-entry schedule: the application form deadline was Friday 10 July 2026, the entrance examination took place on Saturday 19 September 2026 with a second date on Wednesday 23 September, and results were sent by Friday 23 October 2026. We'll update this page as soon as the school publishes its 2028-entry dates.
Key dates for Upton Hall School FCJ 11+ entry in September 2028, with expected windows where the school has not yet confirmed exact dates.
Date
What happens
Early to mid-July 2027
School application form deadline expected (it was 10 July in 2026)
End of August 2027
Letter with entrance examination arrangements expected
Mid to late September 2027
Entrance examination expected, with a second date a few days later
By late October 2027
Results expected
Sunday 31 October 2027
Deadline to apply for secondary school places through your home local authority. This date falls on a Sunday.
Wednesday 1 March 2028
National offer day for secondary school places
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Upton Hall School FCJ is selective, so your child needs to sit the 11+ test to be considered for a place.
You register by completing Upton Hall School FCJ's own online application form before the school's deadline, as well as naming the school on your local authority application. If your daughter is a baptised Catholic, you need to provide her Catholic baptismal certificate during the application process and by the published deadline.
Once you have your child's result, you apply by naming Upton Hall School FCJ on your common application form, which goes to your home local authority. For September 2028 entry the deadline is Sunday 31 October 2027. As it falls on a Sunday, you may find it easier to submit your form in the days before.
Reaching the qualifying score makes your child eligible, but it doesn't guarantee a place. If more qualifying children apply than there are places, the school uses its oversubscription criteria, set out further down this page.
What will my child be tested on?
Upton Hall School FCJ runs its own entrance examination. It isn't part of the Wirral Admissions Test used by the four non-Catholic Wirral grammar schools, so if you're also applying to those schools, you register for that test separately through Wirral Council.
There are two papers: a verbal reasoning paper lasting 50 minutes and an English paper lasting 45 minutes, which covers comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar. The free familiarisation materials on the school's website come from GL Assessment.
There is a main sitting and a second date a few days later. The second date is for girls who missed the first through illness (with medical evidence) and for girls with special educational needs or a disability.
The table below shows what each paper covers.
The Upton Hall School FCJ Entrance Examination papers for September 2028 entry: length and content of each paper.
Paper
Length
What it covers
Verbal reasoning
50 minutes
Verbal reasoning
English
45 minutes
Comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar
How are places allocated at Upton Hall School FCJ?
If more children reach the qualifying standard than there are 156 Year 7 places, Upton Hall School FCJ offers places in the order below. This order comes from the school's admissions policy for 2027/28. The school sets its 2028-entry policy separately, and we'll update this table if anything changes.
Upton Hall School FCJ oversubscription criteria in priority order, from the 2027/28 admissions policy.
Priority
Who it covers
1
Looked after and previously looked after girls, including girls who were in state care and then adopted or placed under a child arrangements or special guardianship order
2
Baptised Roman Catholic girls who are eligible for free school meals when you apply
3
Baptised Roman Catholic girls
4
Daughters of school staff employed for two or more years
5
Girls who aren't baptised Catholic, whose parents want them to have a Catholic education, and who are eligible for free school meals
6
Girls who aren't baptised Catholic, whose parents want them to have a Catholic education
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Within any oversubscribed category, places are offered in order of examination score, highest first.
Does Upton Hall School FCJ have a catchment area?
Upton Hall School FCJ doesn't have a catchment area. Places follow the faith-based criteria above, and within each category girls are ranked by their examination score rather than by distance.
If two girls have the same score, the girl living nearest the school is offered the place first. Distance is the shortest available safe walking distance, measured by Wirral Council's computer mapping system.
If you don't live close to the school, it's worth thinking 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 daughter prepare for the test?
The Upton Hall School entrance exam can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your daughter 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 daughter feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures she builds skills in the right order, covers everything she needs, and avoids last-minute cramming.
Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your daughter's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics she'll be tested on. It shows her what to work on and when, adapts as she improves, and helps her build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.
That means less guesswork for you, less stress for her, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.
Build smart exam technique
As your daughter's knowledge grows, practice tests can help her feel more comfortable with the real exam format.
Atom's 11+ practice papers are built to match the format, timing and question styles of real 11+ exams. They're also unlimited — you can download the same paper again and again, and your daughter will get new questions each time. This helps her practise without repeating the same content.
We've made marking easy for you, too. Simply photograph your daughter's answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing her standardised age score (SAS), where she's doing well, and what she should focus on next. You'll also learn how she compares to other children applying to the same school.
Encourage regular reading
Strong reading skills play a big role in 11+ preparation.
Encourage your daughter 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 her become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.
Over time, regular reading will broaden her 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 daughter through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing she's moving in the right direction — not just how she scored on a single test.
Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your daughter is doing in each topic and the direction she's moving in. You can see where she's on track, where she 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.
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Take control of your child’s 11+ preparation.
Not sure if your child is on track for the grammar school 11+? You don’t need to guess what to cover or whether they’re ready. Atom shows you exactly what to practise each week and how they’re performing, so you can stay ahead of the process without the stress.
