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Area guide · entry in September 2027

The 11+ in Wirral

Wirral has six grammar schools and two separate ways in: four non-Catholic grammars share one test run by the council, while the two Catholic grammars, St Anselm's College and Upton Hall School, each set and register for their own. Reaching the standard makes a child eligible, but at three of the four consortium schools the remaining places are then given by distance, not score.

On this page
  1. Entry in September 2028: what is published so far
  2. The calendar
  3. Six grammar schools, two routes in
  4. The consortium test, for the four non-Catholic grammars
  5. St Anselm's College and Upton Hall School: their own exams
  6. Reaching the standard is not a place
  7. Things that catch families out
  8. What the published pages do not say

Wirral at a glance

  • The tests Consortium test Tuesday 15 September 2026 for four schools. Upton Hall and St Anselm's set their own separate entrance exams.
  • Results Consortium results are sent on 21 October 2026; Upton Hall's by 23 October 2026.
  • Apply by 31 October 2026 Name at least one grammar school on your home council's form, or it cannot consider your child.
  • How places are decided Reaching the grammar standard makes your child eligible. Each school then applies its own criteria, which at most consortium schools means distance.

What the test covers

The consortium test is verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and maths, set by Quest Assessments. Upton Hall tests verbal reasoning and English; St Anselm's tests English, maths and verbal reasoning.

For children in Year 5 now · starting secondary school in September 2028

Entry in September 2028: what is published so far

Wirral Council has already published the timetable for the four non-Catholic grammar schools: registration through May 2027 and the test in September 2027, with results on 21 October 2027. Neither Catholic grammar school has published anything for 2028 entry yet.

Date What happens
1 May 2027 Registration opens for the non-Catholic grammar schools' assessment
31 May 2027 Registration deadline for the non-Catholic grammar schools' assessment
1 September 2027 Online applications for secondary school open
September 2027 Assessments for grammar schools expected
21 October 2027 Non-Catholic grammar school assessment results sent to parents
31 October 2027 Secondary school application deadline
1 March 2028 Offers made
  • The council's timetable does not name the test provider for the September 2027 test, and no exact test date is given yet.
  • Registration for St Anselm's College and Upton Hall School is separate. Their dates for the 2028 round have not been published.

Only what has been published. From: Wirral Council — Secondary school admissions timetable; Wirral Grammar School for Girls — Admissions.

The calendar

Every date for entry in September 2027, from the published arrangements. Dates that have passed are in grey.

Date What happens
1 May 2026 Registration opened for the non-Catholic grammar schools' assessment
31 May 2026 Registration deadline for the non-Catholic grammar schools' assessment The council's assessment page says registration closed at 12 noon on 1 June 2026, and later forms are accepted only for children who have moved to Wirral since.
7 June 2026 Deadline for special access arrangement requests (consortium test)
10 July 2026 Upton Hall School FCJ application form deadline Proof of Catholic baptism and any SEN evidence were due by the same date.
Friday 31 July 2026 St Anselm's College entrance exam registration deadline Registration was online, with a copy of a baptismal certificate if applicable.
1 September 2026 Online applications for secondary school open
Tuesday 15 September 2026 Consortium assessment for the four non-Catholic grammar schools
19 September 2026 Upton Hall School FCJ entrance examination A second date, 23 September 2026, was for children who were ill on the day and for children with special needs or disabilities.
21 October 2026 Non-Catholic grammar school assessment results sent to parents
By 23 October 2026 Upton Hall School FCJ results sent to parents
31 October 2026 Secondary school application deadline Applications received after this date are treated as late.
1 March 2027 Offers made Wirral's own pages say offers arrive on 1 March or the next working day.
15 March 2027 Deadline to decline an offer, or ask to be considered for other schools
End of March 2027 (exact date to be confirmed) Appeals to be submitted
May to July 2027 Appeals heard and decided

Six grammar schools, two routes in

Four grammar schools have an agreement with Wirral Council that the council assesses children on their behalf. These four share one test, and one registration covers all four:

  • Calday Grange Grammar School (boys; mixed sixth form)
  • West Kirby Grammar School (girls)
  • Wirral Grammar School for Boys
  • Wirral Grammar School for Girls
  • The two Catholic grammar schools carry out their own assessments: St Anselm's College (boys) and Upton Hall School FCJ (girls). Each has its own registration form, deadline and exam, and the council's test does not count for them.

The consortium test, for the four non-Catholic grammars

Registration was online through Wirral Council, not through the schools. The test is provided by Quest Assessments and children sit it at a test venue, which parents were told by the end of August 2026.

Date
Tuesday 15 September 2026, in the autumn term of Year 6.
Papers
Two papers on the same day, each about 50 minutes, with a short supervised break. Paper one is verbal reasoning; paper two is mathematics and non-verbal reasoning.
Format
Paper-based and all multiple choice, usually from five options, marked on a separate answer sheet.
Scoring
Each paper is standardised for age in years and completed months, and the two scores are added together. Children who reach the required score are deemed to have reached the grammar school standard.
Illness
A child who is unwell should not sit it; the council invites them to another session later in the autumn term. The assessment can only be taken once — there is no re-sit.

St Anselm's College and Upton Hall School: their own exams

Upton Hall School FCJ asked for its own application form by 10 July 2026. Its exam is two papers of 50 minutes each, one verbal reasoning and one English (comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar), taken the same morning. Scores are age-weighted and added together, and a girl must reach the qualifying standard, including a minimum in each part. Results are sent by 23 October 2026. Girls whose forms arrived after the deadline are offered a special sitting in early November 2026.

St Anselm's College asked for its online registration by Friday 31 July 2026. Its exam is three one-hour papers: English, maths and verbal reasoning. Parents are told the result by letter or email before the end-of-October application deadline. The college says that a boy who is not successful in its exam cannot rank St Anselm's on the council form.

  • Both schools give priority to baptised Catholic children, and both need proof of baptism by their own deadlines — before the exam, not at application time.
  • Within each priority group, both schools rank children by their exam score.

The part most families need

Reaching the standard is not a place

Wirral Council's guidance is that parents should include at least one grammar school when they apply for a school place. If a child does not reach the grammar school standard, any grammar school preference is withdrawn. If the child does reach it, meeting the standard does not guarantee a place: an oversubscribed school uses its own published criteria to decide.

At Calday Grange, Wirral Grammar School for Boys and Wirral Grammar School for Girls, the places left after the priority groups go by distance from home. West Kirby Grammar School gives 60% of its remaining places by distance and the rest in order of standardised score.

  • Calday Grange, West Kirby and Wirral Grammar School for Girls each set aside a number of places for children on targeted free school meals who reach the standard: up to 15, 18 and 15 places respectively. Wirral Grammar School for Boys' first category, of up to 30 places, can include children scoring up to 5 marks below the eligible score.
  • All applications go on your home council's form by 31 October 2026. Families living elsewhere in England apply through their own council; families outside England use Wirral's form.
  • Offers come from the home council on 1 March 2027.

Things that catch families out

  • Registration closed in Year 5. The consortium window ran through May 2026; the Catholic schools' forms were due in July. Children who missed the consortium deadline can be tested late only if they have moved to Wirral since.
  • Wirral Council advises families whose child was assessed not to submit their preferences until they have the test outcome. Consortium results are due on 21 October, leaving ten days before the deadline.
  • Only the consortium test is run by the council. Questions about Upton Hall or St Anselm's go to those schools.
  • A child cannot be added to the waiting list for a grammar school if they did not reach the standard for entry. The offer letter explains how to appeal.
  • Appeals for St Anselm's College and Upton Hall School are heard by panels set up by those schools, not through the council's online appeals.

What the published pages do not say

Neither Wirral Council nor the consortium schools publish the qualifying score for the consortium test; the council's pages refer only to 'the required score'. The one figure in Wirral's 2027-28 policy booklet is historical: for 2026 entry, the last girl offered a place at West Kirby Grammar School under its score-ranked category had a score of 238.

St Anselm's College's page for registering for the September 2026 exam has been taken down, so we do not give its exam date. The most recent Entrance Examination Policy on the college's website is labelled 2025-2026. It gives pass marks of 55% in maths and in English and 118 in verbal reasoning, and says a candidate must reach the pass mark in two papers. We have not found a version covering the 2026 exam.

The appeals deadline for this round is given only as the end of March 2027, with the exact date to be confirmed.

Sources

17 official pages, checked 4 October 2026

Admissions rules are set again every year, so check the council's own pages before you rely on a date, and tell us if you find something out of date.

Wirral Council

Quest Assessments

Wirral Grammar School for Girls

Upton Hall School FCJ

St Anselm's College

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