Altrincham Grammar School for Boys 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys is a state grammar school for boys aged 11 to 18 in Altrincham, Trafford. It is one of five schools in the Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium, sharing a single entrance test with Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Sale Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School and Urmston Grammar School.

The school is heavily oversubscribed, particularly from within its priority postcodes of WA13, WA14, WA15, M33 and M23, and allocates its places through six priority groups rather than a single score-ranked list.

Because the consortium test is shared across five schools, each school then sets its own qualifying score and admissions criteria against the same result, so clearing the test is only the first step towards a place at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys specifically.

Key information for 2027: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: State grammar school (boys)
• Consortium: Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium (shared with Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Sale Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School and Urmston Grammar School)
• Registration deadline: midday, mid-June 2026
• Exam date: September 2026
• CAF deadline: end of October 2026
• National school offer day: March 2027
• Contact details: www.agsb.co.uk, www.trafford.gov.uk

Admissions information for 2027 entry: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys at 11 Plus (11+)

Registration for the shared Trafford consortium test opens in the spring and closes at midday in mid-June 2026. Your son registers once, through any of the five consortium schools’ websites, and sits the same test on the same day in September 2026, with results following in mid-October 2026.

You must also submit your Common Application Form (CAF) to your home local authority by the end of October 2026. Because it is a shared consortium test, you can name any or all of the five consortium schools on the application form, in the order you would actually like to be offered a place.

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys’ published admission number is 202 places. The school’s own qualifying score is 324, a figure it sets independently of its consortium partners. Meeting 324 makes a boy eligible, but the school then allocates its places through six priority groups built around looked-after status, free school meal eligibility, catchment postcode and score, rather than a single ranked list, so a qualifying score alone does not guarantee a place, especially from outside the priority postcodes. National school offer day falls in March 2027.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exam at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys?

You register your son for the shared Trafford consortium test through any one of the five consortium schools’ websites, before the mid-June 2026 deadline. One registration and one sitting of the test covers all five consortium schools, so you do not need to register separately at each one.

When registering, make sure your son’s date of birth and home address are correct, since Altrincham Grammar School for Boys’ priority postcodes (WA13, WA14, WA15, M33 and M23) affect his place in its own priority groups regardless of how he performs against the consortium’s other schools.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for Altrincham Grammar School for Boys?

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys does not set its own entrance exam. It shares the Trafford consortium test, a GL Assessment-style exam, with four other Trafford grammar schools.

• Paper 1 and Paper 2 (blended): two multiple-choice papers, each around an hour long and computer-marked, with both papers mixing maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning questions together rather than splitting one subject per paper.
• Maths: content taught up to the start of Year 6, covering number, measurement, geometry and statistics, with an emphasis on applying knowledge to problem-solving.
• Verbal reasoning, including English comprehension: word relationships, vocabulary and logic-based verbal puzzles, combined with a comprehension element testing grammar, punctuation and understanding of a written passage. There is no standalone English paper.
• Non-verbal reasoning: shape relationships, sequences, codes and spatial pattern questions, blended alongside the maths and verbal reasoning questions rather than confined to a paper of its own.

Scores are age-standardised, so a boy born earlier in the school year is not disadvantaged against one born later.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) Altrincham Grammar School for Boys exam

Because the consortium test blends English comprehension into the verbal reasoning paper rather than testing it as a separate subject, comprehension technique and reading stamina deserve just as much attention as classic verbal reasoning puzzle types. Regular, timed practice across maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning together, rather than in isolation, best reflects how the real papers are structured.

As test day approaches, moving to full, timed practice papers under exam conditions helps build both accuracy and speed, and gives your son practice transferring answers to a separate answer sheet, a skill worth rehearsing for the consortium’s computer-marked papers.

For Altrincham Grammar School for Boys (Trafford Consortium) 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: