Colchester Royal Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Colchester Royal Grammar School

Colchester Royal Grammar School (CRGS) is a boys’ state grammar school in Colchester, Essex, for 11 to 18-year-olds, with a co-educational sixth form. Entry to Year 7 is through the CSSE 11+, the bespoke test set by the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex, rather than a GL Assessment paper.

CRGS has one of the smaller published admission numbers among the ten CSSE schools, which makes competition for a place especially keen. The school’s own admissions policy sits on top of the CSSE-wide rules: most places are offered strictly by rank order of score, with no catchment area, plus a small number of places reserved for looked-after children and Pupil Premium boys who clear a higher priority score.

Because CRGS shares the CSSE test with every other Essex grammar school, your son registers and sits the exam once, and the same result can be used for any CSSE school you list on the secondary application form.

Key information for 2027: Colchester Royal Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: State grammar school (boys at 11+, co-educational sixth form)
• Consortium: Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE)
• Registration deadline: June 2026
• Exam date: September 2026
• CAF deadline: end of October 2026
• National school offer day: March 2027
• Contact details: www.crgs.co.uk/132/admissions-policy, www.csse.org.uk/examination

Admissions information for 2027 entry: Colchester Royal Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

Registration for Year 7 entry into Colchester Royal Grammar School is made through the CSSE’s shared registration process each May and June. The test is held in September and results are emailed in October, ahead of the secondary application deadline.

It is important that you also submit your Common Application Form (CAF) to your home local authority by the end of October, listing Colchester Royal Grammar School among your preferences; the order you list schools in is treated as your order of preference.

National school offer day falls in March 2027. The published admission number is 128, one of the smaller intakes in the consortium, and the CSSE-wide minimum standardised score is 303. CRGS’s own admissions policy then fills places largely by rank order above that floor, with up to 12 places reserved for looked-after children and Pupil Premium boys scoring above 320. There is no catchment area; a tie for the last place is broken first by looked-after priority, then Pupil Premium priority, then straight-line distance to the school.

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

To register your son for the entrance exam, you as a parent or legal guardian complete the CSSE’s shared online registration before the June deadline. Registering does not commit you to CRGS: you still choose which schools to name on the secondary application form, submitted separately to your home local authority.

Full details and the current registration window are published on the CSSE examination page, alongside CRGS’s own admissions policy on the CRGS admissions policy page.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for Colchester Royal Grammar School?

CRGS does not set its own entrance exam. Like every Essex grammar school, it selects through the shared CSSE 11+, a written test rather than multiple choice. Your son sits two papers on one day:

• English (60 minutes, plus 10 minutes reading time): a comprehension section based on a reading passage, and a continuous writing section testing structure, vocabulary, punctuation and original ideas.
• Maths (60 minutes): questions drawn from the Key Stage 2 curriculum, wide-ranging rather than advanced, with both accuracy and pace tested.

Each paper is age-standardised to adjust for your son’s date of birth, then the two are weighted equally and combined into a total standardised score. There is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning paper.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) Colchester Royal Grammar School exam

Because CRGS fills almost all of its places strictly by rank order of score, the realistic target is well above the CSSE-wide minimum, so full, timed practice makes a real difference. The CSSE test also includes a genuine writing task, which is where many otherwise strong candidates lose marks, so it is worth practising the writing section specifically rather than only comprehension and maths.

A steady run of full papers under timed conditions, marked together and followed up on the areas that trip your son up, tends to work better than last-minute cramming. Easing off in the final week or two before the exam, with lighter, shorter sessions, helps him arrive on the day fresh rather than exhausted.

For Colchester Royal Grammar School (CSSE) 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: