Loreto Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Loreto Grammar School

Loreto Grammar School is a state grammar school for girls in Altrincham, Trafford, run as a Catholic academy under the Loreto Education Trust. It has 150 places in Year 7, the same figure the school sets for every year group from Year 7 to Year 11.

Although it sits inside the same borough as Trafford’s five-school grammar consortium (Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Sale Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School and Urmston Grammar School), Loreto is not part of that consortium. It sets, marks and administers its own entirely separate entrance exam and registration process, on its own timetable, in the same way as Trafford’s other Catholic grammar, St Ambrose College.

As a Catholic academy, Loreto’s admissions work through a seven-category priority order once the school is oversubscribed: looked-after Catholic girls first, then those with a sister already at the school, then girls from an associated primary school in a nominated Local Pastoral Area, then other Catholic girls, then other looked-after girls, then girls baptised in another Christian denomination, and finally all other girls. A place in any category still requires a pass in the entrance exam first.

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

• School type: State grammar school (Catholic academy, girls)
• Registration deadline: 1pm Friday 31 July 2026
• Exam date: Friday 18 September 2026
• National school offer day: 1 March 2027
• Contact details: www.loretogrammar.co.uk

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

Registration for Year 7 entry into Loreto Grammar School closes at 1pm on Friday 31 July 2026. The school’s own admissions page does not publish a registration opening date, so it is worth checking directly with Loreto if you want to register as early as possible.

The entrance exam itself is sat on Friday 18 September 2026, later in the year than the neighbouring Trafford consortium’s test date. The published admission number is 150, and the school does not publish a fixed pass mark; instead it ranks all candidates who sit the exam and offers places to the top 150 scorers, filtered through the seven-category Catholic-faith priority order described above, with Pupil Premium eligibility and then exam score used within each category, and home-to-school distance as the final tie-break.

Places are confirmed through Trafford’s National School Offer Day, held on 1 March 2027.

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

Loreto is not part of the Trafford consortium’s shared registration portal, so you register directly with the school rather than through a consortium website. Registration must be completed before the 1pm deadline on 31 July 2026, and your daughter’s home address and baptism status may affect priority once the school is oversubscribed, so it is worth reading Loreto’s own admissions page carefully before applying.

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

Loreto’s entrance exam is three separate papers, sat on the same day: Mathematics (45 minutes, set and marked internally by the school rather than by GL Assessment), English (45 minutes, GL Assessment, a standalone comprehension-based paper) and Verbal Reasoning (50 minutes, GL Assessment). There is no non-verbal reasoning paper.

This is a genuinely different structure from the neighbouring Trafford consortium test, which folds its English comprehension content into the verbal reasoning paper rather than testing it on its own, but does include a separate non-verbal reasoning paper. Families applying to both Loreto and a consortium school need to prepare for two distinct formats rather than one shared one.

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

Because Loreto tests English as its own standalone paper rather than blending it into verbal reasoning, wide, varied reading and comprehension technique deserve just as much attention as maths and verbal reasoning practice through the spring and summer of Year 5.

Once registered, moving towards full, timed practice papers under exam conditions helps your child get used to the real running order and timings: maths 45 minutes, English 45 minutes, verbal reasoning 50 minutes, all in one sitting. Because Loreto marks its own maths paper rather than using GL Assessment, applied problem-solving matters as much as pure technique.

For Loreto Grammar School 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: