Parkstone Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Parkstone Grammar School

Parkstone Grammar School is a girls’ state grammar school for 11 to 18-year-olds in Poole, Dorset. It is one of four schools in the Dorset Consortium, sharing a single entrance test with Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls and Poole Grammar School.

The school welcomes applications from families inside and outside the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local authority area, and admission at 11+ is by entrance test.

Key information for 2027 entry to Parkstone Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: girls’ state grammar school
• Test: the Dorset Consortium entrance test, shared by all four consortium schools and set by GL Assessment for September 2027 entry
• Registration: with the school, not the council. For September 2027 entry the window ran from Monday 13 April 2026 to 12 midday on Friday 4 September 2026
• Test date: Saturday 26 September 2026
• Results date: emailed Friday 16 October 2026
• Common Application Form deadline: 31 October 2026
• National Offer Day: Monday 1 March 2027
• Provider change: Quest Assessments provides the 11+ from September 2027, for 2028 entry
• Contact details: parkstone.poole.sch.uk, [email protected], 01202 605605

Admissions information for 2027 entry to Parkstone Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

The Dorset Consortium is four grammar schools sharing one entrance test: Bournemouth School, Bournemouth School for Girls, Parkstone Grammar School and Poole Grammar School. Your child registers once, sits one set of papers, and the result can be used to apply to any of them. You do not sit a separate test for each school. Siblings on our site: Bournemouth School and Poole Grammar School.

Registration is with the school itself, not the council, and it is separate from the secondary application. Registering for the test does not apply for a place. You must also name Parkstone Grammar School on the Common Application Form you submit to your local authority by 31 October 2026.

Scores are age-standardised, so a summer-born child is not judged against the raw marks of older classmates. If you miss the registration deadline, the consortium runs a late entrance test in February 2027.

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

1. Registration for September 2027 entry opened on Monday 13 April 2026 and closes at 12 noon on Friday 4 September 2026.
2. Complete the consortium registration form on the website of the school where you would like your child to sit the test. The test is taken at the school you register with.
3. If your child needs access arrangements, submit the separate access arrangements form at the same time rather than later.
4. Sit the test on Saturday 26 September 2026.
5. Results are emailed to parents on Friday 16 October 2026, before the application deadline, so you will know the outcome before you rank your schools.
6. Submit your Common Application Form to your local authority by 31 October 2026.

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

The Dorset Consortium test is set by GL Assessment and taken in one sitting. There are three multiple-choice papers:

• Mathematics, 50 minutes. Key Stage 2 content, with some questions pitched above the expected standard.
• English, 45 minutes. Comprehension plus spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Verbal reasoning, 50 minutes. Word and logic questions designed to be sat without prior knowledge.

There is no non-verbal reasoning paper in the Dorset test, which surprises families who have prepared for other GL areas. There is no writing paper and no interview. For more on this provider, see our GL Assessment guide.

The provider changes for September 2028 entry

This matters if your child is currently in Year 4 rather than Year 5. The consortium has appointed Quest Assessments as its test provider from the September 2027 test onwards, which is the test for September 2028 entry. The subjects stay the same: mathematics, English and verbal reasoning. Bournemouth School has also said that no content beyond the Year 5 National Curriculum will be tested. September 2027 entry is unaffected and still uses GL Assessment. If you are preparing for the 2028 cycle, our Quest Assessments guide explains how that format works.

Parkstone Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Practise all three papers, not two. Verbal reasoning carries equal weight with maths and English, and it is the paper families most often leave until last.
• Skip non-verbal reasoning. Dorset does not test it, so time spent on shape puzzles is time not spent on the three papers that are actually sat.
• Work to the clock. Fifty minutes for maths and 45 for English are tight, and pace is what separates children who know the content from children who finish it.
• Read widely and keep a vocabulary notebook. Both the English and the verbal reasoning papers reward a broad vocabulary.
• Sit at least one full paper under timed conditions before September, so the length of the morning is not itself a surprise.

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

Preparation for the Dorset Consortium test is straightforward to plan because the format is fixed and public: three papers, one sitting, maths, English and verbal reasoning. The most useful practice is full papers under timed conditions, so your child gets used to switching subject three times in a morning and to working from a separate answer sheet.

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