St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School

St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School is a selective Catholic grammar school for girls in North Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, with a sixth form.

Entry to Year 7 is by the school’s own entrance test, sat at the school, and admission is prioritised by Catholic faith criteria as well as test rank. The other Barnet grammar schools are Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet and The Henrietta Barnett School, and our guide to the grammar schools in Barnet compares them.

Key information for 2027 entry to St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: selective Catholic grammar school for girls, with a sixth form
• Published admission number: 128 places in Year 7
• Entrance test: four tests, all sat on the same day at the school
• Tests: verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and English
• Format: the reasoning and maths tests are multiple choice. The English test is a written paper
• Applications opened at 9am on Tuesday 14 April 2026 and closed at 4pm on Tuesday 7 July 2026. Late applications are not accepted
• Test date: Friday 11 September 2026 for September 2027 entry. Sitting the test is by invitation
• Results: sent before the local authority application deadline at the end of October
• Faith evidence: a Certificate of Baptism in the Catholic Church and a Certificate of Catholic Practice dated within three months of applying
• Secondary application deadline: Saturday 31 October 2026. Offer day: Monday 1 March 2027

Admissions information for 2027 entry to St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

The published admission number for Year 7 is 128. Selection has two parts that work together: your daughter must rank highly enough in the entrance test, and the faith criteria then decide the order in which places are offered.

The school’s determined policy for 2027 entry asks for applicants to be ranked among the top 175 places in the entrance test to be considered under its criteria. Above that bar, priority runs from looked after and previously looked after girls, through baptised Catholic girls from a practising Catholic family, to girls in receipt of Pupil Premium and then any other girls.

Faith is evidenced by a Certificate of Baptism in the Catholic Church and a Certificate of Catholic Practice from your parish priest, dated within three months of applying. Both are part of the application rather than something added later.

If two applicants are ranked equally, the school looks at the individual test marks in a set order: verbal reasoning first, then non-verbal reasoning, then English, then maths. Distance from home decides any remaining tie. That order is worth knowing when you plan practice, because verbal reasoning is doing more work here than a single quarter of the marks would suggest.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exams at St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School?

Applications for September 2027 entry have closed. They opened at 9am on Tuesday 14 April 2026 and closed at 4pm on Tuesday 7 July 2026, and the school does not accept late applications. If your daughter has applied, the test itself is still ahead: it is sat in September 2026.

1. Apply to the school directly for the entrance test. This is separate from your local authority application.
2. Submit the Certificate of Baptism and the Certificate of Catholic Practice with the application. The Certificate of Catholic Practice must be signed by your parish priest and dated within three months of applying.
3. Request access arrangements at this stage if they are needed. The school makes test papers available for visually impaired candidates and asks for supporting evidence from the SENDCo at your daughter’s primary school.
4. Sitting the test is by invitation. Your daughter must be available to sit all four tests in person at the school on Friday 11 September 2026.
5. Results arrive before you need to finalise your local authority application, which closes on Saturday 31 October 2026.
6. Offers are sent on Monday 1 March 2027.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School?

The entrance test is four separate tests, all sat on the same day at the school.

• Verbal reasoning. Multiple choice.
• Non-verbal reasoning. Multiple choice.
• Maths. Multiple choice.
• English. A written paper, not multiple choice.

The school publishes familiarisation papers for the three multiple-choice tests, and states plainly that it does not provide one for English and cannot give further information on the style or timings of each paper. So the sensible plan is to prepare the multiple-choice tests against the school’s own familiarisation material and to prepare English as a written paper.

That split is the thing to get right. Multiple-choice English practice trains a different skill from writing full answers on paper, and only one of those is what your daughter will be asked to do here.

St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Prepare English as a written paper. Full written answers, handwriting stamina and clear paragraphing all count in a way they do not in a multiple-choice test.
• Use the school’s own familiarisation papers for the three multiple-choice tests. They are the closest guide the school gives.
• Put extra weight on verbal reasoning. It is the first tie-break, ahead of non-verbal reasoning, English and maths.
• Practise four tests in one sitting. Stamina across a single test day matters as much as any individual paper.
• Get the faith paperwork in early. The Certificate of Catholic Practice needs your parish priest’s signature and must be dated within three months of applying.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School exam

Preparation here is unusual because the format is split: three multiple-choice tests and one written English paper. A plan built entirely from multiple-choice packs leaves the English paper unpractised, and a plan built entirely from written papers leaves the reasoning and maths timing unpractised.

A September test means the summer before Year 6 is the working window, with verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning worth short, frequent sessions and English worth longer ones on paper.

For St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: