Watford Grammar School for Girls 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

This information is relevant for those applying to Watford Grammar School for Girls based on academic assessment. The school also reserves a number of places (10% of admissions) on the basis of music aptitude. Entry based on musical assessment will not be discussed in this article, however, you can find more information about it here.

It is strongly recommended that prospective students and their parents attend one of Watford Grammar School for Girls’ Open Evenings if you are applying for a place in Year 7. Information about their Open Evenings for Year 7 2027 entry can be found here. Open Evenings give you and your child the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the facilities, meet the staff, and ensure WGSG is the right choice for you and your child. 

To register for the entrance exam at WGSG for Year 7 entry, you must register with the South West Herts Consortium, which opens in April 2026. 

You must also submit one of the WGSG’s School Information Forms (SIF) and a Common Application Form (CAF) to your local authority, naming Watford Grammar School for Girls as your preference. If you live in Hertfordshire, your local authority is Hertfordshire County Council. Both of these forms are available from September 2026 and must be returned by 31 October 2026. 

WGSG usually has 137 community places and up to 73 specialist places available for Year 7. As a result of the school being heavily oversubscribed, they have strict admissions criteria in place.

The oversubscription criteria for community places gives priority to:

• Look After, or previously Looked After, children
• Children whose normal home address is nearest to the school and who would not be allocated a place under any other criteria 
• Children with a parent who is a permanent member of staff (who has been employed at the school for two or more years)
• Children with a sibling at either WGSG or Watford Grammar School for Boys (excluding students who entered these schools in Sixth Form)
• Places will then be allocated to children in increasing distance order using straight line distance between the girl’s normal home address and the school

The oversubscription criteria for specialist places gives priority to:

• Children selected on the basis of aptitude for music as measured by the school’s assessment procedures, in merit order (21 places)
• Children selected by academic ability as measured by the school’s assessment procedures, in merit order (52 places)