11+ Herts
11+ Hertfordshire
There are no fully selective schools in Hertfordshire, however there are 13 partially selective schools. The South West Herts Schools Consortium (SWHSC) is a group of seven schools in South West Hertfordshire that use a shared entrance exam. The other six partially selective schools admit a small number of children based on aptitude in either music, sport or linguistics.
The South West Herts Schools Consortium schools admit pupils based on academic ability and/or musical aptitude. Parents who wish their child to apply under the musical aptitude and/or academic ability tests must apply through the South West Herts Schools Consortium. The SWHSC academic ability tests are tests in Verbal Reasoning (VR) and Mathematics. Scores from the tests are standardised and places are offered in descending order of the candidates' scores. The musical aptitude test contains 60 questions across 4 sections: pitch, rhythmn, texture and melody. The highest scoring candidates will be invited back to perform a free choice piece which should last no longer that 3 minutes.
In adition to academic and musical aptitude, Queen's School also admits pupils based on sporting aptitude. The test covers the core movement skills from the Council of European Physical Fitness.
These are the seven schools in the South West Herts Schools Consortium. Click on the school that you are interested in:
- Croxley Danes School (mixed) (music only)
- Parmiter's School (mixed)
- Queen's School (mixed)
- Rickmansworth School (mixed)
- St Clement Danes School (mixed)
- Watford Grammar School for Boys
- Watford Grammar School for Girls
These six schools are not part of the Consortium but they are partially selective. Click on the school that you are interested in:
- The Bishop's Stortford High School (boys)
- Chancellor's School (mixed) (music only)
- Dame Alice Owen's School (mixed)
- Goffs Academy (mixed)
- Hertfordshire & Essex High School (girls)
- Hockerill Anglo-European College (mixed)
You may also find the following pages helpful.
- How can you make sure your child does well in the 11+?
- What is the mental impact of the 11+ on children?
- Which subjects are tested in the 11+?
- What is the difference between VR and NVR?
- What exam boards are used for the 11+?
Croxley Danes School
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 180 (up to 10% of places available for students demonstrating musical aptitude)
Phone: 01923 284483
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 6th June 2025
Date of Music Test 1st Round: 8th September 2025
First round music scores notified to parents: 18th September 2025
Date of Music Test 2nd Round: 22nd September 2025 to 26th September 2025
Type of Exam: South West Herts Schools Consortium
Subjects Tested: Musical aptitude
Date of results: 16th October 2025
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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Parmiter’s School
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 216 (up to 54 places awarded on academic ability, up to 21 places awarded on musical aptitude)
Phone: 01923 671424
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 6th June 2025
Date of Academic Test: 6th September 2025
Date of Music Test 1st Round: 8th September 2025
First round music scores notified to parents: 18th September 2025
Date of Music Test 2nd Round: 22nd September 2025 to 26th September 2025
Type of Exam: South West Herts Schools Consortium provided by GL Assessment
Subjects Tested: Maths, Verbal Reasoning
Date of results: 16th October 2025
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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Queens’ School
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 270 (up to 94 places awarded on academic ability, up to 13 places awarded on musical aptitude, up to 13 places awarded on sporting aptitude)
Phone: 01923 224465
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 6th June 2025
Date of Academic Test: 6th September 2025
Date of Music Test 1st Round: 8th September 2025
First round music scores notified to parents: 18th September 2025
Date of Music Test 2nd Round: 22nd September 2025 to 26th September 2025
Type of Exam: South West Herts Schools Consortium provided by GL Assessment
Subjects Tested: Maths, Verbal Reasoning
Date of results: 16th October 2025
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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Rickmansworth School
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 240 (up to 60 places awarded on academic ability, up to 24 places awarded on musical aptitude)
Phone: 01923 773296
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 6th June 2025
Date of Academic Test: 6th September 2025
Date of Music Test 1st Round: 8th September 2025
First round music scores notified to parents: 18th September 2025
Date of Music Test 2nd Round: 22nd September 2025 to 26th September 2025
Type of Exam: South West Herts Schools Consortium provided by GL Assessment
Subjects Tested: Maths, Verbal Reasoning
Date of results: 16th October 2025
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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St Clement Danes School
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 240 (24 academic ability places, 24 musical aptitude places)
Phone: 01923 284169
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 6th June 2025
Date of Academic Test: 6th September 2025
Date of Music Test 1st Round: 8th September 2025
First round music scores notified to parents: 18th September 2025
Date of Music Test 2nd Round: 22nd September 2025 to 26th September 2025
Type of Exam: South West Herts Schools Consortium provided by GL Assessment
Subjects Tested: Maths, Verbal Reasoning
Date of results: 16th October 2025
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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Watford Grammar School for Boys
Gender: Boys
Number of places in Year 7: 224 (56 academic ability places, 22 musical aptitude places)
Phone: 01923 208900
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 6th June 2025
Date of Academic Test: 6th September 2025
Date of Music Test 1st Round: 8th September 2025
First round music scores notified to parents: 18th September 2025
Date of Music Test 2nd Round: 22nd September 2025 to 26th September 2025
Type of Exam: South West Herts Schools Consortium provided by GL Assessment
Subjects Tested: Maths, Verbal Reasoning
Date of results: 16th October 2025
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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Watford Grammar School for Girls
Gender: Girls
Number of places in Year 7: 210 (52 academic ability places, 21 musical aptitude places)
Phone: 01923 223403
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 6th June 2025
Date of Academic Test: 6th September 2025
Date of Music Test 1st Round: 8th September 2025
First round music scores notified to parents: 18th September 2025
Date of Music Test 2nd Round: 22nd September 2025 to 26th September 2025
Type of Exam: South West Herts Schools Consortium provided by GL Assessment
Subjects Tested: Maths, Verbal Reasoning
Date of results: 16th October 2025
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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More information about Watford Grammar School for Girls
The Bishop's Stortford High School
Gender: Boys
Number of places in Year 7: 180 (up to 9 places awarded on sporting aptitude, up to 9 places awarded on musical aptitude)
Phone: 01279 868686
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 25th September 2025
Date of Musical Aptitude Test: 3rd October 2025
Date of Sporting Aptitude Test: 7th October 2025
Type of Exam: Sporting Aptitude Test will assess Speed, Endurance, Hand/Eye Co-ordination and Agility
Type of Exam: Musical Aptitude Test will assess Pitch, Rhythmn, Melody and Texture. There will be 15 questions on each of the four areas, the test will take about 35 minutes to complete.
Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) required?: Yes - Hertfordshire County Council Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) applications between 1st September 2025 and 31st October 2025
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More information about The Bishop's Stortford High School
Chancellor's School
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 210 (21 places awarded on musical aptitude)
Phone: 01707 650702
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st April 2025
Registration closes: 16th May 2025
Date of Musical Aptitude Test: written test 3rd June 2025, performance 17th - 19th June 2025
Type of Exam: Musical Aptitude Test will assess Pitch, Rhythmn, Melody and Texture. There will be 60 questions, 20 each on pitch and texture, and 10 each on melody and rhythmn. The test is about 15 minutes in length. Each child is allocated a 5 minute slot for an instrumental or vocal performance.
Subjects Tested: Musical aptitude
Date of results: w/c 6th October 2025
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Dame Alice Owen's School
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 200 (up to 65 places are awarded on academic ability and 10 are awarded on musical aptitude)
Phone: 01707 643441
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: 1st May 2025
Registration closes: 12th June 2025
Type of Exam: Part One - GL Assessment. Part Two - written internally
Parents who wish their child to take the Governor's Entrance Examination and/or musical tests must complete the school's online registration form. The Governor's Entrance Exam consists of two parts. Part One is a Verbal Reasoning (VR) test (50 mins). The results of which are age standardised and ranked. The top 325 children will be invited back to sit Part Two of the test, which consists of two further papers, one in English (1 hour) and one in mathematics (1 hour). The scores from these tests are age standardised and combined with the VR result to produce a combined mark which is then ranked. Places are offered in rank order.
Key Exam Dates:
- Entrance Exam Part One - 1st Sept 2025
- First round of Musical Aptitude Tests - 1st Sept 2025 (Those sitting VR and Music will sit the VR followed by the 20 minute Musical test.)
- Second round Musical Aptitude Tests - 22nd to 26th Sept 2025
- Entrance Exam Part Two - 27th Sept 2025
Subjects Tested: Verbal Reasoning, English and Mathematics and/or Musical Aptitude
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Goffs Academy
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 240 (up to 24 places awarded to children with an aptitude in foreign languages)
Phone: 01992 630443
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: end of summer term 2025
Registration closes: 19th September 2025
Date of Exam: 4th October 2025
Type of Exam: The test consists of exercises designed to find out about your child's linguistic aptitude - his/her ability to recognise lingiostic patterns and apply then in new contexts. It is not a test of content so a child with no previous experience of foreign languages will not be at a disadvantage. The test will take about 1 hour.
Subjects Tested: Linguistic aptitude
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The Hertfordshire & Essex High School and Science College
Gender: Girls
Number of places in Year 7: 200 (up to 10 places awarded on musical aptitude and up to 10 places awarded on sporting aptitude)
Phone: 01279 654127
Email: [email protected] (putting ‘ENTRY 2026’ in the subject line)
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: June 2025 online only
Registration closes: 26th September 2025
Date of Exam: 4th October 2025
Type of Exam: Sporting Aptitude Test will assess Accuracy, Agility, Sprint Speed, Endurance, Hand/Eye Co-ordination, Movement and Leg Power. Each applicant will take the test within a small group which will move between the different activities. The test will last for around 2 hours.
Type of Exam: Musical Aptitude Test will assess Pitch, Rhythmn, Melody and Texture. There will be 15 questions on each of the four areas, the test will take about 35 minutes to complete.
Subjects Tested: Musical and/or sporting aptitude
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Hockerill Anglo-European College
Gender: Mixed
Number of places in Year 7: 68 day pupils (7 places awarded on linguistic aptitude, 3 places awarded on musical aptitude and 2 places awarded on a combined aptitude in both linguistics and music)
Phone: 01279 658451
Email: [email protected]
Confirmed dates for 2026 entry
Registration opens: Summer term 2025
Registration closes: 15th September 2025
Date of Exam: 20th September
Type of Exam: The test consists of exercises designed to find out about your child's ability to symbol association, grammatical structure and aptitude to hear speech sounds.
Type of Exam: Musical Aptitude Test will assess Pitch, Rhythmn and Musical Sensitivity.
Subjects Tested: Linguistic Aptitude, Musical Aptitude
Click on the buttons to try our FREE demo tests for KS2 maths and English support!