Everything you need to know about grammar school entrance exams in Trafford and beyond
What We Offer
Prices
Booking
Trafford Grammar School Facts and Figures
The Format of the Exams
Entrance Exam Topics
Dates and Deadlines 2025
What We Offer
Since 2008, the team at Better Tuition has helped many hundreds of children prepare for grammar school entrance exams. We have a wealth of expertise to offer and we will support you through the whole process. Why not book a free assessment, a practice entrance exam or a summer school session? You may also wish to attend one of our FREE Entrance Exam Information Events. Finally, we are offering face-to-face masterclasses in key entrance exam topics.
We are delighted to be able to offer in-person tuition in our professionally-equipped tuition centre in Urmston.
Better Tuition offers an unparalleled service. Since 2008, Better Tuition’s team of qualified teachers has supported many hundreds of children in preparing for entrance exams. We pride ourselves on our outstanding reputation and excellent results.
Children are taught individually within a small group. We pinpoint areas of weakness and work to turn them into strengths. We cover every question type likely to come up in the exams, as well as developing reasoning skills and exam technique so that your child will be able to handle anything unexpected in the exam with confidence and mastery.
We don’t leave parents out of the loop; your child will take home an annotated copy of their lesson plan every week, setting out clearly what has been taught and how they have scored in practice exercises. We will also keep in touch via email and telephone. You are welcome to make an appointment to come in and discuss your child’s progress at a time when lessons are not running.
Our practice exams come with comprehensive video tutorials, which take your child through each question in depth. These have proved an invaluable method of supporting students with entrance exam preparation.
We offer:
– a free, no obligation assessment or a free trial lesson;
– targeted, individual tuition with a qualified teacher within a small group.
– practice entrance exams;
– summer school, to ensure your child remains focused during the long break;
– entrance exam masterclasses in maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning as well as exam technique mastery;
– free resources in our download store.
Check out our useful links page for plenty of online activities focused on helping your child prepare for these important exams.
Prices
75-minute tuition session with qualified teacher: £33.
3-hour Masterclass: £50.
Practice Entrance Exams: £55 (£5 discount for current customers).
Booking
Whether you are looking for a tutor to help with maths, English or entrance exam preparation, call Paul Syrett or Christine McLaughlin on 0161 748 3912 at our Urmston tuition centre to book your FREE entrance exam assessment for entrance exams in 2024, or find out more about our practice entrance exams.
Trafford Grammar School Facts and Figures
Trafford is home to seven state-run grammar schools: Urmston Grammar, Stretford Grammar, Sale Grammar, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, St Ambrose College and Loreto Grammar School.
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Four of these are single-sex (Loreto is girls-only and St Ambrose is boys-only, whilst Alty Boys’ and Girls’ are obviously single-sex) and two are faith schools (Loreto and St Ambrose are both Catholic schools).This means that your child can sit for a maximum of five schools.
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Urmston, Stretford and Sale Grammar Schools, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls and Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, form the Trafford Grammar Schools’ Consortium. This means that your child can sit only one exam, which will be set by Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE) from 2027, and you may opt to have their results shared by all five schools. Trafford Consortium exam entrants will sit two or three papers (at time of writing – September 2026 – this is yet to be confirmed). Each paper will test skills in English and Maths. Click to visit Urmston Grammar’s website and scroll down for familiarisation materials.
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The two Catholic grammar schools, Loreto and St Ambrose set their own exams. Loreto Grammar is a girls’ school and sets GL Assessment English and Verbal Reasoning together with its own Maths exam which closely follows the Key Stage 2 SATs format and content. St Ambrose College is a boys’ school and sets its own exam, similar to GL Assessment format.
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Entrance exams for Trafford’s grammar schools take place early in the autumn term of Year 6, if your child is entering Year 6 in September 2027. If your child is entering Year 6 in September 2028 or later, s/he will sit the entrance exam for Trafford Consortium in the summer term of Year 5. The exams for Loreto and St Ambrose are expected to continue to take place in September of Year 6. Most parents begin preparing for the exams one year in advance. Contact us to book a free assessment, tuition or a practice entrance exam.
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The qualifying score (pass mark) for the Trafford Consortium Schools is 334. It is important to note that the scores for each school will be adjusted (to take account of calendar age, for instance) and so your child may pass for one of the consortium schools but not the others.
The Format of the Exams (Trafford)
Trafford Consortium’s exam provider is Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE). Exam entrants will sit two or three papers. Each paper will test skills in maths and English.
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St Ambrose College sets its own exams in a style broadly similar to GL Assessment and the exam consists of three papers: Verbal Reasoning, Maths and English. The qualifying score is 320. Book a practice GL Assessment-style exam with Better Tuition.
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Loreto uses GL Assessment for its Verbal Reasoning and English papers, which are multiple choice. The school writes its own maths paper, which is in standard format (not multiple choice) and resembles a Key Stage 2 SATs paper in style and content. Book a practice Loreto-style exam with Better Tuition. Each element of the examination is normally timed as follows: Maths (45 mins)/ Verbal Reasoning (50 mins) / English (45 mins).
St Ambrose and Loreto Grammar School For Girls Papers:
Visit our download store to download free and low-cost GL Assessment-style papers in Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Entrance Exam Topics
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You can find out more about GL Assessment-style Verbal Reasoning here: Verbal Reasoning.
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Your child will be expected to reach a high standard in Maths. Your child will be expected to understand complex, worded problems and to demonstrate that s/he can apply prior learning in a range of contexts.
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You can also download a free GL Assessment-style Maths paper from our download store. Read more about GL maths exams here on our blog.
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In GL Assessment and FSCE English, your child will be expected to demonstrate excellent comprehension of written texts. In GL Assessment, there is generally a section in which spelling, punctuation and grammar errors must be identified. yle English paper.
Dates and Deadlines 2026
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Urmston Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School, Sale Grammar School, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
These schools currently form the Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium: children will sit only one exam for all four schools.
Papers: The Trafford Consortium uses FSCE. Exam entrants will sit two or three papers. Each paper will test skills in maths and English.
Deadline for applications: TBA. Registration will be via online form here, from April 2027 (exact date TBA).Exam date: Monday, 13th September 2027 (PROVISIONAL)
Loreto Grammar School For Girls
Exam date:
Friday, 17th September (PROVISIONAL) – visit Loreto’s webpage to find out more. You can register online from June.
Deadline for 2026 Applications: Date TBA
Papers:
Maths: 45 minutes NOT multiple choice
English: 45 minutes multiple choice
Verbal Reasoning: 45 minutes multiple choice
Saint Ambrose College For Boys
Exam date: TO BE ANNOUNCED
. You can register online.
Deadline for 2026 Applications: TO BE ANNOUNCED
Papers: Maths (50 mins)/ Verbal Reasoning (35 mins) / English (35 mins)
Open Events
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Altrincham Grammar School for Boys (AGSB) Open Evening: TBA
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Altrincham Grammar School for Girls (AGGS) Open Evening: TBA
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Loreto Grammar School Open Day: TBA
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Sale Grammar Open Evening: TBA
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St Ambrose College for Boys Open Day: TBA
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Stretford Grammar Open Evening: TO BE ANNOUNCED
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Urmston Grammar Open Evening: TBA
You can find entrance examination tips on our blog and useful links here. Call Paul or Christine on 0161 748 3912 to book a free assessment, tuition sessions or a practice entrance exam.
