The Trafford Grammar School Consortium 11+ is the shared entrance test for five state grammar schools: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Sale Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School, and Urmston Grammar School.
Understanding the exact format of this test — who provides it, what it contains and how it is scored — shows what the Consortium’s GL test was and what replaces it from 2028 entry. This guide provides an account of the Trafford 11+ format for the September 2026 GL paper, covering the GL Assessment partnership, the structure of the two papers, the question types across VR, NVR, and mathematics, how scores are standardised, the 2026 admissions timeline, familiarisation materials, and what changes for later entry years.
Checked October 2026
The Consortium’s GL paper for September 2027 entry was sat on 14 September 2026 (Trafford Council and the Consortium schools).
Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College had a separate test scheduled for 18 September 2026, and Trafford applications close on 31 October 2026.
For Year 7 entry testing from September 2024, the Trafford Grammar School Consortium has partnered with GL Assessment as its test provider. However, the Trafford consortium does not use an off-the-shelf GL Assessment product: GL creates a bespoke paper exclusively for the Trafford Consortium. This means students sitting the examination do not sit the same examination at any other school.
The types of questions are similar to those in GL’s familiarisation material, which the Consortium schools publish on their websites. The Consortium’s familiarisation guide is an introduction to the types of questions that may be included in the tests; it says that not all of the question types it presents will definitely be included in the real tests, and that the real tests will include some types that it does not show. Sale Grammar School’s information booklet says all applicants have access to the familiarisation materials, ensuring fair access to all.
For the GL cycles the content is verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning; from the entrance test sat in September 2027 it changes to Key Stage 2 English and mathematics, as set out below.
The Trafford Consortium entrance examination for 2027 entry consisted of two papers, each approximately one hour in length, both sat on Monday 14 September 2026. The total testing time is therefore approximately two hours, with the instructions included in each test’s hour and a short break between the two tests.
Both papers assess a mix of verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and mathematics questions. The Consortium’s familiarisation guide says the test is in two separate booklets, each one covering all three, and that each paper is divided into three subject areas. Sale Grammar School’s information booklet says the number of questions and the theoretical maximum mark are not released to the school in advance, and the Consortium’s familiarisation guide gives examples of question types that may be included, not all of which will definitely appear.
The test is entirely multiple-choice. Candidates select their answer from the options given and mark it on a separate answer sheet. The answer sheet is scored by computer, and the question booklet is not marked.
| Paper | Duration | Subjects Tested | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | ~60 minutes | Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning & Mathematics | Multiple choice |
| Paper 2 | ~60 minutes | Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning & Mathematics | Multiple choice |
| Total test time | ~2 hours | VR, NVR, Maths | All multiple choice |
| Age standardisation | Yes | Applied to all papers | Adjusts for date of birth |
| Exam date (2027 entry) | 14 September 2026 | All Consortium schools | Two papers with a short break between them |
Source: Sale Grammar School’s information booklet and September 2027 entry page and the Consortium familiarisation guide, retrieved 3 October 2026.
Verbal reasoning (VR) assesses a child’s ability to use and understand language. In the GL Assessment format used by Trafford, VR questions may test a wide range of skills. These include:
Word relationships: In these questions, three of the five words are related in some way, and the child finds the two that do not go with them.
Vocabulary: The child finds two words, one from each group, that are most opposite in meaning.
Words in sentences: In these sentences, the word in capitals has had three letters next to each other taken out, and the child chooses the three letters that make one correctly spelt word.
Hidden words: In these sentences, a word of four letters is hidden at the end of one word and the beginning of the next, and the child finds the pair of words that contains it.
Verbal comprehension: A reading passage followed by questions testing retrieval and inference.
Other question types: The Consortium’s familiarisation guide says there will be some types of questions in the real tests that are not included in it.
Non-verbal reasoning (NVR) assesses visual and spatial thinking — the ability to recognise patterns, complete sequences, and understand relationships between shapes and images .
Figures alike: On the left there are two figures that are alike, and the child chooses which of five more figures is most like them.
Hidden shapes: A target shape is hidden in one of five diagrams, and the child chooses which diagram contains it.
Spatial reasoning: Questions that test how well the child can work out relationships between shapes and space.
Other question types: Sale Grammar School’s information booklet says non-verbal questions may include relationships between shapes and sequences of shapes, identification of common features from a set of figures and applying them to a new figure, codes and spatial awareness questions.
Ready to start Trafford 11+ preparation?
Leading Tuition’s specialist tutors support children preparing for Trafford grammar school entry. Spaces are limited — enquire early.
Message Us on WhatsAppThe mathematics component of the Trafford 11+ generally covers content taught in schools up to the start of Year 6. Because the Trafford test is multiple-choice throughout, children mark their answers on a separate answer sheet rather than writing a response.
The areas assessed typically include aspects of number, measurement, geometry and statistics. The Consortium’s familiarisation guide says the mathematics section draws upon what children have been taught in class, and that some questions may be more challenging than they are used to.
Our specialist tutors help children prepare for the Trafford selective admissions test with personalised, one-to-one tuition.
Book a Free ConsultationOne of the most important features of the Trafford GL Assessment test is that results are age-standardised: Sale Grammar School’s information booklet says the examination scores will be standardised according to age.
Sale Grammar School’s information booklet says the examination result consists of one standardised result, that a breakdown of the result will not be available, and that success in the entrance examination does not mean a child automatically receives a place at the school.
For families of children in Year 6 (born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, seeking entry to Year 7 in September 2027), the key dates in the Trafford Consortium admissions process are as follows. Registration opened at 12 noon on Thursday 23 April 2026 and closed at 12 noon on Friday 19 June 2026. The entrance examination took place on Monday 14 September 2026. Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College, the borough’s other two grammar schools, had a separate test scheduled for 18 September 2026. Sale Grammar School’s information booklet says families receive the total standardised score prior to 31 October 2026, in time to complete the Common Application Form (CAF); Loreto Grammar School’s admissions policy says its results will be sent on or before 21 October 2026. Trafford residents must submit the Common Application Form (CAF) to Trafford Council by 31 October 2026; families living elsewhere should check their own local authority’s date. National offers day, when families receive notification of which school place their child has been offered, is Monday 1 March 2027.
Registration was completed online through the registration form on a Consortium school’s website. Families only needed to register at one school within the Consortium, stating where the child would sit the examination and which schools should receive the standardised result. The registration deadline of 19 June 2026 has passed. Late applications cannot be considered for testing and second-round offers until after National School Allocation Day on 1 March 2027.
GL’s familiarisation material for the Trafford Consortium test sat on 14 September 2026 is published on Consortium school websites, including those of Sale Grammar School and both Altrincham grammar schools. The guide contains example and practice questions for verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics, with the correct answers given at the end.
Sale Grammar School’s information booklet for September 2027 entry says practice papers are available on the GL website, and that examination content is confidential, so the school cannot disclose information about the examination.
For families who are also considering Loreto Grammar School or St Ambrose College, the borough’s other two grammar schools, Trafford Council says they have a different test from the Consortium’s, which was scheduled for 18 September 2026. The Consortium’s GL paper covered verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and maths, with multiple-choice answers. St Ambrose College says its entrance exam consists of three tests, a Verbal Reasoning paper (50 minutes), a Maths paper (35 minutes) and an English paper (35 minutes), each multiple choice, with no creative writing element. Loreto Grammar School’s entrance examination is not the Consortium’s test: its admissions policy describes it, scheduled for the morning of 18 September 2026, as closed GL tests in English and Verbal Reasoning plus a closed internal test in Mathematics, and says results will be sent on or before 21 October 2026.
The Consortium paper described above is the one sat on 14 September 2026, for entry in September 2027. That paper is the last one GL Assessment will produce for the Consortium. The Consortium ran a tender under the Procurement Act 2023 and appointed Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE) as its admissions test provider for entry to Year 7 from 2028 onwards. The Consortium’s statement says FSCE is a not-for-profit subsidiary of Reading School and that its tests are used by twelve grammar schools and consortia nationally, with more than 8,000 pupils sitting FSCE papers each year.
Two things change, in two different years, so the year group a child is in now decides which format this guide is actually describing for them.
| Year group in 2026-27 | Year 7 entry | Provider | When the test is sat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 6 | September 2027 | GL Assessment | Sat on Monday 14 September 2026 |
| Year 5 | September 2028 | FSCE | September 2027, in Year 6 |
| Year 4 | September 2029 | FSCE | Latter part of the summer term of Year 5, in 2028 |
Source: Trafford Grammar School Consortium statement, published by Sale Grammar School, and Sale Grammar School’s September 2027 entry page, retrieved 3 October 2026. Year groups derived from the entry years the Consortium names.
The content changes first. Beginning with the paper sat in September 2027, the Consortium’s test moves away from verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning. The replacement draws on the Key Stage 2 English and mathematics national curriculum programmes of study up to the end of Year 5. For a reader of this guide that is the material point: the Consortium says the content of the test will change from verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning, so the question types set out above describe the GL paper. English is named directly in the description of the new test.
The date moves second. For entry from September 2029 the test is sat in the latter part of the summer term of Year 5 rather than in September of Year 6. Under the new arrangement the test is sat before the summer holiday between Year 5 and Year 6, rather than in September of Year 6.
The Consortium says the new test is intended to draw on the school curriculum and reduce reliance on external tutoring. Trafford Council says all secondary schools in the Altrincham and Sale areas are significantly oversubscribed. We cover the provider and the other schools already using it in our guide to the FSCE 11+, and the borough-wide picture on our Trafford 11+ tuition page. For the schools themselves, see our Trafford grammar schools guide.
The test a child prepares for depends on the entry year. The GL paper described above was sat for entry in September 2027; for entry in September 2028 the FSCE test is held in September of Year 6, and for entry from 2029 it is held in the latter part of the summer term of Year 5.
The test provider, the subject content and the test date for each entry year are taken from the Trafford Grammar School Consortium statement published by Sale Grammar School, and Consortium membership from Trafford Council. Arrangements move between cycles, so confirm them with the school before you rely on them.
Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.
Reviewed October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against Trafford Council entrance test and starting secondary school pages, the Trafford Grammar School Consortium statement, Sale Grammar School admissions page and information booklet, the Consortium familiarisation guide, Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and for Girls admissions pages, St Ambrose College and Loreto Grammar School admissions documents.
It depends on the year group. A child now in Year 6 sat the GL paper on 14 September 2026, for entry in September 2027. A child in Year 5 sits the first FSCE paper in September 2027, for entry in 2028. A child in Year 4 sits an FSCE paper in the latter part of the summer term of Year 5, during 2028, for entry in 2029, because the Consortium is moving the test earlier from that entry year onwards. Year groups below that follow the same Year 5 summer pattern.
GL Assessment provides the test papers for the Trafford Grammar School Consortium entrance examination for entry in September 2027, which was sat on 14 September 2026, and that is the last GL paper the Consortium will use. GL produces a bespoke paper for the Consortium, so students do not sit the same examination at any other school. The Consortium has appointed Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE) as its admissions test provider for entry to Year 7 from 2028 onwards, and from the test sat in September 2027 the content draws on the Key Stage 2 English and mathematics national curriculum programmes of study up to the end of Year 5.
The test consisted of two papers, each approximately one hour in length, both sat on 14 September 2026 for 2027 entry, with a short break between the two papers. Each paper covers VR, NVR and maths, divided into three subject areas; the subjects are not split between the two papers. All answers are multiple-choice. Answers are marked on a separate answer sheet, which is scored by computer.
Not in the GL paper sat on 14 September 2026. The three assessed areas are verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, and mathematics — all in multiple-choice format. From the test sat in September 2027 the content draws on the Key Stage 2 English and mathematics national curriculum programmes of study up to the end of Year 5, as set out above.
Yes. Sale Grammar School’s information booklet says the examination scores will be standardised according to age. The same booklet says the examination result will be made available by 31 October 2026 as one standardised result, and that a breakdown of the examination result will not be available. It adds that success in the entrance examination does not mean a child automatically receives a place at the school.
The Consortium’s familiarisation guide gives examples of verbal reasoning questions on word relationships, opposites in meaning, words in sentences, hidden words and reading comprehension, and says that not all of the question types it presents will definitely be included in the real tests. Sale Grammar School’s information booklet describes verbal questions as including word choice, knowledge of words and their meanings, how words relate to each other, and verbal reasoning comprehension.
Leading Tuition provides specialist one-to-one Trafford 11+ tuition, tailored to the entry year and test each child is preparing for. We begin with a diagnostic to identify which question types and topics need most work, then build a personalised preparation plan. As the test approaches, we shift to timed full-paper practice and detailed feedback. Contact us at wa.me/447360278449 to book a free consultation.
Book a free consultation — expert advice on preparing for Trafford grammar school entry.
Book a Free Consultation on WhatsApp