Entrance Exams

11+ Entry

Our Entrance Exam is normally held around the middle of January for admissions the following September. The date for the 2011 intake is Thursday 20th January. Every boy and his parent(s) who register are interviewed by the Headmaster in the weeks immediately after the exams.

The candidates take tests in Mathematics, English and Verbal Reasoning.

We do not select solely on the results of the Entrance Exams. Whilst we are an academic school and offer an academic programme, we do look for ability and talent that is not necessarily measured by the boy's showing in the exams. We would be looking for character, a wide range of interests and a facility for talking about them, as well as strengths in, for instance, art, sport, singing, drama, music, debating etc. We also look for boys who, we consider, show commitment to the distinctive values of St James and will respond to the school's care, opportunities and ethos, and will, in return, contribute to the school by their talents and enthusiasm.
The school recognises the importance of a tutorial support system to enable some boys to fulfil their potential.

11+ Exams

Mathematics:
The Maths Papers consist of standard maths problems familiar to the respective age groups. The 11+ paper assumes a knowledge of times-tables, four orders of calculation (adding, subtraction, multiplication and division), factors, multiples and primes, simple fractions, basic decimals, percentages, metric system, perimeter, area and volume, 12 and 24 hour clock, block and linegraphs, symmetry, number patterns, angles, two-dimensional regular shapes, coordinates and some simple problem solving.  The 12+ paper will introduce additional topics such as simple algebra, fraction problems and some basic geometry.

English:
English will consist of comprehension and composition. The comprehension requires the pupil to read an extract and to write full and coherent answers to a set of questions about the text. The pupil is expected to write accurately in full sentences with good spelling and punctuation. The composition should also be correctly written with good descriptive content. Originality, flair, creativity and style are welcomed and marked highly.

Verbal Reasoning:
The Verbal Reasoning assessment measures a pupil's verbal skills and is produced by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). In effect, it demonstrates the pupil's ability to employ logic and reason in the English language. A raw score is given, which is standardized according to a national scale relating to age. They are normally distributed with a mean of 100; so the national average Verbal Reasoning Quotient (VRQ) is 100.

Siblings Policy
Priority is given to any candidate who has a brother or sister who is attending, or has attended, any of the St James Schools throughout the world. Also, any candidate who has a parent who is an ex pupil of the these Schools will receive priority.