Ermysted’s Grammar School is one of England’s oldest schools, having provided a single sex education for local boys aged 11-18 for over 500 years. It is a voluntary aided selective high school with standard admission points for entry in to Year 7 and Sixth Form. The school is located in in the centre of Skipton and houses around 840 boys each year. With good road and rail links, the school is easily accessible from across West and North Yorkshire.
Admissions to Year Seven
Admission to year 7 is via a selective test. There are 128 places available. The test is taken in the September, with the results being sent out a couple of weeks later. The school will inform you if you have reached the pass mark. Reaching the pass mark does not mean that you will be given a place at the school. However, it does improve your chances. Priority is given to the children that have reached the pass mark and live within the catchment area.
Once those places have been filled, children from outside the catchment area will be offered places. Owing to changes in admittance in recent years, there is less priority to local boys, with those outside the catchment area now standing a good chance of gaining a place if they attain the pass mark.
The Tests
The entrance examinations are made up of two tests set by GL Assessment. They are comprised of:
- A mathematics and non-verbal reasoning paper
- An English and verbal reasoning paper
Each test is approximately 50 minutes long and in multiple choice format. The school website offers some free, familiarisation resources.
What is the pass mark?
Ermysted’s marks its own papers. The pass mark is the score of the 140th pupil when ranking the papers in academic order, with the highest mark being first and the least high mark being 140. When grading the test papers, Ermysted’s uses a standardised marking system. This means taking into account the age of the child relative to its year group; if Child A, who was born in September 2012, received the same test marks as Child B, who was born in July 2013, Child B would receive a higher standardised score, as they are younger.
Applying to Ermysted’s School
Parent guardians must return application forms before the deadline if they wish their child to sit the tests. The tests will be sat in September and the results will be received in October. If the child has been informed that they have reached the pass mark, parents must still fill in their Local Authority Forms and return them by the deadline. Ermysted’s must be listed as the first choice on the form if you wish your son to be considered for a place. The Local Authority informs parents in early spring as to which school they have been allocated. If a place at Ermysted’s has been offered then the place must be accepted immediately.
Admissions to Sixth Form
For admission into Year 12, selection is by consideration of an applicant’s performance at GCSE. There are around 20 external places on offer each year. Potential students should complete and return an application directly to the school before the deadline. Places will be offered once GCSE results have been received. Candidates are required to achieve a minimum of Grade 5 in at least five GCSE subjects including GCSE Mathematics and GCSE English Language, or equivalent qualifications. In addition, a pupil must reach the published requirements for entry onto his proposed course of study.