At a Glance
Assessment: CEM 11 Plus
Fees Type: Free
Boarding: Day school
Admissions: Mixed Boys and Girls
Places per year: 180
Introduction
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (BRGS), founded in 1701 as Newchurch Grammar School and relocated and renamed Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar in 1913, has a strong “family” ethos underpinned by six traditional values of support, trust, ambition, respect, resilience and opportunity. BRGS is a co-educational and selective school, and staff are proud of students’ academic achievements and enrichment activities. Groups are organised during lunchtime or out of school hours and range from sports, music and drama clubs to the Debating Society, eco-school and multi-faith groups. Current Headmaster Mr Porteous is keen to celebrate the school’s traditions whilst embracing innovations.
The school performs consistently well at GCSE and A Level, and as a selective state school with a Sixth Form, competition for entry is strong. In 2021, 63.8% of all GCSEs were at grade 9-7 and close to 100% of students achieved 5 or more 9-4 grades including GCSE English and Maths. In 2020, the results were centre-assessed grades, with 66.2% of students achieving A*-B grades and a number of students progressed with their studies in STEM-focused courses.
Bacup and Rawtenstall’s 11 plus exam tests your child’s ability in Verbal, Non-Verbal and Numerical Reasoning. It is historically an oversubscribed school; in 2022, 226 children achieved the required standard with a PAN of 180. 11 Plus Hero is here to help you understand the admissions process and expectations of preparing for the 11 plus. We can support you with regularly updated information and an educational toolkit full of useful resources, including 11 plus practice papers, so that you and your child can get acquainted with CEM materials, ensuring you have the confidence and familiarity you need to effectively prepare for the Bacup and Rawtenstall 11 plus exam.
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Key Information
In this section you will find information on contacts, school statistics and important developments at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School provided by credible sources and regularly updated by 11 Plus Hero.
School Address
Full Address:
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar SchoolGlen Road
Waterfoot
Rossendale
BB4 7BJ
Contact Information
Parking in the school
The school has its own car park, but this is often busy on open days/evenings and may be reserved for staff on exam days.
Additional parking off site
There is free street parking available on Miller Barn Lane, Rossendale, BB4 7AX, 5-minute walk to the school.
Further street parking is available on Spring Garden Street, Rossendale, BB4 7AR, 7-minute walk to the school
Additional parking off site
There is free street parking available on Miller Barn Lane, Rossendale, BB4 7AX, 5-minute walk to the school.
Further street parking is available on Spring Garden Street, Rossendale, BB4 7AR, 7-minute walk to the school
Key Information for Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
PAN* for Year 7 intake (2023)
Total Student Capacity Years 7 to 13 (2022)
Total Students Years 7 to 13 (2022)
Percentage Capacity (2022)
Latest Ofsted Rating (2016)
Selection Test
Key Events for Admission to Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Count on 11 Plus Hero to record the need-to-know dates and deadlines of events taking place across the year.
Applications for Secondary School intake 2023
Open Day and Evening
Deadline to complete the supplementary admission form by the LA
Exam date
Test results date
Common Application form (CAF) deadline
Supplementary Information Form (SIF) deadline
National Offer Day
Application Documents for Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
School-specific details, including the admissions policy, test familiarisation materials and how to apply for a place, are provided in the links below.
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Exam Format
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School uses the CEM exam board for their test. It is held at the school and consists of two one-hour papers assessing a pupil’s verbal, numerical and non-verbal skills. The papers contain both standard and multiple-choice questions.
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School 11 Plus Assessment Criteria
| English | Numerical Reasoning | Verbal Reasoning | Non-Verbal Reasoning | Additional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pass Mark
A child must achieve the ‘required standard’ to pass, and although the PAN is 180, the school does not need to fill all these places if applicants do not achieve this standard.
Pass Mark
A child must achieve the ‘required standard’ to pass, and although the PAN is 180, the school does not need to fill all these places if applicants do not achieve this standard.
Catchment Area
As specified in the Blue Booklet 2022, an application guide produced by the school, the admissions authority prioritises children attending primary schools in Rossendale. The admissions policy lists the priority schools in Areas 1 and 2. For these schools, the local authority will provide information and guidance on their website. For children attending schools outside of Areas 1 and 2, parents may receive admissions information from their local authority or can request a copy to be sent.
List of schools in Area 1
Balladen Primary, Rawtenstall
Britannia Community Primary
Constable Lee St. Paul’s CE Primary, Rawtenstall
Crawshawbooth Primary, Crawshawbooth
Holy Trinity CE Primary, Stacksteads
Newchurch CE Primary, Newchurch
Northern Primary, Bacup
Sharneyford Primary, Bacup
St. Anne’s Edgeside CE, Waterside
St. James the Less RC Primary, Rawtenstall
St. Joseph’s RC Primary, Stacksteads
St. Mary’s CE Primary, Rawtenstall
St. Mary’s RC Primary, Bacup
St. Peter’s RC Primary, Newchurch
St. Saviour’s Community Primary, Bacup
Thorn Primary, Bacup
Water Primary, Water
Waterfoot Primary, Waterfoot
List of schools in Area 2
Broadway Primary, Haslingden
Edenfield CE, Edenfield
Haslingden Primary, Haslingden
Helmshore Primary, Helmshore
Our Lady & St. Anselm’s RC Primary, Whitworth
St. Bartholomew’s CE Primary, Whitworth
St. James CE Primary, Haslingden
St. John’s Stonefold CE Primary, Accrington
St. John with St. Michael CE Primary, Shawforth
St. Mary’s RC Primary, Haslingden
St. Veronica’s RC Primary, Helmshore
Stubbins Primary, Stubbins
Tonacliffe Primary, Whitworth
Additional Eligibility
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
A child with an Education, Health and Care Plan which names Bacup and Rawtenstall will be allocated a place if they achieve the required standard in the entrance test.
Oversubscription criteria
Generally, in the event of oversubscription from these areas, the school will use the following criteria:
- Priority is given to children who are currently, or were previously, looked after by the local authority.
- Secondly, children attending an area 1 primary school (ranked by test score).
- Thirdly, children attending an area 2 primary school (ranked by test score).
- Finally, children who do not attend an area 1 or 2 school (ranked by test score).
When the PAN is reached, prospective pupils who passed the exam test are added to a waiting list which is maintained until the end of December in the year of admission.
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School FAQs
The Bacup and Rawtenstall 11 Plus exam is set by CEM and contains two test papers with questions in Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Numerical Reasoning.
If your child is unfit to attend the exam on the day, you must take them to the doctor as soon as possible and obtain a doctor’s note to explain this.
Do not ring the school on exam day as no one will be answering phones. Instead, contact the school on the first Monday after the examination date and send in the medical certificate from the doctor.
A date for your child to sit the test will be arranged as soon as possible.
The school hosts free CEM familiarisation material.
Please note that these materials are not definitive and there is no guarantee that these question types will be found in the actual exam.
It is important to not start too early with full-length 11 plus papers as the difficulty level may be too high and it can be discouraging if the child does not perform as well as they hoped.
It may be acceptable to use pre–11 plus papers aimed at younger children to get used to certain techniques, the multiple-choice answer sheet and timings.
Generally, it is encouraged to hold off until the summer unless the child feels prepared and wants to try a paper. You may decide not to set their first tests under timed conditions and allow the child the chance to work through every question, even if this goes over the recommended time for the paper.
It is not necessarily advantageous, but it does help if a child is thriving in their school subjects and motivated to learn and study.
The pupils in Y7 at Bacup and Rawtenstall are usually those who were noted to be on track for achieving the higher standard in the end of Key Stage 2 tests.
Strong core skills are essential and should be checked regardless of how well the child performs at school. It is important to note that only the marks achieved in the exam will be taken into account for a place at the school.
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