11+ and GCSE Tutoring in Altrincham
Five grammar schools, one exam, one September morning
Trafford still selects at 11, which makes Altrincham one of the busiest 11+ postcodes in the country. The consortium exam is a GL test now, and preparing for the old format is the classic local mistake.
How the Trafford consortium exam works
The mechanics first, because they trip people up. Registration opens in the spring of Year 5 and closes in June, before the school year ends. The exam is sat in mid September of Year 6, and results arrive by email in October, in time to inform the preferences you list on the council application. Leave the registration until the summer holidays and your child has no exam to sit.
The papers come from GL Assessment, two of them at roughly an hour each, and each paper mixes verbal reasoning, non verbal reasoning and maths rather than separating them out. That mixing matters more than it sounds. Switching cleanly between a vocabulary question, a rotation puzzle and a fractions problem inside the same timed hour is a skill in itself, and children who have only ever practised topics in tidy separate blocks feel it on the day.
One more thing worth saying plainly. The consortium moved from CEM to GL, so practice materials handed down from an older sibling's 11+ run a few years ago may be written for an exam that no longer exists. Check the format before your child spends a summer on it.
The grammar schools around Altrincham
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys and Altrincham Grammar School for Girls are both in the town, and they are two of the most heavily applied to schools in the north of England. Sale Grammar School, Urmston Grammar and Stretford Grammar School complete the consortium. One exam sitting covers all five, with each school then applying its own oversubscription criteria to the scores, so your ranking of preferences on the Trafford application form does real work.
Because effective score lines move with each year's applicant field, the sensible approach is to prepare to the test rather than to a single school, then let the preference order carry your family's actual priorities.
On the other side of the results letter, a good share of my Trafford students are already inside these schools, keeping their heads above water in Maths sets that move at selective pace, and later pushing for the 8s and 9s at GCSE.
What we actually do
11+ entrance preparation
Preparation for the Trafford consortium's GL entrance exam, shared by both Altrincham grammar schools along with Sale, Urmston and Stretford.
GCSE Maths, English and Science
Weekly one to one or small group sessions built round the topics costing your child marks, not a march through the whole specification.
Self guided Maths Mastery Lessons
Interactive topic lessons that teach the method first, then test it. Answers are built in so you can check work quickly. Some lessons regenerate their questions so the same topic can be practised again.
Mock exam marking
Papers marked by an experienced teacher, returned with written feedback showing where the marks went and why.
Not sure where your child actually stands? A diagnostic assessment finds the gaps before you spend anything on lessons, and free past papers are on the exam resources page if you want to test that yourself first.
GCSE results these methods have produced
Real students, real timeframes. These are GCSE grade movements, including students already inside grammar and independent schools, where getting in was the easy half.
Groundwork started in Year 9 or Year 10 produces those numbers far more often than a panic started in Year 11. Nothing here is a promise attached to a booking.
On the entrance exam side, which is a separate job entirely, three students have won scholarship places at grammar or independent schools.
What it costs
One to one tuition starts from £40 per session, priced on level and exam focus.
Tutoring with Friends is the group option. Bring one or two friends and the price starts at £20 per student per session. Same lesson, same teacher, split cost.
Mock exam marking starts at £39.99 per paper, rising to £69.99 and £99.99 for faster turnaround and a one to one review. Bulk rates for schools on 20 papers or more.
Self guided lessons are the cheapest route in, priced per topic with no subscription.
If you are not sure which of those fits, a free consultation sorts it in fifteen minutes. Booking one does not commit you to anything.
How the online sessions run
Every session is live and one to one, or live with the friends your child brings. Nothing is pre recorded.
Sessions run with a shared interactive whiteboard, so your child works through questions while the teaching happens rather than watching someone else write. Work is saved and sent over afterwards, along with short targeted practice for the week.
Parents get progress updates rather than having to ask. If something is not landing, you hear it from me first.
Common questions
Is the Trafford 11+ still a CEM exam?
No. The consortium schools test with GL Assessment papers now, so CEM era practice books and courses are preparing your child for the wrong format. Everything you use should be GL style.
Does one exam really cover all five schools?
Yes. Your child sits it once and the score goes to every consortium school you name. The schools differ in their oversubscription criteria, which is why the order of preferences on the council form deserves proper thought.
When do we need to register?
The window opens in the spring of Year 5 and closes in June. It does not reopen because a family was on holiday in July, so put the date in the diary the moment Year 5 starts.
Is the girls' school harder to get into than the boys'?
The honest answer is that it varies year to year with the strength and size of the applicant field, and nobody controls that. Prepare to the shared test, rank preferences honestly, and ignore playground folklore about cut off scores.
Start with a conversation, not a contract
Tell me your child's year group, the school or exam you are aiming at, and where they are getting stuck. If I am not the right fit for Altrincham I will say so and point you somewhere better.