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The 11 Plus in Bexley
The Four Grammar Schools in Bexley
Bexley is a borough in the southeast of Greater London with four grammar schools: Beths Grammar School, Bexley Grammar School, Chislehurst & Sidcup Grammar School and Townley Grammar School.
Two of the four Bexley grammars are single sex (Beths for boys and Townley for girls), so your child has potentially three schools in Bexley to target.
All four schools are served by the same Bexley Test.
The structure of the Bexley Test
The Bexley test consists of two papers, one called Verbal Skills (which is commensurate to English and Verbal Reasoning) and another called Non-Verbal Reasoning & Mathematics. Each paper is approximately 50 minutes long.
There is not a fixed score to pass the Bexley test as the test uses standardised scoring, which is produces a pass mark that varies according to the scores of a particular year's cohort.
Understanding the Bexley Test's top 180
Something unique to the Bexley test is the top 180. The top 180 refers to the one hundred and eighty children who attained the highest scores in the Bexley test. As thousands of children take the Bexley test each year, it takes something special to get into the top 180. At 11 Plus Prep School, we have placed several children in the top 180.
The top 180 scorers earn a privilege that entitles them to choose which grammar school in Bexley they attend. Furthermore, they may choose any Bexley grammar school*, irrespective of their distance from the school.
*A top 180 scorer who is a boy, despite having the pick of any grammar school in Bexley, could not choose Townley Grammar School; likewise a top 180 scorer who is a girl could not choose Beths Grammar School.
Bexley Grammar Schools' "Catchment Areas"
Children who pass the Bexley test but fall outside of the top 180 are subject to the admissions boundaries (commonly but incorrectly these are referred to as "catchment areas") of the schools.
The admission boundaries may change each year and are different for each of the four grammars in Bexley. For example, Bexley Grammar School typically has a shorter admissions boundary and Beths Grammar School typically has a larger catchment area.
You can find out more about Bexley grammar schools' catchment areas in our blog post.
How 11 Plus Prep School Can Help with the Bexley Test
At 11 Plus Prep School, we are experts in the four core subject areas of the Bexley Test — English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and Maths. We keep fully up to date with the exam, including new problem types that are not yet covered in major textbooks or by other tuition services. Tutoring can begin in either Year 4 or Year 5, and we have a proven track record of placing children in the top 180.