Joining Our School
Thank you for considering Colyton Grammar School for your child.
Our main entry point is in the Autumn term for Year 7, although entry is possible to other year-groups or at other times of the school year, dependent on the availability of spaces. Colyton Grammar School is a Selective Co-educational Academy in the state sector, responsible for its testing arrangements and admission criteria.
If you are interested in your child joining Colyton Grammar School, please see the relevant section below:
Support for Pupil Premium Children
Joining our school to discover your ‘Future Story’
Colyton Grammar School is a state school that provides an exceptional and free education to high attaining students from all backgrounds. Our purpose is to enable all of our students, regardless of background, to thrive on highly selective courses at elite institutions and to be happy and successful in their future lives.
To encourage greater representation of children from lower income families to the school we provide a free programme of online resources designed to help children become familiar with the topics on the entrance test and importantly to help boost progress at KS2. This programme is provided by Atom Home and is open to all children (Year 3-Year 6) who are eligible for the Pupil Premium (FSM), whether or not they choose to apply to Colyton. If your child has been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years, they will be eligible for this support.
Click here to register for early support
Financial Support - The CGS Promise
We know that parents may worry about the cost of sending their child to school and we want to take that worry away.
If your child is currently eligible, a free school meal will be provided. In addition, for any student offered a place at Colyton Grammar School, who is eligible for pupil premium we are able to provide:
- Transport costs: to get your child to and from school.
- School uniform, including Colyton Grammar PE kit
- A school laptop
- Financial support for school trips, including residential trips.
- Subsidised instrumental music lessons
- Confidentiality about financial arrangements.
Further information about pupil premium can be found here
Students in Year 12 and Year 13 who are eligible, will be supported with your application for the 16-19 Bursary, which can be used to support you financially. In addition, we look to support you with additional funds through the Bradbeer Foundation.
You can find out more about the 16-19 Bursary and the Bradbeer Foundation here
Further Support for Year 7 Entrance Test (Year 5 and Year 6)
We offer further support to Pupil Premium (FSM) children who intend to take the Year 7 Entrance Test.
Familiarisation workshops at Colyton Grammar School: In the Summer Term of Year 5, our Year 12 students run sessions in Mathematics and English. We believe that children will be inspired by the intellectual challenge and exciting atmosphere of these sessions. They will be fun and a great learning experience for children regardless of whether they have considered Colyton Grammar School as a future secondary school. Parents/Guardians are most welcome to join us at the final session and we will provide a tour and answer any questions you may have about the school and the admissions process.
Other Online Familiarisation Materials: In addition to the support offered by Atom Home we provide at least 10 hours of familiarisation materials via our online Frog Learn platform to aid confidence in taking the actual test.
Year 7 Admissions
Applicants in receipt of Pupil Premium, or who are looked after or previously looked after, are prioritised when offers of places at the school are made. In effect, a lower contextual entrance mark is required.
In Year Admissions
If a place becomes available after the 31st December of the first term in Year 7, a student who is eligible can apply for the place using their Key Stage 2 SAT score alone. There will not be a need for a student to take an admissions test if they have a SAT score above 110 as all eligible applicants will be assessed using their SAT scores (see In-Year Admissions Policy for further detail).
Primary School Partnerships
Our admissions test is based on the primary school curriculum for English and Mathematics, and we offer free sessions to primary schools in these subjects and the sciences, and in robotics, to provide scholastic challenge to help students to reach the higher level of attainment at Key Stage 2.
In addition, we offer primary school extended support programmes for eligible children in Years 4 to 6, including enrichment activities, mentoring and 11+ familiarisation.
Colyton Grammar School is the highest performing school in the region, and we are dedicated to supporting your future. If you have any questions regarding the admissions process, please do contact the admissions team at admissions@colytongrammar.com
The Process for Entry at Year 7
Year 7 September 2025 entry - Applications for 11+ registration will open on 1st April 2024
Click here to register from Monday 1st April 2024
Children may only take the entrance test once in each academic year. Entry is determined by performance indicating appropriate ability in the entrance tests. A single Common Application Form (CAF) covers application to all state secondary schools. A child will receive only one offer of a school place.
Applicants achieving eligible scores will be ranked on the basis of performance in the tests. All children, including those with an EHC Plan or Statement naming the school must be eligible to be admitted.
Closing date for applications - Friday 6th September Midday
For more guidance on the process and guidance on the 11 + eligibility tests can be found:
Familiarisation guide
The familiarisation guide and the accompanying guides are designed to inform parents and candidates about the entrance test in order to:
- Give a feel for the appearance of the actual assessment.
- Introduce some of the symbols and phrases used in the assessment.
- Inform parents and candidates of the invigilation procedure.
- Indicate the range of disciplines that will be tested.
- Highlight the range of answer formats used in the assessment.
The familiarisation booklet and the accompanying guides are NOT definitive and the inclusion of any question types does not guarantee that they will be found in the final assessment.
Please note: there are no commercially available practice test papers for these assessments.
Year 7 Admissions Policy 2024-25
Year 7 Admissions Policy 2025-26
In-Year Admissions
Enquiries regarding in-year admission should be made to the school via the Admissions email; we are happy to provide advice regarding the process.
For students to be admitted they first need to undergo the In-Year test and gain an eligible score, the test is CEM Select Evaluate and is only available for year 7 and 8 children as at Colyton Grammar School we do not have a Year 9 (after the first half term), 10 or 11 intakes, this is due to having a three-year Key Stage 4 curriculum and the implication being that a student joining in-year that later on would be put under too much pressure to catch-up.
The testing is held three times a year towards the end of each term, if you would like your child to take the exam then you will need to have applied in that term.
The dates for the 2024/25 in-year tests are below:
In-Year Autumn Term: 6th December 2024
Deadline to sign up: 29th November 2024
In-Year Spring Term: 28th March 2025
Deadline to sign up: 21st March 2025
In-Year Summer Term: 24th June 2025
Deadline to sign up: 17th June 2025
If you would like to sign up for our In-Year tests please follow the below link:
http://colytongrammar.applicaa.com/inyearform
For more information please see our FAQs or contact our Admissions team.
Sixth Form Admissions
Financial Support
Consultation
School admissions policy 2026-27
Along with all other schools and academies in Devon, we are consulting on an admission policy for 2026-27. The Local Authority is also consulting on its admission arrangements. You are invited to look at the proposed new policies which are based on policies for this year and next year and to have your say on them.
Our proposed policy can be found on this website and you can see all policies at http://devon.cc/schoolpolicy Further information is here: www.devon.gov.uk/admissionarrangements
The consultation runs until 10 January 2025. Policies will be determined by the end of February and published in the same places by 15 March next year. You can comment at schoolsadmissionpolicy-mailbox@devon.gov.uk or by emailing the school.
In Year Admissions Policy 2025-26
