Four selective schools in Slough share a single 11+ test, managed by the Slough Consortium: Herschel Grammar, Langley Grammar, Upton Court Grammar and St Bernard's Catholic Grammar. One application, one test day, four possible schools — which is a real advantage for parents, because you prepare for a single format rather than juggling separate exams. This guide sets out exactly what the test looks like, how scoring and oversubscription work, how it compares with neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire systems, and how to build a sensible practice plan around free resources.
Current state, 2026: it is a GL Assessment test
The Slough Consortium uses GL Assessment papers. This matters because a lot of older advice online still references CEM, whose separate paper-based 11+ was discontinued around 2022-2023. Most former CEM regions have since moved to GL or bespoke papers, and Slough sits firmly in the GL camp. In practice that means predictable, curriculum-linked question types, tight timing of roughly a minute per question, no calculator, and multiple-choice answers marked on a separate answer sheet. If you want the wider picture on how boards differ, our GL 11+ papers guide and the 11+ process overview are good companions to this page.
The format
The Slough Consortium test consists of two GL Assessment papers, sat on a Saturday in mid-September of Year 6:
- Paper 1 — English and Verbal Reasoning combined, around 60 minutes.
- Paper 2 — Maths and Non-Verbal Reasoning combined, around 60 minutes.
Both papers are multiple-choice, answered on a standard GL answer sheet where the child shades a bubble (A to E) rather than writing the answer in full. Because the four subjects are folded into just two papers, pace is everything: children move through blended sections without long pauses, so accuracy under time pressure is the skill that separates a qualifying score from a near miss. There is no creative-writing task in Slough — that is a feature of the Essex CSSE exam, not this one.
The four subjects, and what each rewards
The exam covers the four standard 11+ skill areas. Roughly, expect the balance below across the two papers:
| Skill area | What it tests | Where to drill it free |
|---|---|---|
| English / comprehension | Reading a passage closely, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar | Worksheets |
| Maths | KS2 arithmetic, fractions, ratio, measures and multi-step word problems | Worksheets |
| Verbal Reasoning (VR) | Codes, letter sequences, hidden words, analogies, closest-meaning and odd-one-out | Timed mocks |
| Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR) | Series, matrices, analogies, reflections, rotations and spatial folding | Timed mocks |
GL Verbal Reasoning has around twenty named question types. A typical one is a code question: if LAMP is written as MBNQ, each letter has moved forward one place, so DESK becomes EFTL. Non-Verbal Reasoning leans on shape logic — spotting that a figure has rotated ninety degrees, or picking the odd shape out of five. The reassuring thing about GL is that these types repeat, so honest question-type drilling genuinely moves the needle.
Qualifying score and oversubscription
Slough's tests are age-standardised, so a child's raw mark is converted onto a standardised scale where 100 is the average and most scores fall roughly between 70 and 141. Age standardisation gives summer-born children a small uplift, because a September-born and an August-born child sitting the same paper are compared fairly against others of their exact age in months.
The qualifying threshold sits around 111 standardised — lower than Buckinghamshire's 121 headline figure. But qualifying and getting a place are two different things. The Slough schools are heavily oversubscribed, so children realistically need a score around 120 or above to be confident of an offer, and even then distance from the school is usually the deciding tiebreaker once faith and looked-after criteria are applied. Treat the pass mark as the entry ticket, not the finish line, and always confirm the current year's figures and admission rules directly with each school and Slough Borough Council.
What is different about Slough
- The English papers are notably demanding — comprehension passages tend to be longer and more abstract than in some neighbouring regions, so wide reading pays off.
- Faith criteria apply at St Bernard's Catholic Grammar, so a qualifying score alone does not secure a place there.
- The applicant pool is very competitive and largely in-area, which makes in-catchment distance the major tiebreaker.
- It is one application to the consortium, but each school ranks and allocates its own places under its own oversubscription policy.
How Slough compares with its neighbours
| System | Provider | Papers | Reasoning tested? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slough Consortium | GL | 2 blended (Eng+VR, Maths+NVR) | VR and NVR |
| Kendrick (Reading) | GL | Single-subject GL papers | VR and NVR |
| Reading School | FSCE (from 2025) | Four-paper bespoke format | Varies |
| Buckinghamshire | GL | VR, NVR and Maths | VR and NVR |
If your family is applying across Berkshire and Bucks, our grammar school directory and key dates page help you line up the overlapping registration windows so nothing is missed.
Preparation plan
Aim to start structured practice from around Easter of Year 5, building to full mixed-subject mocks weekly through the summer term and into September. A simple rhythm works: short daily question-type drills on weekdays, one timed full mock at the weekend, then review every wrong answer. Because the Slough papers blend subjects, practise switching gears mid-paper rather than only doing single-subject sets. Quest Arena's free mock library includes mocks built in the Slough Consortium style, and the revision hub breaks down each GL question type with worked examples — no account needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Slough 11+ GL or CEM?
It is GL Assessment. CEM's separate paper 11+ was discontinued around 2022-2023, so any advice telling you to prepare for CEM in Slough is out of date — practise GL question types.
Do I apply to each school separately?
No. One test and one consortium registration cover all four schools, but each school then ranks applicants under its own oversubscription rules, and St Bernard's adds faith criteria.
What score do I actually need?
The qualifying mark is around 111 standardised, but because the schools are heavily oversubscribed, a competitive score is closer to 120+, with in-area distance often the final tiebreaker. Always confirm the current year's figures with the schools.