Bournemouth School

Founded in 1901, Bournemouth School is a boys’ grammar school for Years 7 to 11 with a mixed sixth form. It has consistently been awarded ‘outstanding’ Ofsted ratings and has an excellent local reputation. The school is committed to achieving the highest academic standards through a broad and balanced education within a stimulating environment.

Bournemouth School has high expectations of students' learning, their respect for self and others, a sense of community, and dress, behaviour and discipline. Students are offered the support needed to do their best and are asked to take on leadership roles and responsibilities as they move through the school. All pupils have the opportunity to get involved in a range of extra-curricular activities, including academic, sports and cultural events.

• Address: Bournemouth School, East Way, Bournemouth BH8 9PY
• Local authority: Dorset Council
• School type: boys' grammar with mixed sixth form
• Headteacher: Dorian Lewis
• Number of pupils: 1,150+
• National rank (Sunday Times Parent Power): 169
• A level results: 71.2% A*–B
• GCSE results: 60% A*/A/9/8/7

1. Register for the 11 plus

Before registering, speak to your child’s teacher to see if the 11 plus and grammar school is right for them. The 11 plus exam is a challenging exam, designed to select the children working within the top 25% of their year group.

You will need to complete a test registration form to register your son for the 11 plus test. This will be available to complete on the school website between 17th April and 8th September 2023.

2. Apply for school places

You will receive your son's results in the 11 plus in a letter posted by the school on 13th October 2023. You can use the results to decide which schools to include on your local authority secondary application form. You must complete the form for your home local authority:

• Dorset residents: Dorset Council
• Hampshire residents: Hampshire County Council
• Wiltshire residents: Wiltshire Council

If your son has met the score necessary to be eligible for a place at Bournemouth School, you will be able to name the school as a preference on the form. However, make sure to check the school's oversubscription criteria first; in the likely event that more children achieve the qualifying score than there are places available, the school will need to apply oversubscription criteria to prioritise places.

The application form must be submitted to your home local council by 31st October 2023.

Your son's raw scores for the three papers will be standardised according to his age in years and months. This is to ensure that children born later in the school year aren't disadvantaged by being younger. The scores will then be shared with the other three schools in the Dorset Consortium.

All candidates' marks will then be ranked in order of success. There is no set pass mark, as the qualifying standard will be determined by the number of children who have taken the test, and how well the particular cohort has performed.

Achieving the qualifying score doesn't guarantee a place at the school of your choice, as schools are oversubscribed with qualified candidates. We always recommend researching the admission policies for your target schools, looking at their oversubscription criteria and their catchment area.

The planned admission number (PAN) for Year 7 is 180. If more children reach the standardised pass mark than there are places available, places are allocated in this order:

1. Looked After or previously Looked After Children

2. Children who are eligible for the Pupil Premium Grant, ranked in order of test scores

3. Children who live within the school priority area (catchment area), ranked in order of test scores

4. Sons of current members of staff (employed for at least two years)

5. All remaining eligible children, ranked in order of test scores

The priority area for Bournemouth School covers the following postcodes:

• BH1, BH2, BH3, BH4, BH5, BH6, BH7, BH8, BH9, BH10, BH11, BH12 5
• BH23 1, BH23 2, BH23 3