The Slough grammar schools
Slough has four state grammar schools, all part of the Slough Consortium. Herschel Grammar School is co-educational and one of the best-performing grammars in the country. Langley Grammar School is co-educational and consistently strong. St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School is a girls' Catholic faith school. Upton Court Grammar School is co-educational.
All four use the consortium 11+ as the primary entry criterion. Each school then has its own oversubscription policy combining test score with proximity, sibling status, and (for St Bernard's) faith criteria.
The Slough Consortium 11+
The test has historically followed a CEM format. CEM was acquired by GL Assessment in 2021 and the CEM brand was retired in 2024, with most former CEM regions transitioning to GL-style papers; check the consortium's current familiarisation paper for the exact format your child will sit. Four sections cover English (comprehension and language use), Maths (problem-solving with KS2-level arithmetic and reasoning), Verbal Reasoning (language-based reasoning patterns), and Non-Verbal Reasoning (visual and spatial pattern recognition).
The test is sat in September of Year 6. Students must register in the summer term of Year 5; exact registration deadlines and details are published annually on the Slough Consortium website.
How tutoring usually focuses
Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning
These question types aren't part of the National Curriculum, so school teaching doesn't cover them. Tutors drill the recurring pattern types systematically: coded language, analogy, sequence, matrix patterns, hidden words. Most students need 4-6 months of consistent practice to develop pattern recognition fluency.
Maths fluency under time pressure
Slough's Maths section rewards speed and accuracy on KS2-level material rather than demanding harder content. Tutors drill arithmetic fluency (mental maths, fraction calculations, percentage problems) until students can answer reliably under exam-paper time pressure.
English comprehension
Reading-comprehension passages with varied question types. Strong preparation includes wider reading (children who read broadly do better), specific comprehension-skill drilling (inference, retrieval, language analysis), and exposure to past-paper-style questions.
Past-paper practice
Slough doesn't publish its own past papers, but commercial publishers (CGP, Bond, etc.) offer CEM-style practice that closely matches the format. Past-paper density rises in the final 2-3 months before the September test.
Choosing a Slough 11+ tutor
Ask tutors directly about previous students who passed the Slough test, ideally at the specific grammar you're targeting. Look for tutors who can speak fluently to the current Slough paper format; generic 11+ tutors who only know one of CEM-style or GL-style may not match the recent Slough paper precisely.
Slough's test is broad enough that breadth matters more than narrow specialism. Strong tutors are comfortable with English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning; some specialise in maths-heavy or English-heavy work, which is less ideal for this test. Both local in-person and online tutors work well: online opens up access to specialists outside the Slough corridor, while in-person tutors near Slough often have specific local insight.