Know exactly where your child stands for Herschel Grammar School
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Herschel Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Herschel Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Herschel Grammar School
Herschel Grammar School is a mixed grammar school that uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entry. While the exact selectivity ratio is unknown, candidates should aim for 80%+ in practice tests. There is no interview stage, and the school operates a catchment area with priority for those living within 4 miles.
If you want a friendly, diverse school where your child is genuinely known and still pushed hard, Herschel is one to look at. It is a co-educational grammar in Slough, serving the town and the surrounding area, taking girls and boys from 11 to 18, with entry by selective assessment. It carries a name children clearly enjoy: the school is named after William Herschel, the astronomer who discovered Uranus while living in Slough. It opened in the early 1950s, settled onto its present site on Northampton Avenue in 1958, and today sits within the Schelwood Trust alongside the nearby Beechwood School.
What the school keeps returning to is a warm atmosphere built on mutual trust, high standards and a real commitment to each individual child. Beyond results, it talks about pupils who take responsibility for their own behaviour and show strong empathy, leaving as confident, active young citizens. The head writes that the school's success rests on a genuine partnership between governors, staff, pupils and parents, all sharing high hopes for every child, and that picture comes through in the small things as much as the academic ones. There is a full life beyond lessons too, with a house system, a student podcast and culture and empathy weeks among the things that mark the year.
Herschel suits a child who will do well somewhere academically ambitious but still kind, where being looked after counts for as much as the grades. It is led by headteacher Joanne Rockall, and a child who joins finds a place that wants to know them as a person, not just a name on a register.
Key facts
Admissions
Admissions contact
mail@herschel.slough.sch.uk
Admissions phone
01753 520950
Registration form
Sibling policy
What this school tests
11+ Examination
English
- Punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Comparison
- Reading Comprehension - Evaluation
- Reading Comprehension - Grammar and punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Inference and Deduction
- Reading Comprehension - Information Retrieval
- Reading Comprehension - Language Techniques and Imagery
- Reading Comprehension - Sentence-level Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension - Sequencing
- Reading Comprehension - Structure, Form, Voice and Tone
- Reading Comprehension - Summarising
- Reading Comprehension - Text Classification and Purpose
- Reading Comprehension - Types of Words and Phrases
- Reading Comprehension - Word Meaning / Choice
- Sentence Completion
- Spelling
Maths
- Algebra
- Angles and Degrees
- BIDMAS
- Coordinate Grids
- Estimation and Rounding
- Factors and Multiples
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
- Magic squares
- Measurement
- Money
- Number and Place Value
- Number Walls
- Operations
- Perimeter, Area and Volume
- Position and Direction
- Properties of Shapes
- Ratio and Proportion
- Reflection, Rotation and Symmetry
- Sequences
- Special Numbers
- Speed, Distance and Time
- Statistics
- Time
Non-verbal Reasoning
- Extended Figure Series
- Figure Analogies
- Figure Matrices
- Figure Operations
- Figure Series
- Grid Matrices
- Horizontal Codes
- Most Like Three Figures
- Most Like Two Figures
- Odd Figure Out
- Star Matrices
- Triangle Matrices
- Triangle Series
- Vertical Codes
Verbal Reasoning
- Anagrams
- Compound Words
- Embedded Words
- Form a Word
- Insert a Letter
- Letter Analogies
- Letter Calculations
- Letter Codes
- Letter Grids
- Letter Sequences
- Move 1 / 2 Letters
- Number Analogies
- Number Calculations
- Number Sequences
- Related Words
- Rhyming Synonyms
- Shuffled Sentences
- Synonyms
- Word / Logic Puzzles
- Word Analogies
- Word Completion
- Word Match
- Word Opposites
- Word Pairs
- Word Relationships
- Words and Codes
Spatial Reasoning
- 2D Rotations
- Block Counting
- Combining Shapes
- Fold and Punch
- Folding Cubes
- Hidden Shapes
- Missing Face of Cube
- Shape Completion
Catchment area
Yes, Herschel Grammar School has a catchment area with priority based on location and distance from the school (4 miles). Distance will be measured in a straight line from the front door of your home address to the main entrance gate of the school.
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
In 2025 students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 75.8 across their GCSEs. 98.7% gained a grade 5 or better in both English and Maths. 64.7% achieved the English Baccalaureate at grade 5 or above.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
A-level results
In 2025 students achieved a B+ average grade per A-Level entry. 39.9% gained AAB or better including two facilitating subjects.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does Herschel Grammar School use for the 11+?
Herschel Grammar School uses the GL Assessment exam board for its 11+ entrance exam.
Does Herschel Grammar School interview as part of the 11+ process?
No, Herschel Grammar School does not include an interview stage as part of its 11+ entrance exam process.
Is Herschel Grammar School co-educational or single-sex?
Herschel Grammar School is a mixed-gender school, accepting both boys and girls for Year 7 entry.
Does Herschel Grammar School have a catchment area?
Yes, Herschel Grammar School has a catchment area, with priority given to applicants living within 4 miles of the school.
What is Herschel Grammar School's website?
The official website for Herschel Grammar School is https://www.herschel.slough.sch.uk/.
How do you get a place at Herschel Grammar School?
Your child first needs to reach the required standard in the Slough 11+, the shared test run by the Slough Consortium. If more eligible children apply than there are places, the school ranks them in this order: looked-after and previously looked-after children; children living within the catchment, which is four miles of the school, with those closest ranked higher; up to ten Pupil Premium children within ten miles; children of long-serving staff; then test rank. There is no sibling priority.
What happens if my child is ill on 11+ test day at Herschel Grammar School?
If your child cannot sit the test on the day, for example through their illness, your illness or transport failure, email the school administrator before 8.30am on the test day explaining why. For illness, the school will ask for medical evidence. An alternative test date is then set for children who could not take it on the original day. Religious observance and any access arrangements must be raised earlier, by the registration deadline.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2482.6563272270873!2d-0.6124641999999999!3d51.51952079999999!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x4876652987062379%3A0x300a5ba219350c79!2sHerschel%20Grammar%20School!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1780592505291!5m2!1sen!2suk
