Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact St. Joseph's College 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 St. Joseph's College 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Two things set this school apart from most on an 11+ list, and both matter more than the test. It is state funded, not independent. And it allocates by faith: of 150 Year 7 places, up to 125 are held for baptised Catholic children and about eighteen for other Christians, which leaves roughly seven for everyone else. Every applicant has to clear the test first, whichever group they are in.
The test is narrower than most. Two multiple-choice papers, verbal reasoning for fifty minutes and non-verbal reasoning for forty, with no maths or English paper, and the bar is an age-adjusted standardised score of 105 or above. Passing qualifies a child rather than ranking her, and the faith criteria then decide who gets a place. For September 2027 entry, registration closes on 2 September 2026, the tests run in the middle of that month, and offers come through the council on 1 March 2027.
St Joseph's is a Catholic academy at Trent Vale, on the south side of Stoke-on-Trent, taking around 1,100 boys and girls from eleven to eighteen. The Christian Brothers founded it in 1932 and it still frames itself around Blessed Edmund Rice and the whole person, with the stated aim that every child is 'known, loved and valued'. It was a direct grant grammar school until Stoke abolished the eleven-plus in 1967, spent years after that as an independent school, and became one of the first academies in the country in February 2011. It has held on to an entrance test throughout. It suits a child whose family is part of a parish and who will not be rattled by a reasoning paper.
St Joseph's College uses the GL Assessment exam board for its 11+ entrance test.
The exam is a single-stage test consisting of two multiple-choice papers: a 50-minute verbal reasoning paper and a 40-minute non-verbal reasoning paper. There are no English or maths papers.
Candidates must achieve an age-adjusted standardised score of 105 or above to pass and qualify for admission.
No, there is no interview stage in the admissions process for St Joseph's College.
There are no fees. St Joseph's College is a state-funded Catholic voluntary academy, so tuition is free.
The official website for the school is https://www.stjosephstrentvale.com/.
