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Manchester High School for Girls sets its own entrance exam and names no test provider for it. The school says reasoning is assessed by computer, that between 300 and 400 girls sit the paper each year, and that 35 to 40 of the Year 7 intake come from its own Prep School. Applications for September 2027 entry close on 16 December 2026; the exam is on 13 January 2027.
Updated for September 2027 entry: what we corrected on this page
This page said the Reasoning component uses "the CEM Select format", and built a whole preparation section around it. Manchester High School for Girls does not say that. Its own admissions page says only that the school "is academically selective and sets its own entrance exam", and its FAQ page says that "Pupils are tested with written papers in English (Writing and Comprehension) and Maths. Reasoning is assessed with a computerised test on a desktop computer." No provider is named anywhere on the school's admissions pages. The claim has been deleted rather than restated, and the school's own description now stands in its place.
The CEM branding itself is retired. Warwickshire County Council recorded that its move to GL Assessment followed "a joint procurement exercise with The Schools of King Edward VI Foundation, which took place when the previous contract with CEM came to an end". Cambridge sells a successor product, Cambridge Select Insight, marketed at "11+, 13+, late transfer and fair banding", but a school that uses it is not sitting a "CEM Select" test.
Two figures could not be sourced and have gone. The page said there is a "non-refundable registration fee of £60" and that full-fee bursaries go to families with an income of "£14,500 or less". Neither figure appears on the school's admissions or fees pages, which say instead that bursaries are "means tested and linked to family income" and that award values vary.
The claim of "around 75 external Year 7 places" has been removed. The school does not publish a Year 7 place number. It does publish two related figures that are more useful: usually between 300 and 400 pupils sit the entrance examination each year, and typically around 35 to 40 of the incoming Year 7 join from the Preparatory School.
The results section quoted 2025 figures. It now carries the school's published 2026 results: 92% of A-level grades at A* to B, 61% at A* to A with an average grade set of AAA, 77% of GCSE grades at 9 to 7, and "All eight of Manchester High's Oxbridge applicants secured their places this year". The old line about 18 Oxbridge interview invitations has gone with it.
A benchmark of "consistently above 80% on practice papers", attributed to independent preparation guidance, has been removed. The school does not publish a mark scheme or a pass mark, and it states that it does not provide past papers, so no percentage benchmark on any practice paper can be tied to its exam.
Reviewed August 2026: every date, figure and exam component here was checked against Manchester High School for Girls' own admissions, FAQ, fees and results pages, on 23 August 2026.
The school gives a short, unambiguous list. Manchester High School for Girls "is academically selective and sets its own entrance exam", and applicants for Year 7 "are tested in: Mathematics, Essay writing, Comprehension, Reasoning". Its FAQ page adds how those are delivered: "Pupils are tested with written papers in English (Writing and Comprehension) and Maths. Reasoning is assessed with a computerised test on a desktop computer."
That last sentence is the one most guides get wrong. Several pages on this search result — including one that sells practice packs for it — describe the reasoning section as a "CEM Select" test. The school names no provider on any of its admissions pages. What it tells families is the delivery method: reasoning is on a desktop computer, and the written papers are not. For a ten-year-old that distinction matters more than a brand name, because it changes how the paper is navigated, whether answers can be revisited, and what practising on paper does and does not prepare for. Our guide to CEM and GL Assessment sets out what happened to the CEM name and which tests are still sold under it.
The school does publish sample material. It says "Sample questions in English Comprehension, Composition and Mathematics are available to help prepare for the exam", and separately that "We do not provide past papers but all candidates who register for the entrance examination have access to sample papers with which to practise". Note what is missing from that list: there is no official sample for the reasoning section, which is exactly the component families most want to see.
| Component | How the school describes it | What that means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | A written paper | Answers are written out, not selected from options, so working and method are visible to the marker |
| Essay writing | A written paper | A composition task: form, structure and control of sentences rather than comprehension of a given text |
| Comprehension | A written paper | Inference and evidence from an unseen passage, again in the candidate's own words |
| Reasoning | "Assessed with a computerised test on a desktop computer" | Screen-based, and no provider is named; the school publishes no sample for this section |
| Interview | "Candidates who perform strongly in the written examination may be invited" | A second stage, reached only on the strength of the written papers, and not an offer in itself |
Source: Manchester High School for Girls, retrieved 23 August 2026 — its How to Join Senior School page and its admissions FAQs.
The school does not publish a Year 7 place number, and any page that gives you one is guessing. It does publish the two figures that bracket the answer. On the entry point: "Usually, between 300 and 400 pupils sit our Senior School entrance examination each year." On the internal intake: "typically around 35 to 40 of our incoming Year 7 students join us from our Preparatory School", and those girls "sit the Entrance Exam and are interviewed by the Head Mistress".
So a Prep School girl is not waved through — she sits the same paper. And the external competition is a field of three to four hundred, of whom a smaller number reach interview: the school states plainly that "not all candidates who are interviewed will receive an offer". Two filters, both live, and the written exam is the one that decides whether the second ever happens.
Preparation that matches what MHSG actually sets
Our Manchester 11+ tutors work to the school's own four components — maths, essay writing, comprehension and a screen-based reasoning test — rather than to a provider format the school does not name. 91% of our students achieve their desired grades, and we are rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 58 reviews.
Book a Free ConsultationThe school publishes a single sequence for 2027 entry, and two of the deadlines sit before the exam rather than after it. Families who want a preparation plan mapped to these dates can book a free consultation at any point in the cycle. Anyone applying for financial assistance has an earlier deadline than everyone else, which is the detail most often missed.
| Stage | Date the school publishes |
|---|---|
| Bursary application deadline | Wednesday 9 December 2026 |
| Application deadline | Wednesday 16 December 2026 |
| Senior School entrance exam | Wednesday 13 January 2027 |
| Acceptance deadline, offers with financial assistance | Tuesday 2 March 2027 |
| Acceptance deadline, all other offers | Thursday 4 March 2027 |
Source: Manchester High School for Girls, retrieved 23 August 2026 — How to Join Senior School.
The school words the application deadline as a condition rather than a cut-off: applications "should be received by 16th December 2026 to be invited to the January assessment on Wednesday 13th January 2027". Registering also unlocks the practice material, since sample papers go to "all candidates who register for the entrance examination". A family that registers in November therefore gets several extra weeks with the school's own samples; a family that registers on the deadline does not.
Interviews are a filter applied after the papers, not alongside them. The school states that "Candidates who perform strongly in the written examination may be invited to attend an interview" and, immediately after, that "not all candidates who are interviewed will receive an offer". Both halves of that matter: reaching interview is a genuine achievement, and it is not the end of the selection.
What the school looks for is written down. "During the interview, we assess each candidate's potential, interests, and how well their abilities align with their exam performance." That last clause is the one to prepare for. A girl whose paper is strong and whose conversation about her own work is thin invites exactly the question the sentence implies. The school also warns that "Activities may differ from those in the written test", so the interview is not simply more of the same.
One instruction is unusually concrete: "Each girl is encouraged to bring an item of personal interest to discuss, which will help us better understand her passions and individuality." That is a preparation task in its own right. The item is a prompt for a conversation, and a candidate who has thought about why she chose it, what she has done with it and what she would like to know next has a far better interview than one who brings a favourite object and stops there.
Academic scholarships are decided by the exam and nothing else. The school describes them as "Awarded at the Head Mistress' discretion for excellence in the entrance examination" and, on the fees page, as "Awarded for excellence in the Year 7 entrance examination", being "Competitive and based on exceptional academic potential". There is no separate scholarship paper to sit.
The other awards need a note on the registration form and an assessment. For music the school asks for "Minimum ABRSM Grade 4 or equivalent", with an audition that "may include performance on two instruments (or one plus voice), sight-reading and aural tests". Drama requires "performance of two prepared monologues". Sport and dance are judged by "Assessment against peers; written recommendation required from a coach or dance teacher, plus copies of awards/certificates". All of that has to be flagged at application, not afterwards.
On value, the school is direct in a way many are not: "Scholarships generally cover a percentage of fees (up to 50% maximum, most are less)" and "Scholarships are a percentage of fees and are not a fully funded place". Bursaries are the separate, needs-based route: "Available for pupils joining Year 7 and Year 12", "All bursaries are means tested and linked to family income", with "some part and full bursaries available" and "Uniform grant of up to £420 available in the first year for bursary recipients". A pupil may hold both, though "the total award will not exceed full fees", and late bursary applications "will not be considered".
The 2026 A-level results the school publishes are: "A total of 92% of all grades were at the ‘gold standard’ of A* to B, 61% of grades were A*-A and the average grade set was AAA." At GCSE, the average grade was 8 and 77% of grades were at 9 to 7. Subject by subject, "All pupils studying Fine Art, Graphics, Music and Religion and Philosophy attained 100% A* to A grades", with 100% A* to B in Classical Civilisation, Drama, Economics, French, Geography, German, Politics and Physical Education.
On university entry the school reports that "All eight of Manchester High's Oxbridge applicants secured their places this year, with courses ranging from Medicine to Middle Eastern Studies." Eight applicants and eight places is a small number and a complete conversion, and it says something specific about how the school handles that process rather than about the size of its Oxbridge cohort.
The school was founded in 1874 "to provide for Manchester's daughters what has been provided without stint for Manchester's sons", and Emmeline Pankhurst "sent all three of her daughters to MHSG". Families comparing it with the city's other academically selective options may also want our guide to Manchester Grammar School entry and the MGS exam format and past papers, both of which set a different kind of paper again.
Start from what the school sets rather than from a format label. Three of the four components are written papers in which a girl produces her own answer: mathematics, an essay, and a comprehension. That rules out the single most common preparation mistake, which is drilling multiple-choice papers because they are what the shops sell. A child who can select a right answer from five options and a child who can write one from nothing are not at the same standard.
For the reasoning section, the useful preparation is the delivery method, not a provider's question bank. It is sat "with a computerised test on a desktop computer", and a child who has only ever worked on paper meets several unfamiliar things at once: reading a question on screen, using a mouse or keyboard under time pressure, and losing the ability to annotate a page. Practising reasoning on a screen is worth more here than practising any particular publisher's style.
Register early enough to use the school's own samples, and treat the essay as the component with the most room for improvement. Comprehension and mathematics respond to steady work over a year; writing responds to being read closely and rewritten, which is slower and needs someone to do the reading. If you would like a candid read on where your daughter stands for 2027 entry, book a free consultation with one of our Manchester specialists. Our 11+ school guides cover the wider Manchester entry landscape, and the school's own How to Join page is where every date above is published and should be re-checked before you apply.
The school does not say so, and it names no test provider on any of its admissions pages. Manchester High School for Girls states that it "is academically selective and sets its own entrance exam", and its FAQ page says "Pupils are tested with written papers in English (Writing and Comprehension) and Maths. Reasoning is assessed with a computerised test on a desktop computer." Several tuition sites describe the reasoning section as CEM Select; the school itself describes only the delivery method. The CEM brand is in any case retired: Cambridge now sells the product as Cambridge Select Insight, marketed for "11+, 13+, late transfer and fair banding".
Four things. The school lists them as "Mathematics, Essay writing, Comprehension, Reasoning". English and Maths are written papers in which candidates produce their own answers, and reasoning is "assessed with a computerised test on a desktop computer". The school makes sample questions available in English Comprehension, Composition and Mathematics to candidates who register, but it states that it does not provide past papers, and it publishes no sample for the reasoning section.
The school states that "Usually, between 300 and 400 pupils sit our Senior School entrance examination each year." It does not publish the number of Year 7 places. It does say that "typically around 35 to 40 of our incoming Year 7 students join us from our Preparatory School", and that those girls also sit the entrance exam and are interviewed by the Head Mistress. Any figure you see for the number of external places is not one the school publishes.
Wednesday 13 January 2027. Applications "should be received by 16th December 2026 to be invited to the January assessment", and the bursary application deadline falls a week earlier, on Wednesday 9 December 2026. Offers that carry financial assistance must be accepted by Tuesday 2 March 2027, and all other offers by Thursday 4 March 2027. Registering also gives access to the school's sample papers, so an early application buys preparation time as well as a place in the hall.
No. The school states that "Candidates who perform strongly in the written examination may be invited to attend an interview", and adds that "not all candidates who are interviewed will receive an offer". At interview the school assesses "each candidate's potential, interests, and how well their abilities align with their exam performance", and notes that activities may differ from those in the written test. Each girl is encouraged to bring an item of personal interest to discuss.
Academic scholarships are "Awarded for excellence in the Year 7 entrance examination" at the Head Mistress' discretion, with no separate paper. Music, drama, sport and dance scholarships need to be flagged on the registration form: music asks for a minimum of ABRSM Grade 4 or equivalent, drama for two prepared monologues, and sport and dance for an assessment plus a written recommendation. The school states that scholarships "generally cover a percentage of fees (up to 50% maximum, most are less)". Bursaries are separate, means tested and linked to family income, available for entry at Year 7 and Year 12, and late applications are not considered.
In 2026 the school reports that 92% of A-level grades were at A* to B, 61% were A* to A, and the average grade set was AAA. At GCSE the average grade was 8, with 77% of grades at 9 to 7 and 100% of Music grades at 8 or 9. All eight of the school's Oxbridge applicants secured places that year, on courses ranging from Medicine to Middle Eastern Studies. The school was founded in 1874 and its alumnae include the Pankhurst sisters.
We prepare candidates for the four components the school actually sets rather than for a provider format it does not name: written mathematics, essay writing, comprehension, and a reasoning section sat on a desktop computer. That last point changes the practice — screen-based reasoning work rather than paper drills — and it is the part most preparation misses. Our Manchester 11+ tutors work in person and online, build the essay through close reading and rewriting rather than through worksheets, and run timed practice to the school's published January date. Book a free consultation and we will map a plan to the dates above.
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