FSCE exam format, key dates, 128 places, catchment area, and preparation strategies for Skipton's selective boys' grammar
Book a Free ConsultationErmysted's Grammar School in Skipton, North Yorkshire, is a selective state boys' grammar school offering 128 places in Year 7 each year. For boys sitting the test in September 2026 for September 2027 entry, the school has moved to the FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise) entrance test — a significant change from the previous GL Assessment format. The FSCE test takes place on Saturday 26 September 2026, with registration closing at noon on Monday 31 August 2026 and results released in the week of 12 October 2026. This guide covers exactly what the new FSCE test involves, how places are allocated, the catchment area, and how to prepare your son effectively for entry to one of Yorkshire's oldest and most distinguished grammar schools.
From September 2026, Ermysted's Grammar School uses the FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise Ltd) entrance test for Year 7 admissions. This replaces the GL Assessment format used in previous years. The FSCE was designed with accessibility and fairness at its core: it tests only content from the Key Stage 2 curriculum taught up to the end of Year 5, using question formats that primary school children already encounter in school. Atom Learning is the official preparation partner endorsed by the school.
The test consists of two papers, both covering English and mathematics:
Notably, non-verbal reasoning is not included in the Ermysted's FSCE, and there is no creative writing component. This distinguishes Ermysted's from some other FSCE schools (such as Reading School, which uses an extended four-paper format). Raw scores from both papers are standardised and age-weighted to ensure candidates of different ages within the eligible year group are assessed on a level playing field. The two standardised scores are then combined to produce each candidate's overall score, which is compared against the qualifying standard set that year.
The FSCE is also used for entry to Skipton Girls' High School (which sits the test on the same day) as well as other Northern grammar schools including Lancaster Girls' Grammar, North Halifax Grammar, The Crossley Heath School, Heckmondwike Grammar, and Clitheroe Royal Grammar. For a full overview of how the FSCE works across all these schools, see our dedicated FSCE 11+ guide.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| School type | Selective state boys' grammar school |
| Location | Gargrave Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1PL |
| Year 7 places (PAN) | 128 |
| Test provider (2026) | FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise Ltd) |
| Subjects tested | English and Mathematics only (no NVR, no creative writing) |
| Test format | 2 papers: multiple choice + free response (short written answers) |
| Test date | Saturday 26 September 2026 |
| Scoring | Standardised and age-weighted; qualifying standard set annually |
| Founded | circa 1492 (over 530 years of history) |
| Pupils on roll | 835 |
Every family applying for Ermysted's Grammar School must register separately for the entrance test — there is no automatic registration, even for boys attending a catchment area primary school. Registration is completed online via the school's website or by submitting a hard copy to the school office. The following dates apply to Year 7 entry in September 2027 (boys born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016).
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration opens | Monday 13 April 2026 (noon) |
| Registration closes | Monday 31 August 2026 (noon) |
| Main test date | Saturday 26 September 2026 |
| Results released | Week commencing Monday 12 October 2026 |
| Common Application Form (CAF) deadline | Saturday 31 October 2026 |
| Supplementary Information Form deadline | Friday 27 November 2026 |
| National Offer Day | Monday 1 March 2027 |
An important note on process: passing the entrance test does not automatically secure a place, and it is not the same as applying for a school place. Even if your son meets the qualifying standard, you must still name Ermysted's Grammar School on your Common Application Form (submitted to your home local authority by 31 October 2026) to be considered for one of the 128 places. Boys who register for the test late (after 31 August 2026) will not be considered in the first round of offers and will only be reviewed after March 2027 when initial places have been allocated.
For a comprehensive overview of 11+ exam dates across grammar and independent schools, see our 11+ exam dates guide for 2025–2026.
The FSCE entrance test is designed around the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum content taught up to the end of Year 5 — meaning all content should already be familiar to your son from his primary school lessons. This design choice is intentional: the FSCE aims to identify academic potential rather than reward extensive private tutoring or practice on specialist test formats.
English: English questions across both papers test three main areas. Reading comprehension questions assess how well a child understands a passage of text — which may be fiction or non-fiction — including the ability to make inferences and identify the writer's purpose and tone. Vocabulary questions test word knowledge and understanding, typically asking children to identify a synonym or the closest match in meaning to a given word. Spelling is assessed through missing-letters questions where a word appears with some letters removed and the child must identify the complete correctly-spelled word in context. Strong reading habits — built over years, not weeks — are the most reliable preparation for the English components.
Mathematics: Maths questions cover the Year 5 KS2 curriculum in full. Key topic areas include: number and place value (rounding, negative numbers, Roman numerals); calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, factors, primes, square numbers, cube numbers); fractions, decimals and percentages (comparing, ordering, adding, subtracting, multiplying, rounding, and percentage basics); measurement (units, perimeter, area, volume); geometry (2D shapes, 3D shapes, angles, reflection and translation); and statistics (tables, line graphs, and data interpretation). The maths questions reward children who can apply their arithmetic fluency to multi-step problem-solving scenarios — not just recall procedures.
The school's own guidance is clear that intensive tutoring on commercial 11+ books or GL Assessment past papers is not relevant to the FSCE. There are no commercial books endorsed by FSCE. The school provides official Familiarisation Guides on its website (via the test familiarisation page), and these are the authoritative materials for understanding what the papers look like. Each paper typically lasts 45–60 minutes with a break scheduled between the two, and stationery is provided by the school on the day.
Preparing for Ermysted's Grammar School 11+ Entry?
Our specialist tutors are experienced in the FSCE format — covering the English and mathematics content tested across both the multiple-choice and free-response papers. We tailor preparation to each child's starting point, building reading comprehension, vocabulary, and maths problem-solving skills that the FSCE rewards.
Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot. Many of our students have earned places at selective grammar schools across Yorkshire and the North of England.
Book a Free Consultation Message us on WhatsAppErmysted's Grammar School has a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 128 places in Year 7. The qualifying standard is not a fixed score announced in advance — it is determined each year by the Admissions Committee based on the overall performance of candidates in the main entrance test cohort. This means the bar adjusts year on year to reflect the size and ability of the applicant pool and the difficulty of that particular year's papers. Historically, this approach ensures a consistent number of places for qualifying children rather than a fixed minimum score that might exclude too many or too few applicants.
Reaching the qualifying standard does not automatically secure a place. If more than 128 candidates who have met the standard apply to the school on their Common Application Form, the school applies its oversubscription criteria in the following order:
Within each of the second and third priority groups, sub-priorities apply in this order: first to children registered for Pupil Premium at the time of application; then to children who have a brother currently at the school in the year of entry; then to children who live closest to the school (measured in straight-line distance). If two applicants are equidistant, the final tie-break is a random draw conducted in the presence of an independent witness.
The waiting list for places is maintained until 31 December 2027. Families who receive an offer should confirm their acceptance within the timeframe specified in the offer letter, as failure to respond may result in the offer being withdrawn.
Ermysted's Grammar School has a defined catchment area that covers boys attending primary schools in the following towns and villages: Beamsley, Bradley, Burnsall, Carleton, Cracoe, Embsay, Gargrave, Grassington, Kettlewell, Kirkby-in-Malhamdale, Skipton, Thornton-in-Craven, and Threshfield. If your son attends a primary school in one of these communities, he falls within the catchment area and receives priority over out-of-catchment applicants in the oversubscription process.
However, being in the catchment area does not guarantee a place — your son must still register for the test, sit the test, and meet the qualifying standard. In years where more than 128 catchment area applicants meet the standard, proximity to the school acts as a further tie-break within the catchment area priority group. Registration is mandatory for everyone; there is no automatic entry for catchment area boys.
Out-of-catchment families applying to Ermysted's should be realistic about the competition for places, but the school does admit out-of-catchment boys — particularly in years where fewer catchment area applicants meet the qualifying standard than the school's 128 places. The key variable for out-of-catchment families is how many catchment area boys pass and apply in any given year. Roughly speaking, the closer your son's score is to the top of the qualifying cohort, the more likely proximity to the school is to become irrelevant as a selection factor.
If you are unsure whether your son's primary school falls within the catchment area, the most reliable method is to check the postcode against the admissions policy available on the Ermysted's Year 7 admissions page, or contact the admissions office directly at admissions@ermysteds.uk.
Preparation for the FSCE at Ermysted's is most effective when it focuses on genuine academic development rather than test-specific drilling. The school explicitly states that no commercial 11+ books or past papers are endorsed by FSCE, and that intensive tutoring focused on traditional GL Assessment formats (verbal reasoning, NVR, standard 11+ comprehension papers) is not the right preparation approach for this test. Understanding this is the single most important thing a family can do before starting preparation.
English preparation: The most valuable long-term preparation is a strong daily reading habit. Children who read widely — fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, different genres and authors — naturally develop the vocabulary range, comprehension depth, and ability to infer meaning that the FSCE English papers reward. Start building or reinforcing a reading routine at least six months before the test. Reading for 15–20 minutes every day across different text types is more valuable than intensive short-term cramming. For the vocabulary components specifically, word games (crosswords, word puzzles, etymology discussions) help build breadth without pressure. The Ermysted's familiarisation guide should be used to understand the format of questions — the comprehension, vocabulary, and missing-letters question types — so your son is familiar with what to expect on test day.
Mathematics preparation: The maths content tested is the Year 5 KS2 curriculum. If your son is in Year 5 or Year 6 and keeping up with his maths schoolwork, most of the content is either already known or will be covered at school before the test. The preparation emphasis should be on confidence and fluency: mental arithmetic speed, applying maths knowledge to multi-step word problems, and working accurately under gentle time pressure. Practising maths problems in the Year 5 curriculum areas (fractions, percentage basics, area and perimeter, statistics, angles) ensures no content gap. Unlike the old GL Assessment format, there is no non-verbal reasoning component to prepare for — this removes a significant preparation requirement that many families spent months on under the previous format.
Timing and overall approach: The school recommends engagement with school life, regular reading, and practising mental arithmetic in real-life scenarios as the foundation of preparation. The official familiarisation guides, available on the school's website, provide the best insight into how questions are worded and what the answer sheets look like. Our specialist tutors at Leading Tuition design FSCE preparation programmes that work with these principles — building the genuine English and maths skills that the test is designed to assess, without the wasted time of drilling for test formats that no longer apply at Ermysted's.
For a broader introduction to the 11+ process and what parents should know, our guide on what the 11+ exam is provides the full context.
Ermysted's Grammar School was established circa 1492 — making it over 530 years old and one of the oldest secondary schools in England. The school stands on Gargrave Road in Skipton, a market town in the Yorkshire Dales, and serves 835 pupils across Years 7–13. The combination of a prestigious academic heritage with a comprehensive extracurricular programme makes Ermysted's one of the most distinctive grammar schools in the North of England.
Academically, Ermysted's consistently places among the top performing state schools in Yorkshire. The school's most recent Ofsted inspection rated it Outstanding. GCSE results at Ermysted's consistently place it among the top grammar schools in North Yorkshire and the wider region. For comparison with other top performing grammar schools, see our 2026 grammar school league tables.
Beyond academic performance, Ermysted's offers 59 weekly enrichment activities — an unusually broad extracurricular programme for a state school. These include Duke of Edinburgh Award, The Ermysted's Award (the school's own enrichment qualification), Bar Mock Trial, an active music programme, sport at county and regional level, The Reason (the school's publication), and a dedicated Support for Medics programme for pupils considering medical careers. The school's culture is one of engagement with ideas and public life beyond the classroom.
The school's transition to FSCE for 2026 entry is a deliberate step towards making the selection process more accessible and curriculum-grounded. The Governors have chosen a test format that rewards hard work at primary school over intensive commercial preparation — which means that well-rounded, academically engaged boys who read widely and are strong in English and maths have a genuine opportunity to qualify, regardless of whether their families have invested heavily in private tutoring for traditional 11+ formats.
Related guides: Ripon Grammar School 11+ Guide 2026.
The FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise) entrance test is used by Ermysted's Grammar School for Year 7 entry from September 2026. It consists of two papers, both covering English and mathematics: the first uses multiple-choice questions and the second uses short written answers (free response). Non-verbal reasoning is not included, and there is no creative writing component at Ermysted's. All content is based on the Key Stage 2 curriculum taught up to the end of Year 5. Scores are standardised and age-weighted to ensure fairness across candidates of different ages sitting the same paper.
The main entrance test for Ermysted's Grammar School for September 2027 entry takes place on Saturday 26 September 2026 at the school in Skipton. Registration opened on 13 April 2026 and closes at noon on Monday 31 August 2026. Results are released in the week commencing 12 October 2026 — in time for parents to name the school on their Common Application Form before the 31 October 2026 deadline. National Offer Day, when places are formally allocated by North Yorkshire Council, is Monday 1 March 2027.
Ermysted's Grammar School has a Published Admission Number (PAN) of 128 places in Year 7. These places are offered to candidates who meet the qualifying standard set each year by the Admissions Committee, based on the performance of the main entrance test cohort. If more than 128 candidates achieve the required standard and apply to the school, oversubscription criteria apply: priority goes first to looked-after children, then to applicants in the catchment area, then to those outside the catchment area — with sub-priorities for Pupil Premium eligibility, siblings of current pupils, and proximity to the school.
Yes. Ermysted's Grammar School has a defined catchment area covering the local primary schools in Beamsley, Bradley, Burnsall, Carleton, Cracoe, Embsay, Gargrave, Grassington, Kettlewell, Kirkby-in-Malhamdale, Skipton, Thornton-in-Craven, and Threshfield. Applicants in the catchment area receive priority over out-of-catchment applicants when places are allocated if the school is oversubscribed. However, the school also admits a significant number of boys from outside this area — all must sit the entrance test and all must meet the qualifying standard. Distance from the school is used as a final tie-break if two applicants are otherwise equal in priority.
The qualifying standard for Ermysted's Grammar School is not a fixed score — it is determined each year by the Admissions Committee based on the performance of all candidates in the main entrance test cohort. This means the standard adjusts to reflect the ability of each year's applicant pool and the difficulty of that year's papers. Candidates are informed whether they have met the required standard in the week commencing 12 October 2026. Meeting the standard does not guarantee a place: if more than 128 qualifying applicants apply, the school's oversubscription criteria determine who receives an offer.
Leading Tuition provides specialist 11+ preparation for boys applying to Ermysted's Grammar School, delivered online. Our tutors are experienced in the FSCE format, covering the English and mathematics content tested across both papers — the multiple-choice section and the free-response section. We design preparation programmes tailored to each child's starting point, building the reading comprehension, vocabulary, and maths problem-solving skills that the FSCE rewards. Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot. Many of our students have gone on to earn places at selective grammar schools across Yorkshire and the North. Book a free consultation at leadingtuition.co.uk/consultation or message us on WhatsApp.
Leading Tuition provides specialist FSCE 11+ preparation for boys applying to Ermysted's Grammar School. Rated 4.8/5 on Trustpilot.
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