Since St Paul’s Girls’ School (SPGS) first opened its doors in 1904, the school has provided an ambitious and progressive education. At all stages throughout its history, the school has combined the best elements of a classical education with a commitment to innovation and a forward-looking approach. Their academic attainment has been consistently astounding. The school welcomes all academically eligible girls, regardless of either economic or social circumstances with SPGS committing to offering transformational bursaries to 12 per cent of students, and seeking to grow this to 20 per cent.
The school has two main entry points, at 11 plus and 16 plus.
Entering St Paul's Girls' School in Year 7 (11 Plus):
St Paul’s Girls’ accepts 110 girls each year into Year 7.
11 Plus Entrance Process for St Paul’s Girls’ School:
As an academically selective school St Paul’s Girls’ uses entrance exams to select which pupils are suitable to gain a place.
The selection process for St Paul’s Girls’ is made up of 3 stages and is designed to recognise a student’s academic talent as well as their abilities outside of the classroom.
Stage 1: In the November (Year 6), all candidates will complete an on-screen time-limited cognitive ability test, known as the Cambridge Select Insight Test. This covers verbal ability, mathematics ability and non-verbal ability to identify potential. You can get a sense of what the test is like by accessing a familiarisation test here. This is an hour-long test. Parents will be informed of the outcome of this stage of the selection process in mid-December.
At this stage, SPGS will also ask for a confidential report from the students’ current schools.
Stage 2: In early January of Year 6, successful candidates from the computer assessment will be invited to sit entrance examinations, on site at SPGS, in English, mathematics and comprehension. SPGS shortlist students for interview based on these examination results.
Stage 3: Interviews take place at SPGS in mid-January and will last about 20-25 minutes focusing on the student’s academic potential through interaction with stimulus material.
Decisions are sent out and families must accept offers by early March.
St Paul's Girls' School 11 Plus exam
11 Plus English paper
The English paper involves the close reading of a passage of literary prose.
Candidates are asked to answer up to ten questions on the passage. Some involve extracting information, some ask about the meaning and impact of individual words and phrases. Although there are no formal marks given for technical elements and accuracy, SPGS always prefers correct SPAG.
They are also keen to see signs of genuine enjoyment and fluency, along with particularity of inference and a student's sensitivity to the effects of language. Some questions are extended and involve imaginative writing based on the passage given. There is no individual and distinct creative writing section.
11 Plus Mathematics paper
The mathematics paper is a mix of questions designed to spot potential in applicants.
The paper has two sections, of 35 and 40 minutes.
The first features more straightforward ‘sums’, to test that fundamental concepts are established.
The second covers questions that are more multi-part in style, assessing a child's ability to handle novel ideas.
This is all based on a range of topics from the National Curriculum up to KS2.
11 Plus Comprehension paper
The comprehension paper is based around a theme and tests comprehension in a broad sense. So deduction, inference, extraction and organisation of information as well as evaluation, comparison, identification of patterns and links, and logic. No prior knowledge is necessary, though scientific enquiry skills gained at KS2 could be useful.
SPGS looks at a student's ability to respond to a wide range of materials, (visual, numerical or written), and an ability to draw relevant and important conclusions.
Entering St Paul's Girls' School in Year 12 (Sixth Form Entry):
St Paul’s Girls’ has an intake of around 20 girls into Year 12.
16 Plus Entrance Process for St Paul's Girls':
The application deadline is mid-October of Year 11.
16 Plus Assessment Day
In early October of Year 11, candidates attend St Paul’s to complete an adaptive online ‘baseline assessment’ which the school uses to gauge a student's potential. This is followed around a week later by entrance examinations in their chosen subjects.
Each candidate sits an entrance exam for the four subjects they wish to study and each exam lasts 45 minutes long. Students may also be required to take an additional entrance exam in a fifth subject during their interview day.
The SPGS website provides detailed information on the content of each subject's examination. Most exam papers are based on GCSE-level knowledge - but for subjects like Politics and Economics, which students are unlikely to have studied at GCSE level, no prior specialist knowledge is required.
SPGS will shortlist students for interview based on these examination results.
Following success in the entrance examinations, in mid-November students are invited back to St Paul’s for interviews. These interviews cover their subject academic performance and their wider interests.
Read further guidance on the individual subject tests for the 16 Plus Assessment day.
Entering via Academic Scholarship
No academic scholarships are available at St Paul’s as all available funds go towards ‘transformational bursaries’, covering up to 100% of school fees..
Does St Paul’s Girls’ School offer any other scholarships?
SPGS offers scholarships in music at 11 Plus and 16 Plus and art and drama at 16 Plus for talented and committed applicants.
Read further information on St Paul's Girls' scholarships.
What questions does St Paul’s Girls’ School ask at interview?
Like many school interviews the St Paul’s Girls’ School interview seeks to explore the following about each student:
- Family (e.g. What do you like to do on the weekend as a family?)
- School (e.g. What do you most enjoy about your current school?)
- Academic Learning (e.g. What is your favourite subject and why?)
- Reading (e.g. Do you enjoy reading?)
- Extracurricular (e.g. What activities do you get involved in at school outside of the classroom?)
- Hobbies (e.g. What do you do in your spare time at outside of school?)
- St Paul’s Girls’ School (e.g. Why would you like to come to St Paul’s Girls’ School?)
Why is St Paul’s Girls’ School so popular?
St Paul's Girls' School is highly regarded for their academic results and achievements. In 2024, 80.5% of GCSE entries were awarded a 9 and 94% of entries gained a grade 8 or 9. At A Level, 53% gained an A and 87% achieved an A* or A grade.
Typically, between a third to a half of girls gain places at Oxbridge and the majority of the rest of the cohort gain places at top Russell group universities, such as UCL, Imperial College London, Durham and Edinburgh. A further 17 per cent go on to US universities.
St Paul's Girls' School attracts parents and students with high academic expectations. In our experience, prospective applicants with the following qualities have been competitive candidates in the school’s admissions process:
- an excellent academic record to date
- an enquiring mind and genuine passion for learning
- an ability to think critically about their learning
- an academic confidence and ability to work independently
Is St Paul’s Girls’ School hard to get into?
Owing to its academic reputation and success, St Paul's Girls' School attracts a lot of applications and a such the entrance process at 11 Plus and 16 Plus are very competitive. Consequently, the school can afford to be highly selective, and we have known of instances where strong applicants do not win places. It is important to go into the entrance process with an open and realistic frame of mind.
Famous Alumni of St Paul's Girls' School
Alexandra Shulman, Zoe de Toledo, Miranda Kaufmann.
Tutors for St Paul’s Girls’ School Entrance
Keystone has over a decade of experience providing tuition to families who wish to send their children to some of the leading UK independent schools including St Paul’s Girls’ School.
The tutors we work with are experienced in the intricacies of the 11 plus entrance tests as well as the 16 plus entrance tests to St Paul’s Girls’ School.
For more details on how Keystone can help with preparation for entry to St Paul’s Girls’ School, please call the office for a chat with one of our client managers, or contact us via our request a tutor form.