Our Mock Exam Dates run from March to August each year and are suitable for children completing the Trafford Consortium Exam for Altrincham Grammar Schools, Sale Grammar, Stretford Grammar and Urmston Grammar as well as the two Catholic Grammar Schools, Loreto and St Ambrose College.
Key Dates for 2025
Mock Exam 1: Saturday 8th March 2025
Mock Exam 2: Saturday 26th April 2025
Mock Exam 3: Saturday 14th June 2025
Mock Exam 4: Saturday 19th June 2025
Mock Exam 5: Saturday 16th June 2025
Each Mock Exam consists of two papers approximately one hour in length, students are given a short break in between the two papers.
For students who qualify for extra time and/or examination adjustments we do run a separate mock exam on the same day to accommodate individual needs. Such needs must be communicated to the team in advance to ensure this can be provided for your child.
“She came out smiling and said the exam was just like your mocks, only easier!” Parent 2023
Mock Exam Programme Overview
Our five internal mock exams are carefully designed to reflect the variety of disciplines assessed in the Catholic Grammar School and Consortium exams. Just as the official exams vary year by year, so do our mock exams in terms of content and distribution of disciplines. However, what remains consistent is the standard of difficulty within the questions themselves. For instance, our March Exam is designed to be as challenging as our August Exam, although children may perceive one exam as easier based on their own strengths, preferences, and abilities at the time.
Variation in Question Types
Each mock exam is unique, reflecting the variations seen in official exams:
Question Distribution: Some years, exams may include two lengthy Verbal Reasoning (VR) comprehension sections; in others, Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR) may appear in shorter segments.
Vocabulary Focus: Vocabulary-heavy sections, such as antonyms, may be emphasised one year and less so in another.
Balanced Standards: Across all tests, we ensure children experience a diverse range of material while maintaining consistent difficulty levels.
Mock Exam Adaptation
We update our mocks annually based on the latest exam intelligence to stay aligned with evolving requirements.
For example: Transitioning from the CEM Consortium test to GL testing required extensive rewrites of our Consortium Papers, especially in VR formatting and style.
Catholic Grammar Exams: Our Catholic Mocks for Loreto Grammar School and St Ambrose College have consistently included GL-style questions, leveraging our expertise in GL assessments to gauge performance throughout the year and transition to GL testing for our Consortium papers.
The Feedback Process
Our Mock Exam programme includes not only the exam itself but also the option* of a feedback lesson. This session allows children to:
Work through the paper under guidance.
Identify strengths and areas for development.
Leave with a tailored revision plan created by an experienced teacher.
Early in the year, feedback lessons are conducted one-to-one. Later, small-group sessions provide the same detailed support, ensuring every child receives personalised and developmental feedback.
This approach is significantly more beneficial than paper reports alone, which cannot provide the nuanced advice needed to accurately identify areas for improvement or guide progression.
In addition to the feedback cycle, each Mock Exam is paired with a Sample Paper that our team have carefully written to enable ongoing and responsive practice at home. These papers are included with the registration fee for our Entrance Exam course but are also available for sale for students who are not studying with us.
Observations and Feedback
Since we invigilate our own exams, we gain unique insights into how children approach the test, including:
Time Management: Did they pace themselves effectively?
Annotation Practices: Were they annotating thoughtfully?
Exam Stress: Did they encounter moments of panic, and how did they recover?
We use this information when preparing feedback to:
Help children understand their marks and the factors influencing their results.
Build confidence by working through mistakes and creating a plan for improvement.
Holistic Assessment
In our feedback sessions, we don’t simply review what children got right or wrong. Instead, we also:
Explore their approach to the paper, including:
Questions they guessed or rushed.
Time management issues.
Inefficient methods used for particular sections.
Teach methods and exam techniques to address these challenges.
Provide precise next steps for their preparations.
We are each on our own journey...
Interpreting Mock Exam Results
Our extensive dataset on student performance allows us to provide valuable insights into expected progress throughout the year. However, every child’s learning journey is unique:
Progress is Individual: Development isn’t always linear. We provide a range of results to highlight this and emphasise the individuality of each child’s path.
Avoid Comparisons: Focus on your child’s growth, strengths, and areas for improvement rather than comparing their results to others.
Additional Support
Our team are always on hand to support parents and their children through every step of this journey. Please contact us via email to discuss through this process with one of our team.
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