Admissions to Lower Years and Middle Years (Years 7 – 11)
Our main entry point is in the Autumn term for Year 7, although entry is possible to other year-groups or at other times of the school year, dependent on the availability of spaces.
Admission to Devonport High School for Girls is made through Plymouth City Council, on their website (https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/apply-secondary-year-6-year-7-school-place). Pupils are selected through academic ability with all candidates required to sit the 11-plus examination. The examination is designed to measure a child’s academic ability and determine whether she would be suited to a grammar school education.
The 11-plus examinations assess your child’s academic ability by using GL Assessment English Comprehension and Mathematics paper.
The school’s published admission number (PAN) for Year 7 is 158. For the last few years the school has received more applications than places available. There may be places available for students seeking transfer in years 8, 9, 10 and 11.
The 11+ Examination Process
The 11-plus examinations will take place before the closing date for submission of the application form for a school place. Parents / carers are required to register their child to take the examination. Please see the timeline below for the next point of entry. Students can take the examinations at either Devonport High School for Girls or Plymouth High School for Girls. They are the same examinations, taken on the same days. You can then apply for a place at either (or both) grammar schools, regardless of where the student took the test. E.g. A student could sit the examinations at PHSG, but apply for a place at DHSG.
We also run a mock 11+ examination in the July, prior to students sitting the real tests in September. This helps students familiarise themselves with the test and exam venues.
Please see below the timeline for the 11+ and admissions process.
Timeline for 11+ Entry for September 2025
DATE |
PROCESS |
FURTHER INFO |
|
15 April 2024, 3pm |
11+ Practice Session (Mock) registration opens.
This test is not compulsory.
|
Register directly on school website for a place at either PHSG or DHSG www.phsg.org (170 spaces available) Please do not register at both schools |
|
22 April 2024 |
11+ registration opens This is a compulsory test which your child will need to take to be able to qualify for a place at a Plymouth grammar school.
|
Register directly on school website for a place at either PHSG or DHSG There is not limit on spaces for the real tests. Please do not register at both schools |
|
22 May 2024 |
11+ Practice Session (Mock) registration closes |
May close sooner, if all places are filled (see above for numbers) |
|
6 July 2024 - Saturday |
11+ Practice Session (Mock) examination |
Maths and English papers both together. 8am-12.30pm approximately |
|
16 July 2024 - Tuesday |
11+ Practice Session (Mock) examination results sent out |
Results sent via email |
|
15 August 2024 |
11+ registration closes |
|
|
14 September 2024 - Saturday |
11+ test date 1 |
GL Assessment English comprehension (no writing) |
|
21 September 2024 - Saturday |
11+ test date 2 |
GL Assessment Maths |
|
14 October 2024 - Monday |
11+ test results sent out |
Results sent via email |
|
31 October 2024 |
Latest date to submit an application for a school place |
Via Plymouth City Council website |
|
3 March 2025 |
School place allocations notified. This information will be sent directly from Plymouth City Council |
Date TBC due to 1st March being a Saturday. |
The registration forms for both the Mocks and the real 11+ tests will go live on this page on the dates shown above.
PTFA Mock Examination
The PTFA will be running a practice test on 6 July 2024. Application is made via the school website: www.dhsg.co.uk.
Registration will open from 3.00pm on 15 April 2024 and will close when all 170 places are filled or at 11.00am on 22 May 2024, whichever is the soonest.
The cost of sitting the examination is £40.00 (Payment must be made online when booking.)
Practice examination results will be available on 16 July 2024. Please note the candidate numbers issued for the admission examinations in September 2024 will not be the same as those used for the practice examination.
In Year Admissions
In-year admissions are made via an application through Plymouth City Council and the satisfactory completion of a school set admissions test to clarify candidates’ ability and aptitude.
Our strategy to attract more students from disadvantaged backgrounds into Devonport High School for Girls:
We believe it is essential that everything possible is done to raise aspirations and provide support to families whose children are eligible for pupil premium funding within the education sector. We are keen to increase the number of children from disadvantaged backgrounds attending our grammar schools so that they can benefit from a selective education if it is the right choice for them.
In addition to the free online guides and familiarisation resources offered by GL Assessment available below, we are offering, girls eligible for pupil premium funding, further support and are delighted to announce that we have funded an online course for them which has been put together by the Grammar School Heads’ Association. The course includes video content, practice questions and advice about taking the 11+ assessment. There are 8 one-hour lessons available which children can work through independently.
Our hope is that by working through the tasks online, students will become more familiar with the type of questions that they will be required to complete during the 11+ assessment.
If you are interested in being included in this programme of support and your daughter is eligible for pupil premium please email anettleship@dhsg.co.uk.
GL Assessment have released free familiarisation materials on their website for parents and students who would like to see the layout prior to the main 11+ examinations, (see below):
GL Assessment 11+ Practice Papers
Upper Years (Sixth Form)
Devonport High School for Girls welcomes applications from students transferring from other schools. The school published admission number (PAN) excluding those transferring from the school’s own year 11, is 40. Applications should be made direct to the school by the end of the Autumn Term. The number of students who have applied for each course will be taken into account, meaning that extra students can sometimes be accommodated over the admission number if the student’s chosen course is not full. The admission arrangements apply equally to those seeking admission from year 11 within the school to those seeking transfer from other schools.
The minimum entry requirement for our Sixth Form is an average grade of 6 or higher from your GCSEs with a minimum of a grade 5 in English and Mathematics. In addition, for subject specific entry requirements, you will require a minimum grade of a 6 for the subjects you wish to study. For the subject of Psychology, you will need a grade 6 in Mathematics or in a Science and a grade 6 in English. For the subject of Business, you will need a grade 6 in Mathematics and a grade 6 in English. We also recommend that pupils who have a grade 5 in Mathematics undertake Core Maths to support their studies. For specific entry requirements please see the Sixth Form prospectus or contact the school on 01752 705024.
The Sixth Form Prospectus and application forms to apply to join the sixth form, can be found our Prospectus Page.
Consultation on admission arrangements 2025/2026
We will be consulting on our admission arrangements for 2025/2026 through Plymouth City Council. The consultation will be live between Monday 4 December 2023 and Sunday 14 January 2024. If you wish to find out about our policy or make any comment, please visit www.plymouth.gov.uk/admissionconsultation
