City of London School for Girls
Admissions Guide
How to get into City of London School for Girls
Admissions Guide
Are you looking into City of London School for Girls for the next step in your daughter’s education? Find out everything you need to know about the 11 plus admissions process, and how to help your daughter succeed.
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Information on City of London School for Girls
City of London School for Girls, or CLSG, is a private day school for girls in the Barbican in the heart of the City of London. Opened in 1894, City of London School for Girls provides an outstanding education to a high academic standard for girls from all backgrounds, cultures and faiths.
City aims to empower its students, champion future thinkers and celebrate the power of difference. It aspires to foster a life-long love of learning in a supportive, yet ambitious and stimulating environment, while providing an inventive co-curricular programme, taking full advantage of its location in the heart of London. City of London School for Girls has a strong pastoral focus, aiming to nurture an inclusive and kind community, which embraces the cultural and social mix in the school and the world around it. CLSG is highly competitive, considering its outstanding results when it comes to higher education and university admissions. In 2022, 99% of GCSEs were achieved at Grade 7-9 (A*-A), while 70% were achieved at the top grade of a 9. In the same year, 85% of A Levels were achieved at A* or A. Of the 2022 leavers, 15% went on to study at Oxbridge.
Fees
£7,926 per term for Year 7-13, exclusive of school lunches. Upon accepting a place, you need to pay a deposit of £3,200.
11 plus open days at CLSG
CLSG usually hold multiple open days from Summer into Autumn. In 2023, Open Events were scheduled for September 26th, and October 5th, and are available to book on the school website.
Before registering your daughter for admission, we recommend that you and your daughter attend a City of London School for Girls Open Event. This will give your daughter a sense of what life is like attending City, the facilities it offers, and a chance to meet members of staff, the Headmistress and current pupils. We find girls who attend Open Events are better prepared in interviews and more confident upon entering in September.
View the planned Open Events on the CLSG website.
The 11 Plus admissions process at City of London School for Girls
Applications for entry to City of London School for Girls generally opens in mid May the year before you intend to join. The deadline to submit your application for 11 plus is usually at the end of October the same year. 2024 applications must be submitted by October 27th 2023. The registration must be completed online and can be found here. Candidates must pay a non-refundable registration fee of £160, £250 for overseas applicants.
At 11 plus, City accepts around 80 girls into the Senior School. Around 20 additional places will go to girls coming up from the Prep School. Around 800 to girls apply at 11 plus. While City welcomes applications from sisters or family of existing or previous students, no preferential consideration will be given. Offers for 2024 places will be released on the 9th of February and must be accepted by March 2024.
11 plus exam content at City of London
All applicants will be invited to sit the initial entrance exam in late November the year before they are scheduled to join CLGS. This is an online, one hour exam, testing numerical, verbal and non-verbal skills set by CEM. City has not provided any practice material for this exam, however there is familiarisation material on the school website. We would recommend going through this so your daughter is not thrown by the question formatting. This is scheduled to take place on the 17th-22nd of November 2023 for candidates applying to join Year 7 in 2024.
CEM Select Assessments include questions measuring:
- Verbal Ability: Covering vocabulary, grammar and comprehension
- Numerical Ability: Covering arithmetic and problem solving
- Non-verbal Ability
The assessment includes separate timed sections, each designed to test a particular topic. Before the start of each section, you will be told how many questions there are and how much time is available. Timing is even more important than usual in a CEM assessment. Disciplined time keeping under pressure is difficult for any 10 year old and requires lots of practice. The tests are designed so that you must use all the time allocated for each section. If you reach the end of a section you will be sent back to the first question. In some sections you will not be able to progress onto the next section until you have answered all the questions correctly or you have run out of time.
Girls who are successful in the first entrance exam will be invited back to City for a second assessment in early January. This will consist of an English paper and a Maths paper. 2024 applicants will sit this paper on the 9th of January 2024.
The English paper is 45 minutes long and tests creative writing and analytical skills. Girls will be assessed on spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary. In addition, girls will be examined on their ability to read, understand and respond to a given text. They will need to have a strong grasp of implicit and explicit meanings and be able to contribute and support their own opinions with confidence.
The Maths paper is also 45 minutes long. It will test girl’s logical thinking, arithmetic and problem-solving skills. They will need to work creatively and logically to solve unfamiliar problems by drawing on a solid foundation of existing knowledge. CLGS have a specimen paper for both tests available on their website.
If you want an experienced third party to help you stay on track, our specialist 11 plus tutors have significant City of London School for Girls entrance experience.
11 plus interviews at CLSG
Those who are successful in the first entrance examination and have submitted an encouraging school reference will be invited to City for an enhanced interview session. CLSG invite around 250 girls back for an interview. The interview will take place in late January and will last around 20 minutes. Applicants aiming to join Year 7 in 2024 will be interviewed on the 15th of January 2024.
Girls will be interviewed individually by subject specialists who will assess candidates’ aptitude and potential in Maths and English in more detail. The interview is an important part of the admissions process and success here is key to get into CLSG. It aims to explore a candidate’s interests, academic character, personal qualities, and aptitudes. Girls will be asked to demonstrate their academic ability in the interview to assess how the candidate thinks. Previously, girls have been given a passage or piece of art to discuss or some maths problems to solve.
In previous years, after the interview, girls are given a taste of lessons at City and offered a tour of the school. The session is designed to give applicants a sense of life at CLSG and allow them to ask any questions they may have.
Teachers are looking for enthusiastic, confident girls who will make the most of what the school has to offer. It is important that your daughter engages and responds during a discussion. However, if your child’s answers come across as rehearsed or planned, they will be less likely to get offered a place.
The thought of an interview can be quite daunting for some girls who find it harder to express their views. So, every year Mentor runs individual and group sessions to build confidence. Focusing on interview prep and what to expect, we encourage children to develop answers and present their best self.
11 plus scholarships at City of London School for Girls
Many of our tutors have great success securing scholarships and are experienced with pushing the boundaries of learning for exceptional students. City offers scholarships in Art, Drama, Music and Sport at 11 plus. Scholarships are awarded to applicants who demonstrate outstanding merit and promise in their chosen field, and who do well in the entrance exam and interview. There are around 8 scholarships on offer for 11 plus applicants worth up to £1,200 per year. To apply for a scholarship, once your registration form has been submitted, you will be sent a form that asks you to indicate whether you would like to apply for a scholarship.
Potential scholars will be asked to submit evidence in their application form. City will then select applicants to be invited to the school for an in-person assessment. Potential Music scholars will be asked to sit an audition and interview, while potential Art scholars will sit an interview and live drawing task. Drama scholars will be interviewed, and Sports scholars will be invited to an assessment morning where they will take part in a range of sports. All assessments besides Sport will be done virtually if necessary. These will take place in late January at around the same time as the general interviews. In addition, through its very good links with the neighbouring Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama (JGSMD), City offers a joint scholarship to one year 7 pupil every year, which enables her to have specialist instrumental tuition at JGSMD.
Find a tutor
Guarantee your daughter the best chance of admission to City of London School for Girls with additional support from one of our tutors. Many of our over 200 tutors are experts in the City 11 plus and with bespoke one-to-one tuition, they can help children to achieve success at exams and interviews.
With more than 40 years of experience in tutoring children to gain admission to some of London’s most competitive independent schools, we at Mentor have a wealth of knowledge on how best to prepare your daughter for entry to CLSG.
Over 80% of our tutors are qualified teachers, so they have an in-depth knowledge of their subject, the syllabus and the most effective teaching methods. Many have been heads of department, head teachers or examiners and all come with a wealth of experience and a great track record of success. All have up-to-date DBS certificates and references. Wherever possible we will match your daughter with a tutor who has a track record at City.
For some information on our tutors’ unique approach to testing children in preparation for exams, contact our team.
More information on City of London School for Girls
City of London School for Girls is known for its high academic status and exceptional exam results. However, while that status usually goes hand in hand with a “hothouse” reputation, CLSG has generally avoided that, despite being known as academically demanding. City is known for being unpretentious, accepting and a down to earth school. It is regarded as one of the most diverse London private schools, harbouring a culturally, socially, and economically diverse community. Currently, around 25% of girls in the Senior School receive some form of financial assistance. Its unique location is a source of pride at City, and while it gives girls the benefit of an easy commute and being surrounded by the modern and exciting energy of the city, CLSG is not the right school for those who are looking to be surrounded by green pasture and sprawling facilities.
Students are expected to think and advocate for themselves, creating a community with an infectious sense of enthusiasm and purpose, although this ethos does not lend itself easily to helicopter parents. Jenny Brown joined as the Headmistress at City of London School for Girls in 2019, previously serving as Head of St Albans High School for Girls for 5 years.
The main entry points at City of London School for Girls are 7+, 11+, and 16+. The school has over 700 girls aged 10-18. CLSG belongs to a family of schools associated with the City of London Corporation and the Girls’ Schools Association. It also enjoys strong links with its all-boys partner school, City of London School and the City of London Freemen’s School in Surrey.
Life at CLSG
In addition to its high achieving academics, City offers a broad range of co-curricular opportunities for girls. Great effort is made to exploit its extraordinary location; museums, galleries, theatres, lectures and academic institutions are visited regularly and with ease to support and enhance the girls’ learning. During lunch and after school, girls are encouraged to attend a wide variety of clubs that cater to every interest including Photography and Film Club, Detective Society, Psychology and Medical Ethics Club, Dino Club, Robotics Club and Chocolate Biscuit Club. There is a thriving hub of Music at City, where girls can join any of the 23 different music groups including several orchestras, jazz bands, choirs and ensembles. Around a third of girls at school learn an instrument or have singing lessons delivered.
Outside the classroom, girls are encouraged to participate in drama, whether that be through acting, costume design, lighting and sound design or devising. Each year the drama department is responsible for dozens of consistently outstanding productions, many of which are in association with the boys at City of London School, including a joint musical every year. CLSG prides itself on the diverse range of Sport on offer, competing on the competitive level in Swimming, Gymnastics, Netball, Football, Cross country, Athletics, Fencing and Cricket. Sports facilities include an all-weather pitch, tennis and netball courts, dance studio, swimming pool, gym, climbing wall and fitness suite. Being in the heart of the City of London, City can use the local facilities such as Mile End Athletics Stadium, Hampstead Heath, Boom Cycle, Frame and the Golden Lane sports facility.
Address: City of London School for Girls, St Giles Terrace, Barbican, London EC2Y 8BB
Telephone: 020 7847 5500
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.clsg.org.uk
Local Authority: City of London
School’s Unique Reference Number (URN): 100001
Gender: Girls
Age Range: 7-18
Get in touch
We have many experts on entrance to City of London School for Girls here at Mentor and are ready to guide you through the new entrance format during Covid-19 measures. Get in touch to find out more about how we can help your daughter gain admission to City of London School for Girls at 11 plus, or for further information on admissions into the top London schools.
Other Independent Schools:
If you’re considering City of London (Girls), you might also find information on other Independent Schools interesting, find a list of other schools below:
- Alleyn’s
- Channing
- City of London (Boys)
- Dulwich College
- Emanuel
- Highgate
- Ibstock Place
- JAGS
- KCS Wimbledon
- Latymer Upper
- Merchant Taylors’
- North London Collegiate School
- Putney High
- Royal Russell
- St Dunstan’s
- St Paul’s (Boys)
- St Paul’s (Girls)
- Streatham & Clapham High
- Sydenham High
- Trinity
- Westminster Upper
- Whitgift
- Wimbledon High
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