About QE (Boys) School Barnet


Introduction:

Queen Elizabeth’s is a selective,non-denominational and non-fee-paying School with a mission of producing young men who are confident, able and responsible. The School has a reputation for academic excellence and our expectations are high: QE boys excel at A Level and go on to places at leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.

Source: qebarnet.co.uk


Key Facts:

  • All boys school founded in 1573
  • Address: The Lodge Queens Road, Barnet EN5 4DQ
  • Special Interest: Specialist status in music, multiple sports activities including rugby, cricket, athletics and water polo.
  • Rated one of the top grammar school for boys in multiple school rankings
  • There is no 'catchment area' criteria for admission. Distance is only used as a tie- breaker in case of last-seat candidates have the same test score. 

Academic Results:

QE Barnet has consistently been rated among the top schools for A Level results:

  • Ranked first in the country for A-level results in 2019 by The Times
  • Raked first for  A-level results by 'Parent Power Best School Guide' in 2022, a year in which the school achieved an average result of A* (55.75 points).
  • Students at the school recived a total of 47 Oxbridge offers, ranking the school 10th in the country for Oxbridge Offers.

    The above information is taken from QE Brouchure, which can be accessed on this page:

    https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/school-brochure/


    League Table rankings:

    1. Good School Guide (Top 15 on 'Progress 8' Scores)

    2. Parent Power Best UK School Guide (Best School for A-level rank)

    3. BBC League Tables (Top 5 school)

    Click on above links to go to the comparison source.


    QE Barnet reviews and feedback:

    Reviews are not verified, click on link to go to review source

    Mumsnet:

    He will have to be very very bright. It is 100% academically selective and very demanding. However, if his teacher thinks he can cope, go and visit it. Thousands of boys sit the exm evry year. I can't remember how many places per year group.

    Read more reviews on Mumsnet

    Facebook:

    The school is always working closely with the pupils to help them be and achieve their best. They have a well-established approach that works and which is reflected in their consistently outstanding results year on year. It is a valuable thing to gain a place at this school and if your son has done this he will be on a great journey to success if he accepts the challenges and embraces the opportunity.

    Read more reviews on Facebook

    Google:

    This school is really good, in recognising kids talents and pointing faults or obstacles ( many parents don't accept -ve comments sorry). Every kid is special in some form but all schools recognise what they wanted but QE boys extends it to pointing us towards their gaps, which helps your kid if you fill it, if you ignore you will face it and if you oppose/offend it becomes reason of your failure. I am sure this school definitely makes my diamond shine somewhere some day by polishing his faults.

    Read more reviews on Google

QE 11Plus Exam Pattern


Exam pattern:

The QE 11Plus Exam consists of a single round consisting of:

A) 50 Minute English Paper

The English paper is expected to last around 50 minutes and contain between 50 and 65 GL Style question in MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) format. The various question types are expected to be:

  • Passage based questions
  • Spelling based
  • Punctuation based
  • Sentence completion
  • Part of speech & Figurative language based questions

The english section can be expected to host two passages, one of which could be a poem or a play based passage.

B) 50 Minute Maths Paper

The Maths paper is expected to last around 50 minutes and contain between 50 and 60 GL style questions in MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) format. The various topics which are expected to feature are:

  • Basic operations
  • Numbers and place values
  • Sequences
  • Basic algebra
  • Fractions, decimals and percentages
  • Ratio and proportion
  • Shapes (2D & 3D)
  • Area & perimeter
  • Measurement, time and money
  • Probabilities
  • Graphs, data and statistics

Both exams are taken on the same day and a small break will be provided between the two papers.

There is no Creative Writing, VR or NVR sections.

The test provider is GL, the exam is expected to be at an enhanced level of difficulty compared to other GL style exams conducted in the UK.


Exam scoring:

Queen Elizabeth’s School uses standardised scores to evaluate candidates’ performance in the 11+ exam. Standardised scores are a way of comparing a student’s performance to the performance of other students who took the same test. The scores are calculated by comparing the student’s raw score to the average raw score of all students who took the test.

  • If a student scores exactly the same as the average raw score (% score), their standardised score will be 100 .
  • If a student scores higher than the average raw score (% score), their standardised score will be higher than 100.
  • If a student scores lower than the average raw score (% score), their standardised score will be lower than 100.

The two tests are individually standardised and then the two scores are added together to give a 'Combined Test Score'. A student who recieved 'Combined Test Score' of 210 or over is deemed to have met the 'required academic standard' for admission into the school. Getting a score of 210 or above is not a guaratee of admission, actual admission offer cut-off scores are indicated in the table below:

The table above is taken from the QE Admission brochure (https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/admissions-information-parents/)

The maximum passible standardised score for English and Maths sections is 141, making the highest possible standardised score in exam 282. 


Total number of seats per year: 180

Key Admission Dates


  • 1st May 2024: Admission test registration opens
  • 4th July 2024: School’s open day
  • 12th July 2024: Admission test registration closes
  • 18th and 19th September 2024: Entrance tests
  • 1st October 2024 (provisional date): Test results sent to parents
  • 31st of October 2024: Deadline for submitting CAF to LA 
  • 3rd March 2025: National offer day


Join our 11+ WhatsApp group:


              • Regular updates & Key dates

              • Free resources

              • Parents' community

              • Regular updates & reminders

              • Free resources

              • Supportive parent community


              Contact Sumit@oxbrigdeinstitute.co.uk if you want to join. 

              How to prepare for QE Barnet 11Plus Exam?


              At Oxbridge we offer a number of resources, courses and mocks to help with your 11Plus Prep.
              Ideal for students who are self-preparing or Home-preparing, our resources are custom made for success in Sutton SET, London Grammar and Private School Exams.
              We recommend the following resources:


              1.   Subject-wise courses:

              We offer subject-specific camps: English Camp, Maths Camp. The camp are designed as one-week intensive courses focusing on key topics relevant to the 11Plus exam. These camps provide an excellent opportunity to refresh knowledge, enhance understanding, and boost confidence.
              Key features: 

              • Practice essential question types for each subject
              • Timed Quizzes
              • Access our partner resources
              • Practice over 400 questions


              2.    Online Practice Books:
              Our brand new 'online test books’ help students develop: Stamina, Speed and Accuracy. It is comprised of 3 bundles of tests for each subject (English, Maths) :
              •    10-minute tests (Beginner)
              •    15-minute tests (Intermediate)
              •    20-minute tests (Advanced)
              Progression along the test series helps children develop effective time management and tackle increasingly difficult questions. Each test covers a wide range of topics, contains detailed solutions and shows ‘score analytics’ to benchmark performance.

              3.    Mock Exams
              Mock exams are a great way to prepare for the real exams. They can help you to:

              • Start revising early and avoid time wastage.
              • Improve your knowledge.
              • Familiarise yourself with the exam conditions and pressure.
              • Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

              We offer a mix of Online, In-Person and At-Home Mock exams to guide your perpetration. We highly recommend starting with mock exams six months prior to your main exam to ease into the test process.


              4.    Special Courses
              Special courses on vocabulary and courses to improve your accuracy and time-management.

              Frequently Asked Questions.


              1. How competitive is entry into QE Boys?

              QE is often rated as the best Boys Grammar School and hence competition is intense. There are on average 3000 applicants for some 180 seats.

              Taking the success ratio of around 6% (180/3000) would be misleading as the 3000 applicants are also jointly competing for seats in other premier institutes example in Sutton, St Olives etc.

              That being said the competition is intense and requires considerable hard-work and dedication.

              2. Is there a catchment area?

              There is no catchment area and the seats will be offered to top 180 applicants that appear highest on the list obtained by ranking applicants in the order of their combined scores in the test. Only in case of a score-tie for the last seats, distance from the school gate will be taken as a criteria for resolving the tie.

              Full admission criteria and other guidelines are available at the link below:

              https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/admissions-information-parents/

              3. What are standardised scores?

              Most of us understand scoring systems like those used in our schools, ‘7 out of 10’ or percentage scores, e.g. 70%. Such scores, known as raw scores, are easily understandable and helpful in indicating ‘how many you got right’. However, these scores are less useful in enabling teachers to compare pupils’ performance meaningfully between one test and another and monitor progress over time. This is because raw scores do not account for factors such as:

              • Varying the difficultly of tests from year to year.

              • Varying the aptitude and number of students taking the test each year. 

              These factors can make the average scores (and hence selection scores) subject to significant variations year on year. To overcome these challenges, standardised scores are used instead of raw scores as they help balance children's overall performance between years and tests. The process of standard score calculation is relatively complex. We will try and discuss the basics for interested parents and students, but the detailed mechanism is not necessary for succeeding in the exam– it all comes down to attempting questions in a considered, accurate manner and keeping pace with the speed of the test.

              4. What are age-standardised scores?

              This basically means that some of the standardised scores are increased slightly to give a small additional score to children who are younger within the year group.
              Such adjustments are used because in extreme circumstances there can be up to a year of difference between the ages of the children taking the test and older children naturally:
              • Can concentrate harder and longer
              • Have a wider vocabulary than younger class-mates
              • Display greater comprehension ability
              • Are able to work quicker and with greater accuracy
              • Deal better with exam stress
              Although this may be concerning for some parents and children (and equally euphoric for others), it is worth remembering that the factor is very small and the most important parameter remains test performance by far.

              5. Is it possible to self-prep for QE Boys?

              Hundreds of students self-prep (or Home prep) for QE Boys and other competitive schools every year. At Oxbridge Institute we aim to provide courses, online resources and mock exams to take your learning in your own hands and achieve 11Plus success. Self (Or home) prep requires tremendous committment but is the most rewarding journey for intelligent and dedicated students who choose to take this challenge.

              6. How do I know if QE Boys is the right choice for my family?

              Only your family can discover if QE Boys is the right school for your child. The competition both to get in and to stay among the top pupils in class is bound to be high but can be very rewarding in the end. We suggest attending the open day at the school (July) and going through the various sources of information available on this page and on the school website before deciding if this is the right school for your child.

              7. How to best use Oxbridge resources to prepare for QE Barnet (Boys)?

              We have a support plan for students who want to gain admission into one of the best Grammar Schools in the country.

              • Join our Weekly Test Series: Weekly English and Maths theory videos and weekly practice tests on the topic of the week. Additional resources shared on weekly basis.
              • Get our Online Books: Segregated as 10-minute (Beginner), 15-Minute (Intermediate) and 20-Minute (Advanced) Tests. Perfect practice for QE and similar exams.
              • Regular Mock Exams: Starting Feb 2024, we have a monthly schedule of Online and Physical Mocks. we also have At-Home Mocks for practice of past mock exams.
              • Special Courses & Revision Camps: Special courses in Vocabulary, Grammar, Maths, English and Accuracy & Time Management.


              Have another question? Email us at sumit@OxbridgeInstitute.co.uk