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Aptitude Test
As part of our admissions arrangements, we welcome students who have a particular apitude for technology. A separate application form is needed in addition to the application made through Hertfordshire County Council. Assessment for admission under this criterion is an aptitude test, sat in school.
The tests form part of our oversubscription criteria for secondary transfer and involve the children sitting two papers: a non-verbal reasoning paper (40 minutes) and a spatial awareness test (45 minutes), both papers look for the ability to recognise similarities, analogies and patterns in unfamiliar designs. A sample question will be read out and then a period of time will be given for the children to complete each section of the multiple choice questions. The scores are then converted to an age-standardised score which takes into account the fact that some children are very young in the year groups. There is no pass mark for these tests, places are strictly offered in descending order of each applicant’s standardised test score.
You should advise the school before the test and on the day of the test if your child has any special requirements that you feel may disadvantage them when sitting the test. If your child is sick on the day of the test, please telephone the school in the morning.
This is not an intelligence test. The test is looking for students that show an aptitude for technology; a good example of this would be problem-solving based around pictures, diagrams and shapes. Below are examples of the type of questions that may be asked:
- Spotting the odd shape out
- Working out what a shape would like like when folded
- Identifying mirror images
- Working out the next diagram in a sequence
How places are allocated
Each year we move through the list in ranked order with the highest score being at the top and continue allocating until all 10% of places available have been given. Please be aware that in compliance with the School Admission Code 1.32(c) the school will not at any stage give out the individual rankings but will provide you with the outcome by informing you of the overall score that your child has achieved.
These tests are only open to students that join us in the normal secondary transfer round for Year 7 places. All applications must be made prior to the published deadline.
