11 Plus Maths Tuition Hertfordshire | Watford, Dame Alice Owen's

In short

Hertfordshire County Council says some schools select a percentage of their places by academic ability. The South West Herts Schools Consortium runs an academic test for Parmiter's, Queens', Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes, Watford Grammar School for Boys and Watford Grammar School for Girls: GL papers in mathematics and verbal reasoning of roughly 45 minutes to an hour each, answered on an OMR sheet, with some questions needing two answers. For 2027 entry, registration ran from 1 April to 5 June 2026, the test was on Saturday 5 September 2026, and scores arrive on 15 October. Dame Alice Owen's School runs its own examination: a verbal reasoning Part I on 1 September 2026, then, for the top 325, English and a one-hour maths paper written by the school on 26 September 2026. We teach the maths for both, live online. Try one lesson without charge; if you continue, a small-group place is USD 100 monthly and one to one teaching USD 150 monthly.

Hertfordshire starting points

Three courses for Hertfordshire's tests

One route has a GL multiple-choice maths paper; the other a paper the school writes itself. Choose by how flexible your child's maths is.

HERTS / 1

Herts 11 plus maths

Year 5 maths for the consortium paper and Dame Alice Owen's Part II, both formats.

Open the syllabus →

HERTS / 2

Known facts, used cleverly

Mental multiplication and division that makes two-answer questions quick.

Open the syllabus →

Maths Olympiad & Competition Course course thumbnail

HERTS / 3

Beyond routine problems

For confident children facing a school-written paper with no published samples.

Open the syllabus →

A share of places

Partially selective, not grammar schools

The distinction matters, because it changes what the test is for. Read on 26 September 2026 from Hertfordshire County Council, the South West Herts Schools Consortium and Dame Alice Owen's School.

What the council says

On its aptitude and ability testing page, Hertfordshire County Council explains that "Some schools offer a small percentage of their places to children with a particular aptitude. Some schools also select a percentage of their places based on academic ability." It lists the South West Herts Schools Consortium among those that test.

So a Hertfordshire ability test fills some of a school's places, not all of them. The rest are allocated by each school's other criteria. That is admissions, which we leave to the schools, but it explains why the tests are described as ability tests rather than an 11 plus for a grammar school.

Two main routes

The consortium describes itself as "a group of seven partially selective schools in Southwest Hertfordshire": Croxley Danes (music only), Parmiter's, Queens', Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes, and the two Watford Grammar Schools. One academic test serves the six with an academic route.

Dame Alice Owen's School in Potters Bar sets its own Governors' Entrance Examination. Its determined arrangements for 2027-28 give a published admission number of 200 and "Up to 65 children selected by academic ability".

Sources: Hertfordshire County Council, aptitude or ability testing; South West Herts Schools Consortium, home page, academic ability test, FAQ, familiarisation and calendar pages; Dame Alice Owen's School, entrance exam information and determined admission arrangements 2027-28. Modern Age Coders has no connection with the council, the consortium, GL Assessment or any school.

The consortium test

Maths and verbal reasoning, and nothing else

The South West Herts academic test is narrower than most 11 plus tests. That makes the maths paper a large part of it.

The South West Herts academic test for 2027 entry, and Dame Alice Owen's examination
	South West Herts Consortium	Dame Alice Owen's School
Registration	1 April to 5 June 2026; no late entries	29 April to 10 June 2026
Papers	Maths; verbal reasoning (GL)	Part I verbal reasoning (GL); Part II English and maths
Maths paper	Prepared for the consortium, Key Stage 2	One hour, written by the school
Test dates	Saturday 5 September 2026	Part I 1 September; Part II 26 September 2026
Who sits the maths	Every academic candidate	The top 325 from Part I
Scores	Notified 15 October 2026	Combined and ranked

The consortium says: "Children applying under the Academic Criterion will take Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning tests, provided by GL Assessment." Maths papers "are prepared specifically for the Consortium and are based on the Key Stage 2 curriculum". Its test details page says each test takes "approximately 45 minutes to one hour", with a short break between.

The familiarisation page is explicit: "English and Non-Verbal Reasoning are not required for the test." It also warns that the practice materials "are not intended to replicate the timings or number of questions on the papers candidates will take on test day".

Answers go on an OMR sheet, and the instructions include a line that deserves attention: "Two Correct Answers: Some questions may require marking two answers. Be sure to read the instructions carefully." A child who marks one answer on a two-answer question, or two on a one-answer question, loses the mark whatever their maths.

At Dame Alice Owen's, maths is only in Part II, a one-hour paper written by the school for the 325 highest-ranked from the verbal reasoning in Part I. No samples of that paper are published, so depth across the Key Stage 2 curriculum is the only preparation.

The lesson

Mental maths from known facts, including choose-two questions

The Year 5 curriculum asks children to "multiply and divide numbers mentally, drawing upon known facts". Known facts make ordinary questions quick, and they make two-answer questions manageable.

Mental multiplication and division from known facts (our own questions)
Question	Known fact used	Answer
25 × 16	25 × 4 = 100, and 16 = 4 × 4	400
36 × 5	× 5 is half of × 10	180
4,800 ÷ 40	48 ÷ 4 = 12, then adjust for the zeros	120
99 × 7	100 × 7 minus 7	693
Choose two: which are multiples of 12? 84, 94, 108, 112	12 × 7 = 84; 12 × 9 = 108	84 and 108

Each of the first four rows can be done with long multiplication or division, slowly. Each can also be done in a few seconds from a fact the child already knows. 25 × 16 becomes 25 × 4 × 4, which is 100 × 4. Dividing 4,800 by 40 becomes 48 divided by 4, with the zeros handled by place value.

That speed matters on a paper whose length and question count are not published, and it matters more on the two-answer questions, where every option has to be checked rather than just the first plausible one.

The last row shows the two-answer format. Looking at four numbers and deciding which two are multiples of 12 means testing all four: 84 and 108 are (12 × 7 and 12 × 9), while 94 is not even divisible by 4 and 112 is 12 × 9 plus 4. A child with the twelve times table secure does it in seconds; a child without it guesses.

We practise two-answer questions deliberately, with the instruction in bold at first and then in ordinary type, so reading "choose two" becomes automatic. Marking exactly two, no more and no fewer, is part of the skill.

Sources: national curriculum in England, mathematics, Year 5 multiplication and division (statutory requirements); South West Herts Schools Consortium, academic ability test instructions. The questions are our own.

Our approach

Two routes, one curriculum

A GL paper with published samples and a school paper with none need the same thing underneath: Year 5 maths known deeply.

Depth in Key Stage 2

Every Year 5 topic taught until it is quick and flexible, since neither route publishes question counts or weightings.

Read the instruction

Two-answer questions, single-answer questions and written answers practised side by side, so the instruction always gets read.

Unseen problems

For the school-written Dame Alice Owen's paper, problems in unfamiliar forms, so nothing on the day looks alien.

The consortium provides a free download of GL familiarisation booklets for maths and verbal reasoning. Use them to see the format; the consortium itself warns they do not match the real timing or question count. We do not reproduce them.

Verbal reasoning is the other consortium paper, and Dame Alice Owen's Part I is verbal reasoning too. We do not teach it. Families should plan for it separately.

Dame Alice Owen's School describes its tests as designed to identify the most able candidates and warns that children of average or below average ability are likely to find them very challenging. We will be honest with you about where your child stands.

We give no advice on which schools to apply to, the share of places each fills by ability, or priority areas. The council and schools publish those.

Watford, Rickmansworth and Potters Bar

The schools this page covers

The council and the consortium name the schools. We list them only to make the scope of this page clear.

Schools using the tests described on this page
School	Ability route
Parmiter's School	South West Herts academic test
Queens' School	South West Herts academic test
Rickmansworth School	South West Herts academic test
St Clement Danes School	South West Herts academic test
Watford Grammar School for Boys	South West Herts academic test
Watford Grammar School for Girls	South West Herts academic test
Dame Alice Owen's School	Its own two-part examination

Croxley Danes School belongs to the consortium but tests for music only, so it does not use the academic test. The council lists other Hertfordshire schools that test for aptitude or ability, and families should check each school's own arrangements.

Whether home is Bushey, Abbots Langley, Chorleywood or Hatfield, the lesson arrives the same way: on a screen, live, in a class of up to ten children working at the same stage.

For families just over the London border, see our pages for Barnet and Enfield.

None of these schools, nor the consortium, GL Assessment or the county council, is connected with Modern Age Coders.

Towards September 2027

Four stages for early-September tests

Both routes test in the first weeks of Year 6, and registration closes in June of Year 5. Here is the year before.

Known facts first, then unusual formats
When	Stage	You will see
Autumn, Year 5	1. Known facts	Tables to 12 × 12 and their divisions instant
Winter, Year 5	2. Mental strategies	Multiplies and divides mentally from facts, confidently
Spring, Year 5 (register by early June)	3. The rest of Year 5	Fractions, measures, shape and data as secure
Summer holiday	4. Formats	Two-answer questions, timed GL-style papers, and unseen written problems

Starting late

The consortium test falls in the first week of September, so the summer is the last chance. Facts first, formats second.

By the end of the trial lesson you will know, frankly, how much of that summer is needed.

After the tests

Mental agility carries straight into secondary algebra. Some children continue with maths through coding.

Others try the national challenges on our competitions calendar.

Courses

Maths and coding for Hertfordshire families

Arranged by stage, each linked to a syllabus.

I

For the ability tests

Years 3 to 5

HTM / 1

11 plus maths, Hertfordshire

Year 5 maths for both routes.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 2

Mental maths from known facts

Speed for two-answer questions.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 3

Challenge problems

For a school-written paper.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 4

Primary foundations

Years 1 to 5, secured.

Open the syllabus

II

Secondary

Year 6 onwards

HTM / 5

Key Stage 3 maths course

The first secondary years.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 6

GCSE maths across boards

Foundation and higher.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 7

Abacus for younger siblings

Number sense by hand.

Open the syllabus

III

Coding

Facts into programs

HTM / 8

Maths through coding

Multiples and factors, found by code.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 9

Scratch, first programs

Logic for young coders.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 10

Python and AI, age 9 upwards

The first typed language.

Open the syllabus

IV

Later

Teenagers

HTM / 11

Vedic mental methods

More shortcuts, built on facts.

Open the syllabus

HTM / 12

AI for 13 to 18 year olds

Maths in modern tools.

Open the syllabus

Lesson times

After school, or at the weekend

We teach live from India and book Hertfordshire primary pupils into early-evening or weekend-morning slots on the UK clock; clock changes are handled by our teachers.

After school

Early in the evening.

Weekend morning

When children are fresh.

Summer holidays

Useful before an early-September test.

One teacher all year

Who knows your child's habits.

Honest notes

A few frank lines after lessons.

Classes of five to ten

Grouped by level.

Our own questions

No GL or school material copied.

One to one

For specific gaps.

Maths only

No verbal reasoning or English coaching; no admissions advice.

Student work

Known facts, later put to work

Four published projects by our students, all of whom once learned their tables. More on the student labs page.

AI and ML

NutriLife

An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.

by Bhavya · Open it

AI and ML

Misti

A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.

by Harshit · Open it

AI and ML

GuardianX

An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online.

by Vivaan · Open it

Web app

SkyCast

A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.

by Krish

Fees

Families outside India pay one monthly US dollar price. No joining fee; stop any month.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

A taught lesson
A frank view
No card needed

Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

Five to ten children, one level
A regular teacher
Work reviewed together
Certificate at the end

Start here

One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

A teacher for one child
Aimed at gaps
Flexible timing

Enquire

What families say

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

Straight from parents' Google reviews.

★★★★★

"The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it. The teachers explain complex concepts clearly with practical exercises and interactive content."

Ria Mukherjee

Parent

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease."

Samriddha Mondal

Student

★★★★★

"One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development."

Vansh Agarwal

Student

★★★★★

"My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative."

Sonam Oswal

Parent of Dhairya

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation."

Sonu Goyal

Parent

★★★★★

"I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding."

Ritu Kedia

Parent

Hertfordshire questions

What Hertfordshire families ask us

Does Hertfordshire have grammar schools?

Not in the usual sense. The county council says some schools select a percentage of their places based on academic ability. The South West Herts Schools Consortium describes its members as partially selective.

What is in the South West Herts academic test?

The consortium says academic candidates take mathematics and verbal reasoning tests from GL Assessment, of roughly 45 minutes to an hour each. English and non-verbal reasoning are not required.

What does "two correct answers" mean?

The consortium's instructions say some questions may require marking two answers, so children must read each question's instructions carefully.

When is the South West Herts test?

For 2027 entry it was on Saturday 5 September 2026, with registration from 1 April to 5 June 2026 and scores on 15 October 2026. Dates for 2028 entry are published by the consortium.

How is Dame Alice Owen's different?

It runs its own examination: Part I verbal reasoning for all candidates, then Part II English and a one-hour maths paper written by the school for the top 325. It admits up to 65 children by academic ability.

Which schools use the consortium test?

Parmiter's, Queens', Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes and the two Watford Grammar Schools. Croxley Danes is in the consortium but tests for music only.

Are the familiarisation papers the real format?

The consortium says its familiarisation materials are generic and not intended to replicate the timings or number of questions on the day.

Do you teach verbal reasoning?

No. Verbal reasoning, English and every question about places sit outside our lessons, which are about mathematics.

Do you use GL or school papers?

No. We write our own questions.

What do lessons cost?

Lesson one is on us. Continuing pupils pay USD 100 per month for a class place or USD 150 per month for individual teaching, month to month.

Two boroughs over the border, a fully selective county next door, and the wider picture.

11 plus maths in Barnet

Three schools just over the border.

11 plus maths in Enfield

Latymer's test, changing for 2028 entry.

11 plus maths in Buckinghamshire

A fully selective county to the west.