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School profile Verified 2 June 2026

Slough Slough 11+

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School

1 Langley Road, Slough, SL3 7AF

A selective co-educational grammar school in Slough, Berkshire, serving ages 11-18 with a sixth form and around 1,133 pupils on roll.

Co-ed Voluntary aided school Ages 11-18 Sixth form GL Assessment
UK rank
UK Rank #37
Year 7 places
150
Competition i
High
Ofsted
Outstanding
11+ route
GL Assessment
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On this page

At a glance

Key facts

GCSE rank
UK Rank #37
Admissions
Mixed
Assessment
GL Assessment
Places in Year 7
150
Competition i
High
Catchment
Check the published admissions policy for catchment and address rules.
Ofsted
Outstanding

Overview

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School is a selective, co-educational Catholic grammar school in Slough with about 1,133 pupils. It has a rare national identity: the school describes itself as the only co-educational Catholic grammar school in the country. Its history began in 1897, when Bernardine Cistercian Sisters arrived from France, made Aldin House habitable and opened the school with a small group of French and English girls.

The school's Catholic character is central to the biography, not a footnote. Its mission statement says students are educated in a nurturing community where each person is loved and valued, with prayer, worship, service, love, forgiveness and compassion at the centre. The school became voluntary aided in 1966, and another major change followed in 1989 when boys were admitted, moving St Bernard's towards the co-educational grammar it is today.

Academically, St Bernard's describes a broad and deep curriculum organised through faculties, with PHSCE, literacy, numeracy and MSSC values at the core. It also points to gifted-and-talented provision, partner primary links, extra-curricular and enrichment activity, pastoral care and a school cafe and PTFA community. The sixth form offers A levels with close staff support, higher-education guidance, Oxbridge support where relevant, mentoring and student leadership roles.

For Year 7 entry, the published admission number is 150. St Bernard's uses the Slough Consortium 11-plus; the eligibility score is 111 on a standardised scale, representing the top 35% of the tested cohort and giving eligibility for consideration rather than a guaranteed offer. The latest applications record lists 1,023 applications and 150 offers. Recent official benchmarks show Ofsted Outstanding, Progress 8 of +0.93, 99.4% grade 5+ in English and maths and 31.7% AAB or better at A level.

Key points
Assessment route
GL Assessment across a 2-stage process, covering Verbal reasoning, Non-verbal reasoning, English and Maths.
Places and demand
150 places in Year 7 and High
Catchment
Check the published admissions policy for catchment and address rules.
Results
99.4% grade 5+ in English and maths and 77.3 Attainment 8
Sixth form
Sixth form available with 32.3% AAB or better and 75% in higher education.

GCSE benchmark

Latest 2024/25 KS4 measures compared with Slough and England.

School Local authority England
GCSE benchmark comparison Latest GCSE benchmark measures for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, Slough, and England. 0 50 100 Att. 8 5+ E&M EBacc APS EBacc %
Attainment 8
77.3
Grade 5+ English and maths
99.4%
EBacc APS
7.35
EBacc entry
96.8%

Attainment 8 trend

Recent published Attainment 8 scores compared with Slough and England.

School Local authority England
Attainment 8 trend line Attainment 8 over time for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, Slough, and England. 100 80 60 40 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25

Destinations

Latest 2024/25 Year 11 destination mix compared with Slough and England.

Education Apprenticeships Employment Other / unknown
Destinations stacked bar comparison Year 11 destinations for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, Slough, and England across education, apprenticeships, employment, and other or unknown destinations. 0 50 100 School Local auth. England

School details
School type
Voluntary aided school
Admissions
Mixed
Age range
11-18
Headteacher
Mr Paul Kassapian
Pupil roll
1,133 pupils
Sixth form
Yes
FSM i
3.7%
EAL i
35.6%
EHCP i
0.4%

Ethnicity

January 2025 school census

Pupil ethnicity

Whole-school roll of 1,133 pupils; 1,065 had a recorded ethnic group.

White 21% Asian 43.7% Mixed 19.5% Black 6.7% Other 3.1% Unclassified 6%
Recorded group Share Category Pupils
Indian Asian 356
Any other mixed background Mixed 175
White British White 128
Any other White background White 103
Any other Asian background Asian 86
Unclassified Unclassified 68
African Black 63
Pakistani Asian 46
Any other ethnic group Other 35
White and Asian Mixed 35
Caribbean Black 8
White and Black African Mixed 8
Irish White 7
Bangladeshi Asian 6
Any other Black background Black 5
White and Black Caribbean Mixed 3
Chinese Asian 1

Location and contact

Address

Address
1 Langley Road, Slough, Berkshire
Postcode
SL3 7AF
Area
Slough
Exam area
Slough 11+

School leadership

Headteacher
Mr Paul Kassapian

School contact

School email
secretary@st-bernards.slough.sch.uk
School phone
01753527020

Admissions contact

Admissions email
secretary@st-bernards.slough.sch.uk
Admissions phone
01753527020
Open in Map Open school website

Admissions
Year 7 places
150 places (2025 entry)
Applications listed
1,023 applications (2025 entry)
First preferences
181 first preferences (2025 entry)
Competition i
High
Catchment picture
Check the published admissions policy for catchment and address rules.
Pass mark note
The eligibility score is 111 on a standardised scale. A score of 111 or above represents the top 35% of the tested cohort and makes a pupil eligible for consideration, not guaranteed an offer.

Oversubscription and eligibility

Use the official admissions policy for the current priority order and eligibility rules.

Information booklet

Slough Consortium Guide to the 11+ for 2027 entry

2027 entry

Exam and test format

The GL Assessment 11+ entrance test format

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School currently uses GL Assessment. The published format currently lists 2 papers. Scores are published as age-standardised.

Assessment route
GL Assessment
Papers and stages
2 papers
Format
Multiple-choice papers
Age standardisation
Published as age-standardised

Shared exam route

Practice for this school's entrance test

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School uses the shared Slough route. Use these common practice resources for the route, then check the full consortium guide for the complete set and current test guidance.

View all Slough practice papers
Practice paper English

GL Assessment English Practice Paper 1

Practice paper Maths

GL Assessment Maths Practice Paper 1

Practice paper Non-Verbal Reasoning

GL Assessment Non-Verbal Reasoning and Maths Practice Paper 1

Practice paper Verbal Reasoning

GL Assessment Verbal Reasoning Paper 1

Papers and rounds

  1. Paper 1

    Verbal reasoning, Non-verbal reasoning, English, Maths

    Slough Consortium 11+ paper one

    One of two GL Assessment papers covering reasoning, English and mathematics.

  2. Paper 2

    Verbal reasoning, Non-verbal reasoning, English, Maths

    Slough Consortium 11+ paper two

    One of two GL Assessment papers covering reasoning, English and mathematics.

What the test includes

English, Maths, Verbal reasoning and Non-verbal reasoning are included in the published format.

Science is not listed in the current published format.

Included

  • English

  • Maths

  • Verbal reasoning

    One of two GL Assessment papers covering reasoning, English and mathematics.

  • Non-verbal reasoning

    One of two GL Assessment papers covering reasoning, English and mathematics.

Not listed

  • Science

Application

Key dates

  1. Slough 11+ registration opens

    1 May 2026

    Past

  2. Slough 11+ registration closes

    5 June 2026

    Past

    Registration closes at 10am.

  3. Slough Consortium 11+ test

    19 September 2026

  4. 11+ results

    mid-October 2026

  5. Common Application Form deadline

    31 October 2026

  6. National Offer Day

    1 March 2027

How to apply

  1. 1

    Register for the Slough Consortium 11+

    Registration opens on 1 May 2026 and closes on 5 June 2026.

    Open admissions page
  2. 2

    Sit the Slough Consortium 11+ examination

    The common 11+ examination for September 2027 entry is scheduled for 19 September 2026.

    Open step
  3. 3

    Submit the secondary CAF

    Use the home local authority Common Application Form after receiving eligibility information.

    Open step

Official admissions documents

Information booklet

Slough Consortium Guide to the 11+ for 2027 entry

2027 entry

Key dates

Slough Consortium key dates for September 2027 entry

2027 entry

Key dates

Year 7 admissions 2027 entry

2027 entry

Results

Attainment snapshot

Progress 8 i
+0.93 Progress 8
Attainment 8 i
77.3 Attainment 8
GCSE results
99.4% grade 4+ in English and maths
Grade 5+ English and maths i
99.4% grade 5+ in English and maths
EBacc average point score i
7.35 EBacc APS
A-level results
32.3% AAB or better
A-level average points
40.01 points per entry

Where students go next

Higher education progression
75% in higher education
Apprenticeships
4% in apprenticeships
Employment
7% in sustained employment

Latest official destinations data currently covers 2022/23 study leavers.

Subject performance

Maths
100% grade 5+ in EBacc maths
English
98.1% grade 5+ in EBacc English
Sciences
93% grade 5+ in EBacc sciences
Languages
81.9% grade 5+ in EBacc languages

Performance trends

Recent trend

Overall GCSE performance

This follows the school's published overall GCSE score across the subjects pupils take. Higher is better.

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School Grammar schools England
Overall GCSE performance across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, grammar schools, and England. 90 77.5 65 52.5 40 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 76.8 74.2 49.4
2022/23 77.5 71.8 47.0
2023/24 76.7 72.1 46.7
2024/25 77.3 72.3 46.8

Recent trend

Average A-level result

This follows the published average A-level result for the school's sixth form. Higher is better.

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School Grammar schools England
Average A-level result across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, grammar schools, and England. 50 pts 45 pts 40 pts 35 pts 30 pts 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 B average (40.9 points) 44.0 points 37.5 points
2022/23 B- average (37.6 points) 40.5 points 33.7 points
2023/24 B average (39.3 points) 41.3 points 34.5 points
2024/25 B average (40.0 points) 41.8 points 35.0 points

Recent trend

Where pupils go after Year 11

This follows the share of pupils moving into a sustained destination after Year 11, such as education, apprenticeships, or employment.

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School Grammar schools England
Where pupils go after Year 11 across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, grammar schools, and England. 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 99% 99.1% 94.1%
2022/23 99% 98.9% 93.9%
2023/24 99% 99.0% 93.3%
2024/25 98% 98.7% 91.8%

Latest year breakdown

In education 98%
In apprenticeships 0%
In employment 0%

Inspection
View report
Outstanding

Latest inspection: 8 November 2023

Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership and management
Outstanding
Sixth form provision
Outstanding

Quick summary

  • Overall effectiveness: St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School was rated Outstanding across all areas. Inspectors described a kind, inclusive and high-achieving Catholic community where pupils respond to high expectations, learn with enthusiasm, behave exceptionally well and take part widely in enrichment.
  • Quality of education: The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully sequenced from Year 7 to Year 13. Teachers explain complex ideas clearly, use questioning and structured discussion to deepen understanding, and help pupils with SEND make strong progress through the same planned curriculum.
  • Behaviour and attitudes: The report describes a calm atmosphere shaped by the school values of love, forgiveness and compassion. Pupils help one another, conduct is exceptionally strong across year groups, and pastoral support, including anonymous reporting, helps pupils raise concerns promptly.
  • Personal development: Pupils benefit from strong mental health and well-being support and a wide activity offer. Inspectors noted high participation, excitement about the whole-school production of Matilda, and pupils competing or performing at national level in sport and the arts.
  • Leadership and management: Leaders set a clear drive for excellence while sustaining an inclusive pastoral culture. The report highlights strong support for vulnerable pupils, careful use of assessment and feedback, a rich reading culture and effective safeguarding arrangements.
  • Sixth form provision: Sixth-form provision was rated Outstanding. The report places students within the same carefully sequenced Year 7 to Year 13 curriculum, where older learners explain challenging concepts fluently and benefit from ambitious teaching, structured discussion and sharp feedback.

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Related pages and guides

Guides and related reading

Related guides are still being added.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What assessment types does St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School use?

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School currently uses GL Assessment.

How do I apply to St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School?

1. Register for the Slough Consortium 11+: Registration opens on 1 May 2026 and closes on 5 June 2026. 2. Sit the Slough Consortium 11+ examination: The common 11+ examination for September 2027 entry is scheduled for 19 September 2026. 3. Submit the secondary CAF: Use the home local authority Common Application Form after receiving eligibility information.

When are the key dates for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School?

Slough 11+ registration opens: 1 May 2026. Slough 11+ registration closes: 5 June 2026. Slough Consortium 11+ test: 19 September 2026. 11+ results: mid-October 2026. Common Application Form deadline: 31 October 2026. National Offer Day: 1 March 2027

What does the latest Ofsted picture look like for St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School?

St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School is currently rated Outstanding following the latest published inspection dated 8 November 2023.