Lawrence Sheriff School is a selective boys' school on Clifton Road in Rugby, Warwickshire, and boys enter at eleven on the shared West Midlands entrance test. This page covers Lawrence Sheriff School entry at eleven by the GL Assessment test, for children now in Year 3 to Year 5, and not sixth form, fees or A levels.
What is the house system, and why does it come up so often?
Because it is the spine of the school day. There are five houses, which the school dates to 1907: Caldecott in purple with a thistle, Kent in yellow with a crown, Simpson in green with a clover, Tait in red with a star, and Wheeler in blue with a cross.
The uniform policy puts it in six words: each boy will wear his House tie. The school says the system creates competition, promotes good work and behaviour, encourages teamwork, gives boys opportunities to take on responsibilities, and brings everyone in the school together.
Alongside it sit five named attributes, called Lawrence Sheriff Learners, and an aim stated more plainly than most schools manage: for students and staff to be happy during their time at Lawrence Sheriff School. It is a modest thing to publish as an aim, and an unusual one, and it tells you something about the tone of the place.
Who does Lawrence Sheriff admit?
Boys, from Year 7 through to Year 11, on Clifton Road in Rugby. Admission is selective, and the school words it simply: admissions are based on a process of selection having regard to children's academic ability.
The sixth form is a different shape. It is co-educational and has admitted girls for some years now, so a family with a daughter may still find themselves here later even though the route at eleven is not open to her.
The school sits within The Sheriff Partnership, and its own policy letterhead describes it as a National Teaching School. It hosts a Teaching School Hub, which means training teachers from other schools is part of the work here rather than a side project.
What is the entrance test like?
There is no Lawrence Sheriff paper. Entry runs through the West Midlands Grammar Schools Partnership and its shared test, sat once in September of Year 6. A parent registers online in the summer term of Year 5, and that registration is the deadline that catches people out, not the test. The paper itself is set by GL Assessment, the assessment publisher the partnership uses, so the format is the same at every school in the group.
The test is two multiple-choice papers. Each is timetabled at about fifty to sixty minutes, and the instructions and worked examples come out of that, so the answering time is shorter. Both papers mix the areas rather than dedicating one paper to each subject.
Between them they sample four areas: English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics, and non-verbal reasoning with spatial questions inside it. The mixing is deliberate, and it is the part of the format that surprises children who have only ever worked through one subject at a sitting.
Mind the answer sheet: answers are marked on a sheet separate from the questions. A boy who slips one row can lose a run of marks with entirely correct working behind them, and he will usually not notice until the marks come back. Practise on a real sheet, not in the margin.
Where to put the practice
The weighting settles the argument. English comprehension and verbal reasoning together decide half the result. Mathematics takes a quarter, and non-verbal reasoning takes the last quarter. Most families arrive assuming mathematics will carry the day, and it carries a quarter.
So reading comes first, and it comes early, because vocabulary and comprehension build over years rather than weeks. Non-verbal reasoning is the reverse, a fast climb once the question types are familiar and then a plateau. Mathematics usually wants pace and multi-step problems, not new topics.
Rehearse the switching under time. Both papers move between comprehension, word puzzles, arithmetic and shape questions in one sitting, and boys who have only ever practised one area at a time lose momentum every time the type changes.
Check this first: this page stays away from figures, dates and catchment detail on purpose, since they are reset each year and second-hand copies age badly without anyone noticing. Go straight to the two sources:
Lawrence Sheriff School official website and the partnership's own site. Check the school's official admissions page for this year's figures.
Pathway Eleven has no connection to Lawrence Sheriff School, to the partnership or to any admissions authority. We cannot register a child, confirm eligibility, or say anything about catchment or your chances. Pathway Eleven is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by GL Assessment.
Common questions about Lawrence Sheriff School entry
Is Lawrence Sheriff a boys' school?+
From Year 7 to Year 11, yes. The uniform policy talks about each boy wearing his House tie, which tells you plainly enough. The sixth form is co-educational and has admitted girls for some years, so the school is not boys-only all the way up.
Does qualifying mean my son gets a place?+
No, and the gap between the two is where most disappointment lives. The shared test decides whether a child has reached the required standard. The school's own published admission arrangements then decide who among the qualified children is offered a place.
What are the five houses?+
Caldecott, Kent, Simpson, Tait and Wheeler, a system the school dates to 1907, each with its own colour and emblem. The school says the houses create competition, promote good work and behaviour, encourage teamwork and bring everyone in the school together.
What does being a Teaching School Hub mean for my son?+
The school's own policy letterhead describes it as a National Teaching School, and it hosts a Teaching School Hub. In practice that means training teachers from other schools is part of what happens on site, rather than something bolted on the side.
Other schools in this consortium
Lawrence Sheriff School belongs to the partnership's Warwickshire group. A child sits the shared test once, and the result reaches each of these schools if you name them.
- Rugby High School, girls, in Rugby, Warwickshire.
- Stratford Girls' Grammar School, girls, in Stratford-upon-Avon.
- Alcester Grammar School, mixed, in Alcester, Warwickshire.
- Ashlawn School, mixed, in Hillmorton, Rugby.
- King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, boys, in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Where to go next
- The West Midlands 11 plus entrance test, one test, sat once, shared across the partnership.
- 11 plus maths topics, the quarter that usually needs pace, not new content.
- 11 plus non-verbal reasoning, fast gains early, then a plateau. Meet it soon.
- Online 11 plus mock tests, timed rehearsal, including the separate answer sheet.