The South West Herts Consortium runs a partnership admissions test feeding the Watford Grammar schools and partially-selective partners.
Hertfordshire's selective schools sit primarily inside the South West Herts Consortium. The two Watford Grammar schools admit on the strength of the consortium test result; several partner schools (Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes, Dame Alice Owen's, Parmiter's) admit a percentage of pupils via the same test result.
Because most consortium partners are partially-selective comprehensives rather than fully-selective grammar schools, families can target the consortium test for a meaningful selective place even outside the Watford Grammar schools themselves.
The South West Herts Consortium — Watford Grammar for Boys and Watford Grammar for Girls — along with partner schools including Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes, and Dame Alice Owen's — share a partnership test for their selective places.
The SW Herts Consortium test uses GL Assessment papers covering Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics, and English.
Children sit one combined test day. The standardised score is then shared across the consortium schools the family lists on the registration form.
Standard GL-format practice is highly representative. The Watford Grammars in particular are top performers nationally, so the qualifying mark tends to be high for those schools specifically.
Don't underweight English — the partner schools (Rickmansworth, St Clement Danes) often weight the English component meaningfully against their selective-place quota.
It's the qualifying stage. Above the qualifying threshold, places are offered by rank order plus each school's oversubscription criteria (sibling, distance, etc.). The Watford Grammars are competitive and the offered rank tends to be high.
Schools like Rickmansworth or St Clement Danes reserve a fraction of their places (usually around 25-35%) for children scoring well on the consortium test. The rest of their intake is allocated via standard catchment/distance rules.
Children sit the SW Herts test in early September of Year 6. Confirm exact dates and registration windows on the consortium's website each summer.
Yes — registration isn't address-restricted. Distance from each school is a major oversubscription factor when places are offered.
Free taster papers in Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics. Worked answers on every question. No payment needed to start.