The Spires College

Admissions and 11 Plus exam information for The Spires College. Use the site to help you find out how to be successful with an 11 Plus exam application to The Spires College.

11 Plus Entry Information for The Spires College

The Spires College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in the Devon town of Torquay, England. The Spires College is a bilateral school, with places for children who reach the required standard in the 11+ test and for those who do not take the test or do not reach the required standard. There is also specialist unit for students with hearing Impairment.

County	Devon
Address	The Spires College, Westlands Lane, Torquay TQ1 3PE
Type	Mixed Bilateral school (part selective entry) 50% of places based on ability
Pupils	1,322
Places in Year 7	135 selective places
Open Days	June/September
The Spires College 11+ Resources	English Maths
Competition	3+ applicants for every place
Exam Format	GL11 Plus – Maths and English
School Website	www.thespirescollege.com

The Spires College 11 Plus Exam Format

The 11 Plus Exam format for The Spires College is written by GL Assessment. The format of the exam is as follows:

Paper 1	55 minute English paper. All questions are multiple choice and includes: comprehension as well as questions on spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Paper 2	55 minute Mathematics paper. All questions are multiple choice.

The Spires College 11 Plus Exam Paper

Some publishers do have access to the exam format and produce their own mirror papers which aim to replicate what an 11 Plus exam for this school might look like.

We understand that these publishers get the information from familiarisation packs sent to parents, teachers, local tutors and pupils who have sat the test. The tests can of course change at any time and these papers only aim to give a good idea of what to expect, however, they are very useful and most parents use them at some point.

The ones we would suggest are from Learning Street. They are of high quality and cheaper than any others we have seen. Direct links to the papers are below and Learning Street produce them as mock exams which is unique (so you can run your own mock exam at home). Links to the papers are below:

Devon and Torbay 11 Plus Mock Exam 1

Devon and Torbay 11 Plus Mock Exam 2

Devon and Torbay 11 Plus Mock Exam 3

Devon and Torbay 11 Plus Mock Exam 4

Devon and Torbay 11 Plus Mock Exam Bundle (packs 1-4)

How to prepare for The Spires College 11 Plus Exam

Essentially you have 5 options when it comes to helping your child to prepare.

1/ Some parents use a Private Tutor. If you want to start your search for a suitable one, we provide links to some Private tutors in Devon to help you. These can cost between £2500 and £6000 a year. For help thinking about which private tutor might be right for you see our guidance page.

2/ Other parents use a Tuition Centre with group tuition. If you want to start your search for a suitable one, we provide links to some Tuition centres in Devon to help you. These can cost between £1500 and £3500 for a year. For help thinking about which tuition centre might be right for you see our guidance page.

3/ If you are thinking of preparing at home using books then our 11 Plus Exam papers and books section provides lots of links and advice to help you choose which books to use and what to focus on. Preparation plans are also provided. Using this method is great for those parents prepared to take a more hands on approach. The average parent using this method spends about £300 on books and papers during the final year of preparation.

4/ A great option is a structured course. These courses gradually build up skills so you can focus on helping your child with the work provided. The best supplier is Learning Street which helps you prepare your child from home, ranging in price from £12 to £89 ( full cost – not monthly cost) it is the cheapest method of preparation. To find out their course suggestions for The Spires College 11 Plus preparation click the link.

5/ Online preparation. This is not something we recommend. Online solutions are growing more useful and reliable and for some aspects of preparation they can be useful but certainly not for all your preparation needs. They are also very expensive for what they provide with some coming in at £600- £1000 for a year depending on which options you select. For our rationale on why we believe online preparation is not a good solution yet click through to the page 11 Plus online preparation.