This is a summary of the guide that Future Stories Community Enterprise provide for parents of children looking to take the 11 plus in the FSCE format. This format is used in the 11 plus entrance exams for North Halifax, Crossley Heath and Heckmondwike Grammar schools. The full document can be found here: https://www.crossleyheath.org.uk/_site/data/files/school-information/admission/5777C02DFAF35059776D4348E6E102A1.pdf
What Parents Need to Know About the FSCE 11+ Exam
Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE) provides the entrance test used by Crossley Heath, North Halifax, and Heckmondwike Grammar Schools. This test is designed to assess academic ability fairly and supportively — with an emphasis on creativity, reasoning, and clear thinking over memorisation or coaching.
Here’s a breakdown of what the test involves and how you can support your child.
What is the FSCE test like?
The FSCE test:
- Covers English, Maths, and a Creative Writing task.
- Focuses on the application of Year 5 National Curriculum knowledge, not recall of obscure facts.
- Changes each year, so no past papers or coaching companies can predict the content.
- Is designed to reward creative thinking, problem-solving, and resilience.
Children are encouraged to think clearly in new situations. There is no need to memorise facts such as kings and queens or grammar rules in isolation.
Creative Writing – A Key Feature
This paper assesses how well children can communicate original ideas clearly in writing.
Children are expected to:
- Show imagination, clarity, and purpose in their writing.
- Adapt tone and structure depending on the task.
- Plan and express ideas effectively using vivid vocabulary and structured thinking.
How to support at home:
- Encourage storytelling, role-play, and describing everyday scenes.
- Prompt them to explain ideas aloud before writing.
- Play games like “What happens next?” or “Explain it to a friend.”
- Practise short creative responses using photos, headlines, or imaginary scenarios.
English – What’s Assessed?
The English component checks a child’s ability to:
- Read and understand texts with fluency and inference.
- Apply grammar and vocabulary purposefully.
- Use punctuation and paragraphing to organise ideas.
- Identify and explain sentence structures, word choices, and cohesion devices.
Support strategies:
- Read widely across genres and discuss how language is used.
- Play word games (Taboo, 20 Questions).
- Encourage writing diaries or short responses with a grammar focus.
- Discuss texts using terms like “noun phrase”, “adverb”, or “relative clause” in context.
Maths – What’s Assessed?
The maths paper assesses:
- Fluency in arithmetic, reasoning, and problem-solving.
- Understanding of large numbers, fractions, percentages, and units of measure.
- Use of visual reasoning (e.g. area, angles, shapes, graphs, timetables).
- Logical thinking and multi-step problem-solving.
Support strategies:
- Use real-life maths (budgeting, measuring, time).
- Solve logic puzzles and maths games together.
- Encourage your child to explain their thinking.
- Break complex problems into smaller steps and use diagrams or patterns.
What FSCE Advises Parents
FSCE recommends avoiding intensive tutoring that causes stress or replaces school learning. Instead, they encourage:
- Strong engagement at primary school
- Regular reading and curiosity
- Family discussion and imaginative thinking
- Confidence and calm over pressure or rote learning
There are no official practice papers, and commercial materials are not endorsed.
Final Thought
This exam isn’t about tricks or cramming — it’s about helping children show what they already know, and how they think, communicate, and solve problems in new contexts.
At Satchel Learning, we support children in developing these core skills through reading, reasoning, and creative writing — in line with what FSCE values most.
