Dame Alice Owen's School

Dame Alice Owen's School was originally founded in 1613. It is a specialist language, music and science school.

Dame Alice Owen's admits children across the ability range. Up to 65 of its 200 Year 7 places are selected on academic ability, decided by the Governors' Entrance Examination, and up to 10 on musical aptitude. A child is considered for these places only if they sit the relevant tests. The other places are offered under the school's other criteria, listed below. The tests are the school's own and are not part of the South West Herts Consortium. To sit them, a child must live in one of the school's Local Priority Areas, or be educated in the London Borough of Islington, both when registering and when applying. The Local Priority Areas cover parts of Hertfordshire, Barnet and Enfield, and all of Islington. Children may sit the academic tests for Year 7 entry only once, and siblings of current pupils are not tested because they are placed before the test criteria.

The Governors' Entrance Examination has two parts:

• Part I (Verbal Reasoning) is a 50-minute multiple-choice paper of 80 questions provided by GL Assessment, sat in early September of Year 6. Scores are standardised for age and children are ranked. Only those ranked in the top 325 are invited to Part II.
• Part II (English and Maths) is a one-hour English paper, with comprehension and an extended writing piece, and a one-hour Maths paper, both written by the school. These results are standardised for age and combined with the Verbal Reasoning result, and places are offered in rank order. Ties are broken by the Verbal Reasoning mark first, then English, then Maths.

The musical aptitude route has two tests: a written test, then an individual test for those who score 50 marks or more in the first.

Parents of children who sit Part II are emailed a breakdown of marks, their child's ranked position and the lowest position offered in recent years. This is for information only and is not an offer of a place.

Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names the school are admitted first.

When there are more applications than places, offers are made in this order:

1. Looked-after and previously looked-after children.
2. The 22 children who live closest to the school.
3. Children with a sibling at the school.
4. Up to 10 children, by musical aptitude.
5. Up to 65 children, by academic ability.
6. Children of permanent members of staff.
7. The remaining places, by distance from home to school.

At least 20 places overall go to children who live in, or are educated in, Islington. Distance is measured in a straight line, and where applicants are equally close, names are drawn at random.