Chelmsford County High School for Girls: 11+ entrance test and admissions
Chelmsford County High School for Girls (CCHS) is a girls' grammar school in Chelmsford with 180 Year 7 places for 2027 entry. It is not part of the Essex CSSE consortium: it runs its own entrance test, supplied by FSCE, with English, Mathematics and Creative Writing elements, and girls must register for it separately — registering with CSSE does not enter a girl for CCHS. There is no fixed pass mark: the school sets an 'eligible score' each year, and most places go to girls living within its 12.5-mile priority area.
Facts checked against the school's and council's own published pages on 8 October 2026. Admissions details change every year — always confirm with the school before applying.
Chelmsford County High (CCHS) at a glance
- Places in Year 7
- 180 for 2027 entry
- Test
- Own test supplied by FSCE: English, Mathematics and Creative Writing
- CSSE member?
- No — separate registration and separate test
- Registration (2027 entry)
- 1 April to 4pm on 3 June 2026, online via the school
- Test date (2027 entry)
- Thursday 3 September 2026
- Priority area
- 12.5 miles from the school
- Offers
- National Offer Day — 1 March 2027 for 2027 entry
CCHS is not a CSSE school
This is the single most important fact for Essex families, and it is often wrong online. The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE) sets the test for KEGS, the Colchester and Southend grammars and the Westcliff schools. Chelmsford County High School for Girls is its own admission authority and is not a member: it runs a separate entrance test, with its own registration window, usually earlier than the CSSE one.
Anyone wishing to name CCHS on their Common Application Form must have registered for the CCHS test. A girl applying to CCHS and to any CSSE school therefore needs two registrations and sits two tests. Late registration for CCHS is considered only in exceptional circumstances, case by case.
The entrance test
Since September 2023 the school has used a test provided by FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise). It has three elements — English, Mathematics and Creative Writing — and tests the application of knowledge and skills from Key Stage 2 subjects taught up to and including the Year 5 programme of study. Maths is done through written and mental methods, without calculators.
The English and Mathematics elements are computer-marked and age-standardised. Creative Writing is assessed only for girls who reach an eligible score on English and Mathematics. The school states that the FSCE test does not require specialist tutoring and that no specific preparation is necessary; it publishes a familiarisation guide for parents. Heckmondwike Grammar and, from 2028 entry, the Trafford consortium use FSCE tests too — our FSCE explainer compares them.
Who is offered a place
There is no pre-defined pass mark. The eligible score reflects a candidate's position in the rank order of standardised English and Mathematics scores, once a minimum standard in Creative Writing has been met, and the Admissions Committee sets it each year. Reaching it does not guarantee a place, because more girls usually reach it than there are places.
Under the school's published policy, looked-after and previously looked-after children come first, including those up to 5 marks below the eligible score, followed by girls with an EHCP naming the school who reach it. Most remaining places go to girls living within the 12.5-mile priority area, in descending score order — with up to 30 of them set aside for girls receiving Pupil or Service Premium who score up to 5 marks below the eligible score. An offer under the priority-area route depends on having lived there since 31 October of Year 6.
Places for girls outside the priority area are few. For 2025 entry, the school reported that 5.3% of test-takers from outside the priority area won places, with up to 36 places offered on that route, and that out-of-area papers were only marked where both English and Mathematics scores were 112 or above. Check the current policy for exact numbers — the categories above are from the school's most recent published policy text.
Key dates
For September 2027 entry, registration ran from 1 April to 4pm on Wednesday 3 June 2026, and the test was held on Thursday 3 September 2026. Results follow in mid-October, the Common Application Form is due by 31 October, and offers are made on 1 March 2027. The test is normally open to girls aged eleven and under twelve on 31 August of the year of entry, from Essex or outside it.
A February 2026 report in The Times said the test would move from September to July; the 2027-entry test was still held on 3 September 2026. Check the school's timeline for 2028 entry when it is published in spring — if the move happens, registration will close earlier too.
How to prepare
Prepare for English, maths and creative writing at Year 5 depth — not for verbal or non-verbal reasoning, which the test does not include. Secure arithmetic without a calculator, confident written methods, and problem-solving; in English, close reading and inference, plus accurate grammar and punctuation.
Creative writing only counts once the other two elements reach the eligible score, but a weak piece can still cost a place, so build a regular timed-writing habit through Year 5. If your daughter is also sitting the CSSE test for KEGS or the Southend and Westcliff schools, the two tests overlap well on English and maths — see our Essex CSSE guide for that format.
Chelmsford County High (CCHS): frequently asked questions
Is Chelmsford County High School for Girls part of CSSE?
No. CCHS is its own admission authority and runs its own entrance test, supplied by FSCE, with a separate registration. Registering with CSSE does not enter a girl for the CCHS test, and you must have registered for the CCHS test to name the school on your Common Application Form.
What is the CCHS pass mark?
There is no fixed pass mark. The school sets an 'eligible score' each year from the rank order of standardised English and Mathematics scores, once a minimum Creative Writing standard is met. More girls usually reach it than there are places, so it is not a guarantee of an offer.
What is in the CCHS entrance test?
Three elements: English, Mathematics (no calculators) and Creative Writing. It covers Key Stage 2 content up to the end of Year 5. English and Mathematics are computer-marked and age-standardised; Creative Writing is assessed for girls who reach the eligible score on those two.
What is the CCHS priority area?
12.5 miles from the school. Most places go to girls living within it, in score order, provided they have lived there since 31 October of Year 6. For 2025 entry, up to 36 places were offered to girls from outside the priority area.
When do you register for the CCHS test?
In spring of Year 5, earlier than CSSE. For 2027 entry, registration ran from 1 April to 4pm on 3 June 2026, online via the school's website.
Sources
Checked 8 October 2026.