Bangor Grammar School Information

🏫 Bangor Grammar School – SEAG Practice Papers with Video Explanations

SEAG Practice Test Pack 1

£35.00

• 4 High Quality Practice Tests.
• 4 x English & Maths Papers
• Video Solutions for all Questions!
• 12 Hours of Video Content.
• 224 Video Explanations.

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SEAG Practice Test Pack 2

£35.00

• 4 High Quality Practice Tests.
• 4 x English & Maths Papers
• Video Solutions for all Questions!
• 9 Hours of Video Content.
• 224 Video Explanations.

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SEAG Practice Test Pack 3

£35.00

• 4 High Quality Practice Tests.
• 4 x English & Maths Papers
• Video Solutions for all Questions!
• 9.5 Hours of Video Content.
• 224 Video Explanations.

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SEAG Practice Tests – Multi-Pack Bundle

£85.00

• 12 High Quality Practice Tests.
• 12 x English & Maths Papers
• Video Solutions for all Questions!
• 30.5 Hours of Video Content.
• 672 Video Explanations.

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Voluntary Grammar School | Boys | Bangor, County Down | Ages 11–18

📚 History of Bangor Grammar School

Bangor Grammar School (BGS) was founded in 1856 by the Venerable Wardens of Bangor Abbey. With roots dating back to monastic education in the 6th century, the school’s modern history began with its foundation as a Church of Ireland boys’ school. Over time, it has evolved into one of Northern Ireland’s most respected grammar schools, with a reputation for excellence in academics, sport, music, and character development.

The school moved to a new, state-of-the-art campus on Gransha Road in 2012, offering modern facilities while retaining its rich traditions. The school motto, “Esse Quam Videri” (To be rather than to seem), reflects its ethos of integrity, authenticity, and leadership.

👨‍🎓 Pupil Numbers & School Structure

• Total Pupils: ~900

• Year 8 Intake: ~120–130 boys

• Sixth Form: ~250+ students

• Gender: Boys only

• Age Range: 11–18

• School Type: Voluntary Grammar School

• Religious Affiliation: Originally Church of Ireland; now inclusive and non-denominational

🎓 Academic Reputation

Bangor Grammar School is known for its academic rigour, high expectations, and broad curriculum. The school performs consistently well in public exams and provides strong support for students aiming for competitive university courses, particularly in STEM, Medicine, Law, and Business.

✅ Academic Strengths:

• Strong in Sciences, Mathematics, English, History, and Modern Languages

• Offers GCSEs and A-Levels with a focus on academic challenge and enrichment

• Regular admissions to Queen’s University Belfast, Russell Group universities, and Oxbridge

📊 Academic Performance:

• GCSEs:

  • ~97–100% of students achieve 5+ GCSEs at grades A–C*, including English and Maths

  • ~85% of grades are at A–B*

• A-Levels:

  • ~85–90% of grades at A–C*

  • Strong university progression, including elite institutions

🏆 Awards & Recognition

• Consistently ranked among the Top 20 Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland

🏫 Bangor Grammar School – Contact Information

School Name: Bangor Grammar School
Type: Voluntary Grammar School for Boys (Ages 11–18)
Location: Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland

📍 Address:

Bangor Grammar School
84 Gransha Road
Bangor
County Down
BT19 7QU
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom

☎️ Telephone:

+44 (0)28 9127 0531

📧 Email:

info@bgs.bangor.ni.sch.uk

🌐 Website:

https://www.bangorgrammarschool.org.uk

📱 Social Media:

• Twitter/X: @BangorGrammar

• Facebook: Bangor Grammar School

You can view the school’s location on the map below:

SEAG Score Needed to get into Bangor Grammar School

Below is historical scores for Bangor Grammar School from 2024 to 2014.

2024 Lowest Grade – SEAG – 181
2023 Lowest Grade – AQE – 97
2022 Lowest Grade – AQE – 92
2021 N/A
2020 Lowest Grade – AQE – 99
2019 Lowest Grade – AQE – 102
2018 Lowest Grade – AQE – 97
2017 Lowest Grade – AQE – 100
2016 Lowest Grade – AQE – 102
2015 Lowest Grade – AQE – 98
2014 Lowest Grade – AQE – 101

As you can see from the above stats 99 in AQE test in recent years will have got you into Bangor Grammar School. The highest score needed was 102 in both 2019 & 2016. We also have information on the SEAG score for 2024. The lowest SEAG score to get a place at Bangor Grammar School in 2024 was 181.
A 102 score in old AQE test is equivalent to 198 in new SEAG test, so based on past intake a minimum score of 198+ in SEAG test would give your child a very high chance of getting accepted into Bangor Grammar School. As we can see a score of 181 got you a place at Bangor Grammar School in 2024 so the guide for past scores (92 AQE score is 181 in SEAG) was not far of the mark. We would still recommend getting a score above 198 in new SEAG test to have a high chance of getting accepted at Bangor Grammar School.

SEAG Comparison with historical AQE and PPTC outcomes:

*This is the minimum cohort percentile needed for that Band

Two examples:
A SEAG TSAS of 215 would be “equivalent” to a PPTC SAS of about 242 or an AQE SAS of about 109. A SEAG TSAS of 185 would be “equivalent” to a PPTC SAS of about 220 or an AQE SAS of about 94.

How to Use ExamTutor SEAG Transfer Test Practice Papers (with Video Explanations) to Achieve High Scores for Bangor Grammar School

Preparing for the SEAG Transfer Test effectively is crucial to securing a place at highly competitive grammar schools like Bangor Grammar School. To secure a place, students must achieve a high score in the SEAG Transfer Test. ExamTutor’s SEAG Practice Test Papers with Video Explanations provide a structured and effective way to prepare, ensuring students are fully familiar with the question types and exam format used in the 11+ entrance exam.

How ExamTutor SEAG Practice Papers with Video Explanations Help Students Succeed

1. Mirrors the SEAG Transfer Test Format

ExamTutor’s practice papers mirror the GL Assessment SEAG test format, covering:
📌 English – Reading comprehension, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary.
📌 Mathematics – Numerical reasoning, arithmetic, and problem-solving.

✔ By practicing with ExamTutor papers, students become familiar with the structure and content of the SEAG entrance exam, improving confidence and performance.

2. Identify Weak Areas & Improve Performance with a Structured Study Plan

A structured study plan is essential for SEAG Transfer Test success. Our practice papers:
✔ Help identify weaker subjects at the earliest stage.
✔ Allow students to focus on specific question types where they struggle.
✔ Include detailed answer explanations so students understand their mistakes and improve.

📌 Tip: Encourage your child to take regular timed practice tests to build exam stamina and confidence.

3. Boost Confidence with Video Explanations

Some SEAG transfer Test question types can be challenging for students. Our tutor-led video explanations:
🎥 Break down complex questions step by step
🎥 Teach proven problem-solving techniques
🎥 Show shortcuts and strategies to save time in the exam
🎥 Help students reinforce learning and build confidence

How to Use Video Explanations Effectively:

✅ Review incorrect answers with video solutions – Identify and correct mistakes early.
✅ Take notes on key strategies – Record important problem-solving techniques for future reference.
✅ Rewatch explanations for difficult topics – Reinforce learning by revisiting challenging areas.

✔ Video explanations ensure students fully understand concepts rather than just memorising answers.

4. Develop Strong Time Management & Exam Techniques

Success in the SEAG entrance exam isn’t just about knowledge—it’s also about:
✔ Time management – Completing questions quickly and accurately under exam conditions.
✔ Skipping tricky questions – Avoid wasting time on difficult questions and returning to them later.
✔ Eliminating wrong answers – Using logical reasoning to improve accuracy.

📌 Tip: Regular timed practice with ExamTutor tests ensures students develop these key exam skills.

5. Build Confidence Before the Big Day

Confidence is crucial for success in the SEAG exam. Our practice tests help by:
✔ Simulating real exam conditions – So students know exactly what to expect.
✔ Providing motivation through measurable improvement.

📌 Tip: Encourage your child to review their mistakes using our detailed video explanations to turn weaknesses into strengths.

Why Choose ExamTutor 11+ Practice Papers for SEAG transfer test Preparation?

✔ SEAG GL Assessment-style practice papers covering all tested subjects.
✔ Video explanations for step-by-step learning.
✔ Used successfully by thousands of students every year.

How to Get Started with ExamTutor Practice Papers

1️⃣ Take a practice test – Identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
2️⃣ Create a study plan – Focus on weaker areas while reinforcing strengths.
3️⃣ Practice regularly – Use ExamTutor timed papers to simulate real exam conditions.
4️⃣ Review mistakes using video explanations – Learn from errors and improve.
5️⃣ Track progress – Monitor scores over time to ensure continuous improvement.

📌 Tip: Start preparing at least 6–12 months before the exam to allow enough time for practice and improvement.

Bangor Grammar School entry is highly competitive, but ExamTutor SEAG Practice Papers with Video Explanations provide a powerful tool to maximise your child’s success.

By mirroring the SEAG test format, identifying weak areas, improving time management, and building confidence, our practice tests give students the best chance of securing a high score and gaining admission to Bangor Grammar School.

Why Choose ExamTutor 11+ Practice Papers for Bangor Grammar School Preparation?

✔ SEAG style practice papers covering all tested subjects.
✔ Video explanations for step-by-step learning.
✔ Used successfully by thousands of pupils every year.

Achieving a high SEAG score for Bangor Grammar School is very possible with the right strategy and tools. With ExamTutor’s exam-style papers and video explanations, you get both practice and expert guidance — exactly what’s needed to turn mistakes into mastery.

📌 Start preparing today with ExamTutor and set your child on the path to SEAG success! 🚀

📋 Admissions Criteria (Subject to Annual Review)

If oversubscribed (~120 places), the school uses the following selection process:

1. Applicants ranked by SEAG Transfer Test score

2. Siblings of current or past pupils

3. Sons of staff or former pupils

4. Pupils from contributory primary schools

5. Geographical proximity to the school (tie-breaker)

✅ Special Circumstances and Provisions (e.g. illness, SEN, bereavement, relocation) may be considered with appropriate evidence.

📅 Admissions Timeline 

SEAG Exam Information for ‘Bangor Grammar School’.

The SEAG Group’ consists of 63 Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland that use academic selection for all or part of their Year 8 intake. The SEAG 2024 Entrance Assessment is for pupils who will be transferring to post primary schools and whose parents may be considering a place at a SEAG school for their child. Bangor Grammar Schoolis a SEAG School. Bangor Grammar School will use the results from the SEAG Test to determine who gets offered a place at the school.

SEAG Registration and Exam Details
Parents can register their child at the SEAG website at the following address. SEAG (seagni.co.uk).The SEAG Entrance Assessment consists of two papers. Both papers assess English and Mathematics and both have an identical format consisting of three Sections:

1st Section – The Practice Test Section
This section contains 5 English followed by 5 Maths questions. These questions are designed to help pupils settle before the Main Test begins. The Practice Test is not assessed or timed.
2nd Section – English Main Test.
The English section of the paper consists of 28 questions (Q1-Q28) and is broken down into 4 sections:
1) “Punctuation Exercise” containing 5 multiple choice questions.
2) “Grammar Exercise” 5 multiple choice questions.
3) “Spelling Exercise” with 5 multiple choice questions.
4) Comprehension”. Contains a passage and are then asked 13 questions on the passage; 7 of these are multiple choice (Q16-Q22). The final 6 questions (Q23-Q28) are described as “free response”; the pupil writes the answer to each in the space provided in the Answer Sheet.
3rd Section – Maths Main Test.
The Maths section also has 28 questions (Q29-Q56) and is broken down into 2 sections:
1) The first 22 Maths questions (Q29-Q50) are multiple choice questions.
2) The final 6 Maths questions (Q51-Q56) are described as “free response”. For each of these questions the pupil works out the correct answer and writes the answer in the space provided in the Answer Sheet.
Pupils will have 60 minutes to answer the 56 Main Test questions.
They can choose to start with the English questions or with the Maths questions.
Each of the multiple choice questions has 5 possible answers.

Admissions Criteria for Bangor Grammar School

Most Northern Ireland Grammar Schools are now using the SEAG Entrance Assessment instead of Transfer Test AQE or PPTC/GL Assessment. As part of their admissions criteria each school uses slightly different criteria versions for admissions. The vast majority of schools will have SEAG Band one as 1st criteria which means you need to score 206+ in the SEAG Entrance Assessment Test. If you don’t get band one then you will not be guaranteed a grammar school place in any school in Northern Ireland.
After criteria one, criteria two can vary depending on Grammar School. The majority of Grammar Schools 2nd criteria will be if a family member currently or in some cases has attended the school, other schools will go straight to SEAG TSAS scores. The main key point to note is that you need to aim for band one which is 206 in SEAG Entrance Assessment for the vast majority of Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland. Another key point is school preference, most schools don’t stipulate they have to be number one preference on the SEAG Application form to be considered for a place at their school. So, if you put down a Grammar School as 1st preference and don’t get the grade to get in, as long as your 2nd choice school doesn’t stipulate their school has to be 1st preference then it’s the same as putting the 2nd school down 1st on the SEAG application form.
Our advice is to read the Grammar School criteria carefully and know what your child needs to achieve to gain entry as a lot of parents get confused over the criteria. We keep an up-to-date database of past Transfer Test and SEAG scores you need to gain entry to all Grammar Schools in Northern Ireland.
Our SEAG products at bottom of the page are proven resources to give you child the best chance of getting a high score in SEAG, our Practice Test Papers with video explanations are a great starting point for the SEAG Exam. Our online and live tutor bootcamps are a great alternative to an expensive tutor and our mock exams are a great way to find out what level your child is currently at compared to other children who have taken our mock exams in the same area. Our mock exams will be pitched at examination level difficulty so you have an exact understanding of the level your child needs to aim for. Below is the criteria for this Grammar School. If you have any questions please contact us:
During the admissions procedure when applying the criteria punctual applications will be considered before late applications are considered. Bangor Grammar School has traditionally drawn from all sections of the community, irrespective of religious affiliation, ethnic or social origin. Over recent decades the demand for places has always exceeded the number of places available. In accordance with regulations laid down by the Department of Education, the Board of Governors herein publishes the criteria which it will use in the selection of boys for entry into Year 8 before the start of the school year 2024/2025. It should be noted that a reciprocal arrangement, as indicated in non-academic criterion 4(ii), exists with Glenlola Collegiate School.
The admissions policy may be carefully reviewed by the Board of Governors in the light of advice from the Department of Education and any legislative or regulatory developments during the year. The numbers accepted under these criteria are subject to the constraint of the pupil admissions number agreed with the Department of Education.
Criteria
Admission is open to boys and in accordance with statutory requirements, throughout the application of the criteria set out below, any boy resident in Northern Ireland at the time of their proposed admission to the School will be selected for admission to the School before any boy not resident in Northern Ireland. Priority of admission to Bangor Grammar School will be determined in accordance with the numbered criteria set out below, in the order set down. These criteria assume the School’s most recently approved admissions number of 135 pupils. They will be applied until the School’s admissions number is met. The criteria have the effect of giving priority to applicants who have sat the entrance assessments under the auspices of SEAG. They should be read in conjunction with the explanatory notes set out below the criteria.
The process will be applied as follows:
1. Academic selection: The 135 places will be allocated in accordance with the rank order of Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) achieved in the SEAG entrance assessments.
2. If, after the operation of criterion 1, all applicants who have sat the SEAG entrance assessment have been awarded a place and there remain places within the admissions number of 135, they will be allocated to nonSEAG entrance assessment applicants on the basis of the non-academic criteria set out below in criterion 4.
3. In the event that there are more SEAG entrance assessment applicants than there are places available and that more than one applicant is ranked equal on the SEAG Total Standardised Age Score (TSAS) for the final place or places, priority between these pupils will be determined by the application of the non-academic criteria set out below in criterion 4.
4. Non-academic criteria: The non-academic criteria to be applied for the purposes of criteria 2 and 3 above, will be as follows, and in the following order of priority:
(i) Applicants who are entitled to Free School Meals1 (FSME): Priority to be given so that the proportion of such children admitted is not less than the proportion of first preference FSME applications received within the total number of first preference applications received.
(ii) Applicants attending a primary school in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area (as set out in Table A) and who, in each case at the date of their application, are the eldest male child of the family3, 5 OR are applicants with another child of the family attending Bangor Grammar School3,4 or Glenlola Collegiate School3,4 OR are an only child.
(iii) Applicants attending a primary school in the Ards and North Down Borough Council Area (as set out in Table A) at the date of their application;
(iv) Applicants whose principal residence at the date of their application is within the Ards and North Down Borough Council Area.
It is the responsibility of the parent to detail how their child meets each part of the criteria in 4 above and to supply evidence as stipulated in notes 1,2, 3, 4 & 5 immediately below. This evidence must be provided at the time of application via the transfer application method.
1 Applicants who are “entitled to Free School Meals” will mean applicants who are listed on the Education Authority register as entitled to Free School Meals at the date on which their parent or guardian has submitted their post-primary Transfer Application, or at any date up to and including the final date for parents to communicate FSME to the Education Authority as specified in the separate annual Circular – “Open Enrolment in Nursery, Primary and Post Primary Schools – Timetables.”
2 The calculation of this proportion will be on the basis of first preference applications received by the post primary school.
3 See the definition of “child of the family” in the section on Definitions below.
4 The name and date of birth of the child of the family the applicant is being linked to must be included on the application.
5 Applicants must submit with their Transfer Application a verifying letter confirming that the child is the eldest boy/only child within their family (as defined below) or that any/all older siblings attended a school outside Northern Ireland during year 8 (or its equivalent, where that school was) and their family was not resident in Northern Ireland or attended a special school in year 8 rather than a mainstream school, on account of their special educational needs. The verifying letter must also confirm that the family are known to the verifier. The letter must be written on headed notepaper and signed by one of the following who is not a member of the applicant’s family: • a medical practitioner; • a solicitor; • a member of the clergy or equivalent; • a primary school principal.
Bangor Grammar School website for a more detailed Admissions Policy document – the https://www.bangorgrammarschool.org.uk