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Dame Alice Owen's School

One of England's oldest schools, founded 1613 by philanthropist Dame Alice Owen. A co-educational partially selective academy in Hertfordshire with a two-stage 11+ exam and a catchment spanning both Herts and North London postcodes.
Exam board
GL
Entry
Year 7
Founded
1613
Year 7 places
65
Dame Alice Owen's School logo

Dame Alice Owen's School

SMA Difficulty
Intermediate
Location: Potters Bar, Hertfordshire
School type: Grammar
Admissions test: GL
Free 11+ Baseline Assessment
LOCATION & GETTING THERE

Where Dame Alice Owen's School sits — and how to reach it

● Schools● Trains● Buses● School coaches
LOCATION
Dame Alice Owen's School
Dugdale Hill Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 2DU
Other selective schools nearby, closest first — useful if you are considering more than one.
Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet
Chipping Barnet, North London · 3.9 km away
View guide →
JCoSS (Jewish Community Secondary School)
Barnet, London · 6.3 km away
View guide →
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill, London · 8.1 km away
View guide →
Haberdashers' Girls' School
Elstree, London · 8.2 km away
View guide →
Nearest railway and Underground stations, with the lines that serve them. Distances are straight-line from the school.
Potters Bar
1.2 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City; Thameslink services
Hadley Wood
3.3 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City
Brookmans Park
3.4 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City
Dame Alice Owen's School (o/s)
0.1 km from the school — routes 242, 243, 313, 626, 699
Santers Lane (nr)
0.3 km from the school — routes 242
Dugdale Hill Lane (NW-bound)
0.4 km from the school — routes PB1
Dugdale Hill Lane (SE-bound)
0.4 km from the school — routes PB1
Bus stops closest to the school, with the routes that serve them. Distances are straight-line from the school.
Potters Bar
1.2 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City; Thameslink services
Hadley Wood
3.3 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City
Brookmans Park
3.4 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City
Dame Alice Owen's School (o/s)
0.1 km from the school — routes 242, 243, 313, 626, 699
Santers Lane (nr)
0.3 km from the school — routes 242
Dugdale Hill Lane (NW-bound)
0.4 km from the school — routes PB1
Dugdale Hill Lane (SE-bound)
0.4 km from the school — routes PB1
Coach services run by the school itself, where they exist.
Potters Bar
1.2 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City; Thameslink services
Hadley Wood
3.3 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City
Brookmans Park
3.4 km from the school — Great Northern: London Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City
Dame Alice Owen's School (o/s)
0.1 km from the school — routes 242, 243, 313, 626, 699
Santers Lane (nr)
0.3 km from the school — routes 242
Dugdale Hill Lane (NW-bound)
0.4 km from the school — routes PB1
Dugdale Hill Lane (SE-bound)
0.4 km from the school — routes PB1
Private coach services are run by local operators — confirm routes and seats directly each September.
ON THIS PAGE
OVERVIEW

How the test is structured

Dame Alice Owen's runs a two-part entrance process. Part 1 is a 50-minute GL Assessment Verbal Reasoning paper sat by all candidates in early September. Only the top 325 scorers are invited to Part 2, held later in September: a one-hour English paper and a one-hour Maths paper, both set by the school. The English paper combines reading comprehension with creative writing; the Maths paper covers the KS2 national curriculum. Final ranking for the 65 academic selective places is based on Part 2 performance.

A further 10 places are available for children with exceptional musical ability, and a small number of proximity places are allocated to those living nearest the school. Total Year 7 intake is around 200 pupils, making the selective academic cohort approximately one-third of the year group.

HISTORY & ETHOS

The school's story

Dame Alice Owen's School was founded in 1613 by Alice Owen (c.1547–1613), a wealthy widow and philanthropist, in Islington. According to tradition, as a young girl Alice narrowly escaped death when an arrow from nearby archery butts passed through the crown of her hat without touching her; she vowed to honour her miraculous escape with a charitable act. The school she built in Islington took 30 boys — 24 from the parish, 6 from Clerkenwell — and placed their education under the oversight of the Worshipful Company of Brewers, who remain trustees to this day. A girls' school was added in 1886; the two merged in 1973 and relocated from Islington to its current Potters Bar site between 1973 and 1976.Four centuries of charitable purpose — founded to educate the brightest regardless of background — maps directly onto Singapore's core conviction that every child can master mathematics given the right method and support. Owen's enduring legacy is that ability, not accident of birth, should determine a child's academic future.

Why the maths is genuinely hard

The GL Verbal Reasoning gatekeeping stage (top 325 from all applicants) means VR must be polished before the school's own bespoke Maths and English papers become relevant. Candidates who neglect VR and focus only on Maths risk not clearing Part 1 at all.

SMA DIFFICULTY VERDICT

Our honest take on the difficulty

The SMA Verdict

3

/5

Intermediate

Dame Alice Owen's is partially selective — only 65 of roughly 200 Year 7 places are awarded academically — which places it below fully selective grammar schools in raw admissions intensity. That said, the two-stage structure is genuinely demanding: the GL VR paper eliminates all but the top 325 before the school's own bespoke papers come into play. The school-set Maths paper, whilst curriculum-aligned, is designed to stretch and differentiate. For Singapore Maths pupils the Maths stage should be manageable; the real bottleneck is ensuring VR preparation is not neglected. Overall, a strong but achievable target for a well-prepared pupil.

CATCHMENT & TOWNS

Where families come from

Potters Bar
Cuffley
Northaw
Welwyn Garden City
Hatfield
Barnet
Enfield
New Barnet
Oakwood
Shenley
KEY DATES

The 11+ admissions calendar

May 2026Registration opens
September 2026Part 1 — GL Verbal Reasoning exam
September 2026Part 2 — School-set English and Maths papers
March 2027School allocations (National Offer Day)
FAQ

Parents' most common questions

How many academic selective places does Dame Alice Owen's offer each year?

Up to 65 places are allocated by academic ability through the two-part 11+ process. An additional 10 places go to musically gifted pupils, and a small number are awarded on proximity. Total Year 7 intake is around 200 pupils.

What happens if my child passes Part 1 but is not in the top 325?

Only the top 325 candidates from the Part 1 GL Verbal Reasoning paper are invited to sit Part 2. If your child does not make that threshold, they are not considered for the academic selective places, regardless of their Maths ability.

Is Dame Alice Owen's a full grammar school?

No — it is a partially selective academy. Roughly one-third of each year group enters through the selective academic route; the remaining places are filled on proximity and other criteria. This differs from fully selective grammar schools such as QE Barnet or Latymer.

Does my child need to live in Hertfordshire to apply?

Not exclusively. The catchment covers Hertfordshire towns such as Potters Bar, Welwyn Garden City and Cuffley, as well as specific North London postcodes in Barnet and Enfield (EN4, EN5, N11–N14, N20, N21) and all addresses in the London Borough of Islington.

How does Singapore Maths preparation help for Dame Alice Owen's exam?

The school-set Maths paper (Part 2) rewards precise, methodical reasoning over rote calculation — the hallmark of Singapore mastery training. Crucially, pupils must also prepare their Verbal Reasoning thoroughly to clear the GL gatekeeping stage in Part 1 before the Maths paper even counts.
EXAM PAPERS

Past and sample papers

COMING SOON

We're gathering the sample and familiarisation papers Dame Alice Owen's School publishes, so you can see the real thing before you prepare. If you'd like them sooner, just ask.

NEARBY SCHOOLS

Other selective schools in the area

Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet
Chipping Barnet, North London · 3.9 km
View guide →
JCoSS (Jewish Community Secondary School)
Barnet, London · 6.3 km
View guide →
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill, London · 8.1 km
View guide →
Haberdashers' Girls' School
Elstree, London · 8.2 km
View guide →

Preparing for Dame Alice Owen's School?

We teach the reasoning these papers actually reward — not test tricks. Small online groups, qualified teachers, and a Singapore Maths method built on genuine understanding.