Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many non-grammar schools select pupils by a written test.

The department does not collect data on which schools, permitted by law, select pupils by aptitude or ability via a written test.

Selection tests can lawfully form part of any selective school’s admission arrangements. The School Admissions Code requires tests to ‘be clear, objective, and [to] give an accurate reflection of the child’s ability or aptitude, irrespective of sex, race, or disability’, but it does not require them to be independently moderated. The School Admissions Code can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2.

In many cases, tests will be purchased from commercial providers and will be marked by them, although that is not a legal requirement.