The Best Grammar Schools in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is unusual in having kept one of England's largest surviving grammar school systems, with selective schools spread across the county rather than clustered in one town. Because most of these schools share a single entrance test, run by the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, families often end up applying to more than one at once. This guide covers every Lincolnshire grammar school we could verify, what is known about its admissions and results (checked against GOV.UK's Compare School Performance service, not just secondary aggregators), and where to find free practice for the local 11+ test.

How the Lincolnshire 11+ test works

Lincolnshire is one of the few English counties that has kept a large-scale selective system, alongside comprehensive education in and around the city of Lincoln itself, where the two city grammar schools became comprehensive back in 1974. Today the county has around 15 fully selective grammar schools, plus one bi-lateral school, King Edward VI Academy in Spilsby, which combines a grammar stream with a comprehensive intake in the same building. Sources differ slightly on the exact headline count (14 versus 15 in the shared-test consortium, 15 versus 16 including Caistor and Spilsby) because Spilsby's bi-lateral status means different lists count it differently, so treat 15 to 16 as the honest range rather than a single fixed number.

Fourteen of these schools, from Boston Grammar School to The King's School in Grantham, belong to the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools (LCGS) and share one common entrance test. Caistor Grammar School sets its own separate exam. The LCGS test is normally taken in September of Year 6 and consists of two GL Assessment multiple-choice papers: a Verbal Reasoning paper and a combined Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning paper. Each paper is standardised on a scale that tops out at 141, so the maximum possible combined score is 282. To qualify for a grammar school place, a child needs a combined standardised score of 220 or more, a bar set to identify roughly the most academically able quarter of the Year 6 cohort in the selective parts of the county. Meeting the qualifying score does not guarantee a place at any particular school; it only makes a child eligible to be considered there.

Families typically register between January and March, sit the test in September, and get results in October, then apply through the usual Common Application Form ahead of the March national offer day. After that, admission to an individual school depends on that school's own oversubscription criteria, which can include free-transport priority areas, named feeder primary schools, lists of civil parishes, or simple distance from the school. Very few Lincolnshire grammar schools operate a hard catchment area in the way some other counties do; several, including Carre's Grammar School and Spalding High School, say explicitly that they have none at all.

Lincolnshire grammar schools at a glance

Every school in this guide, with its type, test, and most recent Ofsted rating. Click a name to jump to its full profile.

Boston Grammar School

Boston Grammar School is a boys' grammar in the market town of Boston, with around 870 pupils. It is a member of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, so entry depends on the shared LCGS Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning test and the countywide qualifying score of 220. On GOV.UK's Compare School Performance figures, 53.6% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths in 2025 (the figure has moved around in recent years: 47.2% in 2023, 62.2% in 2024), and the school's Progress 8 score has sat below the Lincolnshire average in each of the last two published years (minus 0.4 in 2022/23, minus 0.43 in 2023/24), meaning progress from starting points has lagged the county average on that particular measure even where attainment holds up. Ofsted rated the school Good at its most recent graded inspection. One distinguishing feature is its history: Boston Grammar is one of the county's older foundations, and it sits alongside Boston High School as the town's boys' and girls' grammar pairing. Because it draws from a wide catchment across south Lincolnshire and sits the same LCGS test as the other consortium schools, families often register for Boston Grammar alongside one or more nearby grammar schools as backup options, submitting a single Common Application Form ranking their preferences.

Boston High School

Boston High School is the girls' equivalent grammar in Boston, with around 680 pupils aged 11 to 18. Like Boston Grammar, it is part of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools and uses the same LCGS Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning test and 220 qualifying score. Ofsted rated the school Good in July 2024, praising its inclusive ethos, ambitious curriculum, and pupils' behaviour. GCSE results are consistently described by the school and independent guides as strong; we were not able to independently confirm a specific current GOV.UK percentage for this guide, so no exact figure is stated here. Sixth form outcomes are better documented: recent data puts university progression among leavers at around two-thirds, with the remainder split between employment and apprenticeships, a broader mix of destinations than some other grammar schools report. As a girls-only school paired with a boys-only grammar in the same town, Boston High gives local families a single-sex option on each side without needing to travel to Grantham, Sleaford, or Spalding. As with most LCGS schools, meeting the 220 qualifying score does not guarantee a place if applications exceed the published admission number; the school's own oversubscription criteria then decide who is offered a place.

Bourne Grammar School

Bourne Grammar School, in the town of Bourne in south Lincolnshire, is fully co-educational and one of the larger schools in the consortium, with a total roll including sixth form of over 1,700 pupils split roughly evenly between boys and girls. It sits within the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, so entry is via the shared LCGS test and the 220 qualifying score, with an annual Year 7 admission target of around 240 places, larger than most other Lincolnshire grammars. Ofsted's most recent inspection rated the school Good overall, with Outstanding judgements in some areas including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and sixth form provision. Academically, results are strong: GOV.UK's Compare School Performance shows 87.4% of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths in 2023, and the school's Progress 8 score for 2022/23 was confirmed at plus 0.6, meaning pupils progress well beyond what their starting points would predict, a notably positive value-added figure. Bourne's size and its broad catchment across south Lincolnshire, which sometimes draws families from Rutland and Peterborough too, make it one of the more accessible LCGS schools in terms of raw place numbers, even though the test itself is identical to that used by the other consortium schools.

Caistor Grammar School

Caistor Grammar School, in the small town of Caistor in north Lincolnshire, is the one grammar school in the county that sits outside the Lincolnshire Consortium: it sets and marks its own bespoke entrance test rather than using the shared LCGS papers, though its qualifying combined score of 220 mirrors the consortium's benchmark. The school is co-educational, was founded in 1630, and now holds academy status. It admits around 130 pupils into Year 7 each September. Unlike most LCGS schools, Caistor defines its in-catchment area explicitly by distance: children living within 6.5 miles of the school as the crow flies are treated as in-catchment for oversubscription purposes. Ofsted's most recent inspection rated the school Good. Caistor is generally reported as one of the stronger academic performers in the county, though we were not able to independently confirm a specific current GCSE percentage against GOV.UK for this guide, so no exact figure is stated here. Because it runs a separate test on a different timetable to the consortium schools, families interested in Caistor alongside an LCGS school need to check both sets of registration deadlines carefully, since they are not aligned the way applications to the consortium schools are.

Carre's Grammar School

Carre's Grammar School in Sleaford is a boys' grammar for Years 7 to 11, with a co-educational sixth form delivered jointly with a neighbouring school through the Sleaford Joint Sixth Form arrangement. Its history dates back to 1604. As an LCGS member, entry depends on the shared Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning test and the 220 qualifying score. Unlike several other Lincolnshire grammars, Carre's has confirmed it does not operate a catchment area at all; where places are oversubscribed, priority instead goes by straight-line distance from the school, with additional priority for boys who have a sibling attending another school within the Robert Carre Trust. Ofsted's 2023 inspection (5 December 2023) rated the school Good across every category assessed. On GOV.UK's Compare School Performance figures, 67% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths in 2024 (2023 and 2025 both showed a noticeably higher figure around 78%, so results have varied year to year). The shared sixth form with a nearby school is a distinguishing feature: pupils have access to a broader range of A-level subject combinations than a single school of Carre's size could offer on its own.

Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School

Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School (KGGS), founded in 1910, is a girls' grammar in Grantham with specialist science status and an Outstanding Ofsted rating (inspection 19-20 September 2023), the highest grade Ofsted awards. As part of the Lincolnshire Consortium, entry is via the shared LCGS test, with a combined qualifying score of 220 required across the Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning papers. The school offers 174 places in Year 7, one of the larger admission numbers among the county's girls' grammars. Results are among the strongest in Lincolnshire on GOV.UK's own figures: in 2025, 86.5% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths, and 97.8% achieved grade 4 or above in both subjects. At A-level in 2025, results averaged grade B with 40.29 average points per entry, among the stronger average grades reported for the county's grammar schools. KGGS's specialist science designation and long single-sex history make it a natural first choice for Grantham families seeking a girls-only option, alongside Kesteven and Sleaford High School a short distance away.

Kesteven and Sleaford High School

Kesteven and Sleaford High School (KSHS) is a girls' selective academy in Sleaford for Years 7 to 11, with a co-educational sixth form for boys and girls aged 16 to 18. It offers around 124 places each year. As an LCGS member, admission follows the shared consortium test and the 220 qualifying score. Ofsted's most recent inspection, in November 2024, rated the school Outstanding across every area assessed, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth form provision, one of only a small number of Lincolnshire grammar schools currently holding a full Outstanding grading. The school publishes its GCSE results directly on its own website each year; this guide has not independently cross-checked a specific recent GCSE percentage against GOV.UK, so none is stated here, and parents should check the school's own published results or GOV.UK's Compare School Performance service directly. KSHS shares its town with the boys' school Carre's Grammar, and the two co-run the Sleaford Joint Sixth Form, giving pupils from both schools a combined, mixed sixth form with a wider subject choice than either school could offer alone once they reach Year 12.

King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth

King Edward VI Grammar School in Louth, sometimes styled KEVIGS, is a co-educational grammar chartered in 1551, one of the oldest schools in the Lincolnshire consortium. It has a published admission number of around 145 for Year 7. As with other LCGS schools, applicants generally need to be within the top 25% of the ability range on the shared Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning test to be considered. The school does not operate a traditional catchment area, but Lincolnshire County Council defines a free-transport zone covering the Wolds, the area east of Louth, and north to Holton le Clay; children living in that zone, or attending certain named primary schools, get priority if the school is oversubscribed. Ofsted's most recent inspection rated the school Outstanding, one of the highest gradings among the schools in this guide. Detailed, current GCSE percentage results were not independently confirmed against GOV.UK for this guide and so are not stated here; parents should check the school's own published performance data or the GOV.UK Compare School Performance service before applying. As one of the region's older foundations with an Outstanding Ofsted grade, KEVIGS is often the first-choice grammar for families in the Louth and Lincolnshire Wolds area.

King Edward VI Academy, Spilsby

King Edward VI Academy in Spilsby is unusual among Lincolnshire's selective schools in being a bi-lateral school, meaning it combines a grammar stream with a comprehensive intake in the same building, rather than being wholly selective like the other consortium schools. This is the specific reason sources disagree on the exact count of Lincolnshire grammar schools: some lists include Spilsby as a grammar school, others exclude it because only part of its intake is selective. It is co-educational, has around 395 pupils on roll, and has a notably smaller published admission number, around 94 places, than most other LCGS schools. It is a member of the Lincolnshire Consortium, so grammar-stream entry is via the shared 11+ test administered by GL Assessment, with places managed through Lincolnshire County Council's Year 7 transfer process. Ofsted's most recent inspection, in January 2023, rated the school Good across every area assessed. Because of its bi-lateral structure, Spilsby is a distinctive option for families in the more rural east of the county: children who do not achieve the qualifying grammar score can still attend the same school on a comprehensive place, an arrangement not available at any of the county's other selective schools.

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Alford is a co-educational academy with around 530 pupils aged 11 to 18, and one of the county's older foundations. As an LCGS member, entry depends on the shared Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning test and the 220 qualifying score; the school's own Year 7 intake is smaller than many others in the consortium, with oversubscription criteria applying once qualifying applications pass roughly 84. Ofsted's most recent inspection rated the school Good. GCSE results have been described as solid and in line with many consortium schools; this guide has not independently confirmed a specific current GOV.UK percentage, so none is stated here. For sixth form entry, the school asks for at least four GCSEs at grade 6 or above, including grade 5 or above in English and maths. Alford's history as a selective school in a relatively rural part of the Lincolnshire Wolds makes it a key option for families in the county's eastern coastal towns who would otherwise face a long journey to Louth, Skegness, or Horncastle for a grammar place; its smaller year-group size is often cited by families who prefer a more intimate secondary setting.

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Horncastle, royally chartered in 1571, is a co-educational grammar with dual specialist status in science and mathematics. It offers around 120 places in Year 7 and, like the rest of the consortium, requires a combined qualifying score of 220 on the shared LCGS test. Ofsted's most recent inspection, in June 2024, rated the school Good across the areas assessed; its previous inspection, in 2011, had rated it Outstanding, so the more recent grading reflects a change from that earlier assessment rather than a static rating over time. GCSE results have been reported as strong at the higher grades in some sources, but this guide has not independently confirmed a specific current figure against GOV.UK, so no exact percentage is stated here; families should check the most current published data before relying on any figure found elsewhere. Its specialist science and maths designation is a specific draw for families with STEM-focused children, distinguishing it from the other Queen Elizabeth's schools on this list.

Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough

Queen Elizabeth's High School in Gainsborough was founded in 1589 and became fully co-educational in 1983; it is now one of the larger schools in the Lincolnshire Consortium, with around 1,170 pupils aged 11 to 18. Entry follows the standard LCGS format: one Verbal Reasoning paper and one Non-Verbal Reasoning paper, sat on a Saturday in September, with a combined qualifying score of 220 required. Ofsted's most recent inspection rated the school Good. GCSE results have been reported as one of the stronger attainment figures among the consortium schools in some sources, but this guide has not independently confirmed a specific current percentage against GOV.UK, so none is stated here. Gainsborough sits in the north-west of the county, some distance from the cluster of grammar schools around Grantham, Sleaford, and Spalding, which makes Queen Elizabeth's High School the natural choice, and in practice often the only realistic one, for grammar-eligible families in that part of Lincolnshire. Its size and long co-educational history, since 1983, decades before most of the county's grammars admitted both sexes together, also set it apart from the single-sex schools that dominate the rest of this list.

Skegness Grammar School

Skegness Grammar School, founded in 1483 and Grant Maintained since 1988, is a co-educational grammar serving the seaside town of Skegness and the surrounding Lincolnshire coast. As an LCGS member, it admits pupils who place in the top 25% of the ability range on the shared Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning test. Where qualifying applications exceed places, the school's published oversubscription order runs: looked-after and previously looked-after children first, then children with a sibling already on roll, then children of staff, then children living within the designated free-transport area (ranked by test score), then all other qualifying children by score. Ofsted rated the school Good across every area inspected. On post-16 destinations, GOV.UK data for recent leaver cohorts shows the large majority continuing into further education, training or employment, with a meaningful share progressing to higher education afterwards; this guide has not confidently cross-referenced every specific percentage figure found elsewhere, so exact numbers are deliberately not repeated here pending further verification. As the only grammar school directly serving the Skegness and Lincolnshire coastal strip, it plays a role similar to Queen Elizabeth's High School in Gainsborough, drawing from a catchment with fewer nearby grammar alternatives than the Grantham or Sleaford cluster.

Spalding Grammar School

Spalding Grammar School, founded in 1588, is a boys' grammar in the market town of Spalding in south Lincolnshire. As an LCGS member, admission depends on two entrance tests standardised by GL Assessment, with boys needing a combined score of 220, representing roughly the top 25% of the relevant Year 6 population, to qualify. The school defines a specific catchment area by civil parish for oversubscription purposes, covering Spalding itself and a wide ring of surrounding parishes including Pinchbeck, Surfleet, Gosberton, Quadring, Cowbit, Weston, Moulton, Whaplode, Holbeach, Fleet, Gedney, Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, Crowland, and Deeping St Nicholas, a more explicit and detailed catchment definition than most other Lincolnshire grammars publish. Ofsted's most recent inspection, in February 2024, rated the school Good across all areas including the sixth form. On GOV.UK's Compare School Performance figures, 75.2% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths in 2025 (77.4% in 2023, 75.8% in 2024), with an Attainment 8 score of 58.8 in 2025 and a Progress 8 score of plus 0.3 in the 2023/24 academic year, both comfortably above the national average. Spalding Grammar's detailed civil-parish catchment list makes it one of the more predictable schools in the county for families trying to work out in advance whether they fall in the priority area.

Spalding High School

Spalding High School, which opened in 1920, is a girls' grammar in Spalding with a published admission number of 150 across Years 7 to 11. Unlike its neighbour Spalding Grammar School, this school has confirmed it does not operate a catchment area; if qualifying applications exceed places, priority instead goes to girls living closest to the school. As an LCGS member, girls must achieve the combined 220 qualifying score on the shared Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning test to be considered. Ofsted's most recent inspection, in November 2023, rated the school Outstanding across every area assessed, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, one of the highest ratings among the girls' grammars in this guide. GCSE results have been reported as strong among the consortium schools in some sources, but this guide has not independently confirmed a specific current percentage against GOV.UK, so none is stated here. Spalding High School has a distinctive regional draw: it has historically accepted applications from girls living in neighbouring counties as well as Lincolnshire, making it a realistic option for families just across the county boundary as well as those in south Lincolnshire itself.

The King's School, Grantham

The King's School, Grantham traces its history back to 1329 and was re-endowed in 1528, making it one of the oldest schools in the county. It is a boys' grammar within the Lincolnshire Consortium, offering around 174 places in Year 7 to boys who meet the shared 220 qualifying score on the GL Assessment Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning papers. Ofsted's most recent inspection rated the school Good. Academically, King's is one of the stronger performers in this guide on the county's own Progress 8 measure: the school's Progress 8 score was confirmed at plus 1.1 for 2023/24, indicating pupils make significantly above-average progress relative to their starting points. On GOV.UK's higher-grade GCSE figures, the school's own published results show 47.0% of grades at 9 to 7 in 2025 (57% in both 2023 and 2024, so the most recent year is noticeably lower than the two before it). At A-level in 2025, the school's own published figures show 73% of grades at A* to B, including 22% at A* and 47% at A* to A (2023 was higher, at 80% A*-B, 30% A* and 58% A*-A, so results have eased slightly since then). Paired with Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School, King's gives Grantham families a single-sex grammar option for both boys and girls in the same town, and its combination of a centuries-long history with a strongly positive Progress 8 score makes it one of the more sought-after schools on this list.

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