Not always. Some grammar schools have no catchment area at all and accept applications from anywhere in the country. Others give priority to local families when places are handed out. So in most cases your child can sit the exam wherever you live, but where you live can still affect whether a pass turns into an actual offer at a popular school. The detail sits in each school's admissions criteria, which is the thing to read closely.
- Not always. Some grammar schools have no catchment and accept anyone.
- Others prioritise local applicants when allocating places.
- You can usually sit the exam wherever you live.
- Location mostly affects who gets a place among children who pass.
Do you need to live in catchment?
There is no blanket rule. Catchment policies are set school by school, so the honest answer is that it depends entirely on the schools on your list.
This is closely linked to who is eligible to sit in the first place. Eligibility to take the exam and priority for a place are two different things, and catchment usually affects the second.
Schools with no catchment
Some grammar schools have no catchment area and welcome applications from across the country. Certain Torbay grammars are well-known examples that accept children from anywhere.
For these schools, distance does not bar your child from a place, so families sometimes apply well outside their local area. It is one reason children often sit the 11+ for several schools across different areas.
Schools that prioritise local families
Other grammars give priority to applicants who live nearby. When more children pass than there are places, distance can become a tiebreak that favours local families.
That does not stop an out-of-area child sitting the exam, but it can make an offer harder to secure if the school is heavily oversubscribed.
The fine print that really matters is each school's oversubscription policy. It spells out exactly how distance, siblings and other factors are weighed, so read it before deciding where to apply.
Sitting the exam vs getting a place
Keep these two ideas separate. Sitting the 11+ is usually open regardless of where you live; getting a place can depend on it.
That gap is why a child can do well and still miss out at an oversubscribed school, which our guide to how you can pass the 11+ but not get a place explains. Knowing the local rules helps you apply realistically.
How to check
Go to each school's admissions page and find the catchment and oversubscription criteria. If anything is unclear, the admissions office will confirm how distance is treated.
Use that to shape a sensible shortlist, mixing any no-catchment options with realistic local ones, and line them up against each school's registration deadlines. Wherever you land, your child's job is the same: be ready for the paper, which steady daily practice with Pip takes care of.