UK grammar school league table and rankings 2026

This is the complete picture of grammar schools in England for 2026: how many there are, where they cluster, the top performers by the latest results, and a full directory of every grammar school by region, each linked to its catchment details. Unlike the paywalled national tables, we show our working and only publish exam figures we have verified from each school directly.

How many grammar schools are there in the UK?

There are around 163 grammar schools in England, spread across roughly 35 local authorities. That is fewer than one in twenty state secondaries, which is why entry is so competitive. Grammar schools are an England-only feature: there are none in Wales or Scotland, and Northern Ireland runs its own separate transfer system. Our directory further down lists 162 of them, region by region.

They are also clustered, not spread evenly. Whole regions have none, while a few areas are almost entirely selective. The chart shows how England's grammar schools are distributed.

Grammar schools by region: the numbers

Here is the regional split in full. The South East holds more than a third of all England's grammar schools, while four regions between them have fewer than the South East alone.

For the schools behind these numbers, jump to the full directory below, or use our grammar school catchment checker to see catchment areas school by school.

How grammar schools are ranked (and why league tables mislead)

There is no official ranking of grammar schools. The tables you see are built from published performance data, usually the percentage of top GCSE grades (9 to 7), A-level results (A* and A), the Attainment 8 score, and the latest Ofsted rating. The definitive paid version is The Times Parent Power list.

The honest caveat is that raw attainment flatters the most selective schools. A grammar that admits only the very highest 11+ scorers will post sky-high grades almost by definition, because of who it admits, not only how well it teaches. The fairer measure, Progress 8, has in recent years been paused and downweighted, so current tables lean even harder on raw attainment, which tilts them further toward the most selective intakes. Read any ranking as a guide, not gospel.

For that reason we do two things differently. We publish only the result figures we have verified directly from each school's own 2025 results pages, and we give you the complete list of every grammar school by region rather than a tidy but shaky national 1 to 100 order built on numbers we cannot stand behind.

Top grammar schools in England by 2025 results

These are leading performers ranked by each school's own published 2025 A-level results (A* and A combined). Where a school does not publish a clean GCSE 9 to 7 figure, we say so rather than guess. Treat this as the verified top of the table, not an exhaustive national order, because schools report their results in different ways.

Figures taken from each school's own published 2025 A-level and GCSE results pages, June 2026. Always confirm the latest on the school's website.

Super-selective vs standard-selective grammars

Not all grammar schools select the same way, and it changes your chances completely.

• Super-selective grammars set no catchment priority. They rank every child by 11+ score and offer places from the highest down, so the effective bar is very high. Queen Elizabeth's Barnet, Henrietta Barnett, Wilson's and Pate's are classic examples, drawing applicants nationwide.
• Standard selective grammars set a qualifying score, then allocate places by catchment and distance. Live close and a solid pass can be enough. Buckinghamshire and Kent work this way.

In the directory below, the Selection column flags each school as super-selective, mixed or catchment-based, so you can see at a glance how it admits.

The full list: every grammar school in England by region

Every grammar school in England, grouped by region and linked to its catchment details. This is the complete picture, so there is no need for a "top 200": there are only around 163 grammar schools in the whole country.

London (19 grammar schools)

South East (57 grammar schools)

East of England (11 grammar schools)

West Midlands (18 grammar schools)

North West (17 grammar schools)

East Midlands (14 grammar schools)

South West (20 grammar schools)

Yorkshire and the Humber (6 grammar schools)

Rankings vs the right school for your child

A league table tells you where a school sits on raw results. It does not tell you whether it is right for your child, or whether you can realistically get a place. A school ranked a little lower but within your catchment may be a far better bet than a super-selective an hour away. For curated profiles of the strongest schools, see our 10 best grammar schools in the UK, check where you stand with the catchment checker, and understand the bar with our guide to the 11+ pass mark. When you are ready to prepare, our step by step guide to passing the 11+ lays out the plan.

Frequently asked questions

Written by Arielle Phoenix SEO & Organic Marketing Manager at Pip

Arielle handles SEO and AEO growth at Pip, with over 10 years in the digital marketing space working with brands and founding her own projects.

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