A grammar school is a free, state-funded secondary school in the UK that selects pupils by academic ability rather than by where they live. Children sit a selective entrance exam called the 11-plus, usually at age 10 to 11, to win a place. There are 163 grammar schools in England and around 65 in Northern Ireland, and none in Wales or Scotland. They are free to attend, unlike private schools, and selective, unlike comprehensives.
- A grammar school is a free, state-funded secondary that selects by academic ability through the 11-plus.
- It takes pupils aged 11 to 18 (Year 7 to Year 13), normally seven years.
- There are 163 in England and about 65 in Northern Ireland; none in Wales or Scotland.
- Free, unlike a private school. Selective, unlike a comprehensive.
- In the US, "grammar school" means something different: it is an old word for elementary school.
What does grammar school mean?
In the UK, a grammar school is a selective state secondary school. "Selective" means it chooses its pupils by how they perform in an entrance exam, the 11-plus, rather than admitting every child in the local area. "State" means it is funded by the government and is free to attend, so it is not the same as a fee-paying private school.
The name is historical. Centuries ago a "grammar school" was a school that taught Latin grammar, and later a broad academic curriculum. Today the word simply marks out a state school that selects on ability and teaches a traditional academic programme aimed at strong GCSE and A-level results and university entrance.
Grammar schools at a glance
Here is the quick version, with the facts parents ask for most.
| What it is | A free, state-funded secondary school |
| Selects by | Academic ability, through the 11-plus exam |
| Cost to attend | Free (no tuition fees) |
| Ages | 11 to 18 (Year 7 to Year 13) |
| How many years | Normally 7 (5 to GCSE, plus a 2-year sixth form) |
| In England | 163 grammar schools, across 36 local authorities |
| In Northern Ireland | About 65 |
| In Wales and Scotland | None |
| Entry exam | The 11-plus (English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning) |
Figures: 163 English grammar schools and 36 local authorities are the counts used by the House of Commons Library and the Good Schools Guide. The Northern Ireland total is often quoted as 69, but the current school list puts it closer to 65, so we use the more up-to-date figure.
Are grammar schools free?
Yes. A grammar school is a free, state-funded school, so there are no tuition fees to pay. This is the single biggest difference between a grammar school and a private (independent) school, where fees often run to tens of thousands of pounds a year, and now carry VAT on top since the rules changed in January 2025.
The catch is not money, it is the exam. Places are limited and demand is high, so the real "cost" of a grammar school is the work of preparing for and passing the 11-plus. Many families spend on tutoring or practice books, but plenty prepare with free resources and a steady routine at home. The school place itself is free.
How do you get into a grammar school?
Entry is by the 11-plus exam, taken in Year 6, usually in the September at the start of the year, for entry the following September. The test covers a mix of English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, depending on the region and the exam board. You can see how the different boards and regional tests compare in our guide to 11-plus exam types.
The basic steps are simple:
- Register your child for the test with the school or local authority, usually by an early-summer deadline before Year 6.
- Sit the test in September of Year 6.
- Get the result, then list your preferred schools on the secondary application form, normally by 31 October.
- Receive an offer on National Offer Day, 1 March.
Passing the qualifying score does not always guarantee a place. At many schools, where you live still matters once your child has qualified, so it is worth checking each school's catchment. Our free grammar school catchment checker ranks every grammar by distance from your postcode and shows which ones have a catchment and which take the top scorers from anywhere.
What ages and year groups is grammar school?
Grammar schools take pupils aged 11 to 18, which is Year 7 to Year 13 in England and Northern Ireland. That is normally seven years in total:
- Years 7 to 11 (ages 11 to 16), five years leading to GCSEs.
- Years 12 and 13 (ages 16 to 18), a two-year sixth form leading to A-levels.
Children join in Year 7, straight after primary school, once they have passed the 11-plus at the end of Year 6. A few areas also run a "12-plus" or "13-plus" for later entry, but the standard route is at 11.
Where are grammar schools in the UK?
Grammar schools are not spread evenly. England has 163 of them across 36 local authorities. That is a small slice of the system, just 163 of England's roughly 3,000 state secondary schools, teaching about 5% of state secondary pupils, and they are clustered in a handful of selective areas rather than scattered nationwide. The best-known hotspots include:
- Kent and Medway, the largest selective area in the country.
- Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Gloucestershire.
- Birmingham, Walsall and Trafford in the Midlands and North West.
- Several London boroughs, especially Sutton, Kingston, Bexley and Barnet.
Northern Ireland has about 65 grammar schools, which educate a large share of post-primary pupils. There are no grammar schools in Wales or Scotland, where academic selection was phased out decades ago (a few Scottish schools keep the word "grammar" in their name only, out of history).
To see exactly which grammars are near you and how their catchments work, use the catchment checker, or browse our round-ups of the best grammar schools in the UK, the top grammar schools in Kent and the top grammar schools in London.
Grammar vs comprehensive vs private vs academy
The quickest way to understand a grammar school is to set it next to the other school types it gets confused with.
| Grammar | Comprehensive | Private (independent) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selects by ability? | Yes (11-plus) | No | Often, by its own exam |
| Cost to attend | Free | Free | Fees (now plus VAT) |
| Funded by | The state | The state | Parents |
| Who can attend | Children who pass the 11-plus | All local children | Anyone who pays and meets entry rules |
And what about an academy? That is a different kind of label. "Grammar" describes admissions (the school selects by ability), while "academy" describes governance (the school is funded directly by central government through an academy trust, rather than run by the local authority). A school can be both at once, and in fact most grammar schools are now academies, so the two words are not opposites.
Super-selective vs catchment grammar schools
Not all grammar schools admit pupils the same way once they have passed, and this is one of the most important things to understand before you apply.
- Super-selective grammars rank every qualified child purely by 11-plus score and have no catchment area. The highest marks win places from anywhere, so a child fifteen miles away competes on equal terms with a child next door. Schools like Queen Elizabeth's, Barnet and Tiffin work this way.
- Catchment (designated-area) grammars give priority to qualified children who live locally, often ahead of higher-scoring applicants from further away. Here, where you live can decide whether a pass turns into an offer.
Many schools sit somewhere in between, reserving a block of places for a local area and another block on score alone. Our catchment checker labels each school so you can see at a glance which type you are dealing with, and our guide to catchment areas explains how distance is measured.
A short history of grammar schools
Grammar schools have been through big swings of policy, which is why they survive in some areas and not others.
- 1944 - The Education Act created a free state secondary system and the "tripartite" model: grammar schools for academic pupils, plus secondary modern and technical schools. An exam at 11, the eleven-plus, decided who went where.
- 1960s - Numbers peaked at almost 1,300 grammar schools, with around a quarter of state pupils attending.
- 1965 and 1976 - Governments pushed local authorities to switch to non-selective comprehensive schools. By the late 1980s, all grammar schools in Wales and most in England had closed or gone comprehensive.
- 1998 - The School Standards and Framework Act banned the opening of any new grammar schools, and let local parents petition for a ballot to remove selection. No grammar school has ever been closed by that route.
- 2018 - A capital fund let existing selective schools expand, including onto new sites, in exchange for plans to widen access.
- 2024 onward - The current government keeps the ban on new grammar schools but has not moved to abolish the existing ones. Its main schools change has been adding VAT to private-school fees from January 2025, which some expect to push more families toward free grammar places.
"Grammar school" in the US, and on application forms
This phrase means different things in different places, which is why a lot of people end up searching for it.
- In the UK it means a selective state secondary entered by the 11-plus, as described above.
- In the US, "grammar school" is an older, informal term for elementary or primary school, the early years of schooling. It is not selective and has nothing to do with the 11-plus.
- On a UK application form, listing a "grammar school" under your education simply tells the reader you attended a selective state secondary, as opposed to a comprehensive or a fee-paying private school. It signals an academically selective, but free, state education.
So if a US site or relative uses "grammar school" to mean a young child's school, and a UK one uses it to mean a selective secondary, both are right, in their own country.
Are grammar schools better than comprehensives?
Grammar schools post strong exam results, but a lot of that reflects the fact that they admit children who are already high-attaining, so raw league-table comparisons can flatter them. The honest answer is that it depends on the child. A grammar suits an academically confident child who thrives on pace and challenge, while many comprehensives match or beat them on progress and offer a broader mix of peers. We dig into this properly in are grammar schools better than comprehensives? The short version: fit matters more than the label.
How to prepare for the 11-plus
If a grammar school looks like the right fit, the next step is steady preparation for the 11-plus. The skills that carry the most marks are reading and vocabulary, which feed both English and verbal reasoning, alongside solid maths and plenty of reasoning practice so the puzzle-style questions feel familiar. Short, regular sessions beat last-minute cramming.
Pip turns 11-plus practice into a few calm minutes a day across maths, English and reasoning, free, with no ads and no sign-up. You can also warm up with our free 11-plus tools, including the number codes game and the vocabulary flashcards. And once you have a shortlist, the choosing which schools to apply to guide helps you compare them honestly.
Frequently asked questions
What does grammar school mean?+
A grammar school is a state-funded secondary school in the UK that selects pupils by academic ability rather than by where they live. Children sit a selective exam called the 11-plus, usually at age 10 to 11, to win a place. Grammar schools are free and teach an academic curriculum aimed at university entrance.
Are grammar schools free?+
Yes. Grammar schools are free, state-funded secondary schools, so there are no tuition fees, unlike private or independent schools. The only entry requirement is passing the 11-plus selective exam. Many families do pay for tutoring or practice materials, but the school place itself costs nothing.
How do you get into a grammar school?+
You register your child for the 11-plus in the area's grammar schools, then they sit the test in Year 6, often early September. It assesses English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. Children who reach the qualifying score are offered places. At super-selective schools, places go strictly in rank order of marks.
What ages and years is grammar school, and how many years?+
Grammar schools take pupils aged 11 to 18, from Year 7 to Year 13 in England and Northern Ireland. That is normally seven years: five years to GCSE in Years 7 to 11, plus a two-year sixth form in Years 12 and 13 for A-levels. Children join after passing the 11-plus at the end of primary school.
Where are grammar schools in the UK?+
England has 163 grammar schools across 36 local authorities, concentrated in areas such as Kent, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Birmingham, Trafford and several London boroughs like Sutton, Kingston and Bexley. Northern Ireland has about 65. There are no grammar schools in Wales or Scotland, where selection was phased out decades ago.
Can anyone apply to a grammar school?+
Yes, any child can register for the 11-plus, whatever their background or primary school. Whether they get a place depends on their score and the school's admissions rules. Super-selective grammars admit purely by score from anywhere, while catchment-area grammars give qualifying local children priority over higher-scoring applicants from further away.
What is the 11-plus?+
The 11-plus is the selective entrance exam for grammar schools, sat at age 10 to 11 in Year 6. Depending on the region and board, such as GL Assessment, ISEB or regional tests like the Kent Test or the Bucks Transfer Test, it covers a mix of English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. Passing the qualifying score makes a child eligible for a place.
Is a grammar school the same as a private school?+
No. A grammar school is free and state-funded, with entry by passing the academic 11-plus. A private or independent school charges fees, often tens of thousands of pounds a year and, since January 2025, plus VAT, and sets its own entrance requirements. Both can be academically selective, but only private schools cost money to attend.
What is the difference between a grammar school and an academy?+
Grammar describes admissions, meaning the school selects by ability. Academy describes governance, meaning the school is state-funded directly through an academy trust rather than the local authority. A school can be both, and in fact most grammar schools are now academies, so the two labels are not opposites.
What does grammar school mean in America or on an application form?+
In the United States, grammar school is an informal, older term for elementary or primary school, and has nothing to do with the UK 11-plus. On a UK application form, naming a grammar school simply signals that you attended a selective state secondary entered by passing the 11-plus, rather than a comprehensive or a fee-paying private school.
What is the difference between a grammar school and a comprehensive school?+
A grammar school selects pupils by academic ability through the 11-plus exam, while a comprehensive school in England admits all local children of every ability with no entrance test. Both are free and state-funded. A private school differs again because it charges fees. So the dividing lines are selection, where grammars select and comprehensives do not, and cost, where state schools are free and private schools are paid.
Are there grammar schools in Wales and Scotland?+
No. There are no state grammar schools in Wales or Scotland, which both phased out academic selection at age 11 decades ago. Grammar schools today exist only in parts of England, which has 163, and in Northern Ireland, which has about 65. A few Scottish schools keep the word grammar in their name for historical reasons only.
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