For parents and guardians: Please verify all school data — cut-off scores, applicant numbers and competition ratios — against official sources (school websites, local authority admissions data) before making any decisions. The figures on this page are researched but not guaranteed and change each admissions cycle.
Complete 2025/26 11+ Guide to Grammar Schools in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is home to 4 fully selective grammar schools and 1 partially selective school, served by the Gloucestershire Grammar Schools Consortium (G7). This guide covers every school — admissions criteria, competition data, cut-off scores, GCSE results, and specific prep advice — so you can make an informed decision.
How the Gloucestershire 11+ works
Two multiple-choice papers taken on the same day. Paper 1: English Comprehension, Vocabulary & Verbal Reasoning (~60 min). Paper 2: Mathematics & Non-Verbal Reasoning (including Spatial Reasoning) (~60 min). All seven Gloucestershire grammar schools use the identical Gloucestershire Grammar Schools Entrance Test — children register and sit once, then share results with their chosen schools.
From 2024 entry the consortium switched from CEM to GL Assessment. No fixed pass mark — schools set their own "Qualifying Standard" from rank-ordered standardised scores after the test. Results released mid-October; CAF deadline 31 October. Progress 8 is not calculated for the 2024/25 or 2025/26 cohorts nationally (Covid KS2 gap); the most recent published P8 figures are from 2023–24.
Key dates
Who can apply?
Any child in Year 6 may register to sit the Gloucestershire Grammar Schools Entrance Test — there are no residency or catchment requirements to take the test itself.
Children must register during the published window (typically May–June of Year 5). Late registrations are not accepted for the main sitting; a limited late-test opportunity may be available but only qualifies for the waiting list.
To be offered a place, children must achieve each school's "Qualifying Standard" (a rank-ordered cut-off set after each year's test) and be named on the Local Authority Common Application Form (CAF) by 31 October.
Pupils eligible for Pupil Premium (PP), Looked After Children (LAC) and Previously Looked After Children (PLAC) receive priority admissions at all schools; each school applies its own expanded qualifying threshold for these pupils.
Out-of-county children may sit at a Gloucestershire grammar school test centre or at a centre nearer to home; the same test paper is used. Out-of-county applicants must apply through their own Local Authority.
Cheltenham Bournside School is non-selective for Year 7; it admits pupils purely by LA co-ordinated criteria (LAC, siblings, proximity).
Admissions process
Register your child to sit the Gloucestershire Grammar Schools Entrance Test via the grammar school website(s) or Gloucestershire County Council portal during the published May–June window. You select which schools may receive your child's result. One registration covers all seven consortium schools.
Children sit two multiple-choice papers (verbal skills; maths & non-verbal reasoning) on the same Saturday morning in September. Papers are marked by GL Assessment and age-standardised scores are produced.
Each school emails parents confirming whether their child has achieved that school's Qualifying Standard. Meeting the standard is not an offer of a place — it simply confirms eligibility to preference that school on the CAF.
Submit your secondary school application to your home Local Authority listing up to three preferences (Gloucestershire residents may list grammar schools that confirmed a qualifying score). Failure to complete the CAF means no place can be offered even if the qualifying standard was met.
Gloucestershire County Council (or the relevant LA for out-of-county applicants) offers the highest-preference school at which a qualifying place is available. Families may go on waiting lists for higher-preference schools.
School Directory
Disclaimer: Data from official school and LA sources (gloucestershire.gov.uk, patesgs.org, strschool.co.uk, cryptschool.org, denmarkroad.org, bournside.com), Ofsted (reports.ofsted.gov.uk), DfE Compare School Performance (compare.education.gov.uk), and Sunday Times Parent Power 2025–2026. Progress 8 data from 2023–24 DfE performance tables (P8 not calculable for 2024/25 or 2025/26 due to Covid KS2 baseline gap). Verify all admissions details at individual school websites before acting — admissions policies are reviewed annually. Always verify figures on the school or local authority website before making decisions — data changes each admissions cycle. Last updated: 2026-04-19. We aim to refresh this guide every year after new DfE data is published (typically June/July).