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 Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is home to 4 fully selective grammar schools and 1 partially selective school, served by the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools (LCGS) — 15 schools. Caistor Grammar is independent of the LCGS.. 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 Lincolnshire 11+ works
LCGS schools (KEVIGS, QEGS Alford, Skegness): Two GL Assessment multiple-choice papers taken on consecutive Saturdays in September — Paper 1: Verbal Reasoning (80 questions, ~50 min); Paper 2: Non-Verbal & Spatial Reasoning (70 questions, ~50 min). Qualifying score 220. Caistor Grammar: Two school-own Verbal Reasoning papers (one standard written, one multiple-choice) taken on consecutive Saturdays in late September, each 60 min including 15 min practice section. Pass mark 220. De Aston: Non-selective community school; no selective 11+ test.
The LCGS 11+ is age-standardised by GL Assessment. Results are released mid-October. Caistor Grammar is NOT part of the LCGS consortium and runs its own separate registration process and exam dates — families wishing to apply to both must register separately for each. Skegness Grammar was not oversubscribed on National Offer Day 2026, indicating all qualifying applicants received an offer.
Key dates
Who can apply?
Children in Year 6 (typically aged 10–11) may sit the LCGS 11+ test. There are no formal eligibility requirements — any child may register.
The qualifying standard is a combined standardised score of 220 across both papers, designed to identify the top 25% of the ability range in Lincolnshire selective areas.
Achieving the qualifying score does not guarantee a place; each school applies its own oversubscription criteria (typically prioritising siblings and catchment-area children among qualified candidates).
Caistor Grammar runs its own separate registration. Families wishing to apply to Caistor must register directly with the school by mid-August and sit Caistor's own Verbal Reasoning papers in late September.
Pupil Premium children (Ever 6) may benefit from reserved places at Caistor Grammar (up to 12 places) and a lower qualifying threshold at Skegness Grammar (score of 210 or above).
Children with an EHCP naming a school are admitted outside the normal criteria at all LCGS schools.
Admissions process
LCGS schools: Register via Lincolnshire County Council website between January and 31 March of Year 5. Caistor Grammar: Register directly via the school website — registration typically opens in early March and closes mid-August the year before entry.
LCGS schools: Two GL Assessment multiple-choice papers on consecutive Saturdays in September (Verbal Reasoning, then Non-Verbal & Spatial Reasoning). Tests can be sat at a grammar school test centre or, for LCGS schools, in the child's own primary school. Caistor Grammar: Two Verbal Reasoning papers on consecutive Saturdays in late September at Caistor Grammar School.
Results are issued in mid-October. Parents use the result to decide whether to list a grammar school on the Common Application Form (CAF), submitted to their home Local Authority by 31 October. Achieving the qualifying score does not guarantee a place; it makes the child eligible to be considered under the school's oversubscription criteria.
Offers are made on 2 March 2026 via the Local Authority. If a child qualifies for two or more schools, the LA offers the highest-ranked eligible school on the CAF. Children automatically join the waiting list for any listed school ranked higher than the school offered.
School Directory
Disclaimer: Data from official school and LA sources (school websites, Lincolnshire County Council admissions pages, Ofsted reports.ofsted.gov.uk, DfE compare.education.gov.uk, LCGS grammarschools.lincs.sch.uk), researched April 2026. Progress 8 (2024) and Ofsted ratings verified against official sources. Applicant numbers and cut-off scores beyond the qualifying mark (220) are not published by Lincolnshire grammar schools — entries marked null reflect this. Verify all key dates, PANs and policies directly with each school and at lincolnshire.gov.uk before acting. 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).