Key Facts
| Measure | Average Attainment 8 score (DfE key stage 4 performance data) |
|---|---|
| Data year | 2024/25 (final) |
| Schools ranked | 7 |
| Highest figure | Pate's Grammar School, 82.7 |
| Area covered | Gloucestershire |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly.
On the measure used here, the best grammar schools in Gloucestershire begin with Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham, which has the highest average Attainment 8 score at 82.7, followed by Sir Thomas Rich's School in Gloucester on 77.2 and Stroud High School in Stroud on 76.9. Marling School in Stroud comes fourth on 73.9.
Seven schools are ranked, each on a single measure: average Attainment 8 score from the DfE's key stage 4 performance tables, which sums each pupil's grades across eight GCSE-level qualifications with English and maths double-weighted, to a maximum of 90. The table shows the percentage achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths and the DfE's average A level grade alongside, so you can compare the schools your child may sit the shared entrance test for.
Which grammar schools in Gloucestershire have the best GCSE results?
| Rank | School | Town | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ in English and maths (%) | A level average grade | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pate's Grammar School | Cheltenham | 82.7 | 99.3 | A | Co-educational |
| 2 | Sir Thomas Rich's School | Gloucester | 77.2 | 98.7 | B+ | Boys |
| 3 | Stroud High School | Stroud | 76.9 | 97.5 | B | Girls |
| 4 | Marling School | Stroud | 73.9 | 98.1 | B | Boys |
| 5 | Denmark Road High School | Gloucester | 72.9 | 94.2 | B- | Girls |
| 6 | The Crypt School | Gloucester | 72.7 | 98 | B | Co-educational |
| 7 | Ribston Hall High School | Gloucester | 67.7 | 90.5 | C+ | Girls |
Average Attainment 8 scores run from 82.7 at Pate's Grammar School to 67.7 at Ribston Hall High School, with the largest single step between first and second place (82.7 to 77.2). Sir Thomas Rich's School on 77.2 and Stroud High School on 76.9 sit close together at second and third, and a further group of three follows: Marling School on 73.9, Denmark Road High School on 72.9 and The Crypt School on 72.7. Ribston Hall is on its own at the bottom of the table.
The percentage of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths is high across the county, from 99.3 at Pate's and 98.7 at Sir Thomas Rich's down to 90.5 at Ribston Hall. Marling (98.1) and The Crypt (98) record higher figures than Stroud High School (97.5) and Denmark Road (94.2), even though both sit below Stroud High on Attainment 8. That ordering differs from the main ranking, which is why both columns are worth reading.
The three types of school are spread through the table. Pate's and The Crypt, the two co-educational schools, are first and sixth. The boys' schools, Sir Thomas Rich's and Marling, are second and fourth, and the girls' schools, Stroud High, Denmark Road and Ribston Hall, are third, fifth and seventh. The A level grades broadly follow the GCSE order, from A at Pate's and B+ at Sir Thomas Rich's to C+ at Ribston Hall. With sixth place on Attainment 8, the Crypt shares a B with Stroud High and Marling, and so sits above Denmark Road at B-.
How does entry to Gloucestershire's grammar schools work?
Entry to all seven grammar schools in Gloucestershire runs through one shared entrance test, with each school remaining its own admissions authority and publishing its own admissions policy. The county is one of the few in England with a fully selective secondary system, so a single test result can be shared with more than one school and the Local Authority then allocates places centrally.
In the current round the Gloucestershire Grammar Schools' Entrance Test is set by GL Assessment and is identical for all seven schools, with every candidate sitting it on the same day. It comprises two papers of around 45 to 50 minutes each, with a short break between them. One paper covers verbal skills (comprehension, vocabulary and verbal reasoning) and the other covers non-verbal reasoning together with mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding. Questions are multiple choice, answers go on separate sheets, and an independent company appointed by the seven schools marks them electronically, age-standardising the results so that younger children in the year group are not disadvantaged.
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Enquire about this tutorIs the Gloucestershire entrance test changing?
The entrance test is changing for later cohorts, with the seven schools moving from GL Assessment to a new provider, Future Stories Community Enterprise (FSCE), a not-for-profit founded by Reading School. The test also moves from the autumn of Year 6 to the latter part of the summer term of Year 5, with first entry into Year 7 the following September.
Denmark Road High School's own announcement confirms that the FSCE test draws heavily on Key Stage 2 curriculum content and removes the non-verbal reasoning element found in the current GL Assessment papers. Families whose children sit the test in the autumn of Year 6 for the current round are unaffected and continue to sit the existing GL Assessment papers.
Where are the grammar schools and who do they admit?
Four of the seven grammar schools are in Gloucester, two are in Stroud and one is in Cheltenham. The Gloucester schools are Sir Thomas Rich's School (boys), Denmark Road High School (girls), Ribston Hall High School (girls) and The Crypt School (co-educational). Marling School (boys) and Stroud High School (girls) are in Stroud, and Pate's Grammar School (co-educational) is in Cheltenham.
Pate's and The Crypt teach ages 11 to 18. The other five schools teach ages 11 to 16 and each has a mixed sixth form, which is worth bearing in mind when you compare A level grades across the table.
What do the results in this ranking show?
The ranking shows average GCSE-level outcomes for pupils at each school, using the DfE's Attainment 8 score, and says nothing about teaching quality or about which school suits a particular child. All seven schools admit pupils through the same entrance test, so the differences in the table sit among selected cohorts, and a gap such as 72.7 at The Crypt against 67.7 at Ribston Hall is a gap between two selective schools.
Attainment 8 is an average across a whole year group, so it can mask differences between subjects. The grade 5 in English and maths column and the A level grade column give two further views of the same schools; a visit and each school's admissions policy will tell you more about fit than any single score.
How the schools are ranked
The ranking covers every state grammar school in Gloucestershire with a published Attainment 8 score in the Department for Education's key stage 4 performance data, ordered from highest to lowest, with schools on the same figure sharing a rank. Every school in the table selects by ability at eleven, so the figures reflect a selective intake as well as the teaching; Progress 8 was not calculated for this cohort.
The data is the Department for Education's own download from Compare school and college performance, so anyone can reproduce the order from the same file; the data year and source are listed in the key facts above.
Admissions guides for the ranked schools
- Pate's Grammar School (ranked 1)
- Sir Thomas Rich's School (ranked 2)
- Stroud High School (ranked 3)
- Marling School (ranked 4)
- Denmark Road High School (ranked 5)
- The Crypt School (ranked 6)
- Ribston Hall High School (ranked 7)
Related guides
- How Many Grammar Schools in Gloucestershire? The Seven Schools and the 11+
- Best private schools in Gloucestershire
- Best grammar schools in the UK by GCSE results
- Grammar schools in England: the full directory
- The 11+ entrance exam explained
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Families preparing for the Gloucestershire grammar school 11+ usually come to us a year or so before the assessment, though shorter runs work where the foundations are already sound. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors build each programme around the format the school actually uses, whether a written paper, an online pre-test, an interview or a combination of them.
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Frequently asked questions
- Which is the top grammar school in Gloucestershire by GCSE results?
- Pate's Grammar School in Cheltenham ranks first, with the highest average Attainment 8 score at 82.7. It also has 99.3 per cent of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths and an average A level grade of A. Sir Thomas Rich's School is second on 77.2.
- Which is the top girls' grammar school in Gloucestershire?
- Stroud High School in Stroud ranks highest among the girls' schools, third overall, with an average Attainment 8 score of 76.9 and an average A level grade of B. Denmark Road High School follows on 72.9 and Ribston Hall High School on 67.7.
- Which is the top boys' grammar school in Gloucestershire?
- Sir Thomas Rich's School in Gloucester ranks highest among the boys' schools, second overall, with an average Attainment 8 score of 77.2, 98.7 per cent achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths, and an average A level grade of B+. Marling School is fourth on 73.9.
- How many grammar schools are ranked in Gloucestershire?
- Seven grammar schools are ranked: Pate's in Cheltenham, Stroud High School and Marling in Stroud, and Sir Thomas Rich's, Denmark Road, The Crypt and Ribston Hall in Gloucester. They are ordered by average Attainment 8 score from the DfE's key stage 4 performance tables.
- What does the Attainment 8 score mean?
- Attainment 8 is each pupil's grades across eight GCSE-level qualifications, with English and maths double-weighted, to a maximum of 90. The ranking uses each school's average. Pate's has the highest at 82.7 and Ribston Hall the lowest at 67.7.
- Which Gloucestershire grammar school has the highest average A level grade?
- Pate's Grammar School has the highest average A level grade in the table at A, followed by Sir Thomas Rich's School at B+. Stroud High School, Marling School and The Crypt School share a B, Denmark Road High School is on B- and Ribston Hall High School on C+.
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