Key Facts
| School type | State grammar school (academy), boys 11 to 16 with a coeducational Sixth Form 16 to 18; day and state boarding |
|---|---|
| Location | Lancaster, Lancashire |
| Entry points | 11+ (Year 7); 16+ (Lower Sixth, coeducational, external candidates) |
| Assessment | GL Assessment 11+ test in mathematics, English and verbal reasoning; no interview for day places, interview for boarding suitability |
| Test provider | GL Assessment |
| Boarding fees (2026-27) | Year 7 to 11: £5,509 per term (£16,527 per year); Sixth Form: £5,899 per term (£17,697 per year); £1,500 deposit; no VAT charged |
| Registration deadline | Monday 7 September 2026 (school's own 11+ registration, for September 2027 entry) |
| Assessment date | Saturday 26 September 2026 (main sitting); Wednesday 20 January 2027 (second sitting, boarders only) |
Figures correct at the time of writing — always confirm current fees and deadlines with the school directly.
Entry to Lancaster Royal Grammar School at 11+ is decided by a GL Assessment entrance test in mathematics, English and verbal reasoning, with boys ranked by aggregate score and places offered first to those living within the school's priority catchment area, the City of Lancaster. The school is a state grammar for boys aged 11 to 16, with a coeducational Sixth Form from 16, and it admits 164 day boys and 12 boarders into Year 7 each year.
Because it is state funded, there is no tuition fee for day places; getting in still requires two separate applications, one directly to the school for the 11+ test and one to Lancashire County Council for a Year 7 place, and there is no fixed pass mark, only a minimum standard set annually that a boy must reach before oversubscription criteria decide who is actually offered a place.
How 11+ entry works
Lancaster Royal Grammar School admits boys into Year 7 at 11+, with a published admissions number of 164 day places and 12 state boarding places. A further entry point exists at 16+, into a coeducational Lower Sixth of 75 day places and 36 boarding places for external candidates, open to those who meet a minimum GCSE points score with grade 5 or above in both English language and mathematics.
Because the school is state funded, there is no tuition fee for day pupils at 11+; boarding parents pay only for board and lodging, since the education itself carries no charge and no VAT is added.
How the 11+ assessment works
The entrance test is set and marked by GL Assessment and consists of three age-standardised, multiple-choice papers, taken in the autumn term of Year 6 and marked using optically read answer sheets. There is no non-verbal reasoning paper, and no calculators, dictionaries or reference books are allowed; pencils and erasers are provided on the day.
There is no interview for day applicants, and the day admissions process does not call for a report from a boy's current primary school. Boarding candidates additionally attend an interview to assess suitability for residential life, either around the main test or at a second sitting arranged for boarders only later in the same academic year.
- Mathematics
- English
- Verbal reasoning
How to register and apply
Getting a place needs two separate applications on parallel timetables. Parents register directly with the school for the 11+ test using its own online form, ahead of a closing date published each year on the admissions page, and separately complete Lancashire County Council's Common Application Form, ranking up to three secondary schools in order of preference. Test results reach parents by email before the council's preference deadline in the autumn, so families can weigh the outcome before finalising their list; the school stresses that a boy who qualifies is not guaranteed a place unless the school is named as a genuinely high preference on that form.
- Register with the school for the 11+ test via its own online application form
- Sit the GL Assessment papers in the autumn term of Year 6
- Receive results by email ahead of the local authority's preference deadline
- Submit Lancashire County Council's Common Application Form, ranking preferred schools
- Receive the local authority's offer on National Offer Day the following spring
Catchment area and oversubscription criteria
Priority for day places goes to boys living within the administrative City of Lancaster, the school's priority catchment area. A wider residual catchment area extends roughly from Arnside and Milnthorpe in the north-west, to Leck in the north-east, Grimsargh and the River Ribble through Preston in the south, and the River Wyre in the south-west.
All applicants must reach a minimum standard in the entrance test; this standard is set each year by the Trustees' Admissions Committee. Reaching it ranks a boy but does not by itself guarantee a place once the oversubscription criteria are applied.
- Looked after and previously looked after children
- Priority catchment area, eligible for Pupil Premium via free school meals
- Priority catchment area
- Residual catchment area, eligible for Pupil Premium via free school meals
- Residual catchment area, children of qualifying permanent LRGS staff
- Residual catchment area
- Outside the residual catchment area, only once the above categories are filled
Boarding places and the boarding assessment
Twelve state boarding places are available at Year 7 alongside the 164 day places, and boarding parents pay only for board and lodging. Boarding candidates sit the same entrance test as day applicants, or the separate sitting held for boarders only later in the year, and are also invited to an interview assessing suitability for residential life; the school may draw on information from a boy's current school as part of that assessment.
Where boarding places are oversubscribed, priority goes first to looked after and previously looked after children, then to children of serving UK Armed Forces personnel who qualify for Ministry of Defence help with boarding costs, then to those with a demonstrable boarding need, such as an unstable home environment or a family working abroad.
Financial help with boarding costs
There is no scholarship attached to 11+ entry itself, since day places carry no fee and boarding places are awarded on entrance test ranking and boarding suitability alone. Families already at the school can apply to the Lune Scholarship Fund towards uniform, sportswear and travel costs to and from home.
A separate bursary scheme exists for external candidates joining the Sixth Form, with support scaled to household income and automatic eligibility for households already receiving free school meals. Day pupils can also access Pupil Premium and free school meal support arranged through Lancashire County Council, and a Uniform Project run with the Morecambe Bay Foodbank.
How to prepare for the assessment
Because the test uses age-standardised, multiple-choice papers with no non-verbal reasoning component, preparation is best focused narrowly on mathematics, English comprehension and verbal reasoning technique. GL Assessment publishes free familiarisation material showing the question formats and the optical answer sheet, worth working through so the format itself holds no surprises on the day.
Since there is no interview for day places and no fixed pass mark to chase, building steady accuracy under time pressure across the three papers tends to matter more than last-minute cramming. Boarding applicants preparing for the additional interview benefit from talking openly with their son about what residential life involves beforehand.
Related guides
Preparing for the Lancaster Royal Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition
Preparation for the Lancaster Royal Grammar School 11+ tends to go best when it starts early and stays steady, and most families who work with us begin between twelve and eighteen months out. Our tutors, who have prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, plan the work backwards from the school's own assessment format and registration deadline.
The tutors we match to 11+ preparation are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.
Families work with us online from anywhere in the UK or abroad, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject, with no registration fee and a free initial consultation to talk through your child's current level and the timeline to the 11+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact, and we reply to enquiries within one working day with tutor recommendations.
Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there an interview for Lancaster Royal Grammar School 11+ entry?
- No, day applicants are not interviewed; places are decided by the GL Assessment test alone, ranked by aggregate score and catchment area. Boarding applicants are additionally interviewed to assess suitability for residential life, alongside the same entrance test.
- What does the 11+ test at Lancaster Royal Grammar School cover?
- Three age-standardised, multiple-choice papers set by GL Assessment: mathematics, English and verbal reasoning, marked on optically read answer sheets. There is no non-verbal reasoning paper, and no calculators, dictionaries or reference books are allowed.
- Do we have to live in Lancaster to get a place?
- Priority goes to boys living within the administrative City of Lancaster, the priority catchment area. Places may also go to a wider residual catchment area stretching towards Arnside, Milnthorpe, Leck, Grimsargh and Preston, and then further afield once those areas are filled.
- Is there a pass mark for the entrance test?
- No fixed pass mark exists; the Trustees' Admissions Committee sets a minimum standard each year to check a boy can access the grammar school curriculum. Meeting it does not guarantee a place, since places are then offered in rank order under the oversubscription criteria.
- What happens if my son doesn't get an offer straight away?
- Boys who reach the minimum standard but miss out through oversubscription are placed on a waiting list, which the school keeps open until the end of December in the year of entry. Parents also have the legal right to appeal to an independent panel.
- Can families outside Lancashire apply for a boarding place?
- Yes. As a state boarding school, Lancaster Royal Grammar School accepts boarding applications from any area beyond its day catchment. Boarding candidates still sit the same entrance test and attend an additional interview for boarding suitability.
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English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, with mark schemes.
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