Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle 11+ Admissions Guide

Entry to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle at 11+ depends on a child reaching the qualifying standard in the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools' 11+ test, before parents name the school on the Common Application Form sent to their home local authority. The school, a selective academy for pupils aged 11 to 18, admits 120 pupils into Year 7 across four forms of entry, with priority going first to children holding an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, then working through further oversubscription criteria when qualifying applicants outnumber places.

Meeting the qualifying standard does not, by itself, secure an offer, since the school only allocates places once its own oversubscription criteria have been applied to the qualifying candidates; the local authority then confirms the outcome on National Offer Day the following spring.

How entry to Year 7 works

Entry into Year 7 depends on achieving the qualifying standard in the 11+ test set by the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools (LCGS), which administers testing on behalf of the school and the county's other grammar schools. The agreed admission number is 120 pupils across four forms of entry, and the school admits from the top 25% of the ability range as measured by the test. Sitting the test is not itself an application: parents must also submit a Common Application Form naming the school as a preference, with the local authority allocating places according to its co-ordinated admissions scheme.

How the 11+ assessment is structured

The LCGS 11+ test comprises two separate papers, a Verbal Reasoning test and a Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness test, each sat on its own day roughly a week apart in September, in the child's own primary school or at a registered grammar school according to area. GL Assessment sets and marks the papers, using an Optical Mark Reading sheet on which candidates shade their chosen multiple-choice answer.

Each paper opens with its own short practice section, a preliminary practice test before the Verbal Reasoning paper and practice questions built into the Non-Verbal Reasoning sections, so children meet the format before the scored questions begin. Scores are standardised for age before being compared against the qualifying standard, a score of 220 set to identify the most able 25% of the age group in Lincolnshire's selective areas; reaching it confirms suitability for grammar school education without guaranteeing a place at any individual school.

Registering and applying, step by step

Getting a child into Year 7 means completing two separate processes, registering for the 11+ test and applying for a secondary school place, both of which need to be done in full.

• Register for the 11+ with a consortium grammar school once registration opens early in the year of testing, returning the form before the school's deadline in the spring.
• Primary schools distribute familiarisation materials and the local authority's secondary transfer documents ahead of testing.
• Sit the Verbal Reasoning paper and, about a week later, the Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness paper, both in September.
• Receive the 11+ result by email in October, sent to parents and to the child's primary school.
• Submit the Common Application Form naming preferred schools to the home local authority by its October deadline, since sitting the test alone does not count as an application.
• Receive the local authority's offer on National Offer Day the following spring.

Catchment area and oversubscription criteria

The school does not set a fixed catchment area in the way some schools do, instead defining a designated area for free transport that carries priority once other statutory categories have been placed. Where qualifying applicants exceed the 120 places available, the school applies its published oversubscription criteria in order.

Where scores tie within a category, priority goes to the child living closer to the school by straight-line distance, calculated by Lincolnshire County Council; if distance still cannot separate applicants for the final place, an independent person conducts a lottery.

• Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, placed first as required by law.
• Looked after children and previously looked after children who have reached the qualifying standard.
• Children who have reached the qualifying standard and are eligible for pupil premium or the service premium.
• Qualifying children whose home address falls within the school's designated area for free transport, ranked by 11+ score.
• Qualifying children from all other areas, ranked by 11+ score.

How to prepare for the 11+ test

Preparation for the LCGS test is meant to build familiarity with the format, since the consortium does not endorse tutoring and warns that too much preparation can put children under pressure. Familiarisation papers in verbal and non-verbal reasoning are sent to Lincolnshire primary schools ahead of testing, giving children a timed run-through of the question styles before the real papers.

Where a familiarisation session is not available, such as for children at an out-of-county primary school, commercially printed GL Assessment practice packs cover the same verbal and non-verbal reasoning material; families should buy the Multiple Choice format, since that matches how the actual test is answered. Beyond that, a calm run-up to test day, with rest and a normal routine, fits the approach the consortium itself recommends.

Entry beyond Year 7

Places in Years 8 to 11 and in the sixth form follow separate routes from the main Year 7 intake. Where a place exists, the headteacher administers a test to establish whether a candidate falls within the top 25% of the ability range for their year group, the same benchmark used at 11+; sixth form entry at 16+ has its own application process and subject guide, alongside a 16 to 19 Bursary Fund for eligible students.

Children who reach the qualifying standard but are not offered a Year 7 place are added automatically to a reserve list, held in oversubscription order, and kept by the local authority until the end of August before the school takes it over. Parents refused a place can appeal to an independent panel, whose decision is binding, within the deadline set by the local authority.

Related guides

• Kent grammar schools guide
• Tutors for families in Kent
• Grammar schools in England: the full directory

Preparing for the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle 11+ with Taylor Tuition

The Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle 11+ rewards steady preparation over a year or so, with the last term given to timed practice and interview confidence. Having prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools, with placements including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, our tutors match the programme to the school's assessment format and to where the child is starting from.

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Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.