The 11+ in Lincolnshire

The fifteen grammar schools

The Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools lists fifteen selective schools. Fourteen use the consortium's two reasoning tests; Caistor Grammar School administers its own verbal reasoning tests.

• Boston Grammar School
• Boston High School
• Bourne Grammar School
• Caistor Grammar School (own test)
• Carre's Grammar School
• Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School
• Kesteven and Sleaford High School
• King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth
• Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford
• Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle
• Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough
• Skegness Grammar School
• Spalding Grammar School
• Spalding High School
• The King's School, Grantham

Registering for the test

Parents register their child for the 11+ while the child is in Year 5, and the tests are taken early in Year 6. You register with an individual grammar school, not with the council, and each school runs its own registration form.

That means the deadlines differed from school to school. The consortium's own key dates gave 31 March 2026. Bourne Grammar School gave 30 June 2026. The King's School, Grantham closed on 31 March and then reopened for late registrations until 17 July 2026. Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Alford sent forms out through its local primary schools, to be returned by 20 March 2026. Caistor Grammar School's deadline was 14 August 2026.

• The tests may only be taken once in the school year. The same tests are used at every consortium school, so one sitting covers all of them.
• You can apply to a different grammar school from the one where your child was tested. The consortium is explicit that testing and admissions are separate.
• If your child is ill on a test day, keep them at home and contact the school: the test can be taken later by arrangement.
• Families who move into the area after testing can still be considered. Contact the grammar school you are interested in.

What is in the papers

The consortium tests are produced by GL Assessment. Both are multiple choice, with answers marked on a separate sheet that is read by machine. There is no English or maths paper, and Bourne Grammar School's booklet says plainly to ignore GL's English and maths sample papers.

Test 1

Verbal reasoning. Preceded by a ten-minute practice test that is not marked.

Test 2

Non-verbal and spatial reasoning, sat a week later. It is split into sections, each with its own practice questions, and children work on one section at a time as the invigilator directs.

Where

Either at the child's own primary school or at the grammar school where they registered, according to area. That is why each test has a Friday and a Saturday date.

Familiarisation

Familiarisation papers are made available to Lincolnshire feeder primary schools before the test. The consortium points other families to GL Assessment's multiple-choice practice packs, not the standard format.

Caistor Grammar School

Two verbal reasoning papers: one standard written paper and one multiple-choice paper, sat a week apart. Caistor says children are given a 15-minute practice test at the beginning. Only a total of 220 or more makes a child eligible.

The pass mark is 220

The two papers are standardised, with an allowance for age so that a child born in August is not measured against one born the previous September as though they were the same age. A total standardised score of 220 or more across both papers qualifies. It is set to identify the most able 25% of children in the selective areas of Lincolnshire.

Bourne Grammar School's 2026 booklet adds that the maximum standardised score on each paper is 141, so 282 is the highest possible total, and that both papers must be sat for a valid score.

• The consortium does not give out the raw scores or the separate score for each paper. Parents receive the overall standardised score. Some individual schools say they include more detail, so check your school's results email.
• Reaching 220 does not of itself guarantee a place at any school.

Things that catch families out

• Registration deadlines were set school by school, and some fell as early as March of Year 5. The test cannot be sat at a second school to make up for a missed deadline.
• The council's late closing date of 14 December 2026 is for late applications and changes. Aim for 31 October; other councils may not offer any extension.
• Caistor Grammar School is the exception to almost everything: its own two verbal reasoning tests, its own dates, its own results day, and an in-catchment area of 6.5 miles that is measured from where you live on 1 September 2026.
• Passing a selection test in another part of the country does not normally count. The consortium says that in most circumstances your child will still need to sit the Lincolnshire tests.
• The pages we checked do not publish anything yet for the 2028 round. Anything you read giving exact 2027 test dates is a guess until the schools publish them.