Where To Find A State Grammar School

LAs with state grammar schools

You don't necessarily have to live in an area with state Grammar Schools to gain a place at one.

Some schools will recruit from beyond their home authority, while others such as Ripon Grammar School, offer boarding facilities for children with an identified 'boarding need.'

Identifying and locating Grammar Schools

Grammar schools are located in 36 English local authorities. Almost half of these are considered 'selective authorities' ie one in five children, from within the authority, will be selected for grammar school entry based on ability.

A word of warning, not all selective grammar schools have 'grammar' in their name, Bournemouth High School and Dr Challoner's High School are just two examples. Likewise, not all schools with grammar in their title are actually state selective grammar schools (Bradford Grammar School is an example of the latter).

Admission to a state Grammar School

State Grammar Schools are permitted, under the Code of Practice on School Admissions, to select pupils by ability. Children are usually tested in the final year of primary school (aged 10/11), commonly known as the Eleven Plus; a few schools test for entry at 13+ and many re-open their books at 16+.

Entry is possible at other times if places are available and the child meets the academic entry criteria. Importantly grammar schools are in the envious position of being able to maintain standards, even if they are not full, they do not have to take pupils that fail to make the grade.

Entry requirements

Testing is typically in some or all of: maths, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning; however, the exact entry requirements and competition for places vary, do check with the school / education authority to ensure you have the most up-to-date information. Entry requirements can change year-on-year .

Where a Grammar School is reviewed by The Good Schools Guide we indicate this with and give a clear, candid steer on entry.

In The Good Schools Guide review of Tonbridge Grammar School we write:

Places are hard fought over here. Most students join at the age of 11 via the Kent 11 plus selection procedure. No allowance made for siblings. No geographical limit to the catchment area, but proximity to the school will be taken into account where there are two girls of equal ability. A minimum of 35 'Governors' places' are reserved for able pupils from outside the area but the same criteria apply as for Kent selection...They have the pick of the bunch who make the most of every minute. Pupils come from up to 80 different schools both maintained and private, mainly from...

To tutor, or not?

Is tutoring the answer? Within the entry criteria for Wallington County Grammar School we report:

Selective at 11 – entrance exam prepared by the school – English, maths and a short verbal reasoning paper. There is no catchment criteria and places are almost all awarded in rank order. Competition is stiff for the 120 places with typically well over 1,600 taking the exam. Not surprisingly, private tutors earn a good living with many children being coached, though school discourages this – 'we work hard to ensure tutored children are not advantaged,' says admissions manager.

How much extra tuition will a child need?

With such a scarcity of places it will come as no surprise that, despite the school's reassurances, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find children who haven't received some coaching.

The type and quantity of tuition varies; at one extreme some children receive a little extra help to ensure they understand the way questions are presented, at the other, youngsters will have been carefully coached from a tender age - not just in the three R's but in the nuances of verbal, non-verbal and other tests which ironically are ostensibly designed because they 'cannot be coached for'!

Should you wish to coach your child - Galore Park produce a range of books aimed at preparing children for such tests at 11+ or 13+ - these are available from our online bookstore. In addition to the books, we have a selection of past Common Entrance papers for anyone considering independent school entry in conjunction with, or instead of grammar school entry.

Our section on Tutors And Tutoring provides more information.

Grammar Schools - A little bit of history

The term Grammar School was coined in medieval times but modern-day, state Grammar Schools came into being as a result of the 1944 Education Act; this made provision for a tripartite system of education, open to all.

The tripartite system comprised of:

Grammar Schools for the academically able;
Tertiary Schools for those with a technical bent
Secondary Modern for everyone else.

In reality very few Tertiary Schools were opened, Secondary Modern became synonymous, in many areas, with 'sink school' and Grammar Schools, which were designed to select the top 25% of academically able students by means of an 11+ examination, were criticised for being elitist and divisive.

grammar-schools

Detractors of the Grammar School system felt that the future of pupils was irretrievably determined at age 11.

Typically Grammar School students would study for The School Certificate - later O-levels and A-levels; with many continuing to further education. Until the introduction of CSE's in the sixties, most secondary modern pupils would leave school without any qualifications (many subsequently becoming qualified via trade apprenticeships or night school study).

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's many Grammar Schools were abolished in favour of comprehensive Schools for all-comers. Their hands were finally forced with the introduction of The Direct Grant Grammar Schools (Cessation of Grant) Regulations 1975 which led to the abolition of many Grammar Schools - some became Comprehensive Schools, while others opted to become fee-paying schools. As a result of parental pressure and decisions at local level some authorities managed to hang-on to their Grammar Schools.

Today there are fewer than 200 state funded Grammar schools; where they exist they are often viewed as a credible, free alternative to an independent school education with places sought and hard fought.

Nevertheless they continue to divide opinion - supporters believing a grammar school education gives all children, regardless of social class, a passport to a good education and future with detractors denouncing them as elitist, divisive and damaging to the moral and esteem of children, especially those who fail to gain acceptance.

Moreover many view Grammar Schools, which are primarily located in middle class areas, as the preserve of that class - with intensive private tuition and a house in a good area as precursors to entry - the schools themselves are keen to dispel this view and ensure they attract the brightest children, rather than those best prepared to pass entrance exams. Many schools continually review their entry procedure and examination structure in an attempt to thwart attempts, by pushy parents, to skew the system.

Where to find State Grammar Schools

You don't necessarily have to live within an LA to win a place at a grammar school, but it helps. A handful of authorities will take children from neighbouring authorities, who pass the school's entrance exam AND best meet the schools admission's criteria. A sprinkling offer boarding places for those who can demonstrate a genuine boarding need.

State grammar schools are located in the following local authorities:

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The Good Schools Guide 2012

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Ripon Grammar School, Ripon is a state school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18, that takes boarders.

Demand for boarding places (14 a year) outstrips supply, especially post-GCSE. An unashamedly academic school, exemplifying much of the traditional English grammar school tradition, though certainly not an exam factory; even so, those with an IQ of lower than 120 could eventurally find the pace too hot.

Discover all the inside information including:

What the head is really like.
How to get in - and where pupils go on to when they leave.
What's really on offer; both in and out of the classroom.
The facilities, frippery and finery to be found - or not!
The atmosphere - who will the school REALLY suit?
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School performance data* for KS2, GCSE and A-level
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And, for English state schools, make sure you make the right move by examining catchment area data and seeing which schools pupils come from and which schools they move on to.

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