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Bourne Grammar School
Bourne Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school that uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance exam. Candidates need to achieve an 80%+ pass mark, and there is no interview stage. The school does not operate a catchment area, with places allocated by oversubscription criteria.
If you are weighing up Bourne Grammar for a hard-working child, the first thing to know is that it is openly ambitious and makes no apology for it. The Good Schools Guide calls it "unashamedly academic and aiming higher", and places it among the top selective state schools in Lincolnshire. It sits on a pleasant site just south of the market town of Bourne, a free, co-educational grammar of more than 1,700 pupils that draws families from a wide area taking in Stamford, Peterborough, the Deepings and Spalding. There has been a grammar school in the town since the 14th century, and the present one traces its roots to a 1636 bequest from a man named William Trollope, settling on its South Road home in 1921.
For all that ambition, the day-to-day care here is steady. The school builds its ethos around hard work, respect for achievement and consideration for others, and it wraps year tutors, heads of year, a counsellor and a safeguarding officer around each pupil through the teenage years. The hope it sets out is simple, that children will look back on their time at Bourne as both challenging and worth it.
Life reaches well past the classroom. Music has a strong footing, with bands, an orchestra and choirs and a national Music Mark to its name, and there is competitive sport, a busy debating society, a popular chess club and a wide spread of trips at home and abroad. Bourne suits an academically able child who will thrive somewhere stretching and well supported. What most families come away with is the sense that their child was challenged and looked after in equal measure.
Key facts
Admissions
Registration form
View registration detailsSibling policy
Yes
What this school tests
The 11 Plus
Non-verbal Reasoning14 question types
Spatial Reasoning8 question types
Verbal Reasoning26 question types
Catchment area
Does Bourne Grammar School have a catchment area?
No. Bourne Grammar School is academically selective and does not operate a catchment area; any child who reaches the qualifying standard can apply, with places allocated by oversubscription criteria and straight-line distance used only as a final tie-breaker.
Previous exam results
GCSE results
In 2025 students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 68.6 across their GCSEs. 92.1% gained a grade 5 or better in both English and Maths. 66.1% achieved the English Baccalaureate at grade 5 or above. Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
A-level results
In 2025 students achieved a B average grade per A-Level entry. 23% gained AAB or better including two facilitating subjects. Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does Bourne Grammar School use for the 11+?
Bourne Grammar School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance exam, as part of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools (LCGS).
What is the 11+ pass mark for Bourne Grammar School?
Candidates need to achieve an 80%+ pass mark in the 11+ exam to be considered for a place at Bourne Grammar School.
Does Bourne Grammar School interview as part of the 11+ process?
No, there is no interview stage as part of the 11+ admissions process for Bourne Grammar School.
Is Bourne Grammar School co-educational or single-sex?
Bourne Grammar School is a co-educational school, admitting both boys and girls for Year 7 entry.
Does Bourne Grammar School have a catchment area for 11+ entry?
No, Bourne Grammar School is academically selective and does not operate a catchment area. Places are allocated by oversubscription criteria, with distance used only as a final tie-breaker.
What is Bourne Grammar School's official website?
The official website for Bourne Grammar School is https://www.bourne-grammar.lincs.sch.uk/.
How do you get a place at Bourne Grammar School?
Your child first needs to reach the required standard in the Lincolnshire 11+ (the Consortium verbal reasoning and non-verbal and spatial reasoning tests). Qualifying children are then ranked in this order: any child with an EHCP; any child in or previously in public care; a child with a sibling on roll; a child of a member of staff; then Pupil Premium places; then nearest applicants within 15 miles; with distance from home as the final tie-break. There is no fixed catchment area.
What happens if my child is ill on 11+ test day at Bourne Grammar School?
If your child is unwell on either test day, or cannot attend for another reason such as a family crisis or bereavement, do not bring them in. Email the admissions team as soon as you can and they will arrange for your child to sit the test at the school on a later date. Catch-up sessions cannot be held at individual primary schools. If your child needs access arrangements such as extra time, contact admissions once you have registered and provide the formal evidence required.
Location
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