Expert support from Leading Tuition
Book a Free ConsultationManchester Grammar School assesses in two stages, not one. Boys attend an Assessment Day (the Assessment Days began on Monday 21 September 2026), then sit two English papers and two Arithmetic papers on Entrance Examination Day, Wednesday 13 January 2027. The school publishes its own past papers, says a boy scoring 50% and over is well on the way, and offers no academic scholarships. Fees for 2026/27 are £19,809 per year inclusive of VAT, or £6,603 per term.
Checked October 2026
The Manchester Grammar School's fees page gives 2026/27 fees of £19,809 per year inclusive of VAT, or £6,603 per term. Its Year 7 entry page gives Entrance Examination Day as Wednesday 13 January 2027 and the application deadline as Wednesday 18 November 2026.
Two separate events, on different dates. The school states that "Boys applying for entry to Year 7 attend one of our Assessment Days and also sit an Entrance Exam." The Assessment Days began on Monday 21 September 2026; the examination is on Wednesday 13 January 2027.
The Assessment Day is a teaching day. Boys "are taught a Maths lesson, a topic-based lesson, and participate in a series of group activities. They also complete a piece of creative writing." The school is direct about what this means for families: "the content and topics to be taught on Assessment Days will not reflect material a boy will have studied before. There is therefore no preparation required, or indeed possible, for the day itself. This places all boys on an equal footing." It is still assessed — the school calls the Assessment Day "an essential part of the admissions criteria" and adds that it may also request a reference from a boy's current school.
Entrance Examination Day is the written stage, and it is four papers: "In January, boys are then asked to attend Entrance Examination Day, on which they will sit two English papers and two Arithmetic papers." In the afternoon, boys "take part in one of a choice of activities (e.g. sporting, science-based, musical, outward bounds) that reflect the opportunities available to MGS pupils", with lunch in between.
| Stage | What happens | When |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment Day | A taught Maths lesson, a topic-based lesson, group activities and a piece of creative writing. No preparation is possible. | Began on Monday 21 September 2026 |
| Application deadline | Applications must be in for a guaranteed assessment | Wednesday 18 November 2026 |
| Entrance Examination Day | Two English papers and two Arithmetic papers, then an afternoon activity | Wednesday 13 January 2027 |
| Publication of results | Results published | Friday 5 February 2027 |
| Offer acceptance deadline | Offers must be accepted | Wednesday 3 March 2027 |
Source: The Manchester Grammar School, Year 7 Entry admissions timetable, retrieved 3 October 2026.
Yes. It states that "Past papers are only available for Year 7 entry and can be found in the Past Entrance Exam Papers page on our website", and it gives a rough guide to read them against: "if your son is scoring 50% and over he is well on the way to reaching the MGS entrance criteria". The school says its papers "are designed to challenge the mind of any child (and parent) attempting them".
It also sets out how to use them. "We suggest that the first set of papers is completed as a joint enterprise by you with your son." The second set is done by the boy first, and the school predicts it "will appear easier and much more interesting". The third "should be carried out by your son on his own and in the set time". Only then: "The fourth and fifth sets can then be used as out-and-out practice, focusing on time management and accuracy." The school first mentions the set time at the third set.
One quirk explains a lot about the English papers. The school does not publish answers for the comprehension, "as every boy will express the answer in his own words and each response the boy makes is considered by the markers on its own merits". It adds that the questions and answer schemes are structured so that "boys are to determine the number of different responses required and encouraged to make those responses as detailed as they can". A boy who gives a one-line answer where a question needs several separate points has not followed what the school asks.
Marking MGS past papers properly is the hard part
The school publishes the papers but no comprehension answers, which is exactly where a boy needs a reader. Our specialist tutors read a boy's English answers closely and work on the reasoning behind the Arithmetic method. 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.
Book a Free ConsultationThe school does not work to a formal quota. Its FAQ states: "We do not have a formal quota for entry to the Senior School, and so we can adjust our provision accordingly. The important question is whether or not a boy will flourish. If we believe that he will thrive here, we shall offer a place."
On scholarships the school is equally short: "We do not offer academic scholarships." What MGS runs instead is a means-tested bursary scheme, and it publishes the arithmetic of it. Fee assistance "is based on the total gross income of the household in which the pupil lives and will be on a sliding scale such that parents in receipt of assessable income in excess of £58,500 will receive no assistance for the 2026/27 academic year, whilst those with income of £32,500 or below will receive full remission of fees".
Three conditions on that are easy to miss. Bursary places are available for boys joining Year 7 and the Sixth Form, with the majority of funding being offered for entry in Year 7, and "are only offered to families who are permanently resident in the UK, and living in the North West of England, at the point of application". The application has to be made at the same time as the entry application: "If you wish to apply for financial assistance, you must do so when making an Application for Entry." And the awards are live rather than fixed — "Family incomes are reviewed annually and the value of the bursary is adjusted accordingly." The school's 2026/27 fees page reports that 194 pupils receive full or partial bursaries, "with the vast majority being full".
The school publishes its own Year 7 past papers. Its Entrance Exam Papers page calls them "our papers" and says: "Examination papers are copyright of The Manchester Grammar School and made freely available for personal preparation by MGS candidates only." It adds: "We do not publish papers for entry at other ages."
Start with the school's own past papers: the school says of the first set that it "may appear difficult as the style of questions is unique to MGS".
The school states its position without hedging, and any honest guide has to quote it: "A boy who reads, enjoys puzzles, and does these past papers is well placed for the examination. It is our experience that a boy who needs intensive coaching over and above this is unlikely to be happy here, even if he is successful." That is a school telling families what it is selecting for, and it should shape a preparation plan rather than be argued with.
Read in that light, the work that helps is the work that would help anyway. Reading, because the school says a boy who reads, enjoys puzzles and does these past papers is well placed. Arithmetic fluency, because Entrance Examination Day includes two Arithmetic papers. Puzzles, because the school lists solving puzzles among the things its assessment process looks at. What does not help is volume for its own sake — the school first mentions the set time at the third set of papers.
That is also how we work with MGS candidates. What a tutor adds here is not more papers; it is reading a boy's comprehension answers closely, since the school does not provide the answers for the English comprehension, and building the mathematical reasoning behind a method rather than the method alone. For the wider picture of selective entry in the city, see our guide to Manchester High School for Girls and the MGS format and past papers in more detail, or browse the full set of 11+ school guides.
My son was low in confidence after COVID and the gaps in learning were building up. Using this service helped plug those gaps, rebuild confidence, and improve his ability to learn properly again.
We arranged maths and English tuition ahead of GCSEs and both tutors were brilliant. My daughter's grades improved, and by results day she achieved two grades higher than in her mock exams.
I attended an English bootcamp with Leading Tuition and the experience was excellent. The teacher gave focused attention to the small group while keeping the lessons interactive and engaging.
A second application to another North West school can have a different shape. Bolton School's entrance examination "incorporates three multi-choice assessment papers: Non-verbal Reasoning (20 minutes), Mathematics (50 minutes), English (45 minutes)", with the Boys' and Girls' Divisions each sitting on the same day — most recently Thursday 15 January 2026 — and an interview afterwards. Bolton points families at GL Assessment's own familiarisation material while adding that "there is no need to practice these papers".
So the two schools want different things on the day. Bolton's papers are multi-choice and timed in minutes, and include a non-verbal reasoning paper; MGS's Entrance Examination Day has two English papers and two Arithmetic papers. At MGS, the school says every boy answers the English comprehension in his own words. A boy preparing for both needs practice at selecting a correct option quickly and at writing a full answer well, and those are not the same skill. One overlap is English: Bolton's examination includes an English paper and MGS's has two English papers, and reading is built up over time.
Timing helps here more than it hurts. The MGS examination falls on Wednesday 13 January 2027, and Bolton's most recent examination was on Thursday 15 January 2026, so families applying to both should check Bolton's own page for its date. Finishing the format-specific work in the autumn term leaves January for rest, reading and light review rather than new material. For official entry requirements and registration, see the Manchester Grammar School Year 7 Entry page, where the MGS dates above are published, and book a free consultation if you would like the plan mapped out.
Leading Tuition is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 59 reviews, read on 3 October 2026, and 91% of our students achieve their desired grades.
The school's fees page gives the fees for 2026/27 as £19,809 per year inclusive of VAT, or £6,603 per term.
The fee includes a Microsoft Surface computer, school books and equipment, stationery and other materials (excluding a small number of items detailed on the equipment list), and public examination fees for Year 11 and Year 13 pupils.
A small number of optional extras are charged for, for example private music lessons. Other expenses are normally restricted to uniform, some trips during the School's activities week in the summer term and other voluntary school trips.
Reviewed October 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against The Manchester Grammar School's fees and assistance, Year 7 entry, admissions FAQ and entrance exam papers pages, and Bolton School's entrance examination FAQs.
Four. The school states that boys "will sit two English papers and two Arithmetic papers". This is a separate event from the Assessment Day (Assessment Days began on Monday 21 September 2026), at which boys are "taught a Maths lesson, a topic-based lesson", take part in group activities and complete a piece of creative writing. In the afternoon of Entrance Examination Day, boys take part in one of a choice of activities, such as sporting, science-based, musical or outward bounds, with lunch provided in between.
The school says not, and explains why. "The content and topics to be taught on Assessment Days will not reflect material a boy will have studied before. There is therefore no preparation required, or indeed possible, for the day itself. This places all boys on an equal footing." That does not make it a formality: MGS calls the Assessment Day "an essential part of the admissions criteria" and may also request a reference from a boy's current school.
The school publishes a guide: "if your son is scoring 50% and over he is well on the way to reaching the MGS entrance criteria". It also recommends an order for working through them — the first set done jointly with a parent, the second done by the boy first, the third alone and in the set time, and "the fourth and fifth sets" used as out-and-out practice focused on time management and accuracy. Past papers are published for Year 7 entry only, and no answers are given for the English comprehension, because each response "is considered by the markers on its own merits".
Senior School entry at MGS is normally at age 11 (Year 7). The school says: "We do not have a formal quota for entry to the Senior School, and so we can adjust our provision accordingly. The important question is whether or not a boy will flourish. If we believe that he will thrive here, we shall offer a place." Bursary places are available for boys joining Year 7 and the Sixth Form.
No. The school's fees page states plainly: "We do not offer academic scholarships." What it runs instead is a means-tested bursary scheme, with fee assistance "on a sliding scale such that parents in receipt of assessable income in excess of £58,500 will receive no assistance for the 2026/27 academic year, whilst those with income of £32,500 or below will receive full remission of fees". Bursary places are available for boys joining Year 7 and the Sixth Form, and are open to families "permanently resident in the UK, and living in the North West of England, at the point of application", must be applied for at the same time as the entry application, and are reviewed annually.
Wednesday 13 January 2027. The application deadline for a guaranteed assessment is Wednesday 18 November 2026, Assessment Days began on Monday 21 September 2026, results are published on Friday 5 February 2027, and offers must be accepted by Wednesday 3 March 2027. The Assessment Day comes first, and the deadline of Wednesday 18 November 2026 is for a guaranteed assessment. The school's Whole School Open Morning is on Saturday 14 November 2026.
The school's fees page gives the fees for 2026/27 as £19,809 per year inclusive of VAT, or £6,603 per term. The fee includes a Microsoft Surface computer, school books and equipment, stationery and other materials, plus public examination fees for Year 11 and Year 13 pupils. A small number of optional extras, such as private music lessons, are charged for. Fee assistance is means-tested: parents with assessable income above £58,500 receive no assistance for 2026/27, and those on £32,500 or below receive full remission of fees. The school does not offer academic scholarships.
By doing the part the school's own material cannot do for you. MGS publishes its past papers but does not provide the answers for the English comprehension, so a boy's answers need a reader who can judge detail and how many separate responses a question is asking for. We work to the school's own guidance rather than against it — reading, puzzles and its five-set past-paper method, with the set time introduced from the third set. Book a free consultation and we will build the plan around the published dates.
Book a free consultation and we’ll help you find the right support for your child.
Book a Free Consultation