The King’s School Grantham 11+ Guide 2026: Admissions, Exam & Prep

The King’s School, Grantham is one of Lincolnshire’s most historically significant grammar schools — and one of the most celebrated schools in England, for reasons that go well beyond its academic record. It was here, in the mid seventeenth century, that a young Isaac Newton received his early education before going on to Cambridge University and, ultimately, to transform our understanding of the physical world. Today, The King’s School continues as a selective boys’ grammar school with 174 Year 7 places, a Good Ofsted rating and membership of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools. For September 2027 entry, boys in Year 5 must register for the consortium 11+ by 30 June 2026, achieve a qualifying score of 220, and apply for a Year 7 place. This guide covers everything families need to know.

Key Facts: The King’s School, Grantham

Detail	Information
School Name	The King’s School, Grantham
Location	Brook Street, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6RP
Type	Boys’ selective grammar school (11–18)
Notable Alumni	Sir Isaac Newton (c.1655–1660)
Year 7 Places (PAN)	174
Ofsted Rating	Good (Feb 2023)
Consortium	Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools
Test Provider	GL Assessment
Qualifying Score	220 combined (both papers)
VR Test Date 2026	Saturday 12 September 2026
NVR/SR Test Date 2026	Saturday 19 September 2026
Priority Area	30-mile radius from school
Registration Deadline 2026	Midnight, Tuesday 30 June 2026

About The King’s School, Grantham

The King’s School, Grantham is one of England’s most historically significant secondary schools. Located on Brook Street in Grantham, South Lincolnshire, the school has educated boys in this market town for centuries, with a tradition of academic excellence stretching back to the medieval period. Today it is a selective boys’ grammar school within the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, offering 174 Year 7 places to boys who achieve the qualifying score in the consortium 11+ entrance test.

The school has a Good Ofsted rating, awarded in February 2023, reflecting the quality of education, teaching and leadership. At GCSE, the school achieves strong results, with high proportions of students attaining grades 7 to 9 in core subjects. The sixth form has a consistent track record of university placement, including regular progression to Oxford and Cambridge and other Russell Group institutions. The school’s science and mathematics provision is particularly well regarded, as one might expect from a school with Isaac Newton as its most distinguished former pupil.

The King’s School is a boys-only school in Years 7 to 11, with sixth-form arrangements that may involve co-educational provision alongside the associated girls’ grammar school, Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School. For boys in Grantham and South Lincolnshire considering a selective education, these two schools between them offer a comprehensive grammar school offering.

What Is the Connection Between King’s School and Isaac Newton?

The King’s School, Grantham has one of the most remarkable alumni associations of any school in England: Sir Isaac Newton attended the school from approximately 1655 to 1660, between the ages of twelve and seventeen. During his time as a pupil, Newton lodged with a local apothecary named William Clarke, and his inquisitive mind was already evident — he built sundials, kites and water wheels, and showed an early aptitude for mathematics and observation that would later change the course of science.

Newton’s years at The King’s School were formative. He progressed from Grantham to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1661, and it was at Cambridge — during the interruption of the plague years of 1665–66 — that he made the breakthroughs that underpinned his laws of motion, the law of universal gravitation, and his invention of calculus. His Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, is widely regarded as the most important scientific work ever written.

One of the most treasured artefacts at The King’s School is a carving of Newton’s name in the Old School Room, said to have been made by Newton himself during his schooldays. This remarkable piece of history is preserved as a testament to the school’s connection to one of humanity’s greatest thinkers. Visiting the Old School Room is possible during school open events, and the Newton connection is a significant part of the school’s identity.

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Is King’s School Part of the Lincolnshire 11+ Consortium?

Yes. The King’s School, Grantham is a full member of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, which uses a shared GL Assessment 11+ entrance test across 14 selective schools. This means that a boy applying to The King’s School sits exactly the same two papers as applicants to Bourne Grammar School, Spalding Grammar School, Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, King Edward VI Grammar School Louth, and the other consortium members.

Registration is completed once — through the school’s website — and the resulting qualifying score (if 220 or more) is valid for all consortium applications. Parents can then list The King’s School and other consortium schools on the Common Application Form submitted to Lincolnshire County Council by the 31 October 2026 deadline. There is no requirement to register separately for each consortium school.

An important note for Grantham families: both The King’s School (boys) and Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School use the same consortium test, but they are separate schools with separate applications. If you have a son and a daughter both entering Year 7, they would each apply to their respective school while sitting the same consortium papers.

What Does the 11+ Test Cover at King’s School?

The Lincolnshire GL Assessment consists of two papers sat on consecutive Saturdays. The test focuses on reasoning ability rather than curriculum knowledge.

Paper 1 — Verbal Reasoning: Approximately 80 questions in around 50 minutes. Tests include letter codes, word relationships, analogies, letter sequences, compound words, number sequences in a language context and more. The ability to process language patterns quickly and accurately is key.

Paper 2 — Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning: Approximately 70 questions in five timed sections of approximately 7 minutes each. NVR covers figure matrices, series, analogies and figure classification. SR covers cube folding, block counting, shape rotation, shape completion and hidden shapes.

All scores are age-standardised. Both papers are answered on OMR (multiple choice) answer sheets. The combined standardised total from both papers must reach 220 for a boy to qualify for a grammar school place.

What Are the 2026 Key Dates for King’s School Grantham Admissions?

• Registration closes: Midnight, Tuesday 30 June 2026
• Familiarisation session (optional): Saturday 5 September 2026
• Verbal Reasoning paper: Saturday 12 September 2026
• NVR/Spatial Reasoning paper: Saturday 19 September 2026
• Results communicated: 9 October 2026
• CAF deadline: 31 October 2026
• National Offer Day: 1 March 2027

Boys born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 are eligible for Year 7 entry in September 2027. Registration is completed through The King’s School website. Families in Lincolnshire must also submit a CAF to Lincolnshire County Council. Families from outside Lincolnshire submit their CAF to their home local authority.

How Are Oversubscribed Places Allocated at King’s School?

The King’s School, Grantham has a 30-mile priority area. When more qualifying boys apply than there are 174 places, places are allocated using the following priority order:

1. Looked-after children and previously looked-after children
2. Siblings of boys currently on roll in Years 7–11 at The King’s School
3. Boys living within the 30-mile priority area, ranked by distance (nearest first)
4. Boys living outside the 30-mile area, ranked by distance

The 30-mile priority area is notably generous by Lincolnshire standards, effectively covering a large part of South Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire within its reach. This means that boys from towns and villages at a significant distance from Grantham are still considered in the same priority band as those from the town itself, as long as they live within 30 miles of the school. The distance cut-off within the priority area depends on the number of qualifying applicants in any given year.

What Is the Sixth Form at The King’s School Like?

The sixth form at The King’s School, Grantham is an academically focused environment in which students study A-Level qualifications across a range of subjects. The school has particular strengths in mathematics, sciences, and other STEM areas — a heritage that connects naturally to the Newton legacy. Students from The King’s School sixth form progress each year to universities across the country, including competitive courses in medicine, engineering, natural sciences and mathematics.

The sixth form at The King’s School may offer opportunities for shared teaching or collaboration with students from Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, given their proximity and complementary roles in Grantham’s grammar school provision. Families should consult the school directly for current sixth-form arrangements.

How Should My Son Prepare for the King’s School Grantham 11+?

Preparation for The King’s School’s 11+ follows the same structure as for all Lincolnshire Consortium schools. The two areas to develop are Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning.

Begin preparation by ensuring your son is familiar with all 21 GL Assessment VR question types. Many children encounter these types for the first time in preparation materials, and early familiarity gives more time to develop fluency. Work on speed as well as accuracy: at roughly 37 seconds per question in Paper 1, there is little margin for hesitation on unfamiliar question types.

For NVR/SR, work through each sub-type systematically — series, matrices, figure classification, cube folding, rotation and shape completion — before integrating them in the five-section timed format of Paper 2. Spatial Reasoning, in particular, tends to improve markedly with targeted practice, as the three-dimensional visualisation required becomes more natural with exposure.

At Leading Tuition, our specialist 11+ tutors help boys across Grantham, South Lincolnshire and nationally (through online tuition) prepare for The King’s School and the wider Lincolnshire Consortium test. We identify each child’s specific strengths and gaps and build a personalised programme to maximise their qualifying score.