Grammar Schools in Cumbria
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith is the only selective state school in this part of the old Cumbria county, so there is no consortium and no shared paper. One school, one sitting, one registration.
Test
The FSCE entrance test for Year 7 entry
Provider (2027 entry)
FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise)
Test date
Thursday 17 September 2026
Registration
Closed Sunday 12 July 2026 for 2027 entry
What families in Cumbria need to know
- The test falls on a Thursday, which is unusual for a northern grammar and means a school-day absence for children coming from feeder primaries.
- Penrith now sits in the Westmorland and Furness unitary authority, after Cumbria County Council was split in 2023. Older guidance still refers to Cumbria.
- The school moved from GL Assessment to FSCE, but still hosts its GL-era policies alongside the new ones. Check the date on any document before relying on it — the 2027-28 policy and the FSCE familiarisation guides were uploaded in early 2026.
- The catchment is published only as a map rather than described in words, so families near the boundary have to open the PDF to check.
- The school does not publish the paper structure. FSCE builds a different test for each school it works with, so material from another FSCE school is not a reliable guide.
The 1 grammar school in Cumbria
Admissions details change year to year. Always confirm dates and criteria on the school's own admissions page before applying.
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (Penrith)
Penrith, Cumbria
Checked against council and school admissions sources on 1 September 2026
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