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.
Where the official practice material is
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Free familiarisation guides, one for children and one for parents, with sample questions. They are on the admissions page of each school rather than on the FSCE site. FSCE deliberately does not issue past papers, to reduce how much the test rewards tutoring.
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.
| School | Town | Admits |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (Penrith) | Penrith | Mixed |
Each name links to that school's own admissions page. Every school here sits the FSCE test.
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