Grammar Schools in Lancashire
Lancashire's four grammar schools have no shared test, no shared registration and no shared results - but they all test on the same morning. That single fact shapes every decision a Lancashire family makes, because a child can sit only one of them.
Where the official practice material is
GL Assessment
2 of the 4 schools hereFree familiarisation booklets that show the question types, the timings and how the answer sheet works. GL do not release past papers, so anything sold as a GL past paper was written by somebody else.
Future Stories Community Enterprise
2 of the 4 schools hereFree 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 Lancashire need to know
- All four schools test on the morning of Saturday 26 September 2026. The choice between them is made at registration, months before any result is known.
- Lancaster's two schools sit that same morning under different providers and different content. Lancaster Royal (boys) uses GL Assessment and includes a verbal reasoning paper; Lancaster Girls' uses FSCE and tests only maths and English, with no verbal reasoning at all. Preparing for one is not preparing for the other.
- Lancaster Royal effectively guarantees its priority area: every boy from the Administrative City of Lancaster who reaches the qualifying standard is offered a place. It also holds boarding places, assessed separately, with a further sitting in January for late boarding entrants.
- No school publishes a pass mark. Each sets the standard after the papers are marked, based on how that year's cohort performed.
- Bacup and Rawtenstall says so in terms: passing the examination is not a guarantee of a place, because oversubscription criteria are applied afterwards.
- Clitheroe Royal runs a three-tier catchment, each tier split by Pupil Premium status, with straight-line distance as the tie-break.
The 4 grammar schools in Lancashire
Admissions details change year to year. Always confirm dates and criteria on the school's own admissions page before applying.
| School | Town | Admits | 11+ exam board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School | Waterfoot | Mixed | GL Assessment |
| Clitheroe Royal Grammar School | Clitheroe | Mixed | FSCE |
| Lancaster Girls' Grammar School | Lancaster | Girls | FSCE |
| Lancaster Royal Grammar School | Lancaster | Boys | GL Assessment |
Each name links to that school's own admissions page.
Preparing for the 11+ in Lancashire?
GG Maths coaches the maths and reasoning side of 11+ entry online, for families anywhere in the UK. Sessions are built around the format your child will actually sit, not generic practice papers.
Book a free trial lesson See what 11+ tuition covers