South West brings together 20 grammar schools across 8 local areas, with the biggest groups in Gloucestershire, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and Gloucester. It works best as a wider overview of several distinct selective pockets, where school mix, test route, and admissions shape can change noticeably from one local area to the next.
Area pages
Each page covers one smaller local area.
These area pages split South West into smaller local groups. That makes it easier to compare schools that are actually part of the same local list.
See all exam areasBrowse 7 grammar school profiles in Gloucestershire, covering Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Stroud, then use the linked Gloucestershire guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 4 grammar school profiles in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, then use the linked Gloucestershire guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 2 grammar school profiles in Stroud, Gloucestershire, then use the linked Gloucestershire guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 4 grammar school profiles in Dorset, then use the linked Dorset guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 1 grammar school profile in Devon, then use the linked Plymouth and Devon guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 3 grammar school profiles in Devon, then use the linked Plymouth and Devon guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 3 grammar school profiles in Devon, then use the linked Torbay guide for shared test dates, downloads, and route detail.
Browse 2 grammar school profiles in Wiltshire and compare the local admissions landscape before you shortlist.
School list
The best grammar schools in South West on this page are ordered by GCSE results. Local routes, travel patterns, and school rules can still vary a lot between areas such as Gloucestershire, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and Gloucester.
Pate's Grammar School, Princess Elizabeth Way
Overall GCSE score:88.1
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.1 applicants per place
Colyton Grammar School, Whitwell Lane, Colyford
Overall GCSE score:79.9
Assessment: CEM
Applicants per place: 1.5 applicants per place
Sir Thomas Rich's School, Oakleaze
Overall GCSE score:75.0
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.0 applicants per place
Stroud High School, Beards Lane, Cainscross Road
Overall GCSE score:74.6
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.7 applicants per place
South Wilts Grammar School, Stratford Road
Overall GCSE score:74.4
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 1.7 applicants per place
Bournemouth School, East Way
Overall GCSE score:69.3
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.2 applicants per place
Devonport High School for Girls, Lyndhurst Road, Peverell
Overall GCSE score:68.3
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.0 applicants per place
Marling School, Cainscross Road
Overall GCSE score:68.2
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.7 applicants per place
Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School, Exeter Street
Overall GCSE score:66.2
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.0+ applicants per place estimate
Crypt School, Podsmead Road
Overall GCSE score:66.0
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 4.7 applicants per place
Denmark Road High School, Denmark Road
Overall GCSE score:64.5
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.5 applicants per place
Bournemouth School for Girls, Castle Gate Close, Castle Lane West
Overall GCSE score:63.5
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.1 applicants per place
Torquay Boys' Grammar School, Shiphay Manor Drive
Overall GCSE score:61.0
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.1 applicants per place
Churston Ferrers Grammar School Academy, Greenway Road, Churston Ferrers
Overall GCSE score:60.2
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.0+ applicants per place estimate
Poole Grammar School, Gravel Hill
Overall GCSE score:59.0
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 1.7 applicants per place
Devonport High School for Boys, Paradise Road, Stoke
Overall GCSE score:56.2
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 1.4 applicants per place
Parkstone Grammar School, Sopers Lane
Overall GCSE score:54.4
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.0 applicants per place
Torquay Girls' Grammar School, 30 Shiphay Lane
Overall GCSE score:52.9
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 2.2 applicants per place
Ribston Hall High School, Stroud Road
Overall GCSE score:51.0
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.1 applicants per place
Plymouth High School for Girls, St Lawrence Road
Overall GCSE score:46.5
Assessment: GL Assessment
Applicants per place: 3.0 applicants per place
South West overview
20 grammar schools are spread across 8 local areas, with the biggest groups in Gloucestershire, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Gloucester, and 5 more.
What stands out
South West works more like a set of smaller local grammar-school areas than one single admissions market. The best-known groups sit around Gloucestershire, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Gloucester, Plymouth, and 4 more.
What parents notice
The area includes boys' schools, girls' schools, and co-ed options. South West does not sit on one single test route. Across the wider area you see a mix of GL Assessment, CEM. 7 local areas also have a named shared test guide.
Where they are
South West is best understood as a set of smaller local areas, each with its own school mix and admissions shape.
Largest local group
Gloucestershire is the biggest local cluster in this wider area, with 7 schools.
Test routes
South West does not sit on one single test route. Across the wider area you see a mix of GL Assessment, CEM.
School mix
The area includes boys' schools, girls' schools, and co-ed options.
Shared test guides
7 local areas in South West also have a named shared test guide.
The Gloucestershire route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
The Dorset route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
The Gloucestershire route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
The Plymouth and Devon route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
The Torbay route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
The Gloucestershire route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
2 schools in a more self-contained local grammar area.
The Plymouth and Devon route shapes much of the local admissions picture.
FAQ
South West grammar schools are mainly concentrated in Gloucestershire, Gloucester, Stroud, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Devon, and 3 more, rather than one single city-wide or county-wide group.
The area includes boys' schools, girls' schools, and co-ed options.
South West does not sit on one single test route. Across the wider area you see a mix of GL Assessment, CEM.
They can feel quite different. Some local areas have a named shared test guide, while others are smaller self-contained clusters with their own school mix and local admissions detail.