A cut-off is not always one clean number
Parents want a simple number: “What score got in?” Grammar admissions often do not work that neatly.
The final offered child may depend on applicant numbers, categories, priority areas, distance, sibling rules, looked-after status, pupil premium rules, score rank and tie-breaks. If those factors interact, a single cut-off can be misleading.
Example
A school may have different allocation patterns for children inside and outside a priority area. Publishing one score would hide the fact that distance or category mattered as much as the test result.
What to check instead
- The current admissions policy.
- The published qualifying score, if there is one.
- Whether places are allocated by score, distance, category or a mix.
- Any official allocation statement from the local authority or school.
- Whether the school has changed its policy since the historic result.
Use cut-offs carefully
Historic cut-offs can help with context. They should not be used as a promise that the same score will work again.