School Updated 26 April 2026

Lancashire / Lancashire 11+

Lancaster Royal Grammar School

East Road, Lancaster, LA1 3EF

A selective co-educational grammar school in Lancaster, Lancashire, serving ages 11-18 with a sixth form and around 1,290 pupils on roll.

Co-ed Academy converter Ages 11-18 Sixth form GL Assessment

At a glance

Key facts

GCSE rank
UK Rank #70
Admissions
Mixed
Assessment
GL Assessment
Places in Year 7
176
Competition
1.7 applicants per place
Catchment
Priority is given to applicants living in the City of Lancaster. A residual catchment area is considered after the priority categories, and applicants outside the residual area are considered only if places remain.
Ofsted
Good

Overview

A selective co-educational grammar school in Lancaster, Lancashire, serving ages 11-18 with a sixth form and around 1,290 pupils on roll. Lancaster Royal Grammar School serves boys and girls aged 11-18 and keeps a full sixth form on site. Current published roll and admissions data point to around 1,290 pupils on roll and 180 Year 7 places. The school also has a Christian character, which can matter for families thinking about ethos as well as academic fit. It is also recorded as a boarding school, which is a relatively unusual feature in the grammar-school sector.

From a family point of view, admissions are likely to be one of the most important parts of the picture. The current route includes GL Assessment, with 180 places available in Year 7 and demand that currently looks high by grammar-school standards. Catchment or distance rules still matter at allocation stage, so this is the kind of school where families need to read the admissions policy carefully rather than rely on headline scores alone.

The academic side of the school is backed by enough published data to give families a useful starting point. The latest published Ofsted judgement is Good. Recent official performance measures show Progress 8 at 0.59 and Attainment 8 at 72. 94.8% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths in the latest stored GCSE figures. In the sixth form, 37.9% of entries were awarded AAB or better at A level. Destinations data also suggest strong progression after sixth form, with 64% moving into higher education.

For many parents, the presence of a sixth form is part of the attraction, because it gives able pupils the option to stay in a familiar academic setting through to A level. Taken together, those features make Lancaster Royal Grammar School the kind of school that rewards careful research into travel, admissions detail, and day-to-day fit, not just headline outcomes.

Key points

Assessment route
GL Assessment across a single-stage process, covering Maths, English and VR.
Places and demand
176 places in Year 7 and 1.7 applicants per place
Catchment
Priority is given to applicants living in the City of Lancaster. A residual catchment area is considered after the priority categories, and applicants outside the residual area are considered only if places remain.
Results
99.4% grade 5+ in English and maths and 74.1 Attainment 8
Sixth form
Sixth form available with 37.9% AAB or better and 64% in higher education.

GCSE benchmark

Latest 2024/25 KS4 measures compared with Lancashire and England.

School Local authority England
GCSE benchmark comparison Latest GCSE benchmark measures for Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancashire, and England. 0 50 100 Att. 8 5+ E&M EBacc APS EBacc %
Attainment 8
74.1
Grade 5+ English and maths
99.4%
EBacc APS
6.72
EBacc entry
68.2%

Attainment 8 trend

Recent published Attainment 8 scores compared with Lancashire and England.

School Local authority England
Attainment 8 trend line Attainment 8 over time for Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancashire, and England. 80 66.7 53.3 40 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25

Destinations

Latest 2024/25 Year 11 destination mix compared with Lancashire and England.

Education Apprenticeships Employment Other / unknown
Destinations stacked bar comparison Year 11 destinations for Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancashire, and England across education, apprenticeships, employment, and other or unknown destinations. 0 50 100 School Local auth. England

School details

School type
Academy converter
Admissions
Mixed
Age range
11-18
Head
Dr Christopher Pyle
Pupil roll
1,290 pupils
Sixth form
Yes
Boarding
Boarding school
Trust
Lancaster Royal Grammar School
FSM
8%
EAL
10.5%
EHCP
1.1%

Extracurriculars

Chess club

Location and contact

Address

Address
East Road, Lancaster, Lancashire
Postcode
LA1 3EF
Area
Lancashire
Exam area
Lancashire 11+

School leadership

Head
Dr Christopher Pyle

School contact

School phone
07687224608825

Admissions contact

Admissions team
Admissions Officer
Admissions contact
Mrs K Lightfoot
Admissions email
genoffice@lrgs.org.uk
Admissions phone
01524580629

Admissions

Year 7 places
176 places (2027 entry)
Applications listed
305 applications (2025 entry)
First preferences
203 first preferences (2025 entry)
Applicants per place
1.7 applicants per place
Catchment picture
Priority is given to applicants living in the City of Lancaster. A residual catchment area is considered after the priority categories, and applicants outside the residual area are considered only if places remain.
Residence requirement
Yes, home address evidence is part of the published admissions checks
Pass mark note
There is no fixed published pass mark. A minimum standard is set each year, and places are then offered by rank order and oversubscription category.

Year 7 has 164 day places and 12 boarding places. Day-place priority starts with the City of Lancaster priority catchment, then residual catchment categories, with test rank used within categories.

Priority is given to applicants living in the City of Lancaster. A residual catchment area is considered after the priority categories, and applicants outside the residual area are considered only if places remain.

Oversubscription and eligibility

  1. 1

    EHCP naming the school

    Admitted before oversubscription criteria where the minimum level is met.

  2. 2

    Looked after and previously looked-after children

    Priority where the minimum level is met, or the score is up to and including 5% below it.

  3. 3

    Priority catchment plus Pupil Premium

    City of Lancaster priority catchment applicants eligible for Pupil Premium, with the same 5% below minimum-level allowance.

  4. 4

    Priority catchment

    Applicants living in the City of Lancaster who meet the minimum level.

  5. 5

    Residual catchment plus Pupil Premium

    Residual catchment applicants eligible for Pupil Premium, with the same 5% below minimum-level allowance.

  6. 6

    Residual catchment children of staff

    Eligible sons of qualifying permanent staff living in the residual catchment.

Exam and test format

The GL Assessment 11+ entrance test format

The 2027 LRGS entrance test has three age-standardised multiple-choice GL papers: mathematics, English and verbal reasoning.

Assessment route
GL Assessment
Papers and stages
1 paper
Format
Multiple-choice paper
Age standardisation
Published as age-standardised

Papers and rounds

  1. Paper 1

    Maths, English, VR

    LRGS 11+ papers

    Three age-standardised multiple-choice papers: mathematics, English and verbal reasoning. There is no non-verbal reasoning paper.

What the test includes

English, Maths and Verbal reasoning are included in the published format.

Non-verbal reasoning, Science and Creative writing are not listed in the current published format.

Included

  • English

  • Maths

  • Verbal reasoning

    Three age-standardised multiple-choice papers: mathematics, English and verbal reasoning. There is no non-verbal reasoning paper.

Not listed

  • Non-verbal reasoning

  • Science

  • Creative writing

Application

Key dates

  1. Open day

    20 June 2026

  2. Registration opens

    13 April 2026

  3. Registration closes

    7 September 2026

  4. Entrance test

    26 September 2026

  5. Results issued

    6 October 2026

  6. CAF deadline

    30 October 2026

  7. National offer day

    1 March 2027

How to apply

  1. 1

    Read the admissions booklet

    Check the 2027 11+ booklet and policy for day and boarding routes.

    Open booklet
  2. 2

    Register for the 11+

    Complete the LRGS online registration form between 13 April and 7 September 2026.

  3. 3

    Sit the entrance tests

    Main day and boarding applicants sit the 11+ at LRGS on 26 September 2026.

  4. 4

    Submit the CAF

    Return the local authority Common Application Form by 30 October 2026.

Results

Attainment snapshot

Progress 8
+0.59 Progress 8
Attainment 8
74.1 Attainment 8
GCSE results
100% grade 4+ in English and maths
Grade 5+ English and maths
99.4% grade 5+ in English and maths
EBacc average point score
6.72 EBacc APS
A-level results
37.9% AAB or better
A-level average points
42.25 points per entry

Where students go next

Higher education progression
64% in higher education
Apprenticeships
4% in apprenticeships
Employment
22% in sustained employment

Latest official destinations data currently covers 2022/23 study leavers.

Subject performance

Maths
100% grade 5+ in EBacc maths
English
98.8% grade 5+ in EBacc English
Sciences
100% grade 5+ in EBacc sciences
Languages
89.1% grade 5+ in EBacc languages

Performance trends

Recent trend

Overall GCSE performance

This follows the school's published overall GCSE score across the subjects pupils take. Higher is better.

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Grammar schools England
Overall GCSE performance across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Lancaster Royal Grammar School, grammar schools, and England. 80 70 60 50 40 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 72.5 74.2 49.4
2022/23 72.2 71.8 47.0
2023/24 72 72.1 46.7
2024/25 74.1 72.3 46.8

Recent trend

Average A-level result

This follows the published average A-level result for the school's sixth form. Higher is better.

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Grammar schools England
Average A-level result across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Lancaster Royal Grammar School, grammar schools, and England. 50 pts 45 pts 40 pts 35 pts 30 pts 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 B+ average (44.3 points) 44.0 points 37.5 points
2022/23 B+ average (41.9 points) 40.5 points 33.7 points
2023/24 B average (41.3 points) 41.3 points 34.5 points
2024/25 B+ average (42.3 points) 41.8 points 35.0 points

Recent trend

Where pupils go after Year 11

This follows the share of pupils moving into a sustained destination after Year 11, such as education, apprenticeships, or employment.

Lancaster Royal Grammar School Grammar schools England
Where pupils go after Year 11 across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Lancaster Royal Grammar School, grammar schools, and England. 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25
Year This school Grammar schools England
2021/22 99% 99.1% 94.1%
2022/23 97% 98.9% 93.9%
2023/24 99% 99.0% 93.3%
2024/25 99% 97.8% 91.4%

Latest year breakdown

In education 99%
In apprenticeships 0%
In employment 1%

Inspection

Good

Latest inspection: 20 October 2021

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership and management
Good
Sixth form provision
Outstanding

Similar schools and comparisons

Nearby schools families also consider

Local rivals first, then nearby alternatives that still fit the same shortlist-building context.

Nearby schools with similar results

Closest comparable alternatives with a similar academic profile, so parents can weigh local fit and results together.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What assessment types does Lancaster Royal Grammar School use?

Lancaster Royal Grammar School currently uses GL Assessment.

How do I apply to Lancaster Royal Grammar School?

1. Read the admissions booklet: Check the 2027 11+ booklet and policy for day and boarding routes. 2. Register for the 11+: Complete the LRGS online registration form between 13 April and 7 September 2026. 3. Sit the entrance tests: Main day and boarding applicants sit the 11+ at LRGS on 26 September 2026. 4. Submit the CAF: Return the local authority Common Application Form by 30 October 2026.

When are the key dates for Lancaster Royal Grammar School?

Open day: 20 June 2026. Registration opens: 13 April 2026. Registration closes: 7 September 2026. Entrance test: 26 September 2026. Results issued: 6 October 2026. CAF deadline: 30 October 2026. National offer day: 1 March 2027

What does the latest Ofsted picture look like for Lancaster Royal Grammar School?

Lancaster Royal Grammar School is currently rated Good following the latest published inspection dated 20 October 2021.