School profile Verified 11 September 2026

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle

West Street, Horncastle, LN9 5AD

A selective co-educational grammar school in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, serving ages 11-18 with a sixth form and around 788 pupils on roll.

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

UK rank: UK Rank #129
Year 7 places: 120
Competition ?: Moderate
Ofsted ?: Good
11+ route: GL Assessment

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Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle school building exterior

At a glance

Key facts

GCSE rank: UK Rank #129
Sector: Grammar school
Admissions: Mixed
Assessment: GL Assessment
Places in Year 7: 120
Competition ?: Moderate
Catchment: You can apply from any area, but living in the published local area gives priority for some or all places.
Ofsted ?: Good

Overview

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle is a co-educational selective grammar school in Lincolnshire, serving students from 11 to 18. The school has about 788 pupils on roll and is one of the founding members of Horncastle Education Trust. Its local identity is unusually deep: the school says its existence was known in 1327, with official records beginning after Queen Elizabeth I granted the foundation in the sixteenth century.

The academic character combines old grammar-school habits with modern specialist strengths. QEGS describes itself as a high-performing academy specialising in science and modern foreign languages, with a disciplined and harmonious school culture. The trust vision is inclusive and ambitious: every student, whatever their background, should have the right to flourish, achieve and succeed.

The facilities detail is concrete and useful. The school lists 24 teaching rooms, seven science laboratories, three IT suites, smaller IT hubs, workshops and technology areas, plus the Jobson Library with more than 13,000 titles. Sixth form is a visible part of the school, with more than 200 students, including both pupils who continue from Year 11 and students joining from elsewhere.

Admission to Year 7 is for 120 places through the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools. The 11+ uses GL Assessment verbal reasoning and non-verbal or spatial reasoning papers, with age-standardised scores and a qualifying total of at least 220 across the two papers. The school notes that meeting the qualifying level does not guarantee a place. Published measures show Ofsted Good, +0.28 Progress 8, 95.9% grade 5+ in English and maths and 33.3% AAB or better at A level.

Key points

Assessment route: GL Assessment across a 2-stage process, covering Verbal reasoning and Non-verbal reasoning.
Places and demand: 120 places in Year 7 and Moderate
Catchment: You can apply from any area, but living in the published local area gives priority for some or all places.
Results: 95.9% grade 5+ in English and maths and 66.2 Attainment 8
Sixth form: Sixth form available with 33.3% AAB or better and 69% in higher education.

GCSE benchmark

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

School Local authority England

Attainment 8: 66.2
Grade 5+ English and maths: 95.9%
EBacc APS: 6.35
EBacc entry: 89.4%

Attainment 8 trend

Recent published Attainment 8 scores compared with Lincolnshire and England.

School Local authority England

Destinations

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

Education Apprenticeships Employment Other / unknown

School details

Sector: Grammar school
School type: Academy converter
Application: Local authority CAF
Gender: Mixed
Age range: 11-18
Headteacher: Mr Simon Furness
Pupil roll: 788 pupils
Sixth form: Yes
Trust: Horncastle Education Trust
FSM ?: 9.1%
EAL ?: 6.5%
EHCP ?: 0.9%

Facilities

Library

Extracurriculars

Drama

Ethnicity

Pupil ethnicity

Whole-school roll of 788 pupils; 776 had a recorded ethnic group.

White 80.3% Asian 10.4% Mixed 3.7% Black 2.8% Other 1.3% Unclassified 1.5%

Recorded group	Share	Category	Pupils
White British	75.6%	White	596
Indian	5.7%	Asian	45
Any other White background	4.6%	White	36
African	2.7%	Black	21
White and Asian	2.4%	Mixed	19
Any other Asian background	2%	Asian	16
Chinese	1.5%	Asian	12
Unclassified	1.5%	Unclassified	12
Any other ethnic group	1.3%	Other	10
Any other mixed background	0.8%	Mixed	6
Bangladeshi	0.8%	Asian	6
White and Black African	0.5%	Mixed	4
Pakistani	0.4%	Asian	3
Any other Black background	0.1%	Black	1
Irish	0.1%	White	1

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Location and contact

Address

Address: West Street, Horncastle, Lincolnshire
Postcode: LN9 5AD
Area: Lincolnshire
Exam area: Lincolnshire 11+

School leadership

Headteacher: Mr Simon Furness

School contact

School email: enquiries@qegs.lincs.sch.uk
School phone: 01507522465

Admissions contact

Admissions email: admissions@gl-assessment.co.uk
Admissions phone: 03301235375

Open in Map Open school website

Admissions

Year 7 places: 120 places (2027 entry)
Applications listed: 248 applications (2025 entry)
First preferences: 156 first preferences (2025 entry)
Competition ?: Moderate
Who can apply: You can apply from any area, but living in the published local area gives priority for some or all places.
Pass mark note: A total standardised score of at least 220 across the two papers is the Lincolnshire qualifying level. Meeting the qualifying level does not by itself guarantee a place.

Eligible applicants in the designated free-transport area have priority before eligible applicants from other areas; total 11+ score ranks applicants within each group, with straight-line distance as the tie-break.

Oversubscription and eligibility

Use the official admissions policy for the current priority order and eligibility rules.

Admissions policy

Admissions Policy Year 7-11 2027

2027 entry

Exam and test format

The GL Assessment 11+ entrance test format

The Lincolnshire 11+ has separate verbal reasoning and non-verbal/spatial reasoning papers supplied by GL Assessment. Scores are standardised, including age adjustment.

Assessment route: GL Assessment
Papers and stages: 2 papers
Format: Multiple-choice papers
Age standardisation: Published as age-standardised

Official exam resources

Past papers and practice materials

No released past entrance-test papers are currently verified here. The resources below are labelled by type.

Lincolnshire test guide

Familiarisation 10 hours of free familiarisation materials Familiarisation GL Assessment English familiarisation pack English General provider materials. Match the subjects to the current test; question counts and timings may differ. Familiarisation GL Assessment Maths familiarisation pack Maths General provider materials. Match the subjects to the current test; question counts and timings may differ. Familiarisation GL Assessment Non-Verbal Reasoning and Maths familiarisation pack Non-Verbal Reasoning and Maths General provider materials. Match the subjects to the current test; question counts and timings may differ. Familiarisation GL Assessment Non-Verbal Reasoning familiarisation pack Non-Verbal Reasoning General provider materials. Match the subjects to the current test; question counts and timings may differ. Familiarisation GL Assessment Verbal Reasoning familiarisation pack Verbal Reasoning General provider materials. Match the subjects to the current test; question counts and timings may differ.

View all 9 resources

Familiarisation GL Assessment Verbal Skills familiarisation pack Verbal Skills General provider materials. Match the subjects to the current test; question counts and timings may differ. Practice paper English Learn more English Guidance GL Assessment official guidance and downloads General provider familiarisation. Use only the subjects in this school’s test; question counts and timings may differ.

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Papers and rounds

Paper 1

Verbal reasoning

Verbal reasoning test

Multiple-choice verbal reasoning test marked from OMR answer sheets.
Paper 2

Non-verbal reasoning

Non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness test

Multiple-choice non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness test marked from OMR answer sheets.

What the test includes

Verbal reasoning and Non-verbal reasoning are included in the published format.

English, Maths and Science are not listed in the current published format.

Included

Verbal reasoning

Multiple-choice verbal reasoning test marked from OMR answer sheets.
Non-verbal reasoning

Multiple-choice non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness test marked from OMR answer sheets.

Not listed

English
Maths
Science

Application

Key dates

Get date reminders

Find open days and plan a visit

Registration opens

7 January 2026
Past
Registration closes

31 March 2026
Past
First test: verbal reasoning

11 or 12 September 2026
Second test: non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness

18 or 19 September 2026
Results

9 October 2026 at 12:00
Secondary application deadline

31 October 2026
National Offer Day

1 March 2027

How to apply

1
Register for the Lincolnshire 11+

Registration opens on 7 January 2026 and forms must be returned to the chosen grammar school by 31 March 2026.
Open key dates
2
Sit the two reasoning papers

Verbal reasoning is scheduled for 11 or 12 September 2026, followed by non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness on 18 or 19 September 2026.
Open test details
3
Review results and submit the CAF

Results are due on 9 October 2026; the Lincolnshire CAF deadline is 31 October 2026, with National Offer Day on 1 March 2027.
Open timetable

Official admissions documents

Admissions policy

Admissions Policy Year 7-11 2027

2027 entry

Results

Attainment snapshot

Progress 8 ?: +0.28 Progress 8
Attainment 8 ?: 66.2 Attainment 8
GCSE results: 98.4% grade 4+ in English and maths
Grade 5+ English and maths ?: 95.9% grade 5+ in English and maths
EBacc average point score ?: 6.35 EBacc APS
A-level results: 33.3% AAB or better
A-level average points: 38.26 points per entry

Where students go next

Higher education progression: 69% in higher education
Apprenticeships: 3% in apprenticeships
Employment: 20% in sustained employment

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

Subject performance

Maths: 92.7% grade 5+ in EBacc maths
English: 95.1% grade 5+ in EBacc English
Sciences: 88.6% grade 5+ in EBacc sciences
Languages: 62% 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.

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle Grammar schools England

Year	This school	Grammar schools	England
2021/22	69.4	74.2	49.4
2022/23	66.6	71.8	47.0
2023/24	62.1	72.1	46.7
2024/25	66.2	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.

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle Grammar schools England

Year	This school	Grammar schools	England
2021/22	B average (40.6 points)	44.0 points	37.5 points
2022/23	B average (39.2 points)	40.5 points	33.7 points
2023/24	B- average (37.8 points)	41.3 points	34.5 points
2024/25	B- average (38.3 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.

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle Grammar schools England

Year	This school	Grammar schools	England
2021/22	99%	99.1%	94.1%
2022/23	99%	98.9%	93.9%
2023/24	98%	99.0%	93.3%
2024/25	98%	98.7%	91.8%

Latest year breakdown

In education	97%
In apprenticeships	1%
In employment	1%

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Inspection

View report

Good

Latest inspection: 5 June 2024

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

Quick summary

Overall effectiveness: Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle was judged Good. Pupils describe a warm community, achieve very well and enjoy broad enrichment, while inspectors noted that routine written work is not always completed or presented to the school's high expectations.
Quality of education: The curriculum is ambitious, with the EBacc at its heart, dual modern languages and citizenship for all. In sixth form, finance and the extended project qualification support independence, but teachers do not always insist on high-quality written work.
Behaviour and attitudes: Most pupils attend and behave well in a calm, orderly school. A new behaviour policy and tracking systems are helping leaders tackle low-level disruption and lateness, while the Whisper service gives pupils a way to share worries.
Personal development: Pupils enjoy sports, musical productions, Duke of Edinburgh and the summer Frantic Fortnight. Citizenship and PSHE cover personal safety, relationships, diversity, protected characteristics and British values, while careers guidance is being strengthened for non-university pathways.
Leadership and management: Leaders, local governors and trustees are committed to improvement. Governors hold leaders to account, the trust supports the school well and staff value professional development, with the school also sharing specialist support locally.
Sixth form provision: Sixth-form students are positive role models and achieve very well, particularly within the broader curriculum and enrichment courses. They are well prepared for university, though some students want more support with non-university routes.

Similar schools and comparisons

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Shortlist comparisons

Compare Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle with Queen Elizabeth's Grammar Alford - A Selective Academy Compare Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle with The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough Compare Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle with King Edward VI Grammar School

Explore this school in context

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Compare 15 Lincolnshire grammar schools for 2026: GCSE ranking table, Ofsted, Lincolnshire route, admissions rules, competition, and school profiles.

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Best Grammar Schools by A-level Results

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Related pages and guides

Area and ranking pages

Best Grammar Schools in Lincolnshire

Compare 15 Lincolnshire grammar schools for 2026: GCSE ranking table, Ofsted, Lincolnshire route, admissions rules, competition, and school profiles.

Best Grammar Schools in the UK

Explore the best grammar schools in the UK with a national ranking that can be filtered by county, school type, and Ofsted before moving into local admissions detail.

Best Grammar Schools by A-level Results

Explore the best grammar schools by A-level results in the UK, ranked by the published share of students achieving AAB or better at A level.

Guides and related reading

Related guides are still being added.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What assessment types does Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle use?

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle currently uses GL Assessment.

How do I apply to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle?

1. Register for the Lincolnshire 11+: Registration opens on 7 January 2026 and forms must be returned to the chosen grammar school by 31 March 2026. 2. Sit the two reasoning papers: Verbal reasoning is scheduled for 11 or 12 September 2026, followed by non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness on 18 or 19 September 2026. 3. Review results and submit the CAF: Results are due on 9 October 2026; the Lincolnshire CAF deadline is 31 October 2026, with National Offer Day on 1 March 2027.

When are the key dates for Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle?

Registration opens: 7 January 2026. Registration closes: 31 March 2026. First test: verbal reasoning: 11 or 12 September 2026. Second test: non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness: 18 or 19 September 2026. Results: 9 October 2026 at 12:00. Secondary application deadline: 31 October 2026. National Offer Day: 1 March 2027

What does the latest inspection picture look like for Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle?

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle is currently rated Good following the latest published inspection dated 5 June 2024.