School Updated 26 April 2026

Lincolnshire / Lincolnshire 11+

Spalding High School

Stonegate, Spalding, PE11 2PJ

A selective girls grammar school in Spalding, Lincolnshire, serving ages 11-18 with a sixth form and around 948 pupils on roll.

Girls Community school Ages 11-18 Sixth form GL Assessment

At a glance

Key facts

GCSE rank
UK Rank #147
Admissions
Girls only
Assessment
GL Assessment
Places in Year 7
150
Competition
1.8 applicants per place
Catchment
No catchment boundary applies; after qualification and higher-priority categories, straight-line distance ranks remaining applicants.
Ofsted
Outstanding

Overview

A selective girls grammar school in Spalding, Lincolnshire, serving ages 11-18 with a sixth form and around 948 pupils on roll. Based in Spalding, Lincolnshire, the school serves girls aged 11-18 and includes sixth-form study as part of the offer. Current published roll and admissions data point to around 948 pupils on roll and 150 Year 7 places.

Admissions are central to understanding whether this school is the right fit and realistic shortlist option. The current route includes GL Assessment, with 150 places available in Year 7 and demand that currently looks moderate 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.

Academically, the published picture is strong and easier to judge than reputation alone. The latest published Ofsted judgement is Outstanding. Recent official performance measures show Progress 8 at 0.63 and Attainment 8 at 65.1. 83.8% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths in the latest stored GCSE figures. In the sixth form, 11.1% of entries were awarded AAB or better at A level. Destinations data also suggest strong progression after sixth form, with 58% moving into higher education.

Published school information highlights facilities such as Sports hall, Library, Swimming pool. The wider offer currently includes Orchestra, Choir, Drama. 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. That mix of selective entry, published outcomes, and school life is what will matter most to families deciding whether Spalding High School belongs on a serious shortlist.

Key points

Assessment route
GL Assessment across a 2-stage process, covering VR and NVR.
Places and demand
150 places in Year 7 and 1.8 applicants per place
Catchment
No catchment boundary applies; after qualification and higher-priority categories, straight-line distance ranks remaining applicants.
Results
92.5% grade 5+ in English and maths and 63 Attainment 8
Sixth form
Sixth form available with 11.1% AAB or better and 58% in higher education.

GCSE benchmark

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

School Local authority England
GCSE benchmark comparison Latest GCSE benchmark measures for Spalding High School, Lincolnshire, and England. 0 50 100 Att. 8 5+ E&M EBacc APS EBacc %
Attainment 8
63
Grade 5+ English and maths
92.5%
EBacc APS
5.99
EBacc entry
82.2%

Attainment 8 trend

Recent published Attainment 8 scores compared with Lincolnshire and England.

School Local authority England
Attainment 8 trend line Attainment 8 over time for Spalding High School, Lincolnshire, 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 Lincolnshire and England.

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

School details

School type
Community school
Admissions
Girls only
Age range
11-18
Headteacher
Mrs Michele Anderson
Pupil roll
948 pupils
Sixth form
Yes
FSM
11.4%
EAL
14.9%
EHCP
0.6%

Facilities

Sports hall Library Swimming pool Performing arts spaces

Extracurriculars

Orchestra Choir Drama Sport

Location and contact

Address

Address
Stonegate, Spalding, Lincolnshire
Postcode
PE11 2PJ
Area
Lincolnshire
Exam area
Lincolnshire 11+

School leadership

Headteacher
Mrs Michele Anderson

School contact

School phone
01775722110

Admissions contact

Admissions team
Admissions
Admissions phone
01775722110

Admissions

Year 7 places
150 places (2026 entry)
Applications listed
277 applications (2025 entry)
First preferences
197 first preferences (2025 entry)
Applicants per place
1.8 applicants per place
Catchment picture
No catchment boundary applies; after qualification and higher-priority categories, straight-line distance ranks remaining applicants.
Residence requirement
Yes, home address evidence is part of the published admissions checks
Pass mark note
For 2027 entry, the qualifying standard is an aggregate standardised score of 220 across the verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests. This is a qualifying threshold, not an offer cut-off score.

No catchment boundary applies; after qualification and higher-priority categories, straight-line distance ranks remaining applicants.

Oversubscription and eligibility

  1. 1

    EHCP naming the school

    Qualified children with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school are allocated first.

  2. 2

    Looked-after and previously looked-after children

    Qualified looked-after and previously looked-after children, including children adopted from state care outside England, are prioritised.

  3. 3

    Sibling priority

    Qualified children with a brother or sister on roll at application or expected admission have priority next.

  4. 4

    Straight-line distance

    Remaining qualified applicants are ranked by straight-line distance from home to school, with an independent lottery if distance cannot separate the final place.

Exam and test format

The GL Assessment 11+ entrance test format

Spalding High School currently uses GL Assessment. The published format currently lists 2 papers. Scores are published as age-standardised.

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

This school uses the shared Lincolnshire consortium route. The consortium page brings together the common test format, key dates and official papers used across that route.

Open Lincolnshire guide

Papers and rounds

  1. Paper 1

    VR

    Verbal reasoning test

    The first Lincolnshire 11+ paper is verbal reasoning.

  2. Paper 2

    NVR

    Non-verbal reasoning test

    The second Lincolnshire 11+ paper is non-verbal reasoning.

What the test includes

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

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

Included

  • Verbal reasoning

    The first Lincolnshire 11+ paper is verbal reasoning.

  • Non-verbal reasoning

    The second Lincolnshire 11+ paper is non-verbal reasoning.

Not listed

  • English

  • Maths

  • Science

  • Creative writing

Application

Key dates

  1. Registration opens

    7 January 2026

  2. Registration closes

    31 March 2026

  3. Verbal reasoning test

    11 or 12 September 2026

  4. Non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness test

    18 or 19 September 2026

  5. 11+ results

    9 October 2026

  6. Secondary CAF deadline

    31 October 2026

  7. National offer day

    1 March 2027

How to apply

  1. 1

    Register for the Lincolnshire 11+ tests

    Registration opens on 7 January 2026 and closes on 31 March 2026 for the September 2026 tests.

    Check key dates
  2. 2

    Sit the two 11+ papers

    The Lincolnshire tests take place in September 2026 and cover verbal and non-verbal reasoning.

    See test format
  3. 3

    Submit the secondary CAF

    The secondary application deadline is 31 October 2026, with places allocated on 1 March 2027.

    Check key dates

Results

Attainment snapshot

Progress 8
+0.63 Progress 8
Attainment 8
63 Attainment 8
GCSE results
93.8% grade 4+ in English and maths
Grade 5+ English and maths
92.5% grade 5+ in English and maths
EBacc average point score
5.99 EBacc APS
A-level results
11.1% AAB or better
A-level average points
37.43 points per entry

Where students go next

Higher education progression
58% in higher education
Apprenticeships
6% in apprenticeships
Employment
21% in sustained employment

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

Subject performance

Maths
81.5% grade 5+ in EBacc maths
English
89% grade 5+ in EBacc English
Sciences
86.2% grade 5+ in EBacc sciences
Languages
90% 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.

Spalding High School Grammar schools England
Overall GCSE performance across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Spalding High 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 67.6 74.2 49.4
2022/23 64.3 71.8 47.0
2023/24 65.1 72.1 46.7
2024/25 63 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.

Spalding High School Grammar schools England
Average A-level result across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Spalding High 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 (41.0 points) 44.0 points 37.5 points
2022/23 B- average (36.6 points) 40.5 points 33.7 points
2023/24 C+ average (34.1 points) 41.3 points 34.5 points
2024/25 B- average (37.4 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.

Spalding High School Grammar schools England
Where pupils go after Year 11 across 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 for Spalding High 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 99% 98.9% 93.9%
2023/24 98% 99.0% 93.3%
2024/25 98% 97.8% 91.4%

Latest year breakdown

In education 96%
In apprenticeships 1%
In employment 1%

Inspection

Outstanding

Latest inspection: 30 November 2023

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

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 Spalding High School use?

Spalding High School currently uses GL Assessment.

How do I apply to Spalding High School?

1. Register for the Lincolnshire 11+ tests: Registration opens on 7 January 2026 and closes on 31 March 2026 for the September 2026 tests. 2. Sit the two 11+ papers: The Lincolnshire tests take place in September 2026 and cover verbal and non-verbal reasoning. 3. Submit the secondary CAF: The secondary application deadline is 31 October 2026, with places allocated on 1 March 2027.

When are the key dates for Spalding High School?

Registration opens: 7 January 2026. Registration closes: 31 March 2026. Verbal reasoning test: 11 or 12 September 2026. Non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness test: 18 or 19 September 2026. 11+ results: 9 October 2026. Secondary CAF deadline: 31 October 2026. National offer day: 1 March 2027

What does the latest Ofsted picture look like for Spalding High School?

Spalding High School is currently rated Outstanding following the latest published inspection dated 30 November 2023.