England

Applying for a grammar school place in England

Passing the 11+ is not an application. How the test, the council application and offer day fit together.

Getting a grammar school place in England is two separate processes, run by different organisations:

1. The entrance test (the 11+). You register your child with the test organiser, usually in the spring or summer of Year 5, and they usually sit the test in September of Year 6. Each area runs its own test with its own dates: see the area guides.
2. The council application. By 31 October of Year 6 you apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council’s area. You list several schools in order of preference. Passing the test does not reserve a place: a grammar school you do not name on this form cannot offer you a place on offer day.

Results usually arrive in October, before the application deadline, so you can decide whether to put a grammar school first.

Missed the deadline? Apply anyway, as soon as you can. Councils consider late applications, but usually only after all the on-time ones, unless there is a good reason such as a recent move.

Offer day

Councils send secondary offers on 1 March (or the next working day). You receive one offer, for the highest-ranked school on your list that can offer you a place. If none of them can, the council must offer a place at another school if one is available, and you can join waiting lists and appeal.

How places are decided

Each grammar school publishes admission arrangements that say:

• usually a qualifying standard (the score a child must reach), although some schools simply rank children by score; and
• the oversubscription criteria used when more children qualify than there are places. Looked-after and previously looked-after children who reach the qualifying standard must come first (a school that simply admits the highest scorers need not give them priority); other common criteria are pupil premium, siblings, children of staff, catchment area, distance and test score.

School pages on this site show the qualifying score, past cut-offs and catchment rules we have found, each with its source. Admission arrangements can change every year, so read the current year’s arrangements on the school’s website.

Ranking your preferences

Councils use an “equal preference” system. Each school considers every application against its own criteria, without taking into account where you ranked it. You are then offered the highest-ranked school that can offer you a place. Putting a grammar school first therefore costs you nothing at your other schools, and listing a realistic local school as well is a sensible safety net.

Sources

• School Admissions Code 2021 (Department for Education)
• Apply for a secondary school place (GOV.UK)

Reviewed 1 November 2026 by UK School Map (checked against the School Admissions Code 2021, paragraphs 1.7, 1.9, 1.19–1.20, 1.32, 2.8 and 2.11–2.12). Rules change every year: check the current admission arrangements with your council and the school.