England · Grammar school
The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough
Gainsborough · Mixed (co-educational) · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 120655)
Overview
- Address
- Morton Terrace, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 2ST
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Mixed (co-educational)
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,139
- Capacity
- 1,286
- Eligible for free school meals
- 12.4%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Community school
- Religious character
- Not yet available
- Trust
- Not yet available
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (reports.ofsted.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Fully selective area25% of Year 7 places offered in Lincolnshire for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- Not yet available
- Qualifying score
- Not yet available
- Catchment area
- No named catchment; within criteria priority to child living closest by driving distance; ties by 11+ score, straight-line distance, random.
- Children from outside the catchment
- Yes: Distance-ranked among qualified applicants.
Past offers: lowest score and furthest distance
| Intake | Applicant group | Lowest score offered | Last distance offered | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | AllThe council gave this as the distance of the last place offered; it does not say which admissions group it applies to. | – | 15.49 km (9.62 miles) | lincolnshire.gov.uksecondary source |
| children from outside the local areaScore of the last place offered to a non-local child, at offer day. This equals the qualifying score of 220. | 220 | – | lincolnshire.gov.uksecondary source |
From published allocation data found in desk research (checked 1 November 2026); not yet confirmed with the school. Scores from different tests or years are not comparable, and a past cut-off does not guarantee a future place.
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 270 applicants named this school (222 as their first choice) for 188 places. 105 of 188 offers went to children living outside Lincolnshire.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Lincolnshire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 188 | 270 | 222 | 1.2 | 105 |
| Sept 2025 | 186 | 273 | 217 | 1.2 | 87 |
| Sept 2024 | 186 | 306 | 250 | 1.3 | 89 |
| Sept 2023 | 186 | 276 | 220 | 1.2 | 87 |
| Sept 2022 | 185 | 319 | 257 | 1.4 | 75 |
Show all 13 years
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Lincolnshire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2021 | 186 | 315 | 269 | 1.4 | 97 |
| Sept 2020 | 186 | 275 | 222 | 1.2 | 98 |
| Sept 2019 | 185 | 301 | 251 | 1.4 | 103 |
| Sept 2018 | 192 | 310 | 253 | 1.3 | 89 |
| Sept 2017 | 179 | 286 | 225 | 1.3 | 89 |
| Sept 2016 | 180 | 259 | 212 | 1.2 | 88 |
| Sept 2015 | 180 | 312 | 253 | 1.4 | 83 |
| Sept 2014 | 177 | 244 | 194 | 1.1 | 90 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Lincolnshire" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (lincolnshire.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates for September 2027 entry
- Test registration (Lincolnshire grammar schools)
- 7 January 2026 to 31 March 2026
- Test date
- 12 September 2026, 19 September 202612 Sep verbal reasoning, 19 Sep non-verbal reasoning. Opening varies by school (7 or 9 Jan); some schools closed 20 Mar; one school late window to 17 Jul 2026. Caistor Grammar runs its own process (registration closed 14 Aug 2026). Results from grammar schools are not an offer.
- Results sent to families
- 9 October 2026
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- Not yet available
Unverified: test dates come from desk research (medium confidence). Confirm them with the council or test organiser. Sources: kings.lincs.sch.uk/admissions/entry-to-year-7-in-september-2027/registration-for-entry-2027, kings.lincs.sch.uk/admissions/entry-to-year-7-in-september-2027, kestevengrantham.lincs.sch.uk.
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Guide to the Lincolnshire grammar schools and its schools · How applying works
Source: Test dates research (cited public sources) (kings.lincs.sch.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 13 December 2023: overall Good. Read the report ↗
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form provision
- Good
Inspection history (7)
- 13 December 2023: School inspection, Good · report
- 28 September 2021: School inspection, Requires Improvement · report
- 12 January 2016: Monitoring visit · report
- 10 November 2014: Curriculum and development visit · report
- 19 November 2008: Full inspection, Outstanding · report
- 9 February 2006: Full inspection, Outstanding · report
- 22 January 2001: Full inspection · report
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 62 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 74.3% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 27.3% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 91.8% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 62.4 (2023/24) → 62.5 (2024/25) → 62 (2025/26).
183 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- DN21 2ST
- Map location
- 53.41178, -0.77781
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01427612354
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- www.qehs.lincs.sch.uk
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 120655) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026