Grammar schools in London & how to get in.
London has 19 grammar schools spread across 7 outer boroughs — among the most competitive in the country. Many are super-selective, admitting purely on test score with no catchment at all; others combine a test with a catchment area or distance rule. There is no single London-wide test. This page explains how it works borough by borough, and lets you check your postcode against every one.
Check your postcode against every London grammar
See which schools you fall inside the catchment of, your distance to each, and which are open to anyone on score — free, no account needed.
Real, published boundaries and the latest distance cut-offs — not straight-line estimates.
How London grammar admissions work.
Unlike a single-county system, London’s grammars don’t share one test or one process — each borough, and sometimes each school, runs its own. Broadly, you register for the relevant test in the spring or summer before Year 6, sit it that September, then list the school on the Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) you submit to your home borough by 31 October. National offer day is 1 March.
The tests differ: Sutton’s schools use the shared SET Consortium test; Kingston’s Tiffin schools run their own; Bexley has the Bexley Selection Test; Barnet’s Queen Elizabeth’s and Henrietta Barnett set their own papers; and Enfield’s Latymer School has its own. You may need to register for and sit several different tests — always check each school’s guide for the exact route and dates.
Because demand massively outstrips places — some London grammars receive well over ten applicants per place — even a clear pass is no guarantee. How the remaining places are decided is where the two London models diverge.
Super-selective or catchment — the two London models.
About 5 of London’s 19 grammars are fully super-selective: places go strictly to the highest scorers and where you live is irrelevant. Queen Elizabeth’s Barnet, The Henrietta Barnett School, Wilson’s and St Olave’s are the classic examples — children travel from across and beyond London to attend.
The other 14 still use the test as a gateway but then apply a catchment area or distance rule — a named area or postcode district for some (in Sutton, Kingston, Enfield and Redbridge), a straight-line distance cut-off for others (the four Bexley schools). For these, where you live can matter as much as the score.
That distinction is everything when you’re planning: for a super-selective there’s no point moving house; for a catchment school, your address can decide it. GrammarBound maps both — published areas and the latest distance cut-offs. Open the map or check your postcode above.
Every London grammar school, by borough.
All 19 grammar schools across London’s 7 grammar boroughs. Each links to a plain-English admissions guide with that school’s exact test, criteria and deadlines.