Apply to The King's School, Grantham, in plain English.
The King's School is a boys' selective academy in Grantham, Lincolnshire, re-founded in 1528 — Isaac Newton's old school. Your son qualifies by reaching a fixed standardised-score standard of 220 in the Lincolnshire Consortium 11+ — the county-wide grammar standard, designed to select the top 25% by ability; it is a pass mark, not a ranking. Qualified boys are then ranked by their test score, with families living within 30 miles of the school taking priority, so register for the test in the spring term of Year 5.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these. They're the bits that catch parents out.
The 11+ is a pass mark of 220, but the test score still ranks the boys who qualify.
The King's School uses the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools (LCGS) 11+, sat in the autumn of Year 6. A boy needs a standardised score of 220 (the county-wide standard, intended to identify the top 25% of children by ability) to reach the qualifying standard. Reaching 220 makes him eligible — but unlike some Lincolnshire grammars, King's then ranks qualified boys by their standardised score within each oversubscription group. The PAN is 174 places.
There's no tight catchment — but living within 30 miles gives priority.
King's does not draw a small catchment. Instead, qualified boys whose home is within 30 miles in a straight line of the school are placed above qualified boys who live further away. Up to 20 places are reserved for Pupil Premium (Ever 6) boys living within 30 miles, taken in score order. Boys living more than 30 miles away can still be admitted — they compete for any places left, by test score — but the 30-mile band comes first.
Registering for the test and applying for the place are two separate jobs — with two separate deadlines.
Register your son for the LCGS 11+ with the school during the spring term of Year 5 (January–March 2026) — sitting the test is not an application. You then have to name King's on your home council's secondary application form by 31 October 2026. Miss the test registration and he cannot sit; miss the application and he cannot be offered a place, even if he passed.
Five steps — register in the spring, sit the papers in September, apply by 31 October.
King's uses the shared Lincolnshire Consortium 11+, so registration is in the spring term of Year 5. Confirm the exact closing date on the school's website — it is the easiest one to miss.
If too many boys qualify, these four criteria decide — in order.
Boys with an EHCP naming King's are admitted before these criteria apply. All other qualifying boys are placed in the highest criterion that applies to them; within each criterion they are ranked by their standardised test score. Tap any criterion to read the detail.
In plain English: Qualified boys who are currently in council care, or who were previously in care and left it through adoption, a child arrangements order or a special guardianship order (including those who were in state care outside England), get the highest priority. Where they live does not matter. If this group were ever oversubscribed, it is ranked by standardised score.
What the document says: Looked After Children (LAC) and all Previously Looked After Children (PLAC), including those pupils who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted, by rank order of standardised score.
In plain English: Up to 20 places are reserved for qualified boys who are in receipt of the Pupil Premium (Ever 6 — free-school-meals-related funding) and who live within 30 miles of the school, taken in test-score order. You must tick the Pupil Premium box on your council application form and ask the primary school to confirm eligibility by 31 October 2026. This criterion applies to the main Year 7 round only — it is not used for in-year places.
What the document says: Pupils eligible for the full Pupil Premium (PP) by rank order of standardised score who reside within 30 miles of the School but limited to 20 places in this category. Children who are unsuccessful in this category may achieve a place in the remaining category.
In plain English: Qualified boys whose home is within 30 miles of the school, measured in a straight line, are admitted next, ranked by their standardised test score (highest first). This is usually where places run out. Their straight-line distance is used only to break a tie between equal scores, then a lottery. The home address is the one where the boy lives for the majority of term time.
What the document says: Children who have achieved the entry criteria and reside within 30 miles of the School at the time of application. This will be measured by straight line distance. Places in this category will be prioritised by rank order of standardised score.
In plain English: Any places still left go to all other qualified boys — those living more than 30 miles away. Here the standardised test score does the ranking — highest scores first — with straight-line distance, then a lottery, breaking ties. So a boy outside the 30-mile band can still be admitted, but only after the within-30-mile boys are placed.
What the document says: For the remaining students, rank order of standardised score. Tie-break: places allocated first to those living nearest the school measured by straight line distance, then by lottery.
No tight catchment — but a 30-mile band gives priority.
King's does not draw a small catchment. Once your son reaches the qualifying standard of 220, the order is decided by his standardised test score, with one geographic twist: qualified boys living within 30 miles in a straight line of the school are placed above qualified boys who live further away. Most of South Lincolnshire and parts of Rutland, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire fall inside that band. Distance is measured by Lincolnshire County Council from the school's Post Office Address Point to three decimal places, and it matters only at the 30-mile edge and as a tie-break between equal scores. A boy living further than 30 miles away is not excluded — he competes for the remaining places on test score.
The circle on our map is the school's 30-mile priority band30-mile priority bandThe boundary is a true 30-mile straight-line radius from the school — exactly how the policy measures the within-distance criteria. It is a priority band, not a wall: out-of-band qualified boys can still win the remaining places on test score. If you are close to the edge, check your exact distance with the school or the council., measured exactly as the policy does — but check your address if you are near the boundary.
See the priority band on the GrammarBound mapTwo qualified boys — the one inside 30 miles ranks higher.
Both boys have reached the qualifying standard of 220. Boy A lives within 30 miles of the school, so ranks above Boy B, who lives further away — even if Boy B scored higher in the 11+. Score separates boys within the same band; the 30-mile band comes first.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Reserve list
If your son met the qualifying standard but was offered a lower-preference school, he is placed on King's reserve list (unless you were offered a higher preference). The list is held in oversubscription-criteria order — not by how long you have waited — so a higher-priority later applicant can move above him. Lincolnshire County Council keeps the list until 31 August of the admitting year, after which the school maintains it to the end of Year 7.
Appeal
You can appeal if a place is refused, provided you named King's on your application form. An independent panel hears the appeal and its decision is binding. A boy who did not reach the qualifying standard of 220 can only be admitted on appeal if the panel accepts he is of grammar-school ability. Appealing does not affect your position on the reserve list.
Joining Year 12 — external students welcome.
King's sixth form admits students from other schools alongside its own Year 11. The grade floor is a pass at grade 4 in GCSE English Language and Maths, with an overall Attainment 8 score of 56.0 or more.
Grade 4 in English and Maths, plus an Attainment 8 score of 56.0 or higher.
The general requirement is passes at grades 4–9 in GCSE English Language and Mathematics, together with an Attainment 8 score of 56.0 or greater (the DfE measure across eight GCSEs). To study more than two of Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Economics or Psychology at A level, your son will need an Attainment 8 score of 65.0 or greater. The same requirements apply to King's own Year 11 and to external applicants.
Apply direct to the school — 30 external places.
Students continuing from King's own Year 11 transfer automatically once they meet the grade requirements; external students apply directly to the school for up to 30 external places. Complete the sixth form application form (ideally in the November before entry), and formal offers are confirmed once GCSE grades are known.
See kings.lincs.sch.uk for the sixth form application form and subject entry requirements.