Apply to Sir Thomas Rich's School, in plain English.
Sir Thomas Rich's is a super-selective boys' grammar in Gloucester that fills all 155 Year 7 places in strict rank order of the shared Gloucestershire Grammar School test score — there is no catchment area. You must register for the test by 26 June 2026 at midday, then name the school on your council's Common Application Form by 31 October 2026. Boys eligible for Pupil Premium qualify at a lower standardised score.
The three things to know first.
If you read nothing else on this page, read these.
One shared test, used by all seven Gloucestershire grammars — register by 26 June 2026 at midday.
Rich's uses the Gloucestershire Grammar School Admission Test (the G7 test), set by GL Assessment for 2027 entry. You register once and the same score is used by every G7 school you apply to. The test is sat on Saturday 12 September 2026; registration closes at noon on 26 June 2026 and there are no re-sits.
Places go in rank order of test score — there is no catchment.
The school doesn't have a designated area. After looked-after children, Pupil Premium boys and staff children (see the criteria below), every remaining place is offered to the highest-scoring boys in rank order, wherever they live. Meeting the qualifying standard does not guarantee a place — it only makes your son eligible to be ranked.
Pupil Premium boys qualify at a lower score — flag it on the registration form.
The qualifying standard for boys who are Pupil Premium, looked-after or previously looked-after is set lower than for other children. You must tick Pupil Premium eligibility on the test registration form; the school then verifies it with the local authority. There is no separate sibling, faith or feeder-school priority.
Five steps — starting now.
If more boys qualify than there are places, these 4 criteria decide.
Only boys who meet the qualifying standard are considered. They are then placed in these priority groups; within each group, the highest test score comes first. Tap any criterion to see the exact wording.
In plain English: Boys who are or were in council care (including those adopted from care or under a special guardianship / child arrangements order) get the highest priority, provided they meet the qualifying standard. This group is small in practice.
What the document says: a. A 'looked after child' or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements order or special guardianship order (incl. internationally adopted previously looked-after children).
In plain English: Boys eligible for Pupil Premium — broadly, registered for income-related free school meals at any point in the six years before the test registration deadline — are placed ahead of other applicants, ranked by test score. The qualifying standard for Pupil Premium boys is set lower than for other children. Tick the box at registration; the school verifies it with the local authority.
What the document says: b. Boys registered for Pupil Premium (registered for income-related free school meals at any point in the six years prior to the closing date for test registration), in rank order. The qualifying standard for PP / LAC / PLAC boys is lower than for children who are not.
In plain English: Sons of staff get priority if the parent has worked at the school for two or more years, or was recruited to fill a post with a demonstrable skill shortage. They are still ranked by test score within this group.
What the document says: c. Children of staff where the member of staff has been employed at the school for two or more years at the time of application, and/or was recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage.
In plain English: Every remaining place goes to the highest-scoring qualifying boys in rank order, regardless of where they live. There is no catchment area. Distance is used only to separate two boys with exactly the same score (see the worked example below).
What the document says: d. Other qualifying boys in the Test rank order.
Tie-breaker: if two boys have an equal combined score, the higher rank goes to the one living closest to the school, measured in a straight line from home to school using the local authority's computerised system (Ordnance Survey address points). If that still cannot separate them, places are decided by supervised random allocation.
No geographic boundary. Rank order decides everything.
Sir Thomas Rich's has no catchment area and no geographic restriction. After looked-after, Pupil Premium and staff-child places are filled, every remaining place goes to the highest-ranking qualifying boys by combined standardised test score — regardless of where they live. A boy in Cheltenham, the Forest of Dean or the Cotswolds competes on exactly the same terms as one in Gloucester. The circle drawn on our map is illustrative only — it is not a real boundary.
Distance is used only as a tie-breaker between two boys with identical scores: the one living closer (straight-line, by the LA's computerised system) ranks higher, and if still tied, a supervised random draw decides. For everyone else, home address has no bearing on the outcome.
See Sir Thomas Rich's location on the GrammarBound mapTwo boys ranked by score — not by where they live.
Both boys are in criterion 4 (everyone else, by rank). Child A scored 342 and lives far from school; Child B scored 329 and lives close by. Child A ranks above Child B because score — not proximity — decides. Distance would only matter if their scores were exactly equal.
You have two routes, and you can use both.
Waiting list
If the school is oversubscribed, a Year 7 waiting list is held and prioritised by the same rank order (the tie-breaker applies if needed), irrespective of when you applied. Only boys who met the qualifying standard can join it. The list is held until 31 December 2027.
Request via the school's Admissions Office.
Appeal
You have the right to appeal to an independent appeals panel. Note that for a selective school the panel must be satisfied your son met the qualifying standard, so successful appeals are uncommon. Appealing does not remove your son from the waiting list.
Joining Year 12 from outside.
Rich's admits up to 90 external students into Year 12 alongside its own Year 11. The sixth form is co-educational — girls are welcome, even though Years 7–11 are boys only.
The grade floor.
You need a minimum of 52 points across your best 8 GCSEs, where each grade scores its own number (a grade 9 = 9 points, a grade 8 = 8, and so on). You must also have at least grade 5 in GCSE English Language and Mathematics. Individual A-level subjects set their own higher GCSE entry grades, and offers are conditional on there being capacity in each subject.
Apply direct to the school.
Up to 90 external places are available for September entry. Apply directly to Sir Thomas Rich's; the Year 7 admissions criteria do not apply to sixth-form entry. Where external applicants are oversubscribed, looked-after children rank first, then others by total GCSE points (best 8). Confirm your place with results on GCSE results day.