Kesteven and Sleaford High School has its own admissions pattern, and the smartest preparation follows exactly how this school selects. It is a girls' grammar in Sleaford, it admits through the Lincolnshire 11+, and that test is set by GL Assessment. Once you know that, the whole plan falls into place: you practise the specific subjects and question types this exam uses, you sit timed papers in the right format, and you work backwards from a mid-September test date. This guide walks through the school, the test, what to practise, a realistic timeline, and how to keep your daughter calm on the day.
About Kesteven and Sleaford High School
Kesteven and Sleaford High School (KSHS) is the girls' grammar school in Sleaford, at the heart of Lincolnshire's quietly large selective system of fifteen state grammars. It admits girls into Year 7 by selection, with a mixed sixth form joining later, and it has been educating pupils in the town since 1902. Entry to Year 7 is decided by the Lincolnshire 11+, so preparation should be built around that test rather than around generic 11+ material.
- Location: Sleaford, Lincolnshire
- Intake: Girls (Mixed Sixth Form)
- Founded: 1902
- Type: Academy Grammar
- Admissions test: Lincolnshire 11+ (GL Assessment)
Always confirm this year's admissions dates, catchment rules and open-day arrangements on the school's own authority — the official website at kshs.uk. You can also see our full school profile alongside the wider grammar school directory to compare KSHS with the other Lincolnshire grammars.
How selection works at Kesteven and Sleaford High School
Selection is by the Lincolnshire 11+, which is produced by GL Assessment and sat by most of the county's grammars in mid-September of Year 6. GL is now the dominant 11+ board across the UK, and its Lincolnshire papers follow the familiar GL pattern: standard single-subject content, multiple-choice questions answered on a separate answer sheet, tight timing of roughly a minute per question, and no calculator.
The Lincolnshire assessment covers the two reasoning strands that sit at the core of GL selection:
- Verbal Reasoning (VR) — word- and language-based logic puzzles, drawing on around twenty-one recognised GL question types such as codes, letter sequences, hidden words, analogies, odd-one-out, closest-meaning and opposites, compound words, moving a letter, and number series.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR) — picture- and pattern-based puzzles: series, matrices, analogies, odd-one-out, reflections, rotations and spatial reasoning.
Because the exact papers, weighting and qualifying score can change year to year, treat the school's own website and the Lincolnshire admissions authority as the final word on pass marks and results dates. We do not publish an invented cut-off — no reputable source should. What matters for preparation is that GL is the most learnable board precisely because its question types are published and stable, so type-by-type drilling translates directly into marks.
What to practise for this test
Since the Lincolnshire 11+ is GL-set, the winning strategy is to make each named question type automatic before moving to full timed papers. Split practice into the two reasoning strands, and don't neglect the underlying English and maths that reasoning quietly depends on.
- Verbal Reasoning: work through each GL type in turn. A code question like "if TREE is coded WUHH, what is the code for BARK?" becomes easy once a child sees that each letter simply shifts by three. Vocabulary is the single best predictor of VR and comprehension scores, so pair drills with wide reading and a growing word list of synonyms and antonyms.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning: practise rotations, reflections, matrices and odd-one-out until the eye spots the rule quickly. NVR rewards speed and calm pattern-spotting more than knowledge, so little-and-often beats occasional long sessions.
- English and Maths foundations: comprehension, spelling and Key Stage 2 arithmetic up to the Year 5 curriculum ceiling underpin everything. Confident times tables to 12×12 and quick mental methods free up time for the harder reasoning items.
Every question type above maps to a free resource here. Start with our GL Assessment practice papers, build individual skills in the free worksheet library, and then rehearse under exam conditions with full-length mock papers. In the final stretch, switch to centre-specific mocks matched to this region's real format so the paper on test day feels like the eleventh one your daughter has seen, not the first. No account is needed to practise — everything is free forever.
A realistic preparation timeline
Good 11+ preparation is a gentle build-up over two years, not a panicked sprint. Because Lincolnshire tests in mid-September of Year 6, the crucial registration and revision work happens through Year 5. Use these stages rather than fixed dates, and always cross-check the real deadlines on the school site and our key dates page.
- Year 4 into the summer: daily reading for pleasure, casual number talk and tables to 12×12. No formal papers yet — the goal is a confident, curious reader.
- Year 5 autumn: begin 15–20 minutes of daily topic practice with the free worksheets, introducing one VR and one NVR type at a time.
- Year 5 spring — register: registration windows typically open in the spring or early summer before the September test. Note the closing date and complete the Common Application Form on time; a missed deadline cannot be undone.
- Year 5 summer into early Year 6: move to one full timed mock a week. Review the errors far more carefully than the score — every wrong answer is a lesson.
- Final six weeks: switch to centre-specific papers in the Lincolnshire GL format, and taper so the last few days are light, rested and calm.
If you want to structure the wider journey, our revision hub lays out how the strands fit together across the year.
On the day and after
By test morning the learning is done; the job now is composure. A child who has sat ten timed mocks at the kitchen table treats the real hall as the eleventh.
- The night before: pack the essentials, lay out uniform, and get a proper night's sleep rather than cramming.
- The morning: a calm breakfast and an unhurried arrival. Remind her that separate sections are separately timed — if one question is stubborn, move on and come back.
- During the paper: transfer answers carefully to the separate multiple-choice sheet, keep one eye on pace, and never leave a question blank on a paper with no negative marking — a sensible guess can score.
- Afterwards: celebrate the effort, not the outcome, and move on. Results and next steps come through the Lincolnshire admissions timeline; check the school's official site for exact dates.
Remember that a qualifying score is not the same as a guaranteed place — catchment and oversubscription rules still apply — so read the school's admissions policy alongside your practice plan.
Frequently asked questions
Which exam board does Kesteven and Sleaford High School use?
The Lincolnshire 11+, produced by GL Assessment. It is multiple-choice, tightly timed and taken with no calculator, typically in mid-September of Year 6.
What subjects are tested?
Lincolnshire's GL papers centre on Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, supported by the English and maths skills those strands rely on. Confirm the exact paper combination for the current year on the school's website.
What score does my daughter need to pass?
Qualifying scores are age-standardised and can vary by year, so we don't publish a fixed figure — the Lincolnshire admissions authority and the school's official site are the only reliable sources. Focus preparation on accuracy and pace rather than chasing a specific number.