If The King's School, Grantham is on your child's list, preparation should be shaped around how this school actually selects — not generic 11+ advice. Grantham's boys' grammar admits on the Lincolnshire 11+, a GL Assessment test sat in mid-September of Year 6, so the practice that counts here is question-type drilling under a tight clock, not open-ended written work. This guide sets out what the test involves, exactly what to practise, and a calm term-by-term plan that any family can follow for free.
About The King's School, Grantham
Founded in 1528, The King's School in Grantham counts Sir Isaac Newton among its old boys — a genuinely long-standing academic grammar in the south of the county. It selects boys at 11 (the sixth form is mixed) by the Lincolnshire 11+, so the entrance route is the shared county test rather than a bespoke school paper. Always confirm this year's dates, catchment and oversubscription criteria on the official school website, which is the authority for admissions policy.
- Location: Grantham, Lincolnshire
- Intake: Boys (Mixed Sixth Form)
- Founded: 1528
- Type: Academy Grammar
- Admissions test: Lincolnshire 11+ (GL Assessment)
Lincolnshire is a quietly large selective system — around 15 state grammars — mostly using GL Assessment and testing in mid-September. You can see how King's sits alongside the county's other schools in our grammar school directory, and read the full context, including a link to the school's own admissions page, on the full school profile.
How selection works at The King's School, Grantham
The Lincolnshire 11+ is provided by GL Assessment, currently the dominant 11+ board across most of the UK. GL papers are single-subject, multiple-choice tests with answers marked on a separate answer sheet, tightly timed at roughly a minute a question and taken without a calculator. Lincolnshire's test focuses on reasoning alongside core attainment, so the skills assessed are Verbal Reasoning (VR), Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR) and Maths, with English comprehension and vocabulary underpinning the verbal side.
The big advantage for families is that GL is the most learnable of the boards. Its question types are published, finite and stable year to year, so systematic type-by-type practice pays off directly — unlike the wide-vocabulary, section-blended style the old CEM papers used before that separate 11+ was phased out around 2022–23. Results are reported as age-standardised scores: every child's raw mark is adjusted for their exact age in months, so a summer-born boy and an autumn-born boy who score the same number of marks will receive slightly different standardised scores. We do not publish a King's pass mark because thresholds vary by year and by how many families apply; treat the school's own guidance as definitive and aim simply to score as highly and consistently as possible.
| Feature | Lincolnshire 11+ (GL) |
|---|---|
| Board | GL Assessment |
| Subjects | Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Maths |
| Answer format | Multiple-choice, separate answer sheet |
| Timing | Sub-sections, about a minute per question |
| Test month | Mid-September of Year 6 |
| Scoring | Age-standardised (100 = average) |
What to practise for this test
Because GL question types are known in advance, the most efficient route is to drill each type until it is automatic, then rehearse them together under time. Focus your effort here:
- Verbal Reasoning: the roughly 21 GL types — letter and number series, codes, hidden words, compound words, analogies, odd-one-out, closest-meaning and opposites, move-a-letter and simple logic. Vocabulary is the single best predictor of VR and comprehension scores, so daily reading and a word list matter as much as technique.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning: series, matrices, analogies, odd-one-out, reflections, rotations and spatial folding (cube nets). These reward pattern-spotting speed rather than curriculum knowledge, so short, frequent sets build fluency fastest.
- Maths: KS2 arithmetic, fractions, ratio, place value and worded problems up to Year 5 standard, done accurately at pace. Secure times tables to 12×12 remove a huge source of avoidable slips.
Turn each named type into practice with our free GL Assessment practice papers and the wider worksheet library — start broad, then use whichever subject a first timed paper exposes as weakest to decide where to spend the next fortnight. Everything is free, with no account needed to begin.
A realistic preparation timeline
Steady, little-and-often work beats a last-minute sprint. There is no need to start formal papers early; build the foundations first, then layer on timing.
- Year 4 to summer: daily reading of varied books, times tables to 12×12, and everyday mental maths. No formal 11+ papers yet — the aim is confidence and vocabulary.
- Year 5 autumn: begin 15–20 minutes of daily topic practice with our free worksheets, one question type at a time.
- Year 5 spring: check registration windows and the exact test date on the school's site and our key dates page; Lincolnshire tests in mid-September, so registration closes well before then.
- Year 5 summer into Year 6: add one full timed mock paper a week and review errors more carefully than scores.
- Final six weeks (up to mid-September): switch to centre-specific mocks in the county's GL format to sharpen pace and answer-sheet technique.
Selective places are decided at the margin by three things: pace (finishing without rushing the last third), vocabulary, and composure. A child who has sat ten timed mocks at the kitchen table treats the real hall as the eleventh.
On the day and after
By September, the work is done — your job is to keep the day ordinary. A few practical points:
- Answer sheets: GL uses a separate multiple-choice sheet. Practise transferring answers cleanly and keeping question and row numbers aligned; a slipped row costs marks a child has genuinely earned.
- Timing tactics: if a question stalls, mark the best guess (there is no negative marking on standard GL papers) and move on — every question carries equal weight.
- The morning: a normal breakfast, an early night before, and a calm arrival matter more than any last-minute cramming.
- Afterwards: results and any appeal or catchment considerations follow the county timetable. Whatever the outcome, the reading, reasoning and resilience your child has built transfer straight into secondary school.
For a fuller walkthrough of the process, our 11+ process guide and revision hub keep everything in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Which exam board does The King's School, Grantham use?
GL Assessment, via the Lincolnshire 11+. GL papers are multiple-choice with published question types, which makes structured, type-by-type practice highly effective.
What subjects are tested?
Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Maths, underpinned by English comprehension and vocabulary. There is no separate creative-writing paper as there would be for a written board like CSSE.
When is the test and what score is needed to pass?
The Lincolnshire test is sat in mid-September of Year 6. Scores are age-standardised (100 is average). We do not publish a fixed King's pass mark because thresholds shift year to year — check the school's official website for current guidance and aim for a high, consistent standard.