Gloucestershire keeps grammar schools across Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud, admitting via GL Assessment-style entrance tests sat in Year 6.
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Start 7-day free trial →Gloucestershire is one of the counties that has kept a substantial grammar-school system, with selective schools clustered in Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud. Pate's in Cheltenham is among the highest-performing state schools in the country and extremely competitive.
The county's grammars don't all use a single shared test: some coordinate through a consortium arrangement while others — Pate's most notably — run their own admissions test. Families usually target schools by town and commute as well as by test, so it's worth checking each school's process early.
The Gloucestershire grammar schools — Gloucestershire's grammars sit across several towns and use more than one entrance arrangement — some share a consortium test while others (including Pate's) run their own. Check each school for the current cycle.
Gloucestershire's grammar tests use GL Assessment-style papers covering English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning (some schools weight the mix slightly differently). Papers are multiple-choice, timed and standardised by age.
Because more than one entrance arrangement operates across the county, registration deadlines and test dates vary by school. Confirm each target school's admissions page early in Year 5 — a child may need to register for more than one process.
Cover all four subjects. The Gloucester and Cheltenham grammars — Pate's especially — set a high bar, so accuracy under time pressure matters as much as content coverage.
GL-format practice papers are highly representative. Daily reading supports both English and Verbal Reasoning; time the reasoning practice strictly as the test approaches.
No. Some schools coordinate through a shared consortium arrangement, while others — including Pate's — run their own entrance test. Check each target school's admissions page, as a child may need to sit more than one.
Extremely — Pate's is one of the top-performing state schools nationally and attracts far more applicants than places, so the offered rank is very high.
Yes — registration isn't restricted by county. Distance from the school is a key oversubscription factor when places are allocated.
Most Gloucestershire grammars test in September of Year 6, with registration during the summer of Year 5. Confirm exact dates for each school each year.
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