Bourne, Lincolnshire · Lincolnshire
Bourne Grammar School
Reserves 35 of its 240 places specifically for Pupil Premium-eligible qualifiers — a deliberate equity carve-out on top of the standard Lincolnshire threshold.
Bourne's own admissions policy is unusually candid about how its 220 qualifying score actually works: it targets the top 25% of ability 'in an area of Lincolnshire served by a grammar school,' and the school warns this effective pass rate can vary from one area or year to the next — it isn't a fixed-difficulty bar. On top of the standard consortium threshold, the school reserves 35 of its 240 Year 7 places specifically for Pupil Premium-eligible children who qualify, prioritised by distance among that group — a deliberate equity mechanism beyond what most Lincolnshire Consortium schools do.
Key facts
- Gender
- co-ed
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- East Midlands
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Established
- 1636
- DfE URN
- 137793
- Website
- https://www.bourne-grammar.lincs.sch.uk
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- The Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools' shared 11+ test, set by GL Assessment — a child sits it once and the result is honoured by every consortium grammar school they apply to.
- Test format
- Two papers sat on separate Saturdays in September: Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness. The school states explicitly it uses no English or Maths papers at 11+.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- A combined aggregate standardised score of 220, intended to identify the top 25% of children by ability in an area of Lincolnshire served by a grammar school — the school's own policy notes this effective pass rate 'may vary from one area to another and from one year to another,' rather than being a fixed-difficulty bar.partly verified
Confirmed in the school's dated 2025 admissions policy and repeated on current live pages, but no formally dated 2026 or 2027 policy document was located to confirm it has been freshly re-determined for those specific cycles rather than simply carried forward.
- Superselective?
- No
The school's own admissions policy describes the 220 threshold as the standard grammar-school selectivity band (top 25%), not a narrow superselective one. Beyond a small set of reserved categories (care status, siblings, staff, the Pupil Premium quota), places go to all qualifying applicants ranked by straight-line distance — not by ranking test scores and admitting only the highest scorers.
Catchment & priority criteria
No fixed catchment or designated area. Distance from home to school is used only as the final ranking mechanism among qualifying applicants, not as an eligibility boundary.
- Children with an EHCP naming the school
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children
- Siblings on roll at time of application
- Children of staff (2+ years' service, or a skill-shortage recruit)
- 35 of 240 places reserved for Pupil-Premium-eligible qualifying children, ranked by distance among themselves
- Straight-line distance from home to school; independent lottery for the final place
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 68.1 (England state-funded average 45.9, Lincolnshire average 45.2) | 94.2% (England 45.9%, Lincolnshire 42.8%) | +0.68 ('Well above average', confidence interval +0.50 to +0.87) — this is the most recent year Progress 8 could be calculated for this school | — | — |
| A-level (253 students): average grade B (38.61 points per entry, England average C+/34.38). | |||||
| 2025 | 68.6 (England average 46.1, Lincolnshire average 45.1) | 92.1% (England 45.4%, Lincolnshire 41.9%) | Not calculated — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally | verify with school | verify with school |
| A-level (265 students): average grade B (39.35 points per entry, England average B-/35.0), AAB+ with 2 facilitating subjects 23.0% (England 17.5%), retention 99.3%. The A-level progress (value-added) score was +0.05, banded 'Average' — a real contrast against the same cohort's well-above-average GCSE progress the year before, worth knowing rather than assuming uniformly excellent outcomes at every stage. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Good overall. Sub-judgements: quality of education and behaviour and attitudes both Outstanding; personal development and leadership and management both Good; sixth-form provision Outstanding.
- Date
- 11 October 2022
- Report
- Read the full report
Sources
- 1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137793
- 2. School's own 2025 Admissions Policy — https://bourne-grammar.lincs.sch.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=709&type=pdf
- 3. School's own 11+ Useful Information page — https://bourne-grammar.lincs.sch.uk/page/?title=11%2B+Useful+Information&pid=144
- 4. Ofsted report, inspected 11 October 2022 — https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/137793
- 5. School's own About Us page — founded 1636 — https://www.bourne-grammar.lincs.sch.uk/page/?title=About+Us&pid=8
- 6. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137793/bourne-grammar-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
- 7. DfE Compare School Performance — Advanced level qualifications — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137793/bourne-grammar-school/16-to-18/advanced-level-qualifications
Last updated 2026-09-01. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.