Clitheroe, Lancashire · Lancashire
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
Grants no sibling priority anywhere in its Year 7 admissions policy — a genuine rarity among English grammar schools, confirmed by reading the full 17-page handbook.
Founded in 1554 by royal charter, Clitheroe Royal Grammar is one of Lancashire's four standalone grammar schools, each its own admissions authority running its own separate GL Assessment test — the four schools coordinate only their test date, not their criteria or scoring. Places are allocated primarily by a two-tier catchment: an 'immediate catchment' of 42 named Ribble Valley parishes, then a wider catchment covering the rest of Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, with test score used only as a ranking tool within each catchment band rather than across the whole applicant pool. No numeric qualifying score is published for any cycle.
Key facts
- Gender
- co-ed
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- North West
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Established
- 1554
- DfE URN
- 136390
- Website
- https://crgs.org.uk
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- GL Assessment, confirmed directly in the school's own entrance examination document.
- Test format
- Three age-weighted, multiple-choice papers set by GL Assessment: Mathematics, English, and Verbal Reasoning, pitched up to Key Stage 2 Level 5. Sat in one sitting on a single Saturday in late September at the school's own site — a candidate may sit it only once. The four Lancashire grammar schools normally hold their tests on the same day, but don't all use the same paper.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- Not published. The school's own admissions handbook states pupils must reach a 'required standard' but explicitly notes the school isn't required to comment on entrance exam results — no numeric standardised score is disclosed for any cycle. For the most recently cited cycle, 506 candidates applied for 180 places, a ratio of roughly 2.8:1.verify with school
The school explicitly doesn't publish or comment on entrance exam scores for any cycle.
- Superselective?
- No
The school's own admissions policy ranks applicants primarily by a two-tier catchment system rather than by pure score across the whole pool: immediate catchment (42 named Ribble Valley parishes) is prioritised ahead of wider catchment (the rest of Lancashire plus Blackburn with Darwen), which is prioritised ahead of outside-catchment applicants. Test score is used only as an eligibility threshold and then as a ranking device within each catchment band — a higher-scoring out-of-catchment child can't outrank a lower-scoring in-catchment child. This catchment-first structure, combined with the absence of any published numeric cutoff, differs materially from a genuinely superselective school.
Catchment & priority criteria
A two-tier catchment. Immediate catchment: 42 named civil parishes of the Borough of Ribble Valley. Wider catchment: the rest of Lancashire's district council areas plus Blackburn with Darwen. Applicants outside both are still eligible to apply, ranked lowest.
- Candidates reaching the required standard who hold an EHC Plan naming the school, admitted automatically
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children
- Immediate catchment area and Pupil Premium/Free School Meals-eligible
- Immediate catchment area
- Wider catchment area and Pupil Premium/Free School Meals-eligible
- Wider catchment area
- Outside catchment area and Pupil Premium/Free School Meals-eligible
- Outside catchment area
- Within categories 3-8: ranked by entrance test score, tie-break by straight-line proximity to the school. Notably, there is no sibling-priority criterion anywhere in the policy — unusual among English grammar schools.
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 72.8 | 97% | +0.55 ('Well above average') — this cohort predates the COVID-era gap. Individual component scores: Maths +0.84, English +0.25, EBacc +0.59, Open +0.51. | — | — |
| A-level: average grade B- (37.46 points per entry), value-added progress score -0.02 ('Average'), AAB+ 19.6% (Lancashire average 15.5%, England 17.1%). | |||||
| 2025 | 74.4 (England average 46.1, Lancashire LA average 45.1) | DfE's official figure is 96.0%; the school's own results page states 99% for the same cohort — a genuine, unreconciled discrepancy between two primary sources read directly | Not calculated — confirmed directly by DfE as the nationwide COVID-era gap for this cohort | verify with school | verify with school |
| A-level: average grade B- (38.28 points per entry, Lancashire average B-/36.54, England average B-/36.25), value-added progress score +0.07 ('Average'), AAB+ 19.0% (England 17.5%), retention 94.1% (England 93.1%). DfE doesn't publish a simple A*-A/A*-B breakdown for this school. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Outstanding, in every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This was a full graded inspection under the pre-September 2024 framework, and the school's first Section 5 inspection since converting to academy status in 2011 — no inspection has occurred since.
- Date
- 22-23 November 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/136390
- 2. School's own Admissions Handbook, for Admissions September 2026 — https://www.crgs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Admissions-Handbook-2026.pdf
- 3. School's own Results page — https://crgs.org.uk/about-us/results/
- 4. Ofsted report, inspected 22-23 November 2022 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50204718
- 5. School's own History and Foundation page — https://crgs.org.uk/about-us/history-and-foundation/
- 6. DfE Compare School Performance — Secondary results — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/136390/clitheroe-royal-grammar-school/secondary
Last updated 2026-09-01. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.