Penrith, Cumbria · Westmorland and Furness
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith
Cumbria's only state grammar school — 20% of its places go by pure test score with no regard to distance, while the remaining 80% are decided mostly by catchment once a candidate clears a pass/fail bar, a genuine hybrid that resists a single label.
Founded by royal charter in 1564, this is Cumbria's sole state grammar school, confirmed by ruling out several similarly-named comprehensive schools nearby that aren't actually selective. Its local authority is Westmorland and Furness, not the historic Cumbria County Council, which was split into two unitary authorities in 2023. Its admissions system is a genuine hybrid worth understanding precisely: 32 of its 160 places (20%) go purely by rank order of test score with no regard to distance, while the remaining 128 places are decided mostly by catchment and distance once a candidate clears a pass/fail threshold — meaning neither 'superselective' nor 'simple catchment school' captures it accurately on its own. Its entrance test provider recently changed from GL Assessment to FSCE, with the new format dropping non-verbal reasoning entirely.
Key facts
- Gender
- co-ed
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- North West
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Established
- 1564
- DfE URN
- 136732
- Website
- https://qegspenrith.education
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise, a Reading School trading subsidiary) — confirmed as the current provider from the school's own February 2026 FAQ document, for the test to be sat around September 2026. GL Assessment was the confirmed provider for the test sat September 2025 and earlier cycles; the exact cutover point between the two providers wasn't pinned down more precisely than somewhere between those two sittings.partly verified
A genuine, recent provider change from GL Assessment to FSCE, confirmed from primary sources on both sides, but the exact cutover cohort wasn't pinned down precisely.
- Test format
- Three separate papers of around 45-60 minutes each, mixing multiple-choice and short constructed-response questions, content inspired by (but not going beyond) the Key Stage 2 curriculum up to end of Year 5. Explicitly no non-verbal reasoning component, since the school doesn't consider it a fair aspect to assess given it isn't taught as part of the national curriculum. The prior GL Assessment format used two papers covering maths, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- Not published as a fixed number, before or after the fact — the school's own policy states pass marks are set each year according to the performance of that year's cohort, with results reported to families only as a binary 'reached' or 'not reached' the required standard.verify with school
No numeric pass mark exists to find — confirmed absent from the school's own policy by design. Tutoring-site 'aim for 75-85%' guidance is prep advice, not a real threshold.
- Superselective?
- No
A genuine hybrid that resists a single label. Of the 160-place admission number, 32 places (20%) are allocated purely by rank order of entrance-test score, highest first, with no regard to distance or catchment — a genuinely superselective mechanic for that slice. But the remaining 128 places (80%) go through an oversubscription list — looked-after children, siblings, Pupil Premium, staff children, then distance — where the deciding factor for the great majority of places is catchment and distance, not score, once a candidate has merely cleared the pass/fail threshold. Because the school doesn't rank all qualifying applicants by score regardless of distance, false is the more accurate answer overall, but this should be read as 'mostly catchment-based with a 20% pure-score quota layered on top,' not as equivalent to a plain distance-only school.
Catchment & priority criteria
A defined catchment area covering Penrith and a large surrounding area of the Eden Valley and eastern Lake District, including Pooley Bridge, Ullswater, Glenridding, Patterdale, Dacre, Greystoke, Skelton, Langwathby, Kirkoswald, Lazonby, Melmerby, Culgaith, Askham, Shap, Bampton and Hackthorpe among others. Catchment applicants are prioritised ahead of all other areas, both ranked by straight-line distance to the school.
- Children with an EHC Plan naming the school who have reached the required standard, admitted first
- 32 places (20% of the admission number) awarded purely by rank order of entrance-test score, highest first, regardless of distance
- For the remaining places, ranked in order: children in local authority care or previously in care
- A sibling attending the school at the time of admission
- Pupil Premium, including Service Premium (10 places reserved)
- Children of permanent staff employed 2+ years, or recruited to fill a skill-shortage post
- Distance from home to school: catchment area first, then all other areas, both by straight-line distance
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 65 (England average 45.9, Westmorland and Furness LA average 45.9) | 91.9% (England 45.9%, LA 43.4%) | +0.35 ('Above average', confidence interval +0.13 to +0.58) — this cohort predates the COVID-era gap | — | — |
| A-level (112 students): average grade B- (37.38 points per entry, LA average C+/32.75). | |||||
| 2025 | 64.8 (England average 46.1, LA average 45.4) | 87.5% (England 45.4%, LA 42.3%) | Not calculated — confirmed directly by DfE as the nationwide COVID-era gap for this cohort | verify with school | verify with school |
| A-level (121 students): average grade B- (37.14 points per entry, LA average C+/32.79), value-added progress score +0.06 ('Average', confidence interval -0.05 to +0.16). EBacc entry 63.8%. DfE's current service doesn't publish an A*-A/A*-B percentage breakdown for this school. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Good, 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 — no inspection has occurred since.
- Date
- 24-25 January 2023
- 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/136732
- 2. School's own Admission Policy 2027-2028 — https://qegspenrith.education/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Admission-Policy-2027-2028.pdf
- 3. School's own Admissions page — https://qegspenrith.education/admissions/
- 4. FSCE Entrance Test FAQs for Prospective QEGS Parents — https://qegspenrith.education/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/FSCE-FAQs-for-Prospective-Parents_QEGS.pdf
- 5. Ofsted report, inspected 24-25 January 2023 — https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/136732
- 6. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/136732/queen-elizabeth-grammar-school-penrith/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
- 7. DfE Compare School Performance — A-level qualifications — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/136732/queen-elizabeth-grammar-school-penrith/16-to-18/advanced-level-qualifications
Last updated 2026-09-01. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.