Spalding, Lincolnshire · Lincolnshire
Spalding Grammar School
The first genuinely superselective school found in Lincolnshire's whole consortium system — its own policy states the qualifying score is dynamically raised above 220 when too many local boys qualify.
Unlike every other Lincolnshire Consortium school researched for this index, Spalding Grammar's own admissions policy describes a real superselective mechanism: if more than 150 qualifying boys apply from the priority 'Feeder Parishes' area, the aggregate score of 220 is raised to ration places, and boys are ranked by score rather than simply admitted on a flat pass/fail basis. It's a hybrid, though — geography still comes first, so a lower-scoring boy from Spalding or a named feeder parish can be admitted ahead of a higher-scoring boy from outside that area. The school shares deep history with Spalding High School across town: it was originally co-educational, and when girls left in 1920/21 to form their own school, the two remained close enough that some Spalding Grammar sixth-form subjects are still taught entirely at Spalding High today.
Key facts
- Gender
- boys
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- East Midlands
- Local authority
- Lincolnshire
- Established
- 1588
- DfE URN
- 139304
- Website
- https://www.spaldinggrammar.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. The school's own website states the test is commissioned from NFER, but this appears to be outdated wording — independent tutoring sources consistently name GL Assessment, and the specific 2026 test dates found on the school's own registration page match what those sources report for GL Assessment's schedule. Genuinely unresolved at a primary source.sources conflict
The school's own site states NFER; independent tutoring sources consistently say GL Assessment, corroborated by matching test dates. The consortium's own site couldn't be accessed to resolve this definitively.
- Test format
- Two separate papers, sat on different days: Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning, combined into a single aggregate standardised score.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- A base aggregate of 220 for September 2027 entry, described as 'the county standard' representing the top 25% of the Year 6 cohort — but this is not a fixed ceiling here. If more than 150 qualifying boys apply from Spalding or the named Feeder Parishes, the school's own policy states the effective threshold 'will be raised in order to contain the number of admissions.'
- Superselective?
- Yes
Confirmed directly from the school's own admissions policy: if the priority geographic group (Spalding and 25 named Feeder Parishes) produces more than 150 qualifying applicants, the aggregate score is dynamically raised and places are allocated in descending score order — a genuine score-ranking mechanism, not a flat pass/fail threshold. If fewer than 150 qualify from that priority area, remaining places go to out-of-area qualifiers in descending score order too. This is a hybrid model: geography (residence in the priority area) is applied before score-ranking, so a lower-scoring in-area boy can still be admitted ahead of a higher-scoring out-of-area boy — but within each geographic tier, it functions as genuinely superselective.
Catchment & priority criteria
Not exclusionary — any qualifying boy may apply regardless of address. A named 'priority area' of Spalding and 25 feeder parishes across South Lincolnshire (including Holbeach, Long Sutton, Crowland, Sutton Bridge and others) is used to rank applicants ahead of those from outside it when oversubscribed.
- Children with an EHC Plan naming the school
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children who reached the qualifying score
- Boys in Spalding or the Feeder Parishes who qualified, ranked by score if this group alone exceeds 150 places
- Boys outside Spalding/the Feeder Parishes who qualified, ranked by score (highest first) for any remaining places
- Tie-break: straight-line distance, then independent lottery
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 59.8 (Lincolnshire LA average 45.2, England 45.9) | 75.8% (Lincolnshire LA 42.8%, England 45.9%) | +0.3 ('Above average', confidence interval +0.06 to +0.54) — this is the last year Progress 8 could be calculated for this school | — | — |
| A-level (138 students): average grade B- (35.3 points per entry, Lincolnshire average C+/34.08, England C+/34.38). | |||||
| 2025 | 58.8 (Lincolnshire LA average 45.1, England 46.1) | 75.2% (Lincolnshire LA 41.9%, England 45.4%) | Not calculated — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally | verify with school | verify with school |
| A-level (115 students): average grade C+ (34.19 points per entry, Lincolnshire average 34.44, England 36.1), progress score +0.03 ('Average'), AAB+ with 2 facilitating subjects 15.7%. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Good, in every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. The previous inspection (2015) also rated the school Good.
- Date
- 6-7 February 2024
- 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/139304
- 2. School's own Admissions Policy, 2027 entry — https://www.spaldinggrammar.lincs.sch.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=931&type=pdf
- 3. Ofsted report, inspected 6-7 February 2024 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50242682
- 4. School's own History page — founded 1588 — https://www.spaldinggrammar.lincs.sch.uk/page/?title=History&pid=247
- 5. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/139304/spalding-grammar-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
- 6. DfE Compare School Performance — Advanced level qualifications — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/139304/spalding-grammar-school/16-to-18/advanced-level-qualifications
Last updated 2026-09-01. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.