The Lincolnshire 11+ in plain English
Lincolnshire's grammar admissions run on a consortium model — one shared test, one shared score, used across all 14 of the county's state grammars. The test is supplied by GL Assessment, sat in mid-September of Year 6, and covers English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning in standard GL format.
Compared to southern grammar regions like Kent or Bucks, Lincolnshire is less coaching-saturated. The county's lower population density means tutoring isn't ubiquitous, qualifying-score thresholds are lower, and most candidates who pass do receive a grammar-school place. That said, the most over-subscribed grammars do have local catchment thresholds that effectively exclude out-of-area applicants.
Paper format
Standard GL Assessment multiple-choice papers across four components, sat over one or two sittings depending on the year:
- English — comprehension and language conventions, multiple-choice on a separate answer sheet.
- Maths — KS2 arithmetic, problem-solving, ratio, geometry, time.
- Verbal Reasoning — standard GL types: cloze, antonyms, codes, analogies.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning — sequences, rotations, mirror images, odd-one-out.
The 14 Lincolnshire grammars
Spread geographically across the county:
- North Lincolnshire — Caistor Grammar (mixed), Sir John Nelthorpe (Brigg, mixed).
- Lincoln — Lincoln Christ's Hospital (mixed).
- Boston / east coast — Boston Grammar (boys), Boston High School for Girls, Skegness Grammar (mixed), King Edward VI Grammar Louth (mixed).
- Spalding — Spalding Grammar (boys), Spalding High School (girls).
- Bourne / Stamford / Sleaford — Bourne Grammar (mixed), Stamford grammars, Carre's Grammar Sleaford (boys), Kesteven and Sleaford High (girls), Queen Elizabeth's Grammar Horncastle (boys).
Each grammar's catchment differs — distance and local priority matter. The county's geography means a child in north Lincolnshire is unlikely to attend a Stamford grammar in practice; check each school's admissions priorities before targeting.
Typical prep arc for Lincolnshire
A practical 12-month prep arc:
- Months 1-3 (early Year 5) — diagnostic review of KS2 foundations. Reading age, times tables, written maths methods. The Lincolnshire test rewards solid basics; foundation work goes a long way.
- Months 4-9 — GL question types one at a time. Build pattern recognition for VR/NVR, work through Maths problem-solving, English comprehension. No rush to timed papers yet.
- Months 10-12 — full timed mocks. Familiarisation with the multiple- choice answer sheet format and exam-day pacing.
Many Lincolnshire candidates benefit from once-a-week tutoring with structured home practice. Heavier prep is typically only necessary where you're targeting one of the more competitive grammars (Caistor, Boston, the Spalding pair, Bourne) and need to comfortably exceed the qualifying score for catchment-priority purposes.
Choosing a tutor
- Has the tutor prepped Lincolnshire 11+ candidates in recent years?
- Are they local enough to know which grammars are over-subscribed and which aren't?
- Do they offer online tutoring (likely the more practical option given the county's geography)?
- Can they describe the GL paper format and the typical question rotation across years?
Lincolnshire has fewer specialist 11+ tutors than the southern grammar regions, but the ones who are local know the test well. Online tutoring also opens up out-of-county tutors who specialise in GL Assessment papers and can prep for Lincolnshire as readily as Kent or Trafford.