I ranked every UK grammar school by 11+ pass rate. The top five are not where most parents look.

There are 163 grammar schools in England. Parents tend to circle five or six of them — the household names, the ones on the front pages of league tables. The data we pulled this term suggests the smart money is sometimes elsewhere.

What "pass rate" actually means — and why most parents misread it

Here is the first thing to understand before reading any 11+ ranking. There is no single national 11+ pass rate. Each grammar school (or grammar consortium — the Bucks system, the Kent test, the SET in London, the Birmingham Consortium) sets its own qualifying score and its own catchment rules. A child who "passes" the Buckinghamshire 11+ is not guaranteed a place; they're guaranteed eligibility. After that, it's distance from the school, sibling priority, and oversubscription.

So when journalists talk about a 1-in-10 pass rate at Henrietta Barnett, what they often mean is the offer rate: applications versus places. That is a brutally different number. Schools like Henrietta Barnett, Wilson's, Tiffin and Pate's have offer rates in the 10-18% range. Schools in less talked-about counties have offer rates around 50-60% — sometimes higher — for children who sit a properly prepared 11+.

The smartest 11+ strategy isn't picking the most famous school. It's picking the one where your child has a realistic chance and a manageable commute.

The top five overlooked grammars (where the odds are best)

The schools below all consistently produce strong GCSE and A-Level results, and all have offer rates significantly more forgiving than the headline-grabbers. None of these are easy — they are still selective, still demanding — but the realistic odds are very different from what most parents assume.

1. Sir William Borlase's Grammar School (Marlow, Buckinghamshire) — A consistently high-achieving school within the Bucks 11+ system. Out-of-catchment families take note: Borlase has historically had one of the higher offer rates within the consortium for qualifying children. The town is liveable, the train line is decent, and academic results are strong without the Wilson's-level frenzy.

2. Newport Girls' High School (Shropshire) — A free state grammar with consistently excellent results and a meaningful catchment area in the West Midlands. The 11+ is the West Midlands consortium test (CSSE-style). Offer rate is much friendlier than the equivalents in Birmingham or Sutton.

3. Stratford Girls' Grammar School (Warwickshire) — Part of the Warwickshire Selection Test. Strong results, manageable competition, and an oversubscription pattern that rewards genuine preparation rather than coaching theatre. A real option for families in the wider Midlands.

4. Caistor Grammar School (Lincolnshire) — One of the smaller grammars but consistently among the top 20% nationally for Progress 8 scores. Lincolnshire's 11+ system is its own beast — the GL Assessment paper — and the rural catchment makes places more accessible to families willing to commute or relocate.

5. Skipton Girls' High School (North Yorkshire) — The only grammar school in the area, hence very strong demand within its catchment but very little out-of-area competition. For families in or near the Yorkshire Dales, this is probably the best 11+ value in England.

The brutal-odds famous names (and what to expect)

If you are still set on the top-tier London or Outer London grammars, go in with realistic numbers. Here is what the most recent admissions data looks like for the household names:

• Henrietta Barnett School (Barnet): Approximately 2,500 applications for around 100 places. Effective offer rate: 4%.
• Wilson's School (Sutton): Roughly 2,200 applications for 192 places. Offer rate: under 10%, with a high pre-qualifying bar.
• Tiffin School (Kingston): Around 2,800 applications for 180 places. Offer rate: 6-8%, with significant catchment weighting.
• Pate's Grammar School (Cheltenham): 1,400+ applications for 150 places. Offer rate: roughly 10%, with strong out-of-area competition.
• Queen Elizabeth's Boys (Barnet): 2,400 applications for 180 places. Offer rate: under 8%.

If your child is bright but not unusually so, these schools are statistically a low-probability play. They are absolutely worth trying as a stretch target — but pair them with realistic options.

Geographic patterns worth knowing

The 11+ map of England is unevenly distributed. Some regions have no grammar schools at all. Others have entire selective systems. Knowing which county you are competing in matters as much as how well your child is prepared.

Kent has the largest grammar school system in the country — over 30 schools — and a county-wide test (the Kent Test). For a Kent-born child, the realistic odds of attending some grammar school are surprisingly good, even if a specific top-tier school is competitive.

Buckinghamshire runs a single county-wide test, with the option to qualify by appeal. Around 25-30% of all Year 6s in Bucks ultimately qualify — far higher than most counties.

Birmingham (the King Edward VI consortium) is one of the most competitive selective systems in the country, with offer rates often below 10% for the top schools but considerably better for the consortium's non-flagship sites.

London (Sutton and Bexley) is the toughest market by some distance. The Sutton schools alone receive over 10,000 applications across their grammar group.

What pass rate doesn't tell you

A grammar school is only a good school if it is a good school for your child. Some children flourish in fiercely competitive academic cultures. Others wilt. The schools with the highest A-Level results are not always the schools producing the happiest children. Before chasing a place, visit. Speak to current parents. Look at pastoral provision, music and sport, and what happens to children who fall to the middle of the year group. A grammar school place is only worth pursuing if the school is the right one for the actual child.

A realistic prep timeline

If your child is currently in Year 4 or Year 5 and you are considering the 11+, the most useful sequence is this:

• Year 4 spring: Reading volume. Wide vocabulary is the single biggest predictor of 11+ verbal reasoning performance.
• Year 4 summer: Light familiarisation with reasoning question types. Not heavy practice — just exposure.
• Year 5 autumn: Begin structured 11+ tuition (typically 1 hour per week) with a tutor who knows your specific target test.
• Year 5 spring/summer: Past papers under timed conditions. Identify weak topics and target them.
• Year 5 summer to Year 6 September: Final preparation block — most 11+ tests are sat in September or October of Year 6.

If you are starting later than this, online 11+ tutoring is your best lever. A specialist tutor who knows the exact test your child will sit can compress 6-9 months of group-class preparation into a focused 10-12 weeks. We match families with vetted 11+ specialists across the UK within 24 hours.