The King's School, Grantham

About The King's School, Grantham

The King's School, Grantham, stands out sharply against the Lincolnshire local authority average for secondary schools. Its Progress 8 score of +1.1 is a full 1.16 points above the LA average of -0.06, placing it in the 'well above average' national band. This is not a marginal difference; it places the school first out of eight schools in the South Kesteven district and second out of 273 schools across the East Midlands region. Nationally, it ranks 45th out of 3,141 schools, putting it in the top 1.4 per cent of all state secondaries. The school is a selective boys' grammar (ages 11-18), so these figures reflect a highly able intake, but the scale of the outperformance relative to the local benchmark is still remarkable. The school's Attainment 8 score of 70.7 and EBacc average point score of 6.48 confirm that pupils are not just making strong progress but are also achieving at a very high absolute level.

Academically, the school delivers consistently strong results across the board. At KS4, 97.7 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above in English and maths, and over half (50.3 per cent) entered the EBacc suite of subjects. The Progress 8 breakdown shows particularly strong gains in maths (+1.29) and the EBacc subjects (+1.24), with English also well above average at +0.99. At A-level, the school's value-added score of +0.36 is rated 'above average', with pupils averaging a B+ grade per entry (44.34 points). The best three A-levels averaged out at an A- grade (45.44 points), and 34.4 per cent of entries achieved at least an AAB. The school has a large sixth form of 153 pupils, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2022 rated it Good across all categories, including behaviour, leadership, and sixth-form provision. This represents a downgrade from its previous Outstanding rating in 2008, but the inspection noted continued strong performance.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, it received 300 applications for 174 places, with 227 first-preference applications and 169 first-preference offers. This gives an oversubscription ratio of 1.72, so families need to be confident in the selective entry process. Facilities include a swimming pool, sports hall, science labs, art studios, and a dedicated sixth form centre. The school offers a wide range of sports including rugby, football, tennis, and martial arts, plus clubs such as Young Enterprise, Model UN, and Debate. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, autistic spectrum disorder, and physical disabilities. With 6.7 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school has a relatively low proportion of disadvantaged pupils compared to the national average, but its academic results suggest it serves its community very effectively. This is a school for academically ambitious boys and their families who are prepared for a competitive admissions process and expect high attainment and strong progress throughout secondary and sixth form.

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