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Grammar schools are well-known for providing an excellent education at no cost. But with only just over 160 grammar schools in England, you might have limited choice in your area. Throw passing the 11 plus exam and catchment areas into the mix, and your child’s chances might be looking slim.
However, around 40% of grammar schools in England do accept children from beyond their local area. Scroll down to see which grammar schools in the UK don’t have catchment areas.
Key takeaways:
67 grammar schools in England do not have catchment or priority areas
Some grammar schools without catchment or priority areas might still look at how close your child lives to the school
Even if your child doesn’t live in a catchment area, they may still be eligible for a place at your target school
What is a catchment area?
If you’re paying attention to your target school’s admissions policies (and we always recommend reading these carefully!), you might see the terms catchment area, priority area or designated area.
These terms broadly mean the same thing. Usually, they mean that a child living within a defined area is prioritised for a place at that school.
Schools define their catchment or priority areas in different ways. Some common ways to ‘map out’ these areas include:
Distance catchment areas: the area covers a particular radius from the school. For instance, children who live within five miles of the school address might be defined as ‘within catchment’.
District catchment areas: the area covers particular local districts or parishes surrounding the school.
Free transport area: a particular area served by free transport to and from the school. This is common for Lincolnshire grammar schools.
Map-based areas: the catchment area is defined by points plotted on a map – usually with the school at or near the centre.
Postcode catchment areas: children who live within specific postcodes are prioritised for places.
Some schools have more than one priority area. These might be known as Priority Area 1, Priority Area 2, and so on. In these cases, children who live in Priority Area 1 are prioritised for places first. When these places are filled, the school allocates places to children who live in Priority Area 2.
Even if your child’s target school doesn’t have a catchment area, they might still prioritise children based on how close they live to the school. This usually involves looking at either a straight line distance from the child’s address to the school or the shortest walking distance between the two.
Distance from the school is often used as either:
An admissions criterion: children are ranked based on how close they live to the school.
A tiebreaker: the distance is only used if two or more children meet all the same criteria, but only one place is available.
Why do some schools have catchment areas?
Catchment areas are often used to manage registration numbers and ensure that schools are able to serve their local communities. Grammar schools in dense urban areas (such as London and Birmingham) often have catchment areas. Thousands of children living locally in the city might pass the school's entrance exam, but there could only be 180 places available. A defined catchment area can help prioritise places.
It's not as common for grammar schools to have catchment areas in less densely populated areas, such as rural locations or further away from big cities. In these cases, more children are likely to live further from the school, so it doesn’t make sense to prioritise places based on location. Devon, Kent, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire and the Wirral have many grammar schools without catchment areas.
Can my child still get a place if we don’t live in the catchment area?
If you live outside your target school’s catchment area, your child might still be eligible for a place.
Grammar schools follow admissions criteria when they decide which children to offer places to. This is a list of criteria used to prioritise places, where children who meet Criterion 1 are prioritised first, followed by children who meet Criterion 2, and so on. Your child will be considered for a place based on the highest Criterion they meet.
Take a look at this example:
Example School’s admissions criteria:
Example School prioritises places for children who have met the qualifying test score in this order:
Looked after children and previously looked after children
Children who are eligible for the pupil premium
Children of staff at Example School (employed for a minimum of two years)
Children who live within the catchment area
Children with a sibling at Example School, who will still be on the school roll when the applicant starts Year 7
All other children who live outside the catchment area, ranked based on test score
In the example above, any child who has achieved the qualifying test score, and who is looked after (i.e. in care) or previously looked after, or is eligible for the pupil premium, or has a parent employed by the school, will be prioritised for a place before children who do not meet any of these criteria but who live in the catchment area.
If your child does not meet any criteria except for Criterion 7, they could still be considered for a place after all the places in the criteria above have been filled. This could happen if not enough children who live in the catchment area achieve the qualifying standard. Your child is more likely to be eligible for a place in this situation if they achieve a high 11 plus score.
Bear in mind that some local areas are very competitive. For example, no child who lives outside the Redbridge common catchment area (East London) has ever been offered a place at one of the two Redbridge grammar schools. If you are considering one of these grammar schools, it would be unwise for your child to take the test unless they live within the common catchment area.
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Which grammar schools don’t have a catchment area or a priority area?
East Midlands
There are nine grammar schools in the East Midlands which accept children who meet the qualifying standard in the entrance exam but live outside the local area. These schools are all in Lincolnshire:
Greater London
Eight grammar schools in Greater London do not have defined catchment or priority areas – including all four grammar schools in the London Borough of Bexley. However, these four grammar schools give priority to children living closest to the school.
Wilson’s School, Sutton (children who are ranked identically are prioritised if they live in the London Borough of Sutton)
North East England
There are two grammar schools in North East England which do not have catchment or priority areas. Both of these grammar schools are in West Yorkshire.
North West England
There are seven grammar schools in North West England which do not have defined catchment or priority areas. The Wirral grammar schools do, however, prioritise children based on how close they live to the school.
Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School, Lancashire – however, children who attend local primary schools are prioritised for places
South East England
There are 22 grammar schools in South East England which do not have defined catchment areas. However, some of these schools prioritise children based on their distance from home to school. Some also prioritise children who attend specific local feeder schools.
Holcombe Grammar School, Medway – although children attending primary schools in the Thinking Schools’ Academy Trust are prioritised for places
St Bernard’s Catholic Grammar School, Slough – however, children who attend local Catholic primary schools are prioritised for places
The Rochester Grammar School – although children attending primary schools in the Thinking Schools’ Academy Trust are prioritised for places
Upton Court Grammar School, Slough – however, children attending Foxborough Primary School or Trevelyan Middle School are prioritised for places
South West England
14 grammar schools in South West England do not have catchment or priority areas. This includes all grammar schools in Gloucestershire and Devon. In rare cases – such as needing to decide between the final two places – the child who lives closest to the school might be prioritised.
West Midlands
There are five grammar schools in the West Midlands which do not have catchment or priority areas. For these five grammar schools, the child’s distance from the school might only be used if they are tied for the last available place.
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