QEGS Penrith 11+ guide

Thinking about applying to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School? Find out everything you need to know about admissions in 2025–2026 and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus entrance exam.

Key information for Queen Elizabeth Grammar School

• Address: Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Ullswater Road, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7EG
• Number of pupils: 1,000+
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 160
• 11+ exam: GL Assessment
• Catchment area: yes

Dates for your diary

• Thursday 1st May 2025: 11+ exam registration opens
• Thursday 10th July 2025: 11+ exam registration closes
• Thursday 18th September 2025: 11+ entrance exam
• Mid-October 2025: parents receive 11+ results
• Friday 31st October 2025: secondary school applications close at 5pm
• Monday 2nd March 2026: secondary school national offers day

About Queen Elizabeth Grammar School

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is a mixed grammar school in Penrith, Cumbria. It was established by a royal charter in 1594. QEGS is the only grammar school in Cumbria, and the northernmost grammar in England.

Tradition is important at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. Students are taught traditional values of respect, honesty, responsibility and self-discipline. Meanwhile, the school makes use of the latest technology to provide a modern education. Recent additions to the site include a suite of foreign language classrooms with interactive facilities.

Beyond the classroom, students excel in the sports and the arts. There is an array of extracurricular clubs on offer and an extensive programme of educational visits.

How to apply to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School is a selective state school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place in Year 7.

Registration for the QEGS 11 plus opens on the school website on Thursday 1st May 2025 and closes on Thursday 10th July 2025. Your child will take the exam on Thursday 18th September 2025 and you’ll receive their results in mid-October 2025.

To apply to Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by Friday 31st October 2025.

Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Queen Elizabeth Grammar School below.

What subjects are on the 11 plus?

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School uses 11 plus papers supplied by GL Assessment. This is one of the main 11 plus providers in England.

All GL Assessment 11 plus papers are multiple-choice. Your child will have separate answer sheets which they will use to mark their answers. These are marked electronically.

The QEGS 11 plus consists of two papers, each around 50 minutes in length. These papers consist of questions in English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.

• English: this consists of a reading comprehension task. Some questions might also assess spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Maths: questions assess your child’s knowledge and understanding of the concepts on the Key Stage 2 maths curriculum.
• Verbal reasoning: this involves using logic and reasoning to solve problems with written information, like letters, words, symbols and numbers.
• Non-verbal reasoning: this involves using logic and reasoning to solve problems with visual information, like shapes, diagrams and pictures.

Verbal and non-verbal reasoning aren’t taught on the primary school curriculum, so your child might be unfamiliar with these types of questions. Incorporating reasoning questions into your child’s 11 plus prep can help them feel more confident on exam day.

How does place allocation work at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School?

Your child will receive a score in each of the subjects on the test, plus an overall (aggregate) score. Your child will need to achieve a minimum score in each area, and a minimum aggregate score, to be eligible for a place at QEGS. The pass marks are set each year after the exam, as they depend on the performance of the cohort.

First, 32 places (20% of the year group) are allocated to the children with the highest scores in the entrance test. Children who have reached the required standard and have an Education, Health and Care Plan which names QEGS are also admitted first.

If the remaining number of children who achieve the qualifying score exceeds 160, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School uses oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in this order:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children
2. Children who have a sibling attending QEGS at the same time that they would start school
3. Up to 10 places are reserved for children who receive pupil premium (including service premium)
4. Children of permanent members of QEGS staff (employed for at least two years)
5. Children who live within the QEGS catchment area, allocated in order of entrance test score
6. Other children, with priority given to those who live closest to the school

Does QEGS have a catchment area?

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School does have a catchment area. This covers Penrith at the centre and the surrounding areas.

A catchment area map is available on the school website.

Atom’s top tips for 11 plus preparation

The 11 plus is designed to select the most academically able children in the local area. Here are our top tips to help you and your child feel confident for exam day!

Bitesize learning

It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.

Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.

Read widely

11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.

Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.

Refine exam technique

When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.

Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.

With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers for GL Assessment 11 plus exams. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.

Celebrate progress

Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.

Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.