Spalding Grammar School, Spalding

In its own words: "Our 'mission and vision' is to provide an outstanding education for our students, which will give the opportunity for all to attain their full potential: intellectually, personally and socially."

From the headteacher's welcome: "A very warm welcome to Spalding Grammar School. Thank you for taking an interest in our School. We are proud of our students and the positive contribution they make to life within the School community and beyond the School gates."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis, athletics, basketball, swimming, cross-country and chess.

Coming up: an open evening on Wednesday 11 November 2026 and an open evening on Thursday 12 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Spalding Grammar School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 59.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Lincolnshire and 47 across England.

77% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Lincolnshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 58.8 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.3: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 54.6, against 60.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 5.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 20 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were French, Business Studies and Combined Science.

Spalding Grammar School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 153 families put Spalding Grammar School as their first choice and 271 named it as one of their preferences, for 146 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 30 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Spalding Grammar School admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Spalding Grammar School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Lincolnshire's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Lincolnshire has 15 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Spalding Grammar School are Spalding High School (0.5 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 62.5); and Spalding Academy (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.1).

Spalding Grammar School's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 2 schools.

Of the 149 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 95% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 26% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 140 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 59% went on to university or other higher education, 7% to apprenticeships and 16% into work. 31% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

7.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 10.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (57%) and Asian (17%).

In 2026, 45 pupils (4.4%) received SEN support and 10 (1%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Spalding Rail Station, about 620 metres away (roughly a 8-minute walk).

17 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Chancery Court (adjacent), 120 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 208 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lincolnshire (33), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Spalding Grammar School issued 31 suspensions, 3.1 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Spalding Grammar School are Spalding Parish Church of England Day School (0.4 miles), St Norbert's Catholic Voluntary Academy (0.5 miles), The Spalding St John the Baptist Church of England Primary School (0.5 miles) and Wygate Park Academy (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.