The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough, Gainsborough

In 2026, pupils at The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough averaged an Attainment 8 score of 62, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.9 in Lincolnshire and 47 across England.

74% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Lincolnshire and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 62.5.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.26: 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 60.3, against 62.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 2 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Spanish and Business Studies.

The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough 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, 222 families put The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough as their first choice and 270 named it as one of their preferences, for 188 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 39 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough 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, The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough 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.

Of the 191 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 91% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 8% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 132 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 63% went on to university or other higher education, 7% to apprenticeships and 20% into work. 43% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

10.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 6.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (71%), Asian (12%) and Mixed (6%).

In 2026, 17 pupils (1.5%) received SEN support and 1 (0.1%) 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 autism.

The nearest railway station is Gainsborough Central Rail Station, about 0.9 miles away in a straight line.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Queen Elizabeth High School (opposite), 90 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 185 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lincolnshire (33), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough issued 15 suspensions, 1.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough are Castle Wood Academy (0.4 miles), Mercer's Wood Academy (0.4 miles), Morton Trentside Primary School (0.5 miles) and The Gainsborough Parish Church Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.