King Edward VI Grammar School Louth 11+ Guide 2026: Admissions, Exam & Prep

King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth (KEVIGS) is a selective grammar school founded by royal charter in 1551, and Ofsted’s latest overall outcome, from its inspection on 8 May 2024, is Good. For September 2027 entry, children who were in Year 5 during the 2025–26 academic year had to register for the Lincolnshire Consortium 11+ by 31 March 2026 and sit two GL Assessment papers in September 2026, and a combined qualifying score of 220 is needed to be considered for one of the school’s 145 Year 7 places. This guide covers the school’s history, the test format, key 2026 dates, oversubscription criteria, and how to build an effective preparation strategy.

Key Facts: King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth

About King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth

Founded by royal charter in 1551, King Edward VI Grammar School is one of the oldest schools in the country. The school is located on Edward Street in Louth, Lincolnshire. Get Information about Schools records 900 pupils, aged 11 to 18, and the school’s own sixth form provides an academic A Level pathway to higher education.

KEVIGS has long been a cornerstone of academic life in Louth and the surrounding area. Its latest Ofsted inspection, on 8 May 2024, judged the school Good overall, and Good for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth form provision. The school is co-educational, admitting both boys and girls across its 11 to 18 age range.

The school describes its curriculum as broad, knowledge rich and ambitious; at Key Stage 3 students study the arts, humanities, languages, science, English, maths, PE, RSHE and food technology. Outside the classroom, the school offers arts, music, drama, sport, a Combined Cadet Force, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and a range of other clubs, societies and educational trips. This combination of academic ambition and extracurricular breadth is central to the school’s ethos.

Is KEVIGS Part of the Lincolnshire Grammar School Consortium?

Yes. King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth is a full member of the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools — a group of 14 selective schools across Lincolnshire that share a single entrance test. This means that a child registering for KEVIGS Louth follows the same testing arrangements as a child applying to Bourne Grammar School, Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, The King’s School Grantham, or any of the other consortium members.

The consortium model offers significant practical advantages for families. Rather than sitting a separate test for each school, a child takes the tests once in the academic year, and the Consortium says a child can apply to a grammar school other than the one where they were tested. Registration forms are returned to the individual schools. A single qualifying score of 220 or above applies across the consortium schools. Parents can list up to four schools in order of preference on their school application, and offers are made by the local authority on National Offer Day, 1 March 2027.

Caistor Grammar School is the one notable exception within Lincolnshire: it operates outside the consortium and administers its own tests. Families interested in Caistor should check the school’s own website for its testing and registration arrangements. For a broader introduction to the entrance process, read our guide to what the 11+ exam involves.

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What Does the Lincolnshire 11+ Test Cover?

The Lincolnshire Consortium entrance test is provided by GL Assessment and consists of two separate papers sat in successive weeks in September. Candidates take a Verbal Reasoning test and a Non-Verbal Reasoning test, and the Consortium says the tests are designed to identify potential rather than to measure attainment.

Paper 1 — Verbal Reasoning (VR): This test is preceded by a separate Preliminary Practice Test, and the answers to practice questions are neither marked nor taken into consideration.

Paper 2 — Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness (NVR/SA): This test is divided into specific skill sections, each with at least one practice question. Both sections are answered in a multiple-choice format using an OMR answer sheet.

All scores are age-standardised before being combined. This means the score is adjusted for age, so a child born in July or August is not at a disadvantage to one born in the previous September or October. The two standardised scores are added together, and children achieving 220 or more across both papers are deemed to have qualified.

What Are the Key 2026 Dates for KEVIGS Louth Admissions?

For children seeking September 2027 entry to Year 7 at King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth, the following 2026 timetable applies:

Registration opened: Wednesday 7 January 2026 Registration closed: Tuesday 31 March 2026 Familiarisation materials: primary schools’ deadline for receiving them was Friday 26 June 2026 Verbal Reasoning paper (Paper 1): Friday 11 or Saturday 12 September 2026 Non-Verbal Reasoning & Spatial Awareness paper (Paper 2): Friday 18 or Saturday 19 September 2026 Results emailed to parents: Friday 9 October 2026 National closing date for applications: 31 October 2026
• National Offer Day: 1 March 2027

Registration for the September 2026 tests closed on 31 March 2026 and was completed through the Admissions section of KEVIGS’s website; families who missed it should contact the school’s Admissions Officer. Parents living in Lincolnshire must also apply through Lincolnshire County Council, listing their preferred schools including KEVIGS Louth: the national closing date is 31 October 2026 (Lincolnshire County Council accepts applications until 12 noon on 14 December 2026). Passing the test is not an offer of a place: an application is still needed, and parents living outside Lincolnshire apply through their home local authority, whose own deadlines apply. For a full national timetable, see our 11+ exam dates 2026–2027 guide. Official application details are available on the Lincolnshire County Council school admissions page.

How Does the Oversubscription Criteria Work at KEVIGS?

With 145 Year 7 places available, and applications welcomed from Louth, the surrounding villages, Market Rasen, North East Lincolnshire and beyond, KEVIGS Louth has more qualified applicants than places each year. Places for children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) naming the school are allocated first. When more children reach the 220 qualifying standard than there are places, the school then applies the following priority order:

1. Looked-after children and previously looked-after children who have met the qualifying standard
Siblings of children who will still be attending KEVIGS when the child is due to start
2. Twins who have both passed the test for the same year of entry
Children in Year 6 who live within the traditional catchment area or attend one of the school’s named primary schools, ranked by test score if this category is oversubscribed Remaining qualifying candidates, ranked by test score

The school’s admissions policy treats its catchment area as its free bus travel zone, as determined by Lincolnshire County Council, and its named primary schools include Kidgate and LaceyField Junior Academy in Louth. Parents should check the KEVIGS admissions policy for September 2027 for the full list of named primary schools and the catchment area. The policy states that over the past five years the school has offered places to all children who passed the entrance test, were in Year 6 and attended a named feeder primary school and/or lived in the free bus travel zone.

What Is the Sixth Form at KEVIGS Like?

The sixth form at King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth is an integral part of the school’s identity. Sixth-form students study A Levels, which can be taken in almost any combination, across subject areas including business and economics, creative arts, humanities, modern foreign languages, science and social sciences. Entry to the sixth form is selective: the admissions policy for September 2027 sets 50 places for external entry into Year 12 and requires at least a GCSE grade 6 in the subjects a student wishes to study, plus grade 4 or above in English and mathematics.

One notable feature of KEVIGS’s sixth form is that it is the school’s own sixth form rather than a separate or combined sixth form with another institution. This means students can continue from Year 11 into the sixth form, and course-qualified students transferring from KEVIGS Year 11 are placed first when a course is oversubscribed. The school says it is committed to giving all students high quality and impartial careers education, information, advice and guidance.

What Makes KEVIGS Historically Significant?

The school was founded by royal charter in 1551 and describes itself as one of the oldest schools in the country. Generations of children from Louth and its hinterland have been educated within its walls.

The school describes itself as a forward-thinking grammar school that values a broader, holistic education as well as academic success. This history is balanced with recent investment: a new sports hall was added in 2023, and a new computer science lab and library area were launched in September 2025.

How Should My Child Prepare for the 11+ at KEVIGS Louth?

The Lincolnshire GL Assessment tests two areas: Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness. The Consortium’s position is that “No special preparation is needed” and that too much preparation “may be counter-productive”; its FAQ adds that additional commercial practice is “unnecessary and may be unhelpful”.

Verbal Reasoning is the first of the two papers. Practice materials are similar in format to the actual 11+ tests, and the Consortium’s familiarisation materials give children experience of answering similar questions in a timed situation. Working quickly and accurately matters: the tests are constructed with an element of time pressure, and not all candidates complete all the answers.

Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Awareness is the second of the two papers. The Consortium says the tests are not tests of attainment and that the familiarisation tests are to ensure candidates are familiar with the style of questions. Paper 2 is divided into specific skill sections, each with at least one practice question, so pacing across sections is worth practising.

A one-to-one tutor can identify the specific question types or skills where your child is weakest and design a targeted programme for those gaps. At Leading Tuition, our specialist 11+ tutors are experienced with the Lincolnshire GL Assessment and work with children across the region, including through online tuition.

What Is KEVIGS’s Approach to Learning and Wellbeing?

KEVIGS has a clear commitment to developing not just academic excellence but the broader attributes that prepare pupils for life beyond school. The school describes a friendly and inclusive ethos, and says it aims to equip students with skills, confidence and resilience. The enrichment programme — spanning the arts, music, drama, sport, the Combined Cadet Force, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and other clubs and societies — reflects the school’s aim of a broader, holistic education as well as academic success.

The school also runs an Open Evening in the summer term, which gives families the chance to meet staff and students and see what life at KEVIGS is like.

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Reviewed September 2026: dates, figures and rules checked against the KEVIGS admissions policy for September 2027 and admissions pages, the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools' 11+ Key Dates 2026 and testing pages, Lincolnshire County Council's admissions pages, Ofsted's provider page and Get Information about Schools.

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