Cheltenham, Gloucestershire · Gloucestershire

Pate's Grammar School

No sibling priority at all — 'purely down to the test' — and reputed to need a noticeably higher score than Gloucestershire's six other consortium grammars.

Pate's traces its roots to 1574, making it one of England's oldest grammar schools, though the modern co-educational academy sits in Cheltenham. It shares a single entrance test with Gloucestershire's six other grammar schools, sat by all seven on the same day, but Pate's own admissions policy explicitly rules out sibling priority — 'it is purely down to the test' — and independent 11+ guides consistently describe it as the most competitive of the seven, needing a noticeably higher score than its consortium peers.

Key facts

Gender: co-ed
Age range: 11-18
Region: South West
Local authority: Gloucestershire
Established: 1574
DfE URN: 136353
Website: https://www.patesgs.org/

Admissions

Admissions authority: The school sets its own test and criteria
Entrance test board: GL Assessment, shared across a consortium of Gloucestershire's seven grammar schools (Pate's, Denmark Road High, Marling, Ribston Hall High, Sir Thomas Rich's, Stroud High, The Crypt School); answer sheets are electronically marked by an independent company appointed by the consortium.
Test format: Two multiple-choice papers on the same day, sat at the candidate's allocated test centre: Paper 1 covers verbal skills (comprehension, vocabulary, verbal reasoning); Paper 2 covers non-verbal reasoning and mathematical knowledge. No separate English writing paper.sources conflict
The Gloucestershire Grammar Schools' own admissions information booklet gives each paper as 'approximately 45-50 minutes'; Pate's own 2027 admissions FAQ says 'around one hour.' Both are current documents from the same admissions cycle and neither has been reconciled.
Qualifying / pass mark: No pre-defined numeric pass mark — per Pate's own admissions policy, the 'Qualifying Standard... reflects a child's position in the rank order of standardised scores', with the standard Qualifying Group defined as the highest-ranking 250 candidates against a Published Admission Number of 150. Disadvantaged applicants (Pupil Premium / looked-after / previously looked-after / internationally adopted previously looked-after children) qualify for a Priority Place at a lower bar: within 15% of the 150th-ranked standardised score.
Superselective?: Yespartly verified
Based on independent 11+ tutoring/guide sites describing Pate's as needing a higher score than its consortium peers, not an official Gloucestershire-published table of average qualifying scores by school (which doesn't appear to exist) or Pate's own last-rank-offered data.

Catchment & priority criteria

No fixed geographic catchment area and no sibling priority at all — the school states plainly that admission is 'purely down to the test.' Places are allocated UK-wide in four tiers: children in care get first priority regardless of score; a small number of Priority Places go to disadvantaged applicants ranked by a mix of Pupil Premium status and residence in specified Cheltenham deprivation postcodes; most places go to qualifying Gloucestershire residents by rank order; and a guaranteed minimum of 45 places per year go to qualifying UK-wide applicants regardless of postcode. Equal scores are separated by straight-line distance to the school, then by supervised random allocation.partly verified

Based on the current policy document linked from Pate's live 2027-entry admissions page, which is not explicitly labelled 'Determined Arrangements' the way the equivalent 2026-entry document was. If a separately labelled determined-arrangements document exists for 2027 and differs, it should supersede this.

Looked-after, previously looked-after, or internationally adopted previously looked-after children meeting the Qualifying Standard (or within 15% of the 150th-ranked score)
Priority Places (max. 15): disadvantaged applicants ranked through five sub-criteria combining Pupil Premium eligibility and residence in specified Cheltenham deprivation postcodes
Non-Priority Places (Local): qualifying Gloucestershire residents, by rank order, until tiers 1-3 combined reach 105 places
Non-Priority Places (UK-wide): a guaranteed minimum of 45 places per cohort for any qualifying UK-resident applicant regardless of postcode

Results

Year	Attainment 8	GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths	Progress 8	A*–A	A*–B
2025	82.7	—	—	76%	93%
43% of all GCSE grades awarded were grade 9; 74% grades 8-9; 90% grades 7-9. A-level (259 leavers): 93% grades A-B, 76% A-A, 36.7% A*.
2024	82.7	—	+1.01 (year attribution uncertain — see flags)	72%	92%
52% of all GCSE grades awarded were grade 9; 79% grades 8-9; 92% grades 7-9. A-level (242 leavers): 92% grades A-B, 72% A-A, 35.5% A*.

Ofsted

Rating: Outstanding
Date: 5 March 2024
Report: Read the full report

Sources

1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, capacity, LA, region — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/136353
2. School's own Year 7 September 2027 entry admissions page — https://www.patesgs.org/Admissions/Year-7-September-2027-Entry/
3. Admissions Policy Statement for 2027 entry — qualifying standard, PAN, oversubscription criteria — https://www.patesgs.org/Admissions/Year-7-11-Entry/2027/PGS_Admissions_Policy_2027_Entry.pdf
4. Gloucestershire Grammar Schools Admissions Information — consortium test mechanics — https://www.patesgs.org/Admissions/Year-7-11-Entry/2027/Gloucestershire_Grammar_Schools_Admissions_Information.pdf
5. 2027 entry FAQ — names GL Assessment, no sibling priority, key dates — https://www.patesgs.org/Admissions/Year-7-11-Entry/2027/Frequently_Asked_Questions_2027_Entry.pdf
6. School's own 'About Us' page — founded 1574 — https://www.patesgs.org/About-Us/Our-School/
7. Ofsted provider page — https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/23/136353
8. Full Ofsted report, inspected 5 March 2024 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50245415
9. 2025 GCSE results announcement — https://www.patesgs.org/pates-celebrating-top-scoring-success-in-gcses/
10. 2025 A-level results announcement — https://www.patesgs.org/a-level-results-secure-bright-futures-for-pates-students/
11. 2024 GCSE results announcement — https://www.patesgs.org/record-breaking-gcses-on-results-day-2024/
12. 2024 A-level results announcement — https://www.patesgs.org/outstanding-a-level-results-for-pates-class-of-2024/
13. 11+ guide comparing Gloucestershire grammar schools' relative difficulty — https://owltutors.co.uk/school-entrance-guide/grammar-schools/in-gloucestershire/

Last updated 2026-08-30. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.