Barnet, Greater London · Barnet
Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet
Pure rank order on a combined test score, no catchment, no sibling priority — and even its own published place count doesn't agree with itself.
QE Barnet has taught boys since a 1573 royal charter. Admission is unusually stripped-down for a London grammar school: no catchment area, no sibling priority, no stated first-priority category for looked-after children — just a combined English and maths score, ranked from the top down. A specialist admissions guide names it as one of only three genuinely superselective schools in Greater London, alongside The Henrietta Barnett School and St Olave's Grammar School. Even so, the school's own paperwork isn't fully internally consistent: its 2020 admissions document and current third-party guides say 180 places, while its own 2024/25 profile for university counsellors says 192.
Key facts
- Gender
- boys
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- London
- Local authority
- Barnet
- Established
- 1573
- DfE URN
- 136290
- Website
- https://www.qebarnet.co.uk
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- Not named by the school itself, which states only that papers are marked and standardised 'by the test provider.' Most independent 11+ guides say GL Assessment, consistent with the school's own recommendation of GL-branded sample materials — though at least one secondary source instead describes a bespoke school-set test, which conflicts with the confirmed all-multiple-choice format below.sources conflict
The school won't name its test supplier. Most independent guides say GL Assessment, consistent with the school's own GL-branded practice-material recommendation; at least one secondary source instead claims a bespoke test with extended written responses, which doesn't match the confirmed all-multiple-choice format. Not resolved from primary sources.
- Test format
- Two multiple-choice papers — English and mathematics — sat in a single session on one of two test dates; each is age-standardised then combined into one score. The school doesn't state paper duration; third-party guides suggest roughly 50 minutes each.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- A combined score of 225 or higher is required just to be eligible for consideration, per the school's own admissions FAQ — meeting this is not a guarantee of a place. The Published Admission Number is given as 180 in the school's 2020 admissions document (matching current third-party guides), though the school's own 2024/25 School Profile document states '192 places' for the same year group — an unresolved discrepancy reported here rather than picked between. Places are offered strictly in descending rank order of score to the highest-scoring eligible candidates until places fill.partly verified
The Published Admission Number is given as 180 in a 2020-dated admissions document (and matches current third-party guides), but the school's own 2024/25 School Profile PDF instead states '192 places' for the same intake — an internal inconsistency reported rather than resolved.
- Superselective?
- Yespartly verified
Sourced to a specialist admissions-guide website rather than an official government or LA statistical comparison, though the underlying rank-order admissions mechanism is confirmed directly by the school's own primary materials.
Named by the specialist admissions guide PrepGlide as one of only three schools it classifies as superselective in Greater London — alongside The Henrietta Barnett School and St Olave's Grammar School — on the basis that these schools attract thousands of applicants for a few hundred places. The underlying rank-order, no-catchment admissions mechanism is independently confirmed by the school's own materials.
Catchment & priority criteria
No geographic catchment area or distance-based priority zone is published, and the school's own FAQ states plainly that admission is based solely on entrance-test results — no priority for siblings, Pupil Premium, or multiple births. Straight-line distance from home to the school's main gate is used only to break ties for the final available place(s); any remaining tie is settled by independent random ballot. Notably, neither of the school's own admissions documents locatable for this profile sets out a first-priority category for looked-after or previously looked-after children, which is unusual relative to most state schools' published arrangements.partly verified
Based on the school's live FAQ and its most recent full criteria document found, dated for 2020 entry — no more current statutory 'Determined Admission Arrangements' document could be located to confirm whether a looked-after-children priority has since been added.
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 85.6 | 99% achieved grade 5+ in 5+ subjects including English and Maths | +1.22 (per the school's own dedicated 2025 GCSE results page — see flags for a conflicting figure elsewhere) | 86.3% (cumulative A*-A) | N/A — average grade reported as A* (52.66 points); 53.7% of grades were A* |
| 99.5% entered EBacc, average points score 8.55. | |||||
| 2024 | 86.51 | 100% | +1.22 (per the school's own dedicated 2024 GCSE results page — a separate school 'School Profile' document instead states 0.94 for an unspecified year; see flags) | — | — |
| A-level: 52% A*, 34% A, 10% B, 3% C, 0% D/E/U, against a UK-wide 2024 comparison of 9.3% A* and 18.3% A shown in the school's own profile document. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Outstanding
- Date
- 17 May 2022
- Report
- Read the full report
Sources
- 1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA, region — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/136290
- 2. School's own admissions timeline for September 2027 entry — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/admissions/
- 3. School's own Secondary Transfer Entrance Test FAQs — format, qualifying score, tie-break — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/secondary-transfer-entrance-test-faqs/
- 4. School's own sample test papers page — GL Assessment-branded materials — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/admissions-information/sample-test-papers/
- 5. 2020 admissions criteria document — Published Admission Number, waiting list mechanics — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Admissions-Guide-for-Parents-2020-Intake.pdf
- 6. School's own history page — 1573 royal charter — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/about-us-2/our-history/
- 7. Ofsted report, inspected 17 May 2022 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50187751
- 8. School's own GCSE 2024 results page — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/about-us/school-performance/gcse-results-2024/
- 9. School's own GCSE 2025 results page — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/about-us/school-performance/gcse-results-2025/
- 10. School's own A-level 2025 results page — https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/about-us/school-performance/a-level-results-2025/
- 11. School Profile 2024/25 (for university counsellors) — conflicting Progress 8 and place-count figures — https://qebarnet.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/QE-School-Profile-2024-25.pdf
- 12. PrepGlide — classification as one of three Greater London superselectives — https://prepglide.co.uk/resources/consortiums/super-selective
Last updated 2026-08-30. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.