About the school
Ripon Grammar School is a co-educational selective grammar school with boarding, located on Clotherholme Road in the cathedral city of Ripon, North Yorkshire. It has been named the top-performing state school in the North by The Sunday Times for ten years running and is the only state-maintained boarding school in Yorkshire.
Ripon Grammar School was established by royal charter signed by Queen Mary in 1555, although a school existed in the town from at least 1348, and girls were first admitted in 1962. With over 900 students, it offers exceptional results, modern facilities and a wide range of extracurricular opportunities.
As a North Yorkshire grammar school, Ripon Grammar School selects pupils through the GL Assessment 11+, with the admission arrangements managed by North Yorkshire Council on the school’s behalf.
School type
Co-Educational Grammar (Day & Boarding)
Exam date
Saturday, 12th September 2026 (GL Assessment)
Exam board
GL Assessment 11+
Address
16 Clotherholme Road, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 2DG
Age range
11–18 (Years 7–13)
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Admissions information
The Ripon Grammar School entrance test is the GL Assessment 11+, sat on Saturday, 12th September 2026. Here is everything you need to know about the admissions process and exam structure.
Ripon Grammar School selects pupils through the GL Assessment 11+, with admission arrangements managed by North Yorkshire Council. From September 2026 the test consists of two papers: a Verbal Skills paper, which combines Key Stage 2 reading comprehension and spelling with verbal reasoning questions, and a Non-Verbal Reasoning paper that also includes Key Stage 2 mathematics. All questions are multiple-choice.
The Ripon Grammar School 11+ is sat on Saturday, 12th September 2026, at the school. Children take two papers – a Verbal Skills test (combining English comprehension, spelling and verbal reasoning) and a Non-Verbal Reasoning with mathematics test, divided into individually timed sections. Scores are age-standardised so younger children are not disadvantaged, and the school offers places to roughly the highest-scoring 28% of children in its catchment area.
Registration is managed by North Yorkshire Council; children living in the Ripon area are automatically entered for the selection test unless parents withdraw them, while out-of-area families apply to be tested. For 2027 entry, registration opens on Thursday, 30th April 2026 and closes on Monday, 30th June 2026. Families applying for boarding also complete a separate suitability for boarding form. Parents must name Ripon Grammar School on the North Yorkshire Common Application Form by 31st October 2026.
The test is sat on Saturday, 12th September 2026, with results issued to parents in mid-October 2026, before the Common Application Form deadline. The school offers places to roughly the highest-scoring 28% of children in the catchment area, and meeting the standard does not guarantee a place. School allocations are confirmed on national offer day, 1st March 2027.
Key admissions details
Ripon Grammar School has a Published Admission Number of 117 places for Year 7, including 14 boarding places, with any unfilled boarding places offered as day places.
Ripon Grammar School has a catchment area defined by North Yorkshire Council, and the school offers day places to the highest-scoring children living within it. Candidates living outside the catchment can apply but are considered after those inside, under the oversubscription rules. Boarding places have no catchment requirement and are allocated on the basis of suitability for boarding, exam performance and available boarding capacity.
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Ripon Grammar School was established by royal charter signed by Queen Mary in 1555, although a school existed in the town from at least 1348, and girls were first admitted in 1962. It is a co-educational selective grammar school with boarding in Ripon, North Yorkshire.
Ripon Grammar School has a Published Admission Number of 117 places for Year 7, including 14 boarding places. It attracts around five applications per place, so thorough preparation for the GL Assessment 11+ is important.
Ripon Grammar School uses the GL Assessment 11+. From September 2026 it consists of two multiple-choice papers: a Verbal Skills paper (English comprehension, spelling and verbal reasoning) and a Non-Verbal Reasoning with mathematics paper. The test is sat on Saturday, 12th September 2026.
Ripon Grammar School offers day places to the highest-scoring children within its catchment area, with out-of-catchment candidates considered afterwards. Boarding places, however, have no catchment requirement and are allocated on suitability, exam performance and boarding capacity.
For 2027 entry, registration opens on Thursday, 30th April 2026 and closes on Monday, 30th June 2026, through North Yorkshire Council. The test is sat on Saturday, 12th September 2026, with results in mid-October 2026.
Yes. Ripon Grammar School offers an extensive programme across sport, music, drama and enrichment clubs, enhanced by its boarding community, with notable success in rugby, hockey, cricket and swimming.
Yes, all our tuition is available both in-person at our Edgbaston, Birmingham centre and online via live video sessions. Online tuition gives families across Ripon and the wider Yorkshire area access to our expert tutors without the need to travel. The quality and personalisation of sessions is identical in both formats.
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