Boston High School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Boston High School

Boston High School is a girls’ state grammar school in Boston, Lincolnshire. It selects through the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, the shared reasoning test sat by the county’s grammar schools.

The school administers the test for girls at primary schools inside its Designated Transport Area, so many candidates sit the papers at their own primary school rather than travelling.

Key information for 2027 entry to Boston High School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: girls’ state grammar school
• Test: the Lincolnshire 11+, set through the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools
• Format: verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning with spatial awareness. No English or maths paper
• Registration: directly with the school, using its online 11+ registration form. Children are not entered automatically
• Test timing: the start of Year 6, in September
• Where the test is sat: at your daughter’s own primary school if it is in the school’s Designated Transport Area, otherwise at Boston High School
• Results: emailed to parents in mid-October
• Common Application Form deadline: 31 October
• National Offer Day: Monday 1 March 2027
• Contact details: bostonhighschool.co.uk, 01205 310505

Admissions information for 2027 entry to Boston High School at 11 Plus (11+)

Lincolnshire’s grammar schools share one test through the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools, and the qualifying standard is set and standardised by the consortium rather than by each school. Related pages: Boston Grammar School and Spalding High School.

Children are not entered automatically. You register your daughter directly with the school. This is the single thing Lincolnshire families most often miss, because in many other counties the primary school or the council handles entry.

Boston High School runs a Designated Transport Area, and it also works with several primary schools just outside it where it remains the nearest grammar school. In both cases the papers are administered by primary staff and sent on to Boston High for processing. If your daughter’s primary is not on either list, she sits the test at the school itself.

Registering for the test is not applying for a place. You must also name Boston High School on the Common Application Form submitted to Lincolnshire County Council by 31 October.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exams at Boston High School?

1. Complete the school’s own online 11+ registration form. Boston High School publishes the form on its Year 7 admissions page.
2. Register while your daughter is in Year 5. The consortium window runs from January to the end of March.
3. Sit the two papers at the start of Year 6, in September.
4. Results are emailed to parents in mid-October, before the application deadline.
5. Name Boston High School on your Common Application Form by 31 October.
6. If the result is not what you hoped, every applicant has a right of appeal.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for Boston High School?

The Lincolnshire 11+ is reasoning only. There is no English paper and no maths paper at all, which surprises almost every family arriving from another county. Two papers are sat about a week apart:

• Verbal reasoning.
• Non-verbal reasoning and spatial awareness.

Your daughter needs the minimum required standardised score, which is set and standardised by the Lincolnshire Consortium of Grammar Schools rather than by the school. Boston High School’s own admissions page states that the standard must be met on both papers, so treat neither paper as one you can afford to drop.

Scores are age-standardised, so a summer-born child is not judged against the raw marks of older classmates. For more on the provider behind most reasoning papers, see our GL Assessment guide.

Boston High School 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Register in Year 5. Nobody does it for you, and the window closes at the end of March.
• Practise verbal and non-verbal reasoning, not English and maths papers. Neither subject is tested directly, however strange that feels.
• Include spatial awareness work. It sits in the second paper and is the element most often left out of a reasoning plan.
• Spread practice across the two papers evenly, since they are sat about a week apart and both count.
• Build speed on question types rather than knowledge. Reasoning papers reward pattern recognition under time.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) Boston High School exam

A Lincolnshire plan is narrower than most: verbal reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning with spatial awareness. That makes it easy to build and easy to get wrong, because material bought for a typical GL county will include English and maths papers that Lincolnshire never sets.

For Boston High School 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: