Leicester Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Leicester Grammar School

Leicester Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school for ages 10 to 18, on the London Road in Great Glen, just outside Leicester.

Most Year 7 entrants come from local state primary schools rather than prep schools, which the school states directly on its own admissions pages, so parents new to independent-school entry are the norm here.

Key information for 2027 entry to Leicester Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: co-educational independent day school, ages 10-18
• Entrance assessment: three papers in one morning, all on Tuesday 5 January 2027: Reasoning (60 minutes, computer-based), English (60 minutes: comprehension and a short writing task), and Mathematics (a short initial number test plus a 50-minute paper, no calculator)
• The reasoning paper links directly to CEM’s own online practice site, so it looks to be a CEM-based computer reasoning test, though the school’s own page copy doesn’t itself use the word ‘CEM’
• Registration deadline: 4pm, Monday 7 December 2026. A copy of your child’s birth certificate must accompany the form
• Some candidates (scholarship, borderline and bursary applicants) are called back for an interview after marking
• Offer date: by the end of January 2027; the acceptance deadline is early March 2027, exact date still to be confirmed by the school
• Contact details: 0116 259 1927; apply via lgs.applicaa.com

Admissions information for 2027 entry to Leicester Grammar School at 11 Plus (11+)

Leicester Grammar is refreshingly direct about what it isn’t looking for. Its own admissions material states plainly that the school wants ‘academic potential and spark, not pupils who have been coached and tutored’, and that ‘excessive preparation is neither desirable nor an advantage’. It’s a strong, specific line if you’re worried about over-preparing your child, and it’s the school saying it, not us.

The assessment itself is compact: three one-hour papers, all sat on a single January morning, rather than a staged assessment day spread over weeks. The reasoning paper appears to be CEM-based, since the school’s own preparation material links straight to CEM’s plus.cem.org practice site, though the school’s page copy stops short of naming CEM outright, so we’ve hedged that description accordingly.

One fee note: the £75 registration figure that circulates for Leicester Grammar came from a search summary rather than a page we fetched directly ourselves, so treat it as unconfirmed and check the current amount with the school before you register.

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

1. Register by 4pm on Monday 7 December 2026, including a copy of your child’s birth certificate. Confirm the current registration fee directly with the school; we couldn’t verify the figure from a page we fetched ourselves.
2. Your child sits three papers on the morning of Tuesday 5 January 2027: Reasoning, English and Mathematics.
3. Scholarship, borderline and bursary candidates may be called back for an interview after marking.
4. Offers are made by the end of January 2027.
5. Accept by early March 2027; the school states the exact date is still to be confirmed.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for Leicester Grammar School?

All three papers are sat on one morning:

• Reasoning, 60 minutes, computer-based; the school’s own preparation links point to CEM’s practice site, so treat it as CEM-style, though the school doesn’t use that name on its own admissions pages.
• English, 60 minutes: a comprehension section plus a short writing task.
• Mathematics, a short initial number test followed by a 50-minute paper, without a calculator.

There’s no separate creative writing paper and no formal interview for most candidates. Interviews are reserved for scholarship, borderline and bursary applicants after marking.

Leicester Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) top tips for your child

• Practise computer-based reasoning in the CEM style, the best available match for the school’s own online prep link.
• Balance comprehension with focused writing practice for the short English writing task, rather than long-form creative writing.
• Work maths without a calculator, and practise the two-part structure: a quick initial number test, then the longer 50-minute paper.
• Don’t over-tutor. The school says so itself, and a confident, curious child is what it’s looking for.
• Confirm the registration fee with the school directly rather than relying on a figure found online; we couldn’t verify it from a page we fetched.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) Leicester Grammar School exam

Preparation for Leicester Grammar is CEM-style computer reasoning, comprehension plus short writing, and calculator-free maths, all worked to time since the real assessment is three one-hour papers back to back. A 5 January assessment date makes the autumn term of Year 6 the working period, with December largely for consolidation rather than new content.

For Leicester Grammar School 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: