Ripon Grammar School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About Ripon Grammar School

Ripon Grammar School is a co-educational selective school in Ripon, North Yorkshire, and one of the few remaining state boarding schools: tuition is free for every pupil, with boarders paying boarding fees only.

Of North Yorkshire’s three grammar schools, the county council runs the entrance test only for Ripon. Ermysted’s and Skipton Girls’ each run their own separate tests.

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

• School type: co-educational selective state school with boarding
• Published admission number: 117 places in Year 7, of which 14 are reserved for boarders
• Entrance test: produced, marked and standardised by GL Assessment, administered by North Yorkshire Council
• Paper 1, Verbal Skills (45 minutes): English comprehension, spelling and grammar (25 minutes), then verbal reasoning (20 minutes)
• Paper 2 (45 minutes): two 10-minute non-verbal reasoning sections, then mathematics (25 minutes)
• All multiple choice, on Year 5 curriculum content. No writing task
• Registration: opened 30 April 2026, closed 30 June 2026
• Test date: Saturday 12 September 2026
• Results: in writing, no later than 16 October 2026
• Qualifying standard: reset each year to the top 28 per cent of the in-catchment cohort. Recent cut-offs: 203 (2026 entry), 196 (2025), 195 (2024)
• Contact details: ripongrammar.co.uk, [email protected], 01765 602647

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

Ripon admits 117 children into Year 7, with day and boarding run as fully separate routes: 14 places are reserved for boarders, with their own criteria and even an opposite distance tie-break (furthest first, where day places go nearest first). A boarding offer cannot be converted into a day place.

The qualifying score is not fixed. It is recalculated each year to capture roughly the top 28 per cent of the Year 6 cohort living in the catchment, and the last three cut-offs were published: 203 for 2026 entry, 196 for 2025 and 195 for 2024. That gives you a working target without pretending the number is guaranteed.

Day places go first to looked-after children and children with a recognised social or medical need, then in-catchment children, children of staff, and out-of-catchment children, with siblings prioritised inside each group. As a state boarding school there are no tuition fees at all, which makes the boarding route worth comparing seriously against independent boarding.

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

Registration for the September 2027 round has closed (30 April to 30 June 2026). If your child is registered, the test itself is still ahead.

1. Your child sits both papers on Saturday 12 September 2026.
2. Results are issued in writing no later than 16 October 2026.
3. Apply to North Yorkshire Council by Saturday 31 October 2026, naming Ripon Grammar School. Sitting the test is not an application.
4. Offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.

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

The test is produced, marked and standardised by GL Assessment, and sat as two multiple-choice papers built on Year 5 curriculum content:

• Paper 1, Verbal Skills, 45 minutes. An English section (25 minutes: a reading passage with comprehension, spelling and grammar exercises, 26 questions), then verbal reasoning (20 minutes, 32 questions).
• Paper 2, 45 minutes. Two 10-minute non-verbal reasoning sections of 20 questions each, then mathematics (25 minutes, around 25 questions, with no practice questions beforehand).

There is no writing task. The sectioned timing is the thing to rehearse: short, hard-stop sections reward a child who moves on cleanly rather than perfecting each question.

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

• Practise all four elements in multiple-choice form: English, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and maths.
• Rehearse short timed sections with hard stops, especially the 10-minute non-verbal blocks.
• Note the maths section gives no practice questions on the day, so familiarity has to come from preparation.
• Use the published cut-off history (195 to 203) as a working target, while remembering the cut-off moves each year.
• If boarding could suit your child, treat it as its own application with its own criteria, and remember tuition is free.

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

Preparation for Ripon is multiple-choice practice across English, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and maths, worked in short timed sections to match the paper structure. A test on the second Saturday of September makes the summer the working window.

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

Our Ripon Grammar School Practice Tests 1-20, released August 2026, are written for the GL Assessment entrance exam. Each practice test includes two papers, matching the structure of the real test: Verbal Skills, and Mathematical and Non-Verbal Skills. Every test comes with answers and detailed explanations, including step-by-step explanations for the maths questions.

View all Ripon Grammar School papers