Know exactly where your child stands for Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School
Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School (BRGS) is a co-educational grammar school in Lancashire. It uses the GL 11+ entrance test, and does not conduct interviews as part of its 11+ admissions and prioritises pupils from Rossendale primary schools.
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School — known to everyone, simply, as BRGS — suits a bright, hard-working child who will settle happily into a school with high expectations and a genuine sense of belonging. It is a selective co-educational grammar in Waterfoot, up in the Rossendale hills of Lancashire, taking boys and girls from eleven through to sixth form, all admitted on the eleven-plus. The setting alone is worth mentioning: this is not a school on a ring road. It sits on Glen Road with the kind of hilltop Lancashire backdrop that makes the daily commute feel, on a clear day, almost cinematic.
The school's roots go back to Newchurch Grammar School, founded in 1703 — which is the sort of provenance that gives a place genuine ballast — with staff from that school establishing BRGS on its present site in 1913. It is proud of that history without being captured by it. Since September 2023 BRGS has been part of Star Academies, a national group of schools, and has taken on that group's STAR values of Service, Teamwork, Ambition and Respect. In practice, the school sets out to combine high academic standards with strong pastoral care: form tutors and pastoral leaders support pupils through the day-to-day, and an enrichment programme runs alongside the curriculum with a particular emphasis on developing children as leaders rather than simply as exam-passers.
For families across Rossendale and beyond, the draw is a settled, well-established school where a capable child can be stretched and still feel part of something close-knit. BRGS has been doing this for a long time. It shows.
Key facts
Admissions
Admissions contact
enquiries@brgs.org.uk
Admissions phone
01706 234 500
Registration form
https://brgs.applicaa.com/
Sibling policy
What this school tests
Entrance Examination for Year 7 Admission
English
- Punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Comparison
- Reading Comprehension - Evaluation
- Reading Comprehension - Grammar and punctuation
- Reading Comprehension - Inference and Deduction
- Reading Comprehension - Information Retrieval
- Reading Comprehension - Language Techniques and Imagery
- Reading Comprehension - Sentence-level Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension - Sequencing
- Reading Comprehension - Structure, Form, Voice and Tone
- Reading Comprehension - Summarising
- Reading Comprehension - Text Classification and Purpose
- Reading Comprehension - Types of Words and Phrases
- Reading Comprehension - Word Meaning / Choice
- Sentence Completion
- Spelling
Maths
- Algebra
- Angles and Degrees
- BIDMAS
- Coordinate Grids
- Estimation and Rounding
- Factors and Multiples
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
- Magic squares
- Measurement
- Money
- Number and Place Value
- Number Walls
- Operations
- Perimeter, Area and Volume
- Position and Direction
- Properties of Shapes
- Ratio and Proportion
- Reflection, Rotation and Symmetry
- Sequences
- Special Numbers
- Speed, Distance and Time
- Statistics
- Time
Verbal Reasoning
- Anagrams
- Compound Words
- Embedded Words
- Form a Word
- Insert a Letter
- Letter Analogies
- Letter Calculations
- Letter Codes
- Letter Grids
- Letter Sequences
- Move 1 / 2 Letters
- Number Analogies
- Number Calculations
- Number Sequences
- Related Words
- Rhyming Synonyms
- Shuffled Sentences
- Synonyms
- Word / Logic Puzzles
- Word Analogies
- Word Completion
- Word Match
- Word Opposites
- Word Pairs
- Word Relationships
- Words and Codes
Catchment area
Does Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School have a catchment area?
Although Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School doesn't have a formally defined catchment area, it will prioritise pupils previously attending Rossendale primary schools.
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
In 2025 students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 73.3 across their GCSEs. 96.6% gained a grade 5 or better in both English and Maths. 84.6% achieved the English Baccalaureate at grade 5 or above.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
A-level results
In 2025 students achieved a B average grade per A-Level entry. 31.2% gained AAB or better including two facilitating subjects.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School use for the 11+?
Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance test.
Does Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School interview as part of the 11+?
No, Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School does not include an interview stage in its 11+ admissions process.
Is Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School co-educational or single-sex?
Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School is a co-educational school, admitting both boys and girls.
Does Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School have a catchment area?
Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School does not have a formally defined catchment area but prioritises pupils from Rossendale primary schools.
What is Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School's official website?
The official website for Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School is https://www.brgs.org.uk/.
How do you get a place at Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar School?
Your child first needs to reach the required standard in the school's own entrance examination, set by GL Assessment and sat in September. Passing does not guarantee a place. A child named in an EHCP who reaches the standard is admitted first. After that, priority goes to looked-after and previously looked-after children, then children at Area 1 (Rossendale) primary schools ranked by exam mark, then Area 2 schools, then everyone else by mark. There is no sibling priority. Distance to the school is the tie-break.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2350.917145326896!2d-2.248093!3d53.6936454!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x487bbd1345a32d65%3A0xef0a84cab22030ed!2sBacup%20%26%20Rawtenstall%20Grammar%20School%20(BRGS)!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1780589001234!5m2!1sen!2suk
