Know exactly where your child stands for Pate's Grammar School
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Pate's 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 Pate's Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Pate's Grammar School
Pate's Grammar School is a mixed grammar school in Gloucestershire. The 11+ entrance exam uses the GL exam board, and there is no interview stage for Year 7 entry. The pass mark and selectivity ratio are currently unknown.
If your child is the kind who races ahead and wants to be surrounded by others who feel the same, Pate's is the Gloucestershire school they'll have heard whispered about, the one bright and motivated children across the county hope to win a place at. It wears that reputation lightly. Co-educational and around 1,290 strong, it sits on the edge of Cheltenham, and its story reaches back to 1574, when the Tudor lawyer and MP Richard Pate founded a grammar school in the town. The school as it stands today came together when Cheltenham's separate boys' and girls' grammars later merged.
What parents tend to notice first is the tone of the place. The Good Schools Guide describes the typical 'Patesian' as showing 'understated brilliance', clever and kind children doing remarkable things without fuss or swagger. The head is quick to say this is 'not an exam factory', and you feel that in an ordinary day. Music is, in the pupils' own words, 'massive here', with an unusually broad programme, almost all the sport happens on site so it folds into the school day, and a firm 'never used, seen or heard' phone rule keeps heads up and conversation flowing.
It's a school for the curious, self-driven child who'll be happiest stretched among others just as keen, and who's trusted to get on rather than chased along. Led since 2023 by Dr James Richardson, Pate's lives up to a motto that reads almost like a promise to every family: 'that which is hidden shall be revealed.'
Key facts
Admissions
Admissions contact
office@patesgs.org
Admissions phone
0124 252 3169
Registration form
https://g7.applicaa.com/019cb840-4362-7452-a55d-a5bf6bb8060f
Sibling policy
What this school tests
Gloucestershire Grammar Schools’ Entrance Test
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
Non-verbal Reasoning
- Extended Figure Series
- Figure Analogies
- Figure Matrices
- Figure Operations
- Figure Series
- Grid Matrices
- Horizontal Codes
- Most Like Three Figures
- Most Like Two Figures
- Odd Figure Out
- Star Matrices
- Triangle Matrices
- Triangle Series
- Vertical Codes
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
Spatial Reasoning
- 2D Rotations
- Block Counting
- Combining Shapes
- Fold and Punch
- Folding Cubes
- Hidden Shapes
- Missing Face of Cube
- Shape Completion
Catchment area
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
In 2025 students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 82.7 across their GCSEs. 99.3% gained a grade 5 or better in both English and Maths. 68.9% 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 an A average grade per A-Level entry. 71.3% gained AAB or better including two facilitating subjects.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does Pate's Grammar School use for the 11+?
Pate's Grammar School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance exam.
Does Pate's Grammar School interview as part of the 11+ process?
No, there is no interview stage for Year 7 entry at Pate's Grammar School.
Is Pate's Grammar School co-educational?
Yes, Pate's Grammar School is a mixed-gender school.
What type of school is Pate's Grammar School?
Pate's Grammar School is a state-funded grammar school.
What is the official website for Pate's Grammar School?
The official website for Pate's Grammar School is https://www.patesgs.org/.
How do you get a place at Pate's Grammar School?
Your child first needs to reach the required standard in the entrance test. Pate's takes the shared Gloucestershire grammar schools test of two papers, covering verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning, sat once in September. There's no fixed pass mark: it reflects a child's rank position, not a set score. Among children who reach the standard, places go in priority order. Looked-after and previously looked-after children come first, then a capped number of priority places (favouring pupils eligible for Pupil Premium and those in the Cheltenham area), then local places for children in Gloucestershire, then UK-wide places. A child with an EHC plan naming the school is admitted first. The standard depends on demand each year.
What happens if my child is ill on 11+ test day at Pate's Grammar School?
For a disability or special need, you can ask for reasonable adjustments such as extra support on test day. Tell the school when you register, with supporting evidence like an EHC plan or a report from a doctor, educational psychologist or specialist teacher. For illness on the day itself, Pate's does run a Medical Test, usually a few days later, but you must contact the Admissions Officer before the test begins (ideally a few days before) and provide documentary evidence such as a medical certificate. Without that evidence the Medical Test can't be arranged, and only children already registered for the main test can sit it, so let the office know as early as you can.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2461.494145598356!2d-2.1156684!3d51.90669499999999!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x48711b5d2fc28539%3A0x321581dce549ca30!2sPate%27s%20Grammar%20School!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1780593049365!5m2!1sen!2suk
