Know exactly where your child stands for Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Royal Grammar School, Newcastle 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 Royal Grammar School, Newcastle 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle (RGS) is a co-educational independent day school in Tyne and Wear. For Year 7 entry, candidates sit a single-stage entrance exam administered by Quest Admissions, with no subsequent interview stage. The school is highly academic, catering to boys and girls aged 7 to 18 on its Jesmond campus.
RGS Newcastle suits a child who likes being stretched and will not mind being one of many able pupils in the room. Despite the name, it is not a state grammar: it is an independent, fully co-educational day school for boys and girls aged 7 to 18, with a Senior School of more than 700 taking most of its new intake at 11. There is no boarding. The site sits on Eskdale Terrace in Jesmond, close to the Metro station, which is how many pupils arrive each morning from across the North East.
The school traces itself to 1525 and a bequest from Thomas Horsley, then mayor of Newcastle, later gaining its royal foundation under Elizabeth I; it marked its 500th year in 2025. It has moved five times, settling in Jesmond in 1906. Girls joined the sixth form in 2001 and the whole school by 2008. The four houses carry the names of old pupils, among them Cuthbert Collingwood, Nelson's second in command at Trafalgar, and children compete in House Dance, House Music and sport. Leavers become Old Novocastrians. Day to day there are more than 170 clubs, from debating to Manga Club, a games afternoon each week, and an autumn activities fair where the lot is laid out for newcomers.
The Good Schools Guide finds academic aspiration and challenge sitting alongside a firmer focus on wellbeing, and reports pupils who 'relish the challenges'. Counsellors and a school nurse are on hand, and the head's line is simply that 'happy children learn'. Pupils describe the place as 'friendly, inclusive and purposeful'. It suits a child who is curious, wants company that keeps up, and needs somewhere to put their energy after the last lesson.
Key facts
Annual fees
Senior School £20,016 per annum (2025/26), including VAT; Junior School £16,863 per annum. Fees include before- and after-school care (7.45am to 5.45pm) and co-curricular activities but not lunch. 2026/27 rates not yet published on the fees page.
Admissions
Admissions contact
admissions@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk
Admissions phone
0191 212 8968
Registration form
Sibling policy
What this school tests
Online Aptitude Assessment
English
- Grammar
- 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
- Spelling
- Vocabulary
Maths
- Algebra
- Angles and Degrees
- BIDMAS
- Coordinate Grids
- Estimation and Rounding
- Factors and Multiples
- Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
- Measurement
- Money
- Number and Place Value
- 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
- Figure Analogies
- Figure Matrices
- Figure Series
- Grid Matrices
- Horizontal Codes
- Match to a Group of Figures
- Most Like Three Figures
- Odd Figure Out
- Odd Shaped Matrices
- Star Matrices
- Triangle Matrices
- Vertical Codes
Verbal Reasoning
- Alphabet Logic
- Anagrams
- Compound Words
- Embedded Words
- Form a Word
- Insert 2 / 3 Letters
- Insert a Letter
- Letter Analogies
- Letter Sequences
- Move 1 / 2 Letters
- Ordering Words
- Rhyming Synonyms
- Shuffled Sentences
- Synonyms
- Word / Logic Puzzles
- Word Analogies
- Word Completion
- Word Match
- Word Opposites
- Word Pairs
- Word Relationships
- Word Swap
- Words and Codes
Spatial Reasoning
- 2D Rotations
- 2D View of 3D Shape
- 3D Rotations
- Block Counting
- Building Blocks
- Combining Shapes
- Diagonal Reflections
- Figure Missing from Image
- Fold and Punch
- Folding Cubes
- Hidden Shapes
- Missing Face of Cube
- Nets of 3D Shapes
- Shape Completion
Catchment area
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
2025: 41.2% of grades at 9, 64.1% at 9-8 and 80.6% at 9-7, from 1,402 entries across 23 subjects
A-level results
2026: 33.4% of grades at A*, 65.6% at A*-A and 89.5% at A*-B, from 524 entries across 24 subjects
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does RGS Newcastle use for the 11+?
Royal Grammar School, Newcastle uses Quest Admissions for its 11+ entrance exam.
Is there an interview stage for 11+ entry at RGS Newcastle?
No, there is no interview stage as part of the 11+ admissions process at RGS Newcastle.
Is Royal Grammar School, Newcastle co-educational or single-sex?
RGS Newcastle is a fully co-educational independent day school for both boys and girls.
What are the annual fees for RGS Newcastle?
For the 2025/26 academic year, Senior School fees are £20,016 per annum, which includes VAT and before- and after-school care but excludes lunch.
What is the website for RGS Newcastle admissions?
You can find more details on the school's official admissions page at https://www.rgs.newcastle.sch.uk/prospective-families/admissions/senior-school.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2289.4253275766246!2d-1.6073673999999998!3d54.9831764!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x487e70d00c8b0d61%3A0x5329f6da26bf5a!2sRoyal%20Grammar%20School%20Newcastle!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sph!4v1787306483208!5m2!1sen!2sph
