Know exactly where your child stands for The Crypt School
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact The Crypt 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 The Crypt School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
The Crypt School
The Crypt School is a mixed grammar school in Gloucestershire, admitting students from Year 7. Its 11+ entrance exam uses the GL exam board, and there is no interview stage. While there is no fixed catchment area, distance from the school is considered if oversubscribed within priority groups.
If your child is academically able and you want a school that is serious about work but unmistakably kind, The Crypt rewards a careful look. It is one of the oldest schools in the country, founded in Gloucester in 1539 by Joan Cooke in memory of her husband John, and its earliest schoolroom still survives at St Mary de Crypt Church in the city centre. The poet W.E. Henley, who wrote 'Invictus', was a pupil here in the 1860s, which gives you a sense of how far back the school's story runs. It has since settled at its Podsmead site. For most of its life it taught boys; the sixth form became co-educational in the 1980s, and since 2018 it has taken girls and boys from Year 7, making it the only fully co-educational selective school in Gloucester.
The Good Schools Guide describes a school its reviewers found exceptionally kind, a place where staff and pupils genuinely look after one another. That care sits alongside serious academic work and a full range of activities beyond the classroom, from sport to music. The long history gives the school a strong sense of who it is without making it stuffy, and the move to a mixed intake has given it a more rounded, modern feel while keeping the things parents value most.
This is a good fit for an academically able child of either sex who will do well in a warm school with deep roots and high standards. The Crypt is led by headteacher Mr Nicholas Dyer, and the children who do best here are the ones who feel looked after.
Key facts
Admissions
Admissions contact
admissions@crypt.gloucs.sch.uk
Admissions phone
0145 253 0291
Registration form
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
Does The Crypt School have a catchment area?
There is no fixed catchment, as places depend on reaching the qualifying standard in the school's own grammar test and are open to children from any area. Where the school is oversubscribed, distance from the school is used only to separate applicants within the same priority group.
Selection review and safety net
Previous exam results
GCSE results
In 2025 students achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 72.7 across their GCSEs. 98% gained a grade 5 or better in both English and Maths. 58.6% 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. 23% gained AAB or better including two facilitating subjects.
Reference: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does The Crypt School use for the 11+?
The Crypt School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance exam.
Does The Crypt School interview as part of the 11+?
No, there is no interview stage as part of The Crypt School's 11+ admissions process.
Is The Crypt School co-educational or single-sex?
The Crypt School is co-educational, admitting both girls and boys from Year 7 since 2018.
What is The Crypt School's website?
The official website for The Crypt School is https://cryptschool.org/.
Does The Crypt School have a catchment area for 11+ entry?
The Crypt School does not have a fixed catchment area. Places depend on reaching the qualifying standard, with distance considered only if oversubscribed within priority groups.
Location
https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2465.1780739486844!2d-2.251572!3d51.8394435!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x487107316f393919%3A0x21a4929afdee99a4!2sThe%20Crypt%20School!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1780593593149!5m2!1sen!2suk
