Case study · Parents · England
Case study: Birmingham and Lincolnshire grammar schools compared
A worked example: 23 grammar schools in two areas, compared on results, competition for places and intake.
By the Pyxion Learn team · Checked 30 October 2026 · A worked example from our own published figures, not a customer story
This is a worked example built from the figures in our own reports. It shows the kind of comparison a family weighing two areas can run for any postcode.
The question
A family could live near Birmingham or in Lincolnshire. Both areas have grammar schools. How different are they, really?
What the numbers say
Comparing the 8 grammar schools in Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield with the 15 in Lincolnshire (medians; GCSEs 2025/26 provisional, admissions for 2026/27 entry):
- GCSE Attainment 8: 78.6 in Birmingham against 62.0 in Lincolnshire.
- English and maths at grade 7 or above: 79% against 24%.
- Applications per place: 6.1 against 2.0.
- Pupils on free school meals: 21.7% against 11.6%.
What it means
- The gap is mostly about selectivity. Birmingham’s grammars draw from a large, competitive city, and their offer lines sit far above the qualifying score. Lincolnshire sets a qualifying standard aimed at roughly the top quarter of children, and most of its schools then allocate by distance.
- Getting in is much harder in Birmingham. Six applications per place against two.
- Birmingham’s grammars are the more socially mixed, helped by priority for disadvantaged pupils in their admissions.
- The best Lincolnshire schools compete. The King’s School, Grantham (Attainment 8 of 73.2) is ahead of two of the Birmingham schools at GCSE.
The takeaway for families
Medians tell you about an area; the decision is about the two or three schools your child could actually get into. The interactive showcase has every school, the head-to-head matrix and four years of 11+ cut-offs.