Are there mixed, co-educational grammar schools?

Yes. Some selective state grammar schools admit both boys and girls from Year 7. These are usually described as mixed or co-educational. Others admit a single sex in the lower school and become mixed only in sixth form, so check Year 7 entry specifically if that is what your family wants.

Verified examples of mixed grammar schools

These are examples, not a national ranking or an exhaustive directory. Read Pate’s school profile, Bexley’s official guide and Holcombe’s transition announcement. Bexley’s page currently describes 2026 testing for September 2027 entry; its dates should not be carried forward to the 2027 exam cycle.

Mixed Year 7 and mixed sixth form are different

A school may appear mixed in a directory because its sixth form admits both boys and girls. That does not establish eligibility at age 11. For example, Colchester Royal Grammar School describes boys’ lower-school provision and a co-educational sixth form. It should not be shortlisted as a mixed Year 7 option on that basis.

Read the Year 7 policy, not only the sixth-form prospectus or a whole-school profile. For related examples, see boys’ and girls’ grammar schools. If the wording is unclear, ask admissions to identify the paragraph applying to the year your child would join.

Check how a transition affects each year group

Holcombe is a useful illustration: its announcement introduced girls into Year 7 from September 2026 while leaving existing older lower-school cohorts unaffected. A phased change means the school can contain mixed and single-sex cohorts at the same time. Ask about your child’s cohort, rather than expecting every classroom to change on the same date.

Also ask how lessons, tutor groups, clubs and sport are organised. A mixed intake does not, by itself, describe every teaching group or activity. The answers help you understand the actual experience rather than just the label on a school listing.

Do mixed grammar schools still use the 11 Plus?

For ordinary Year 7 selective entry, co-education does not remove academic selection. Schools use the test and admissions arrangements stated in their own policy. Mixed status does not tell you the provider, subjects, qualifying standard or priority order. See whether all grammar schools use the same test.

There is already confirmed 2027 information for one example: Pate’s 2028-entry page states that the Gloucestershire entrance test is on 3 July 2027, with registration from noon on 8 February to noon on 19 March 2027. This summer Year 5 test is for September 2028 Year 7 entry. It demonstrates why waiting until autumn 2027 could be too late for a particular school.

Shared testing also does not mean identical admissions policies. Check which schools need to receive the score, whether you must name them when registering, and how each ranks eligible applicants. Passing a test does not generally guarantee that all schools using it can offer a place.

How to build a useful mixed-school shortlist

1. 1Confirm that each school is state-funded and academically selective if those are your requirements. A historic grammar name alone is insufficient.
2. 2Verify mixed admission at Year 7 for the intended cohort. Keep a dated policy link and note any confirmed change.
3. 3Check qualification, catchment and oversubscription rules before making travel or housing plans.
4. 4Try the real journey at the relevant time, including how your child would get home after a club.
5. 5Visit with questions about teaching, support and everyday life, and record your child’s response separately from league-table impressions.

Is a co-educational grammar school the best option?

That depends on the individual school and child. Mixed education is a preference you can include in a shortlist, but it does not establish teaching quality, wellbeing, an exact balance of boys and girls or how easy admission will be. Nor should you infer that a single-sex setting is unsuitable without visiting it.

• Ask how the school helps new pupils build friendships across different primary schools.
• Check that subjects and activities your child enjoys are accessible in practice.
• Ask who helps a pupil who finds the workload difficult and how parents contact that person.
• Compare the daily journey and costs with other schools offering a suitable curriculum.
• Use our guide to choosing between grammar schools to keep academic and practical considerations together.

Before registering for a 2027 exam, return to the school’s official entry-year page. If September 2028 details are not published, record that they are unconfirmed and ask when the relevant policy and test information will be available.