Colchester Royal Grammar School

Colchester Royal Grammar School is a highly selective boys-only grammar school that runs its own independent entrance exam using GL Assessment. The exam takes place in September of Year 6, with registration opening in spring and closing around June. Because the school is super-selective with a national reputation, the entrance exam is deliberately pitched harder than a standard GL paper to identify the most able candidates.

The exam follows GL Assessment's standard format (Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Maths and English), but you should expect the questions to be more challenging across the board. Vocabulary in the Verbal Reasoning section is particularly demanding — children encounter words well beyond typical GL preparation materials, so wide reading from quality fiction and non-fiction is essential. The comprehension passages are also lexically complex, with inference questions that require careful thinking rather than simple fact-finding.

Maths is notably harder than average GL papers, with multi-step word problems and questions that require logical deduction and algebraic thinking. Standard GL maths preparation alone is unlikely to be sufficient; tutors recommend working through harder materials to build problem-solving skills. Time pressure is significant throughout the exam, so practising under timed conditions from an early stage is crucial — even well-prepared children find the pace demanding, and time management often makes the difference between passing and not.

The Verbal Reasoning reasoning questions (codes, series, analogies) reward deeper conceptual understanding rather than surface-level pattern-spotting. Overall, this is a genuinely challenging exam designed for very able children, so thorough, sustained preparation focusing on reasoning skills, vocabulary breadth and timed practice is important.