About

Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School is a high-performing specialist school, specialising in science and modern foreign languages, and is rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

It welcomes students from Horncastle and the surrounding area up to and beyond Wragby, Bardney and Woodhall Spa to the west, the Wolds to the north and east, and almost to Boston in the south. The designated transport area also includes the RAF base at Coningsby.

A fleet of service buses, organised by the Local Authority, provides free transport for pupils in the catchment area who live more than three miles from the school. There are also private bus services for out of catchment pupils, serving Boston, Spilsby, Lincoln, Washingborough, Potterhanworth and Market Rasen. The school welcomes pupils from further afield, providing their parents can make suitable arrangements for transport.

History

The school has a rich history and has served Horncastle and the surrounding area for over four centuries – its existence was known in 1327 but official records began when Queen Elizabeth I granted, on the petition of Edward, Lord Clinton and Saye, Earl of Lincoln, a Charter to establish a Grammar School in Horncastle. It received its seal on 25th June 1571, and that Charter is in proud possession of the school. Originally, the school was built on a site adjoining the River Bain close to St Mary’s Parish Church. It was demolished and rebuilt after the Civil War, and there it remained until the first decade of the 20th Century. In 1908 the current Dining Hall was the original building on this site.

Expansion and Change

Originally Queen Elizabeth’s was a boys’ day and boarding school – girls were only admitted when the school moved to its present site in 1908. The school was independent until the Education Act of 1944 when the Local Authority took responsibility for its maintenance. Over the past 100 years, the school has expanded with land and buildings and journeyed through foundation status, academisation, membership of an umbrella trust, and is now proud to be one of the founding members of Horncastle Education Trust.

Specialist Science College

Together with our partner school Banovallum, we have worked hard to establish Horncastle as a “Centre for Excellence” for science education, without diminishing the importance of the school’s other activities. There are additional resources available to promote high standards in science, mathematics and information technology.

Explore our curriculum.