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Pate’s Grammar School

Selective

National rank

Rank last year

92.6^%

A-level

90^%

GCSE

Secondary School of the Year in the Southwest for Academic Excellence 2026

Need to know

Head teacher James Richardson

Attendance 96.0%

Gender of entry Mixed

Send pupils* 8.6% *Special educational needs and disabilities

Total pupils 1,287

Pupils on free school meals 3.8%

Progress 8 WELL ABOVE AVERAGE

Our methodology

Results

Grade

37.9

39.2

15.4

A*/A

77.1

A*-B

92.6

Grade

9/8

16.1

9/8/7

What the school inspection says

“Leaders, including governors, have created a strong ethos at the school. There is a balance of high expectations and extensive support. As a selective school, pupils join with high prior attainment. However, staff and pupils are not complacent. Pupils work incredibly hard. They thrive academically and personally. This is underpinned by pupils’ sense of responsibility to the school and community. Pupils, and students in the sixth form, leave Pate’s as ambitious, compassionate and well-rounded individuals ... The school creates meaningful opportunities for pupils to encounter the world of work ... The school is highly inclusive.”

Inspection

2024

In detail *

Read the full report

*Ofsted no longer makes an overall effectiveness judgment in inspections of state-funded schools. A five-point grading scale, including a new “exceptional” grade was introduced in November 2025.

About the school

This grammar school with academy status in Cheltenham was founded in 1574 by the MP Richard Pate and became co-educational in 1986. Its motto is Patebit tum quod latuit (“That which is hidden shall be revealed”).
Every pupil is assigned to one of five houses — Beaufort, Gloucester, Pembroke, Richmond and York — to promote strong relationships. Inter-house competitions span everything from swimming and art, to public speaking and music.
As well as sports, music and drama, extracurricular activities include board games, sewing, philosophy and robotics.
A new sixth-form block with a senior library, group and private study spaces, and a strength and conditioning suite opened in 2023.
The class of 2025 included 13 candidates awarded places at the University of Cambridge and 12 at Oxford. No fewer than 42 other institutions were attended, including from the Russell Group.
Former pupils of the school include the Rolling Stone Brian Jones, Green Party MP Siân Berry and author Geoff Dyer.
Pate’s Grammar School was awarded State Secondary School of the Year in the Southwest for Academic Excellence 2025

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office@patesgs.org

Telephone

01242 523 169

Website

patesgs.org

Address

Princess Elizabeth Way, Cheltenham, GL51 0HG

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