 Soon after it became independent , the Grammar School lowered its entry age to 11 and joined the Assisted Places Scheme , a governmental scheme instigated in 1980 which allowed pupils who could not afford to go to fee @-@ paying independent schools a free or subsidised place if they were within the top 10 – 15 % of applicants in the school 's entrance examination . By 1994 , 53 % of the Grammar School 's pupils held assisted places , the highest proportion of all schools in the scheme . 
