For parents and guardians: Please verify all school data — cut-off scores, applicant numbers and competition ratios — against official sources (school websites, local authority admissions data) before making any decisions. The figures on this page are researched but not guaranteed and change each admissions cycle.
Complete 2025/26 11+ Guide to Grammar Schools in Kent
Kent is home to 5 fully selective grammar schools and 0 partially selective schools, served by the Kent Grammar Schools Consortium (32 schools). This guide covers every school — admissions criteria, competition data, cut-off scores, GCSE results, and specific prep advice — so you can make an informed decision.
How the Kent 11+ works
Two one-hour multiple-choice papers sat in September of Year 6. Paper 1: English (30 min) + Maths (30 min). Paper 2: Verbal Reasoning + Non-Verbal Reasoning (60 min combined). All questions are multiple-choice; answers recorded on OMR sheets and age-standardised. Scores range 69–141 per paper; maximum aggregate 423. A separate 40-minute creative writing exercise is taken under exam conditions but is NOT scored — it may be reviewed by a headteacher panel in borderline or appeal cases. The Kent pass threshold ("grammar assessment") is set each year by KCC to identify approximately the top 25% of Year 6 pupils; in 2024 entry this required a total of 332+ with no single paper below 106. All 32 Kent grammar schools accept the same Kent Test result.
All children in Kent may sit the Kent Test. Registration is required in Year 5 via the KCC website (usually opens June, closes July). Children in Kent primary schools sit the test at their own school in early September; out-of-county children sit at an assigned test centre on the following Saturday. Results are released to parents in mid-October. Applications for a grammar school place are then made via the Kent Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) by 31 October. Always verify current dates and the pass threshold at kent.gov.uk.
Key dates
Compare with all 25 areas →Who can apply?
All children in England may register for the Kent Test — there are no residency or primary school restrictions for entry.
Children must sit the Kent Test (registered via Kent County Council) by the July deadline in the year before Year 7 entry.
Children attending a Kent primary school sit the test at their school; those outside Kent are assigned a test centre.
A "grammar assessment" (pass) is required before a grammar school place can be offered. KCC aims to pass approximately 25% of candidates each year.
The pass threshold includes a minimum aggregate score (332 in 2024) and a minimum sub-score in each paper (106 in 2024). These values are reset each year.
Children with an EHCP naming a grammar school may be admitted without sitting the Kent Test, subject to the school's assessment of their suitability.
Borderline candidates: parents may submit supplementary information (school reports, writing exercise) for headteacher panel review. Check each school's SIF deadlines.
Most schools: all qualified ("grammar-assessed") applicants are eligible; places then allocated by oversubscription criteria (looked-after children, Pupil Premium, catchment area, sibling, distance).
Some schools operate "super-selective" criteria requiring a score significantly above the pass mark for priority (e.g. Judd outer-area category, Simon Langton).
Admissions process
Register via kent.gov.uk during the June–July window of Year 5. Late registrations are not normally accepted. Confirm your child's test centre (in-school for Kent primary pupils; assigned centre for out-of-county).
Two one-hour multiple-choice papers (English/Maths and VR/NVR) plus a creative writing exercise. Sat at your child's primary school or an assigned centre. No revision of topics is needed for the writing exercise; it is only used in borderline/appeal cases.
Results emailed to parents after 4pm on the published results date (16 October 2025 for the 2025 sitting). Your child receives a "grammar" (G) or "high school" (H/S) assessment and an aggregate score. Only "grammar-assessed" children can be offered places at grammar schools in normal rounds.
Name up to four schools in preference order on the Kent Secondary Common Application Form (SCAF) via your home local authority's website. Kent parents can name up to four preferences. Include any school you wish to appeal for. For Judd School: also complete the online registration form directly with the school.
Each school ranks all grammar-assessed applicants who named them on the SCAF according to its own oversubscription criteria (looked-after children, Pupil Premium, geographic area, sibling, distance, or score thresholds). KCC then allocates the highest-ranked school from each applicant's preferences that can offer a place — this is the Equal Preference scheme.
KCC emails parents with their allocated school place. Waiting list requests and appeals must be lodged by the deadline (typically mid-March). First round reallocation offers are typically made in April.
School Directory
Disclaimer: Data from official school websites, KCC admissions PDFs (kent.gov.uk), Ofsted (reports.ofsted.gov.uk), and DfE Compare School Performance (compare.education.gov.uk), compiled April 2026. Kent Test format and dates from kent.gov.uk. Judd cut-offs from judd.online/y7-joiners. TGS cut-offs from tgs.kent.sch.uk/join-us-in-year-7. Skinners' threshold from skinners-school.co.uk admissions pages. Sunday Times Parent Power 2026 rankings from press reports (KentOnline, December 2025). Progress 8 figures are 2023/24 (most recently published); P8 is not calculated for 2024/25 or 2025/26 due to Covid cohort gap. Always verify admissions data at each school's website before acting — policies and thresholds change annually. Always verify figures on the school or local authority website before making decisions — data changes each admissions cycle. Last updated: 2026-04-19. We aim to refresh this guide every year after new DfE data is published (typically June/July).
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