Ask about the 11+

• For September 2027 entry the school admits 180 boys into Year 7: 130 places in Category 1, for boys who live in its Priority Area, and 50 places in Category 2, for all applicants whatever their address.
• Entry is through the Kent Test. Only boys given the grammar assessment can be considered for a place.
• A pass in the Bexley test does not make a boy eligible: he must pass the Kent Test.
• Within each category boys are ranked by their total Kent Test score. Where scores are tied, the boy who lives nearer the school comes first.
• To be offered a Priority Area place on score, a boy needs a total at least 40 points above the Kent Test threshold. Category 2 has no extra minimum: all remaining eligible boys are ranked by score there, including boys from the Priority Area.
• Up to 13 of the Priority Area places and up to 5 of the Category 2 places are reserved for boys eligible for the Pupil Premium who score at least 20 points above the Kent Test threshold.
• The Priority Area is the Dartford wards that pay council tax to Dartford Borough Council, plus the parishes of Ash-cum-Ridley, Crockenhill, Eynsford, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Hextable, Horton Kirby and South Darenth, Swanley and West Kingsdown.
• The school has no sibling policy: an older brother at the school gives no priority.
• A Supplementary Information Form is needed only by families applying under the Pupil Premium criterion. For September 2027 entry it goes to the school between 1 September and 2 November 2026.

Sources: Admissions policy for September 2027 entry · Year 7 admissions: frequently asked questions (September 2027) · Cut-off scores on National Offer Day · Admissions data report for Kent schools (last places offered, 2023 to 2026)

Dartford Grammar School on a page of its own

• The school offers 180 Year 7 places for September 2027.
• Entry is through the Kent Test: a girl who reaches the required standard in the Kent assessment is eligible for admission.
• If there are more eligible girls than places, the order is: looked after and previously looked after children; then girls eligible for the Pupil Premium; then 100 places reserved for girls living in the Borough of Dartford or one of ten named parishes; then all remaining eligible girls, whatever their address.
• The ten named parishes are Ash-cum-Ridley, Crockenhill, Eynsford, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Hextable, Horton Kirby and South Darenth, Swanley and West Kingsdown.
• Within each of those groups girls are ranked by their total (aggregate) Kent Test score, highest first. Tied scores are separated by distance from the school, nearest first, and then by independent random selection.
• For this school the Pupil Premium means a girl registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. Families applying on that basis send a Supplementary Information Form to the school by 1 November 2026.
• The school’s admission arrangements have no criterion for sisters already at the school.
• Kent County Council’s admissions data gives the score of the last girl offered a place on National Offer Day. For September 2026 entry it was 372 inside the school’s priority area and 385 outside it.
• For September 2026 entry Kent County Council recorded 1,273 applications, counting every preference, for the school’s 180 places.

Sources: Admission arrangements for September 2027 · Admissions data report for Kent schools (last places offered, 2023 to 2026) · Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents)

Dartford Grammar School for Girls on a page of its own

• The school has 180 Year 7 places. Entry is through the Kent Test: places go to boys assessed suitable for grammar school.
• Boys are not ranked by their overall score. If there are more eligible boys than places the order is: children in or previously in local authority care; siblings at this school or at Wilmington Grammar School for Girls; children of staff; up to 18 Governor Places; boys living within 1.5 miles of the school or in the named parishes and ward; other Pupil Premium children within 3 miles; then all other eligible boys by distance, closest first.
• Governor Places: up to 18 places (10%) go to the highest Kent Test scorers, with the maths test excluded, among boys living within 5 miles of the school.
• Within the group living within 1.5 miles or in the named parishes and ward, children eligible for the Pupil Premium come first, and then boys are ranked by distance from the school, nearest first.
• The named parishes are Ash Cum Ridley, Badgers Mount, Bean, Crockenhill, Darenth, Dartford, Dunton Green, Eynsford, Farningham, Fawkham, Halstead, Hartley, Hextable, Horton Kirby & South Darenth, Kemsing, Longfield & New Barn, Meopham, Otford, Shoreham, Southfleet, Stanstead, Stone, Sutton at Hone & Hawley, Swanley, Swanscombe & Greenhithe, West Kingsdown, Wilmington, Wrotham and the Unparished Area of Ebbsfleet. The named ward is Istead Rise, Cobham & Luddesdown.
• Living in a named parish does not guarantee a place. In March 2026 the school offered 128 of its 180 places to boys within 1.5 miles or inside the parish and ward boundaries, and reached boys living about 2.732 miles away. All the other places went to the top 10% or to boys with a sibling link.
• A Supplementary Form is needed only for a sibling link or for Pupil Premium priority. For September 2027 entry it goes to the school by 31 October 2026.

Sources: Admission policy for entry in September 2027 · FAQs for admissions into Year 7 2026

Wilmington Grammar School for Boys on a page of its own

• The school has 180 Year 7 places. Entry is through the Kent Test: places go to girls assessed suitable for grammar school.
• Girls are not ranked by their overall score. If there are more eligible girls than places the order is: children in or previously in local authority care; siblings at this school or at Wilmington Grammar School for Boys; children of staff; up to 18 Governor Places; girls living within 1.5 miles of the school or in the named parishes and wards; other Pupil Premium children within 3 miles; then all other eligible girls by distance, closest first.
• Governor Places: up to 18 places (10%) go to girls living within 5 miles of the school who have the highest scores in the maths paper of the Kent Test.
• Within the group living within 1.5 miles or in the named parishes and wards, children eligible for the Pupil Premium are given priority.
• The named parishes and wards are Ash Cum Ridley, Badgers Mount, Bean, Crockenhill, Darenth, Dartford, Dunton Green, Eynsford, Farningham, Fawkham, Halstead, Hartley, Hextable, Horton Kirby & South Darenth, Istead Rise (ward), Kemsing, Longfield & New Barn, Meopham, Otford, Shoreham, Southfleet, Stanstead, Stone, Sutton at Hone & Hawley, Swanley, Swanscombe & Greenhithe, West Kingsdown, Wilmington, Wrotham and the Unparished area of Ebbsfleet.
• For September 2026 entry Kent County Council’s admissions data gives the last place offered at 2.32 miles, and the lowest maths score offered a Governor Place at 132.

Sources: Admission policy for entry in September 2027 · Admissions data report for Kent schools (last places offered, 2023 to 2026) · Over-subscription criteria for September 2026 (with past distances)

Wilmington Grammar School for Girls on a page of its own

• The school will admit 210 boys into Year 7 in September 2027. Entry is through the Kent Test.
• If there are more eligible boys than places the order is: looked after and previously looked after children; medical, health, social and special access reasons; siblings; children of staff; boys living in the Borough of Gravesham; boys living in a first list of civil parishes; boys living in a second, more distant list of civil parishes; then all other eligible boys.
• The first list of civil parishes is Ash-cum-Ridley, Bean, Fawkham, Hartley, Longfield and New Barn, Southfleet, Swanscombe and Greenhithe, Stansted and the Unparished Area of Ebbsfleet. The second, more distant list is Stone, Darenth, Horton Kirby and South Darenth, Cliffe and Cliffe Woods.
• Within each of those groups, boys in receipt of the Pupil Premium are ranked first, and everyone is ranked by distance from home to the school, nearest first. Equal distances are settled by random selection. The criteria do not use the Kent Test score: a boy needs the grammar assessment, and after that his score plays no part.
• The school publishes how many places it offered under each criterion, not the furthest distance offered. In March 2026 all 210 places were offered without reaching the more distant parishes or boys living elsewhere.
• For September 2026 entry the school had 255 first preferences, and 643 preferences in all, for its 210 places.
• A supplementary form is needed only for boys in receipt of the Pupil Premium. It goes to the school by 31 October in the year of application.

Sources: Admission arrangements 2027-28 · Allocation of places and the case for the school, 2026

Gravesend Grammar School on a page of its own

• The school has an admission number of 210 for entry into Year 7.
• There are two ways to be assessed eligible. The main one is the Kent Test. The school also runs its own Mayfield Test, which it describes as an optional, additional opportunity for girls who have also taken part in the Kent Test.
• The Mayfield Test for September 2027 entry was held at the school on Saturday 12 September 2026. Parents had to register on the school’s own form between 1 June and 3 July 2026.
• The Mayfield Test has two parts: a computer-based test of verbal ability, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, and a written English paper that is marked. The computer-test score is weighted 50% verbal, 25% mathematics and 25% non-verbal.
• A minimum standard is expected on both parts of the Mayfield Test. The school publishes no pass mark: it says the pass marks depend on the range of results local girls achieve, and that the outcome can differ from the Kent Test because of the greater emphasis on English.
• Mayfield Test results for September 2027 entry were emailed to parents on Thursday 15 October 2026, the same day as the Kent Test results.
• If there are more eligible girls than places, the order is: looked after and previously looked after children; a brother or sister attending the school at the time of entry; girls living in a first list of postcode areas; girls living in a second list of postcode areas; then all other eligible girls.
• The first list is the postal code areas beginning DA2 6, DA2 8, DA3, DA4, DA9, DA10, DA11, DA12, DA13, ME3 and TN15 7, with TN15 6AR, TN15 6AT and TN15 6AS. The second list is DA1, DA2 7, ME2, TN13, TN14, and the rest of TN15.
• Within each postcode group, girls currently receiving Free School Meals are given priority first, provided the Supplementary Information Form reaches the school by 2 November 2026. Places then go by the highest aggregated Kent Test score, and then by nearness of home to the school. All other eligible girls are also ranked by score and then nearness.
• Kent County Council’s admissions data records a last score offered of 295 for September 2026 entry, without saying what it measures. It is below the Kent Test pass mark, so it is not a Kent Test total. The school’s admissions office is the place to ask what a score like this means.
• For September 2026 entry Kent County Council recorded 593 applications, counting every preference, for the school’s 210 places.

Sources: Admissions policy 2027-2028 · Key dates for Year 7 entry 2027 · Admissions data report for Kent schools (last places offered, 2023 to 2026) · Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents)

Mayfield Grammar School, Gravesend on a page of its own

Children sit it at the start of Year 6. For September 2027 entry it was sat on Thursday 10 September 2026 by pupils at Kent primary schools, and on the weekend of 12 and 13 September 2026 by other pupils. Registration with Kent County Council ran from 1 June to 1 July 2026.

Source: Register for the Kent Test

Kent County Council had not published the dates when this page was checked. In each of the last three years registration opened in the first days of June and closed on 1 July, the test in Kent primary schools was on a Thursday in the second week of September (10 September 2026, 11 September 2025 and 12 September 2024), and results came in mid-October. Past dates are a guide, not a promise.

Sources: Register for the Kent Test · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 25 June 2025 · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 12 December 2024

For September 2027 entry, results were sent on Thursday 15 October 2026: by email after 4pm if you gave an email address when you registered, otherwise by first class post that day.

Source: Co-ordinated scheme for secondary admissions 2027-28

For the test sat in September 2026 (September 2027 entry), a child needed a total of 345 or more, with no single score below 111. Each of the three scores runs from 69 to 141, so the highest total is 423. The year before it was 332, with no single score below 108.

Sources: Kent Test results · FAQs for admissions into Year 7 2026

For the test sat in 2026 the total needed rose to 345, with no single score below 111. In the four tests before it the total was 332 each time, and the lowest single score allowed was 108 for the test sat in 2025, 106 in 2024, 107 in 2023 and 108 in 2022. A past pass mark is not a promise for the next test.

Sources: Kent Test results · FAQs for admissions into Year 7 2026 · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 12 December 2024 · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 1 March 2024 · Kent Test page as saved by the Internet Archive on 30 November 2022

Two multiple-choice papers: an English and maths paper of 1 hour, and a reasoning paper of about 1 hour with verbal and non-verbal sections. There is also a 40-minute writing exercise, which is not marked but may be used by a headteacher panel. The tests are devised for Kent County Council by GL Assessment.

Sources: Prepare for the Kent Test · Co-ordinated scheme for secondary admissions 2027-28

No. Passing makes your child eligible, but grammar schools are often oversubscribed and each one ranks the eligible children by its own admissions criteria. Some rank by score, some by where you live and how far away, and some by both.

Source: Apply for a Kent grammar school place

For September 2026 entry, the last boy offered a place on National Offer Day had 381 in the Priority Area and 403 in Category 2, which is open to any address. For the reserved Pupil Premium places the figures were 368 and 392. The year before (September 2025 entry) they were 374 and 402, and 352 and 382. These change every year.

Source: Cut-off scores on National Offer Day

Kent County Council’s admissions data gives the score of the last girl offered a place on National Offer Day: for September 2026 entry 372 inside the school’s priority area and 385 outside it (for 2025 entry, 360 and 377). The school ranks girls by their Kent Test total: after looked after children and girls eligible for the Pupil Premium, 100 places are reserved for girls living in the Borough of Dartford or ten named parishes, and the rest go to all remaining eligible girls. A cut-off is what was needed that year, not a promise for the next.

Sources: Admissions data report for Kent schools (last places offered, 2023 to 2026) · Admission arrangements for September 2027

Not by overall score. After children in care, siblings at either Wilmington school and children of staff, up to 18 Governor Places go to top scorers living within 5 miles (maths paper only at the girls’ school; English and reasoning at the boys’). Then come children living within 1.5 miles or in the named parishes, then other Pupil Premium children within 3 miles, then everyone else by distance. Both schools publish how far their offers reached each year.

Sources: Admission policy for entry in September 2027 · Admission policy for entry in September 2027

In March 2026 the school offered 128 of its 180 places to boys living within 1.5 miles or inside its parish and ward boundaries, and reached boys living about 2.732 miles away. In earlier years that distance was 2.891 miles (2025), 2.666 miles (2024), 3.234 miles (2023) and 3.021 miles (2022). Boys are not ranked by their overall Kent Test score: apart from the 18 Governor Places, places go by the school’s criteria and by distance.

Sources: FAQs for admissions into Year 7 2026 · Admission policy for entry in September 2027

For September 2025 entry the furthest distance offered was 2.574 miles, under the school’s last criterion (all other eligible girls). For 2024 it was 2.711 miles and for 2023 it was 4.837 miles, both under the criterion for girls living within 1.5 miles or in the named parishes and wards. The school had not published its figures for September 2026 entry when this page was checked.

Source: Over-subscription criteria for September 2026 (with past distances)

By where a boy lives and how far away, not by score. After looked after children, medical and social reasons, siblings and children of staff, places go to boys living in the Borough of Gravesham, then to two lists of nearby parishes, then to everyone else. In March 2026, 145 of the 210 places went to boys in Gravesham and 35 to the first list of parishes; none reached the more distant parishes or beyond.

Sources: Admission arrangements 2027-28 · Allocation of places and the case for the school, 2026

Mayfield Grammar School in Gravesend runs its own test as an optional, extra chance to be assessed eligible, for girls who have also taken the Kent Test. It is a computer-based test of verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning plus a written English paper. For September 2027 entry it was held on Saturday 12 September 2026, and results are emailed on Thursday 15 October 2026.

Sources: Admissions policy 2027-2028 · Key dates for Year 7 entry 2027

For September 2027 entry, applications close at midnight on Monday 2 November 2026. Offers are sent on Monday 1 March 2027, and you must accept or refuse by Monday 15 March 2027.

Source: Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents)

You can name up to four. Schools are not told where you ranked them, so putting a school first does not improve your chance there. The order only matters if more than one of your schools could offer a place: you are then offered the one you ranked highest.

Source: Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents)

Kent County Council recommends accepting the place you are offered. Accepting it does not affect your child’s place on a waiting list or any appeal for another school. You are automatically put on the waiting list of any school you ranked higher than the one you were offered.

Sources: After you get your school offer · Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents)

Only in limited cases. For the test sat in September 2026, late forms were accepted only for children at Kent County Council primary and junior schools, and only until Tuesday 21 July 2026. A family who moved into the council’s area after registration closed can have the child tested by Thursday 31 December 2026, if they gave proof of residency and applied for a school place by Monday 7 December 2026. Otherwise the child cannot be tested until after Tuesday 27 April 2027. The council asks parents who missed registration to email kent.admissions@kent.gov.uk.

Sources: Co-ordinated scheme for secondary admissions 2027-28 · Register for the Kent Test

If a child cannot sit the test because of illness on one or both test dates, confirmed by a doctor’s certificate, Kent County Council arranges for the test to be taken later. For the test sat in September 2026, that is by Thursday 31 December 2026.

Source: Co-ordinated scheme for secondary admissions 2027-28

Possibly. Talk to the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) at your child’s primary school before you register, because the school has to make the request. Arrangements are not limited to children with an EHCP or a diagnosis, and should match the support your child normally has in class. For the test sat in September 2026 the school’s deadline was Wednesday 1 July 2026. A specialist panel decides, and there is no appeal.

Sources: Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents) · Register for the Kent Test

Yes. Kent County Council asks you to register only if you intend to apply for a Kent grammar school. Children from schools outside the council’s area sit the test at a Kent testing centre at the weekend. You then apply on your own council’s form, even for a Kent school. Some Kent grammar schools, particularly those most likely to offer places to children from outside Kent, give priority to the highest scores.

Sources: Register for the Kent Test · Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents) · Co-ordinated scheme for secondary admissions 2027-28

Not automatically. As a general rule Kent gives free transport only where the school is the nearest appropriate school and more than three miles from home. An offer of a grammar school place does not guarantee transport if another mainstream school is closer.

Source: Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents)

Your child still has to be assessed, and this is arranged through the grammar school you apply to. Until the end of the first term of the school year every grammar school uses the Kent Test, which gives one assessment valid for any grammar school in Kent County Council’s area. After that, each grammar school uses its own assessment.

Source: Move to a different school

You cannot appeal against the Kent Test result itself. You can still name a grammar school on your application: it will be refused on offer day, and you then have the right to appeal for a place to an independent panel. Before results are sent, a primary school headteacher can also refer a child to the Headteacher Assessment panel.

Source: Admission to secondary school in Kent 2027 (guide for parents)