Kent Grammar Schools: The Complete List of All 33 Schools and How to Choose
· 9 min read
Every Kent grammar school by district, the difference between standard and super-selective thresholds, and how to choose the right school for your child.
The short answer
Kent has 33 state grammar schools spread across five broad districts: Dartford and Gravesham in the north, Maidstone and Tonbridge in the centre and west, Medway (technically a separate unitary authority but considered alongside Kent for 11+ purposes), and Thanet, Folkestone and the south coast. Schools split into single-sex (boys' or girls'), co-educational, and a handful of super-selectives — schools whose own pass mark sits well above Kent's standard 'satisfied the test' threshold. Choosing well is not about picking the school with the best Progress 8 score; it is about matching your child's temperament, your family's logistics, and the realistic likelihood of an offer. This guide walks through all 33 schools by district, then through the practical decisions you actually need to make. For the registration and test calendar that determines when you have to apply, see our Kent Test dates guide. For the test format itself and how to prepare, see our Kent 11+ region guide.
Dartford and Gravesham (north Kent)
This district contains some of the most academically competitive schools in Kent, partly because of strong London commuter demand. The four state grammars are: Dartford Grammar School (boys', super-selective), Dartford Grammar School for Girls (girls', super-selective), Gravesend Grammar School (boys'), and Mayfield Grammar School Gravesend (girls'). Wilmington Grammar School for Boys and Wilmington Grammar School for Girls operate within the same village and serve the wider Dartford area. The two Dartford grammars are super-selective: they admit on the highest test scores regardless of catchment, which means children apply from across north Kent, south London, and parts of Essex. Realistically, an offer requires a Standardised Age Score well above the standard pass threshold — typically in the upper bands of test performance. Gravesend and Mayfield use a more typical Kent admissions pattern: pass the test, then prioritise by distance and sibling links.
Maidstone, Tonbridge, and West Kent
This is the heartland of Kent's grammar-school system. The schools include Tonbridge Grammar School (girls', super-selective, with one of the highest cut-off scores in the county), The Judd School (boys', super-selective, similarly demanding), The Skinners' School (boys', super-selective, in Tunbridge Wells), Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School, Weald of Kent Grammar School (girls', with a co-educational sixth form, located in Tonbridge with a Sevenoaks annexe), Maidstone Grammar School (boys'), Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, Invicta Grammar School (girls', Maidstone), and Oakwood Park Grammar School (boys', Maidstone). The super-selectives — Tonbridge, Judd, Skinners — are nationally competitive and historically have set their own admissions thresholds well above Kent's general 'satisfied the test' line. The remaining Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells schools use the standard pattern (pass + distance/siblings). Weald of Kent's Sevenoaks annexe is a relatively recent expansion (opened 2017) and offers a route in for west-Kent and Sevenoaks-area families who would otherwise face a long commute.
Medway (technically separate, but tested together)
Medway is a separate unitary authority but uses an aligned 11+ test and admissions process, and parents commonly consider it as part of Kent. The Medway grammars are: The Rochester Grammar School (girls'), Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School (boys', known as 'The Maths School'), Rainham Mark Grammar School (co-educational), Chatham Grammar School for Girls, Holcombe Grammar School (boys', Chatham), and Fort Pitt Grammar School (girls', Chatham). Medway children sit the Medway Test, which uses a similar GL Assessment format to the Kent Test but is administered separately. Children sitting both tests do exist — typically families on the Kent-Medway border or considering Sir Joseph Williamson's specifically — but the registration and test dates differ, so check both authorities. The Maths School and Rochester Grammar are the most academically competitive of the Medway six, with admissions weighted heavily towards top scorers.
Thanet, Folkestone, and the south coast
The eastern and south-coast schools include: Dane Court Grammar School (co-educational, Broadstairs), Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School (co-educational, Ramsgate), Highworth Grammar School (girls', Ashford), Norton Knatchbull School (boys', Ashford), Highsted Grammar School (girls', Sittingbourne), Borden Grammar School (boys', Sittingbourne), The Folkestone School for Girls, Harvey Grammar School (boys', Folkestone), and Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys (Canterbury), Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School (Canterbury), and Barton Court Grammar School (co-educational, Canterbury). The Simon Langton and Barton Court schools in Canterbury are the most academically competitive in this group; the Ashford, Sittingbourne, Folkestone, and Thanet schools generally admit closer to the standard Kent threshold. Distance and catchment matter more in this district than in Tunbridge Wells or Dartford because there are fewer competing schools per square mile, and the practical commute to a 'better-on-paper' grammar school in Tonbridge from Folkestone is rarely worth the daily hour each way.
Standard pass vs super-selective: what the threshold actually means
Kent uses a two-threshold system. The 'satisfied the test' threshold (sometimes informally called the standard pass mark) qualifies your child for admission to any non-super-selective grammar school in the county, subject to oversubscription criteria such as catchment, siblings, and feeder-primary links. Historically this has sat in a range that places roughly the top quartile to top third of the test cohort, but the exact figure shifts each year based on the cohort's performance. Do not anchor your expectations to last year's published threshold — Kent recalibrates annually. Super-selective schools — Tonbridge, Judd, Skinners, Dartford Boys, Dartford Girls, and arguably Sir Joseph Williamson's in Medway — set a higher internal pass mark and admit primarily by rank order of test score, often with no catchment area at all. The internal cut-off at these schools has historically been substantially higher than the standard Kent threshold, often by 30 or more SAS points. This is why a child can pass the Kent Test, be 'assessed as suitable for grammar school education', and still not receive an offer at Tonbridge or Judd — the school's own threshold is the binding constraint, not the county's. Neither figure is published in advance for the 2027 cohort. Kent confirms the standard threshold in October 2026 alongside results, and super-selective schools confirm offers on national offer day (1 March 2027). Plan around historical ranges, but do not let a previous-year number become a target your child has to hit on every practice paper.
How to choose the right Kent grammar school
Six factors should drive your shortlist: - Distance and commute. A school 45 minutes by bus is not better than a school 15 minutes away unless the academic or pastoral fit is meaningfully stronger. Calculate the door-to-door journey at 7:30 am, not at 10 am on a Saturday. - Single-sex or co-educational. There is no universal 'right answer' — research is mixed and individual fit dominates. Visit both formats and notice which environment your child relaxes in. - Ethos and pastoral approach. Open evenings expose this more than league tables do. Watch how teachers and pupils interact in the corridors, not just on the formal stage. - Sixth-form provision. Some Kent grammars have outstanding sixth forms; some are stronger at GCSE than A level. If your child is likely to stay through to 18, the sixth-form offer matters as much as Year 7-11. - Realistic admission likelihood. Applying to four super-selectives without a non-super-selective backup is high-risk. Most Kent families rank a mix. - Your child's preferences. Year 5 children have meaningful opinions if asked properly. Take them to two or three open evenings and listen to what they actually say.
Practical preparation alongside school choice
Picking the right schools is half the work. The other half is preparing for the test that determines whether the choice is real. Effective Kent Test preparation focuses on GL Assessment question types, daily reading for vocabulary, problem-solving Maths (not just computation), and timed practice from the summer of Year 5 onwards. Twenty minutes a day, four to five days a week, beats two-hour weekend sessions for almost every family. GrammarPrep's Kent path is configured for GL Assessment formats and tracks your child's progress against typical Kent threshold ranges. The free diagnostic gives you a benchmark in under 20 minutes — use it to decide whether your shortlist is realistic, then plan accordingly. Start the diagnostic, or read the month-by-month preparation plan for the full year-long structure. A final reminder: the school list above is accurate as of 2026, but admissions arrangements occasionally change. Always cross-check each school's current admissions page before relying on what you read here — particularly for super-selective cut-offs, which the schools themselves are the only authoritative source for.