Wilmington Grammar School for Boys: 11+ entrance test and admissions
Wilmington Grammar School for Boys, near Dartford in Kent, has 180 Year 7 places and admits boys assessed as suitable for grammar school through the Kent Test. It is consistently oversubscribed, so places among qualifying boys go by a ranked list: looked-after children, siblings, children of staff, up to 18 governor places for exceptional Kent Test scores within five miles, then boys living within 1.5 miles or in named parishes, then distance. For the 2025 test, qualifying meant a Kent Test total of 332 or more with no single score below 108.
Facts checked against the school's and council's own published pages on 8 October 2026. Admissions details change every year — always confirm with the school before applying.
Wilmington Grammar (Boys) at a glance
- Places in Year 7
- 180 (published admission number)
- Test
- The Kent Test: English and maths paper, reasoning paper, and an unmarked writing task
- Qualifying (2025 test)
- Total 332 or more out of 423, no single score below 108
- Kent Test registration (2027 entry)
- 1 June to 1 July 2026, with Kent County Council
- Test date (2027 entry)
- Thursday 10 September 2026 in Kent primary schools
- Results (2027 entry)
- Thursday 15 October 2026
- Supplementary form
- Only for siblings or Pupil Premium boys in the local area — due by 31 October
The Kent Test
Wilmington admits through the Kent Assessment Procedure. The Kent Test has two multiple-choice papers of about an hour each: an English and maths paper, and a reasoning paper with verbal and non-verbal sections. There is also a 40-minute writing task, including 10 minutes' planning, which is not marked but may be used by a headteacher panel. Children receive three standardised scores — English, maths and reasoning — and a total.
For the 2025 test, a child needed a total of 332 or more, out of a maximum 423, with no single score below 108, to be assessed as suitable for grammar school. Kent County Council sets the score to identify roughly 25% of Kent children and publishes each year's threshold in October. A child below it can still be found suitable through the headteacher assessment. See our Kent region guide and Kent Test dates for the wider process.
How places are allocated
Boys with an EHCP naming the school are admitted first. The remaining places go to boys assessed as suitable for grammar school, and when there are more of them than places — which the school says is consistently the case — the 2027-28 arrangements rank them in this order: children in or previously in local authority care; boys with a sibling at either Wilmington grammar school when they start; children of staff who meet the policy's conditions; governor places; boys living within 1.5 miles or in the named parishes and wards, with priority there for Pupil Premium; Pupil Premium boys within 3 miles; and then all other boys by distance, closest first.
Governor places are up to 18 — about 10% of the admission number — for boys with exceptional Kent Test results, excluding maths, who live within five miles; ties are settled by distance, then independently adjudicated random selection. Distances are straight-line between National Land and Property Gazetteer address points. The named parishes and wards change between policy years — the 2027-28 list is shorter than 2026-27's — so check the map in the current arrangements rather than an older list.
Key dates
For September 2027 entry, Kent Test registration opened on Monday 1 June 2026 and closed on Wednesday 1 July 2026. Most Kent children sat the test in their primary school on Thursday 10 September 2026; children from schools outside Kent were tested at centres on 12 and 13 September. Results are emailed on Thursday 15 October 2026. Families then name the school on their council's application by 31 October 2026.
Wilmington's supplementary form is needed only if a sibling already attends either Wilmington grammar school, or the boy has had free school meals in the past six years and the family lives within the named parishes or 3 miles; for 2027 entry it must reach the school by 31 October 2026. The waiting list is kept until July 2028 and re-ranked every time a child is added.
How to prepare
Prepare for all three Kent Test scores, because a single score below the minimum (108 for the 2025 test) rules a child out however strong the total. That means English comprehension and grammar, Key Stage 2 maths at speed, and the verbal and non-verbal reasoning question types — practised under the test's short timed sections.
Governor places reward exceptional English and reasoning results specifically, since they exclude maths. And practise the writing task too: it is unmarked, but it is one of the things a headteacher panel can look at for a boy just below the threshold.
Wilmington Grammar (Boys): frequently asked questions
What score do you need for Wilmington Grammar School for Boys?
A boy must first be assessed as suitable for grammar school — for the 2025 test, a Kent Test total of 332 or more with no single score below 108. Above that, places are not given by score but by the school's ranked criteria, ending with distance. Governor places are the exception, going to exceptional Kent Test results excluding maths within five miles.
Is Wilmington Grammar School for Boys oversubscribed?
Yes. The school states it is consistently oversubscribed, so the oversubscription criteria decide which qualifying boys are offered its 180 places.
What are the Wilmington Grammar governor places?
Up to 18 places, about 10% of the admission number, for boys with exceptional Kent Test results excluding maths who live within five miles of the school. Ties are decided by distance.
Do I need a supplementary form for Wilmington Grammar?
Only if a sibling attends either Wilmington grammar school, or your son has had free school meals in the past six years and you live within the named parishes or 3 miles. It goes direct to the school by 31 October; it does not replace your council application.
Sources
Checked 8 October 2026.