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Best secondary schools in Sevenoaks
Best secondary schools in The Weald
Best secondary schools in Tunbridge Wells & Tonbridge
Best secondary schools in Rochester
Best secondary schools in Maidstone
For many years there was a surprising lack of grammar school provision here – but not any more! To join the less popular Weald of Kent Grammar annexe, Tunbridge Wells Grammar for Boys has recently opened an annexe in Sevenoaks with an intake of 90 pupils – the result of a parental petition. Long overdue and a very welcome addition, report parents. Applications for boys having passed the 11+ are made to the main school where places are then assigned – no preference for Sevenoaks campus is available at present.
While there is a ‘grammar stream’ in the large and oversubscribed Knole Academy, looking on the edge of Sevenoaks and beyond is recommended due to the school’s mixed reviews. The faith-based Trinity School makes good progress with its pupils and accepts 50 per cent non-faith but has a small catchment and is oversubscribed. The pretty surrounding villages of Ightam, Wrotham, Platt and Borough Green are really where it’s at and feed Wrotham School a smaller nurturing secondary with a record of good progress to GCSE.
Best primary schools in Sevenoaks
Best private schools in Sevenoaks
The Cranbrook Priority Area is a very real thing (ask any estate agent!) – Cranbrook School is a state-funded day and boarding grammar. Entry in year 7 only for 90 day places is by the 11+ plus catchment area. In year 9, admission via the Cranbrook Entrance Exam for boarding (between 20 – 25 per cent of pupils) and day places (catchment applies). Described by parents as, ‘A top-notch school with bright and well-rounded students.’
With the closure of its only truly local non-selective secondary, most pupils travel to Mascalls Academy in Paddock Wood which is regarded as a ‘good enough’ school but perhaps not the first choice for many. As with all areas in West Kent, many pupils travel outside their home town or village for non-selective secondary schools. Hillview School for Girls in Tonbridge is a popular choice (see Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge).
Best primary schools in The Weald
Best private schools in The Weald
Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School has ‘music in its DNA’, noted our reviewer, along with attracting many sporty types and setting high academic standards. Consistently oversubscribed: four-mile catchment (including East Sussex) and 40 named priority villages. The dazzling results of all-boys The Judd School speak for themselves, hardly surprising with the eye-watering higher 11+ scores required (the cut off mark changes each year with two catchments: inner and outer, although the school states that ‘no one is in a good position to declare authoritatively on the matter of the cut off mark,’ so be told!). ‘Top option for a studious boy,’ our reviewer thought. A good bunch of medics each year along with Oxbridge and Russell group destinations. The Skinners' School calls its catchment ‘West Kent Area’ (don’t be fooled - the catchment area barely stretches to Sevenoaks). Self-proclaimed as ‘less academic’ than The Judd (its sparring partner in rugby) but ‘brings in the results without veering into hot house territory,’ say parents. Physics and maths really popular, with music and drama enjoying a ‘renaissance’. Tunbridge Wells Grammar for Boys (one of two campuses, see Sevenoaks), is very popular and not super selective – some pupils travel from Bromley, Orpington and East Sussex. Originally a Technical High School, it still has subjects like food and nutrition and media studies along with football (a rarity among grammar schools).
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is a superb alternative to grammar, achieving excellent progress and competitive average A level grades. Consistently over-subscribed with practising Church of England families given priority, followed by other Christian denominations and faiths. Parents say that academic standards here are raised by late developers who missed out on grammar places. Hillview School for Girls has a happy reputation, ‘like stepping into an episode of Fame’ our reviewer noted, a specialist in performing arts with a more far-reaching catchment.
Best primary schools in Tunbridge Wells & Tonbridge
Best private schools in Tunbridge Wells & Tonbridge
Best nurseries in Tunbridge Wells & Tonbridge
The Rochester Grammar School, described as a ‘jewel’ by parents and ‘a powerhouse for women’, offers a fast-paced education for high achieving girls. Also worth a mention, Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School, a boys’ grammar with high academic standards. Closer to the London environs, Dartford Grammar is hitting heights of success like its famous alumnus, Mick Jagger. It takes a progressive approach (exclusively offering IB in sixth form), but works hard to retain much of what a grammar education was intended to be and is applauded nationally for doing so. Dartford Grammar for Girls achieves similar academic results as the boys’ school but offers A levels – many girls jump over to the boys’ school for sixth form and IB. Mayfield Grammar School is a girls’ grammar with its own ‘Mayfield Procedure’ admission test where more emphasis is placed on the written test (unlike the 11+).
The Thomas Aveling School is heavily oversubscribed and pupils make good progress. Further down the M2 and inland from Gravesend is Meopham School, a highly rated, relatively small non-selective secondary. Oversubscribed with well above average progress and respectable GSCE results.
Best primary schools in Rochester
Best private schools in Rochester
Maidstone boasts three well respected grammars which are fed from the surrounding areas, benefitting perhaps from being selective but not super-selective and scooping up pupils from Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells whilst leaning into the Medway towns. Maidstone Grammar School is a proudly traditional boys' grammar with rather complicated oversubscription criteria to ensure drawing from the villages it originally served. Maidstone Grammar School for Girls is, our reviewer reported, ‘compassionate and caring’ and makes excellent progress. Invicta Grammar School is also a girls’ school – outstanding with ‘swish’ facilities and while not super-selective is regarded as delivering an excellent education to the more academic and creative pupil.
St Simon Stock Catholic School in its Oakwood grounds holds its own as a non-selective with good progress and a nurturing reputation. Catchment small for non-faith applicants but much wider for Catholic and then other denominations. The catchment area for Valley Park School is reportedly small and it’s heavily oversubscribed due to its reputation for the arts and having an on-site farm; 24 scholarships across music, performing arts, art and design are awarded each year which allow pupils to skip the queue in the oversubscription criteria.
Best primary schools in Maidstone
Best private schools in Maidstone
All mainstream state schools have SEN support for mild learning difficulties. This often varies and can be related to the size of the school (the larger the school, the better resourced and more experienced).
Five Acre Wood School in Maidstone has a primary section and is a through-school, also providing outreach for primary schools and provision in satellite schools in Snodland. Ifield School caters for children with severe and profound needs. The admission of pupils to special schools is a decision for the Kent LEA.
Need help? Perhaps you suspect your child has some learning difficulty and you would like advice on what you should do. Or perhaps it is becoming clear that your child's current school is not working for him or her, and you need help to find a mainstream school which has better SEN provision, or to find a special school which will best cater for your child's area of need. Our SEN consultancy team advises on both special schools, and the mainstream schools with good SEN support, from reception through to the specialist colleges for 19+. Special Educational Needs Index
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We examined the value-added from KS2 to GCSE for 2022 to see which state selective grammar schools added the most value to their offspring. A note of caution - the more highly selective a grammar school, the less scope there will be to add value.
Grammar schools are state-funded, academically selective senior schools. The education a child receives at grammar school is paid for by the state unlike at private schools which provide education for a fee. There are currently around 163 located in 36 English local authorities, with around 167,000 pupils between them. Northern Ireland has a further 67 grammar schools, but there are none in Wales or Scotland. A word of caution: there are private schools that have the word 'grammar' in their name but this is purely for historical reasons.
At specialist music, dance or performing arts schools, the arts aren't optional extras. They’re intrinsic to the school curriculum. Students are expected to fit in high level training and hours of practice alongside a full academic provision. It's a lot to ask any child to take on, but for those with exceptional performing ability this kind of education can be transformative.