Admission for secondary school in Kent area

[ThatCosyHazelWasp]

Hello Everyone,
My daughter recently passed the Kent 11+ exam with a score of 366. We applied under the “out of county” category and are planning to move to Kent in July 2026(husband is retiring from service) so that she can start secondary school smoothly. we were thinking of applying as a top priority for Highworth Girls Grammar School, which is about a 7-minute drive from our new home. Could you please advise on her chances of securing a place at the school with this score?

Any advice would be appriciated?

Hiya can DM you

@birtydertieyes please.

It depends on the school. Some Kent grammar schools admit on scores-going down the list of the kids who pass until Year 7 is full. For others it’s pass mark and catchment- there’s a set passmark each year and kids with that passmark get places living further and further away from the school until year 7 is full.I don’t know which category your chosen school falls into but you can find out on the school website.

@CurlewKateThank you for sharing your thoughts.

Not sure on your chance for that school, however, if you don’t get the school you want, as soon as you have your new address, contact the school and get them to update the waiting list. I’d try to be in the house before the end of term in July, so you’ll be on the waiting list as in catchment not out of catchment.

Theres lots of movement on waiting lists, right up to the start of term.

@FancyBiscuitsLevel Are trying to say that even if I apply for the preferred school,there is very less chance if I don’t move on time??

I’m planning to apply for a secondary place but looks like we need to produce lots of evidence like new home address and many more .i hope the council will consider looking my valid document that we will be surely moving to Kent.

thank you for sharing you thoughts.

You need to check what address they use - it should be the one you live in when you apply (so not one you plan to move to), and whether distance is part of the admissions criteria. If it is and you apply from your current address which I assume is a long way away then you won’t get a place assuming it’s oversubscribed, though you will be on the waiting list.

That said, it’s possible as you’re a forces family that your future address could be used. You’d need to contact admissions and see whether you’d qualify.

What I mean is, if you don’t get a place and are on the waiting list as an out of catchment applicant, then once you’ve moved, you need to tell the school as once you’ve become an in catchment applicant and you might go higher up the waiting list.

Can you check your private messages as I've dropped you a line

We’re not in Kent, and also not in a grammar school area, but a school near us has the sentence, “For children of armed service personnel and other Crown servants returning to the area, proof of posting is all that is required.” This is in the section relating to proof of address on the supplementary form for a faith school, but I don’t think it’s an uncommon statement, so it could be worth asking whether this applies in your case.

Presumably you have seen the Secondary School Admissions booklet on the KCC website?

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:d2881481-677b-435b-971e-ef35466276dc

In terms of oversubscription criteria for Highworth, the score in the Kent Test isn't relevant, so long as it's a pass. (Admissions policy on school website). The criteria are then LAC / PLAC -> Pupil Premium-> Sibling -> Exceptional medical / social -> Proximity. According to the 2025 allocations table in the KCC booklet, with a PAN of 224, only 190 places were offered at Highworth (so essentially, any grammar qualified applicant who didn't have an offer from a higher preference would have got in. If this is a general pattern, then you probably don't have to worry about not being able to be in catchment by the December 'change of address' deadline. In any case, you should make an on-time application through your current LA.