Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge grammar school advice

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I'm a bit confused over the rules around TW and TB grammars.
Is it right that Skinners has a catchment area and TWGSB does not? What about the Tonbridge grammars?
What happens if you live further over - specifically in Sussex or Surrey? Frant for example? Or Godstone?
Or one of the outlying Kent villages - Madden, Hildenborough, Benchley or Matfield? Speldhurst? Would you still have the same chance of getting in as if you lived in central TB or TW?
Thank you!!

Skinners' doesn't have a catchment area, if I remember rightly - it's a super selective.

link here to their admissions policy

P12 and p13 of this document tell you how the TWGSB use distance / catchment to prioritise applications. here

Judd have bought a fairly new catchment policy in.

I've found this website to be accurate and up to date www.kentadvice.co.uk/individual-schools/kent-secondary-schools-a-academies/item/106-individual-school-information-t-v.html
But really you need to get admissions policy for each school from their websites and see which criteria each address would fit under. The schools would be able to tell you how many children they admitted recently under each of the criteria and distances offered to.

From local knowledge - Skinners is purely on score not address (score offered to probably on their website). TWBG just needs a pass and then offers on distance. Judd is score based but offers most places to localish boys (Think Tonbridge, TW, Sevenoaks but not entirely sure).

Lots of rumours fly around but if you research info direct from schools you will be on safe ground. They have changed a few times over recent years. Good luck!

Thank you very much. What a minefield.

It's changing a fair amount now that Judd have changed their policy to mirror that of TGS - ie an inner catchment (boys in TN postcodes from memory) and an outer catchment - and the local boys are prioritised with lower scores needed from the local postcodes and higher in the outer. Skinners still takes the top scores that apply, regardless of distance, so in theory, you could apply from Scotland and if you were one of the highest scoring applicants you would be given a place. This means that this year, lots of boys who would have come from say, Opington and SE London to Judd, are now applying to Skinners, and local boys who would have got in to Skinners in the past few years are now going to Judd, thus making the TW traffic even MORE diabolical....madness! TWBGS needs you to pass the 11+ (although they do take on appeal) and will then grant places based on distance.....I've never known anyone apply to TWBGS and not get in....but this year was a very high birth year, so the girls had more problems for TWGGS - some girls in central/south TW were offered Maidstone Grammar for example.

I have a child at three of the schools mentioned. Skinners does not have a catchment area, it is superselective.

Twgsb does have one but it's very big (see website, 11plus forum or Kent advice already mentioned). That is pass only for admission.

As others have said, Judd has a lower entrance score for its in catchment pupils, but you need more than a pass to get in. They publish previous year entrance scores on their website including waiting list ones.

TOGs has inner and outer scores.

TWGGS is pass only but very difficult to get in to unless you live very close, last year there were tape measures out to check distances again.

Weald is pass only but has a pretty big catchment, also in SEVENOAKS now.

It is complicated, for instance despite many posters stating that Kent is entirely selective, there are pockets that are not.

If you lived in Paddock wood for instance, you go to Mascalls comprehensive, you wouldn't get Weald even if you passed, despite only being a couple of miles away.

You could however go to TOGs which is pretty much next door as an out of catchment applicant.