Sevenoaks grammar

[Mumster40]

Hi there. I currently live in London with a daughter in Year 4 at a great state primary. She’s bright and doing well at school. However, I’m starting to panic about our secondary school options. We are not in the catchment for a decent state school and can’t afford private. My husband and I are considering a move to Sevenoaks. It’s a great commute into the city and we could afford a house there. I have a few questions if anyone is kind enough to answer them:

1. What are the grammar school options for girls in Sevenoaks?
2. Can my daughter sit the Kent 11+ if she doesn’t live in Kent?
3. If she can sit the exam and passes when would we need to move to be within the school catchment?
4. Will we have to have a permanent address within the school catchment before a place is offered or only before the school starts?

I would ideally like my daughter to finish her primary school and then move to Sevenoaks for secondary. I really would appreciate any help. Thank you

In Sevenoaks Grammar for girls you have Weald of Kent annexe, the main campus is in Tonbridge. Yes you can register for the test if Out of County (OOC). LYou just need a pass for Weald and then it is priority based on the admission criteria which include priority parishes. You can move by early December to be ‘in county’ if you’ve already put it on your CAF but that is a lot of pressure on a child at the same rime, Test, moving housing, etc and you would either have to commute to the old primary, find a space in a local primary or home-ed. Before the new Annexe loads of Sevenoaks children went (and still do) to the Tonbridge and Tunbridge Well grammars. Tonbridge Girls Grammar goes by score and not just a pass.

Pop over to the elevenplusforum for more info.

Bromley Borough also has good schools with good commutes. DD is thriving at her grammar in Orpington and also has friends happy in the nearby comprehensive (unlike Kent not all the brightest end up in grammars so the comps are very comprehensive rather than secondary moderns).

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I just wanted to ask if any places are allocated to out of county children? I really wouldn’t want to her to commute from Sevenoaks to London from December to July.....

Only those that go on score tend to i.e Tonbridge and Dartford. They have a clutch of places for OOC candidates. Due to the small number of OOC places on offer The score required is thus higher for OOC candidates than IC. Weald (just a pass) has gone out quite a distance into SE London such as Petts Wood in the past but it changes every year. Check the admission pages for more info on how they admit.