Cranbrook School vs The Judd School

Both are grammar schools in Kent, 13.5 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

	Cranbrook School	The Judd School
Phase	Secondary	Secondary
Gender	Mixed	Boys
Pupils on roll	958	1,541
Free school meals	4.7%	2.8%
Ofsted rating	Not published	Not judged
Attainment 8 — 2025/26	68.3	78.3
11+ test board	GL Assessment	GL Assessment
Admission system	qualifying score is the minimum; places then go in score order (distance only breaks ties)	qualifying score is the minimum; places then go in score order (distance only breaks ties)
Places offered — 202627	88	179
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place	1.62	2.23

Qualifying scores

Cranbrook School

332 out of 423 (2026 entry)

Aggregate ≥332 with no single paper below 108. County-wide Kent Test threshold: reaching it earns a 'suitable for grammar school' assessment, NOT a place — each school then applies its own oversubscription criteria, and super-selective schools (The Judd School, Skinners', Tonbridge, Dartford) fill in score order well above the threshold.

Council source ↗

The Judd School

389 (2026 entry)

Published. The Judd School uses inner/outer postcode areas. 2026 entry cut-off: Inner Area 389 / Outer Area 403. Mean score of those offered: 396.5. 180 places: 157 inner, 23 outer. Waiting list threshold (2 Mar 2026): Inner ~385 / Outer 403.

Council source ↗

Who gets priority

Where a school is oversubscribed, these are the first criteria applied, in order. This is usually what decides an application.

Cranbrook School

Looked after and previously looked after children
Pupil Premium children in the Priority Area
Children in the Priority Area with a social need to attend as a day student
Children in the Priority Area with a sibling at the school
Children of teaching or support staff
Children living in the Priority Area (the civil parishes of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, Goudhurst, Staplehurst, Frittenden, Benenden, Sandhurst and Hawkhurst, or within 8.5 km)

Source: school admissions policy.

The Judd School

Looked after and previously looked after children
Up to 5 Inner Area places for boys on free school meals, then the Pupil Premium
157 Inner Area places (TN1–4, TN8–15, ME18–19, parts of TN16 and DA4, and Halstead) — in order of Kent Test aggregate score
23 Outer Area places — in order of Kent Test aggregate score

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Cranbrook School is a mixed school and The Judd School is a boys school, so for many families the starting point is which one can admit their child. The figures on this page are the published ones — they describe intakes and results, not what either school would be like for your child. The right choice depends on your family's own priorities and circumstances.

Other Kent comparisons

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