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Highsted Grammar School vs The Skinners' School

Both are grammar schools in Kent, 24.5 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

Highsted Grammar School The Skinners' School
Phase Secondary Secondary
Gender Girls Boys
Pupils on roll 793 1,149
Free school meals 12.5% 5%
Ofsted rating Good Not published
Attainment 8 — 2025/26 61.9 72.7
11+ test board GL Assessment GL Assessment
Admission system pass/fail then criteria order (score doesn't give priority after passing) pass/fail then criteria order (score doesn't give priority after passing)
Places offered — 202627 109 160
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place 1.28 1.45

Qualifying scores

Highsted Grammar 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 Skinners' 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 ↗

Who gets priority

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

Highsted Grammar School

  1. Looked after and previously looked after children
  2. Pupil Premium girls living in ME9, ME10, ME11 or ME12
  3. A sister at the school at the time of entry
  4. Nearness of home to the school (straight line)

Source: school admissions policy.

The Skinners' School

  1. Looked after and previously looked after children
  2. Up to 16 places for Pupil Premium boys in the West Kent Area (3 miles plus named parishes including Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks)
  3. Up to 108 places for other boys in the West Kent Area — first those 40+ marks above the Kent threshold, then other qualified boys; siblings, then sons of staff, then nearest first
  4. Up to 16 Governors' places for the highest Kent Test scorers in the West Kent Area not otherwise offered a place
  5. Up to 20 places for boys from outside the West Kent Area — 40+ above the threshold first; siblings, sons of staff, then nearest

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Highsted Grammar School is a girls school and The Skinners' 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.

Full detail for each school: Highsted Grammar School · The Skinners' School
Or see all secondary schools in Kent ranked.

Other Kent comparisons

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