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Highsted Grammar School vs Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

Both are grammar schools in Kent, 24.2 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

Highsted Grammar School Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
Phase Secondary Secondary
Gender Girls Boys
Pupils on roll 793 1,875
Free school meals 12.5% 5.5%
Ofsted rating Good Not published
Attainment 8 — 2025/26 61.9 64.5
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 109 300
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place 1.28 0.99

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 ↗

Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

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.

Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys

  1. Looked after and previously looked after children
  2. A brother attending the school when the child starts
  3. Health and special access reasons
  4. Boys living within 3 miles of the school — nearest first
  5. Boys living in the named parishes (including Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Southborough, Pembury, Edenbridge, Hildenborough and others) — nearest first
  6. All other boys — nearest first (straight line)

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Highsted Grammar School is a girls school and Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys 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 · Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys
Or see all secondary schools in Kent ranked.

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