Maidstone Grammar School vs Tonbridge Grammar School

Side by side

	Maidstone Grammar School	Tonbridge Grammar School
Phase	Secondary	Secondary
Gender	Boys	Girls
Pupils on roll	1,443	1,150
Free school meals	8.7%	2.4%
Ofsted rating	Good	Outstanding
Attainment 8 — 2025/26	67	77
11+ test board	GL Assessment	GL Assessment
Admission system	pass/fail + catchment (passing the test is a gate; living in the catchment area determines priority over score)	qualifying score is the minimum; places then go in score order (distance only breaks ties)
Places offered — 202627	205	180
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place	1.15	1.96

Qualifying scores

Maidstone 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 ↗

Tonbridge 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 ↗

Who gets priority

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

Maidstone Grammar School

Looked after and previously looked after children
Boys living in the listed parishes (Maidstone and surrounding parishes, including Aylesford, Bearsted, Coxheath, Headcorn, Kings Hill, Marden, Snodland, Staplehurst and West Malling) who score 360 or…
Other qualifying boys in the listed parishes — targeted free school meals first, then siblings, children of staff, nearest first
All other qualifying boys — targeted free school meals first, then siblings, children of staff, nearest first

Source: school admissions policy.

Tonbridge Grammar School

Looked after and previously looked after children
135 area places in order of Kent Test score for girls living in Tonbridge & Malling, Tunbridge Wells or Sevenoaks (council-tax area)
30 trustee places in order of Kent Test score for girls living elsewhere

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Maidstone Grammar School is a boys school and Tonbridge Grammar School is a girls 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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