Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School vs The Norton Knatchbull School

Side by side

	Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School	The Norton Knatchbull School
Phase	Secondary	Secondary
Gender	Mixed	Boys
Pupils on roll	1,156	1,348
Free school meals	8.1%	8.5%
Ofsted rating	Good	Good
Attainment 8 — 2025/26	65.7	64.2
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	180	192
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place	1.22	1.17

Qualifying scores

Queen Elizabeth's 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 Norton Knatchbull 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.

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School

Looked after and previously looked after children
Children receiving targeted free school meals or the Pupil Premium
A brother or sister at the school when the child starts
Children of staff
Medical, health, social and special access reasons
Nearness of home to the school

Source: school admissions policy.

The Norton Knatchbull School

Looked after and previously looked after children
Children eligible for the Pupil Premium
A brother or sister at the school
Health and special access reasons
Nearness of home to the school

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School is a mixed school and The Norton Knatchbull 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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