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The Skinners' School vs Tonbridge Grammar School

Both are grammar schools in Kent, 2.9 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

The Skinners' School Tonbridge Grammar School
Phase Secondary Secondary
Gender Boys Girls
Pupils on roll 1,149 1,150
Free school meals 5% 2.4%
Ofsted rating Not published Outstanding
Attainment 8 — 2025/26 72.7 77
11+ test board GL Assessment GL Assessment
Admission system pass/fail then criteria order (score doesn't give priority after passing) qualifying score is the minimum; places then go in score order (distance only breaks ties)
Places offered — 202627 160 180
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place 1.45 1.96

Qualifying scores

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 ↗

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.

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.

Tonbridge Grammar School

  1. Looked after and previously looked after children
  2. 135 area places in order of Kent Test score for girls living in Tonbridge & Malling, Tunbridge Wells or Sevenoaks (council-tax area)
  3. 30 trustee places in order of Kent Test score for girls living elsewhere

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

The Skinners' 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.

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

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